For many years an entity called the Committee on University Welfare served a sort of intermediary function at Rice, dealing with problems that arose either in between the cracks or crossing boundaries of faculty, staff, student, and administration interests. In practice these issues ranged from complaints about the inadequacy of campus lighting to issues of academic freedom to attempts to improve the university’s grossly inadequate retirement plan.
In 1963 they were called on to comment on the ongoing revisions of the Open House Regulations for the men’s colleges. At the end of that process these rules emerged, clearly written by people who had a firm grasp on human nature:
It’s like something from Mars.
Bonus: Putting clothes on trees is apparently now a thing. It looks weirdly puritanical, as though the undergrads can’t bear to see naked trees. Thanks to two faithful readers for the photos!
