EDITORIAL: RALLY

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Students should be commended for taking action to preserve diversity.

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Kudos from the Thresher to both the Black Student Association and the Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice.

Both organizations should be commended for their excellent job in assembling the rally on April 2. The BSA and HACER have set a strong example for Rice students by doing something and not just standing there.

These clubs' rally is a strong statement that this rally is the kind of rallying we need to see more of at Rice. The "unofficial statement" of Rice United for Diversity is a positive statement for multiculturalism -- directly from the students who best understand the importance of diversity.

By enlisting such high-caliber supporters and speakers such as Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee and State Representative Garnet Coleman, these groups have confirmed the fact that Rice students actually care. By attracting media attention (beyond, of course, that of the Thresher ), these groups have made it public that Rice students will not sit idly by as changes are planned that they do not agree with.

The fact that BSA and HACER made public their opposition to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Hopwood v. University of Texas Law School and Rice University's decision indicates that there is a "Strategic Plan" for students, too: vocalization and action.

So take the BSA and HACER as examples. Keep demonstrating that Rice students won't take "no" for an answer.

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the April 12, 1996 issue.

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