EDITORIAL: BUSY, BUSY

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Lack of time limits Rice students.

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Numerous student organizations, including the Baker College Cabinet and the Thresher , have lost valuable members to this problem. Students find that taking on any commitment beyond classes is almost impossible. Either the activities or the grades have to suffer. It's past time for a change.

Rice is a learning institution, and therefore education should be a top priority. Professors expect us to understand and respect the time commitment that learning takes, and we do. However, many of them seem to forget that we take five classes at once and are also needed elsewhere. Instead of feeling supported by the university, many of us find ourselves constricted by the demands it places on us.

Besides being a university, Rice is a community. To maintain a certain level of quality, this world outside the classroom requires at least as much time and effort as the coursework.

Rice faculty and administration need to rethink the current structure of student life at Rice. Rice claims to strive for well-rounded students.

One example of this idea in practice is Leadership Rice. It was introduced on the idea of teaching us to better contribute to the Houston community. Rice students are good students, but many of us lack good skills outside the classroom and in the "real world."

This program is a good start, but that's all it is -- a start.

The Rice community needs work. Student involvement is low. The ever-present problem of apathy is high. But, really, when it comes down to it, who has the time even to be apathetic?

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the January 24, 1997 issue.

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