RSVP introduces incoming freshmen to Houston
The Rice Student Volunteer Program hopes to help make the class of 2000 one that is better equipped for Rice life than any previous class through a program called Freshman Urban Immersion.
Urban Immersion, while still in its initial planning stages, has been scheduled for July 10-14 and will expose 15-30 incoming freshmen from across the country to the opportunities available to them, as well as the logistics of living in Houston.
R.S.V.P. chair Teddy Kapur, a Hanszen College freshman, said that the main goal of this program is to provide incoming freshmen with an introduction to Houston's cultural offerings and community service needs.
This double objective will be met through daily activities orienting the students to the city of Houston and educating them about the needs of the community. The program emphasizes practical skills such as getting around using the Houston Metro system. The freshmen will also learn about the history of the city in which they will be living for at least four more years. Tours of the medical center, downtown wards and homeless shelters will give students a perspective on the grittier sides of big-city life. Further, they will be given a chance to experience Houston's cultural offerings by dining in different restaurants, possibly touring the Johnson Space Center and visiting such sites as the Museum District and the Transco Tower Water Wall.
Program creators incorporated service projects into the agenda, most notably into the visits to the medical center, the downtown wards and the homeless shelters. In addition, the week's activities include speakers from several Houston organizations who will address the service needs of Houston and opportunities available for students.
The cost for this program is estimated at $250 per student, and R.S.V.P. is beginning to raise funds to finance the project. Program organizers hope to obtain monetary subsidies from Rice and further reduce costs by seeking group prices at Houston restaurants, bus passes from the Metro and free tours of the medical center and the Space Center. It is possible that Rice may be able to help pay for students who are also receiving financial aid from the university. Otherwise, students will be charged a fee to participate in the program.
R.S.V.P. is sending a letter to accepted high school seniors to determine the interest level for the Freshman Urban Immersion.
The program is not intended to replace Freshman Orientation-Week, Kapur said.
"The main thing is to expose new students to community service in different areas, or at least to provide an orientation to such opportunities. We want to show different aspects of Houston life. When the freshmen come back in the fall, they can take their friends out into the city, and they won't be restricted to the Rice Campus," he said.
Freshman Urban Immersion committee members feel that Rice students are not aware of all the opportunities available to them in Houston, simply because many students from outside of Houston were never really exposed to the city. Orienting students to Houston and the service possibilities available before they begin at Rice may enable them to become more involved in the community and better able to take chances they otherwise wouldn't feel comfortable doing.
Familiarity with Houston will also benefit students who need to live off campus. Housing problems at the colleges may be alleviated if students feel comfortable both on and off the Rice campus.
The Freshman Urban Immersion project is headed by Jennifer Willen of the Community Involvement office and Brown College senior Krista Noack. Committee members from R.S.V.P. include Kapur, Brown freshmen Lisa Chang and Stephanie Schreckinger, Brown junior Stephanie Waters and Lovett College freshman Kimberly White.
This item appeared in the News section of the April 12, 1996 issue.
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