This afternoon here were a couple of boxes on one of the book carts in the back room that had been ordered from storage by mistake. This obviously called for a thorough investigation of their contents. And I wasn’t at all surprised to discover in the very last folder–labeled “curriculum debacle 1970”–something wonderful. It’s an issue of a Rice publication I can’t recall ever seeing before called “Rice Report,” possibly a predecessor of the late, lamented Rice News which only exists digitally these days:
As a snapshot of campus doings in January of 1971 it is packed with interesting material from all over. I was especially interested in the Media Center exhibit of kinetic art by Pol Bury which I hadn’t been aware of. The publication was probably saved for the enrollment report but that’s not what made me scan it. No, I was attracted by a single glorious sentence, the very last one on the second page:
That must have been a heck of a party.
Bonus:
I now remember what a big deal it was when the curriculum requirements “loosened up.” Since I graduated in 71, I didn’t experience much of the changes myself, which I guess is why I’d forgotten this historical tidbit all together. Being reminded of things that happened while I was at Rice is just one of the reasons I love this blog!
A time not removed from student unrest, an unpopular war, racial challenges and an awakening drug culture, but, looking back, a time of unbelievable simplicity. Thanks for the memories.
The level of detail in the Report is amazing. It reminds me of when Houston had three newspapers and all three could report Little League standings and statistics.