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TAble of contents Duncan Achievements Art and Music sports Study Abroad durs Goodbye to our ra Team woodstokc Monday night lights Sensation Duncstep bEER bIKE Fashion Anya Bolshakov: Editor-at-large Photography: Anya Bolshakov Janet Ni Ariyaneh Nikbin Obi Nwabueze Duncan Historians Writing: Jeremy Reiskind Tasneem Islam Joey Burbach Drayton Thomas Colleen Fugate Lauren Yates

DCEC (Duncan College Executive Committee) 20142015 President- Mary Anderson Chief Justice- Kira Clingen Legislative Vice President-Colin Shaw Vice Presidents- Patrick Wilson and Nicole Roberson Senator- Louis Lesser Treasurers- Austin Hughes and Jorge Quintero Secretaries- Emily Jacobson and Jeremy Reiskind

Welcome to the State of the Roonian ! Kicked off by former Prez’s Kelvin Pho and Jeremy Scher, the Roonian is a summary of all the fantastic things that Duncaroo’s have accomplished both within the hedges and beyond. A LOT has occurred this past year, and although it is impossible to cover everything that’s happened within the 2013-14 term, here are some highlights. From academics, such as Colleen Fugate gaining a Watson Fellowship, to sports, such as Christian Covington sacking Johnny Manziel, Duncaroo’s are reaching new heights. From having our first Beer Bike float to ratifying our Constitution, we solidified

long-standing traditions, while being bold and staying green (and gold). As we close out the school year, I hope you all continue to inspire each other and dream bigger than ever before ! Somos Equipo Somos Familia, Mary Anderson Duncan College Prez. 2014-15 Also, I would like to thank everyone who contributed to the State of the Roonian, as this was truly a collaborative project and a labor of love.

Duncan Achievements Passing a Constitution

Over the last five years, forming the Duncan College constitution has been a long-standing goal. Ratified during the Spring 2014 semester with a College-wide referendum, it has involved hundreds of devoted Duncaroos for its completion.

Formalize an Initiative Fund To inspire Duncan students to brainstorm changes they would like to see around our college, the Initiative Fund was formed. What’s exciting about the Fund is that you do not have to be a member nor a leader of a committee or club in order to propose an idea to the Executive Committee for review.

Budget Transparency

With budget transparency, it keeps our government accountable to the Duncan Community, while keeping students informed of what assets are going where through this new initiative.

An Endowment

WE HAVE AN ENDOWMENT ! WOO ! The Duncan College Master’s Endowment was initiated by our college Master Dr. Luis Duno-Gottberg, with the assistance of Nimish Mittal and Kate Collins. In a few years it can be used at the discretion of the Duncan College Master.


During the Rice-wide Homecoming, Duncaroos created their own Duncan-related events during the same week. We hope to see alumni during next year’s Homecoming Week !

ARt Music Lydia Smith: On the Studio Art Track within the Visual and Dramatic Art’s Major, pictured is her instillation “Memory Re-Embodied” for the Mavis C. Pitman Fellowship.

Joey Burbach – Rapper Joey is a Duncan College Freshman, an Economics major, and also on the men’s basketball team. His mixtape, “Renaissance Man” is a hip hop album that also incorporates lot of different genres. Burbach is inspired by artists such as Kanye west, Asher Roth, Kendrick Lamar. We see a Grammy Award in his future…

Jesus, the Crazy, and the Bad Kids Jesus, the Crazy, and the Bad Kids are a jazz-rock-funk band and tend to fuse these genres along with soul and blues, and showcase their own original music within the hedges and beyond ! Lead Singer Tasneem Islam states: I joined JCBK midway through sophomore year after Nick Ryder (drums) approached me at pub one night and asked if I would like to jam and potentially join him, Michael DeMarco (guitar), and Phil Dentino (keys) who were then collectively known as Jesus, the Crazy, and the Bad Kids. Soon after I joined, Beau Reescano and Thomas Silverman did as well (our sax and flute players). The following summer, Drew Taylor joined as our bassist. In total, our band has been together for over two years. We’ve played at pretty much every Rice venue from pub to Valhalla to tailgates. To date, we have been playing at Notsuoh frequently (a bar in Houston) with several other offers to play at venues like Fitzgerald’s and the Continental Club. We will be recording our music before graduation (most of us are seniors).

-Our Rice Football team lead an impressively historic season ! From winning the Conference USA Championships to leading us to the Liberty Bowl, we are so proud of our Duncaroo athletes ! Christian Covington #1 Defensive Tackle Caleb Williams #74 Offensive Lineman Ian Gray #72 Offensive Lineman Connor Cella #87 Tight End Cody Henessee #58 Defensive Tackle

Sports Duncan sports, we have lift off! The 2013-2014 year, led by Sport Rep Jordan Bley, was the best we have seen from Duncan sports, and the beginning of hopefully sport dominance! Led by the champion menâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s basketball team, Duncan had four other teams (soccer, floor hockey, freshman flag, and freshman basketball) make the playoffs. The basketball team needed a deep buzzer beater from Jarin Rice to reach the championship, but the championship was not as close. In front of a capacity crowd in the rec, Jarin and Maxwell Lee led the team with the help of beloved RA Nick Pascuzzi in the post. Our soccer team continued to show their dominance with an undefeated regular season, but was unable to reach the finals as we lost to McMurtry on a golden goal in the second OT period. The team was led by seniors Matt Kauffman, Eric Bastoul, Jeremy Scher, Chris Hurd, and Coach Alan Harkins who will all be missed next year, but JB Makhani, Josh Solis, and Jonathan Bright are ready to lead this team in the future. The freshman class was a great addition to our sports culture at Duncan as we made the playoffs in both basketball and flag football. The flag team lost their first game but then went undefeated in their final four to claim a spot in the playoffs. In our semi-final game, we scored as time expired on a hailmary to put us down two. The two-point conversion unfortunately was incomplete, as we took a heartbreaking loss to Martel. The basketball team started their season 0-2 losing our first two games by a combined two points. The team then rallied to win our next three and earn a spot in the playoffs. This year was only the beginning of a winning Duncan sport culture to come!

Duncaroos went way beyond the hedges this past year, venturing from London to Buenos Aires and also New Zealand ! Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a selection of Duncan students who studied abroad within the 2013-2014 schoolyear. London Global Urban Lab Program- Clara Roberts Arcadia Program in the University of Auckland in New Zealand-Aaron Rondina SIT Program for Social Movements and Human Rights in Buenos Aires, Argentina-Laurel Bingman

DURS provides a chance for members of Duncan to present their research to the community, compete for cash prizes, and practice before presenting at the Rice Undergraduate Research Symposium (RURS). We had the humanities and social science students give oral presentations, while the natural sciences and engineering students participate in a poster session. The event is judged by Duncan Associates. This year’s winners were: Colleen Fugate-Humanities and Social Sciences Award Recipient Drayton Thomas-Natural Sciences and Engineering (tie) Jimmy Juno-Natural Sciences and Engineering (tie) Research Description By Colleen Fugate – Duncan 2014 “The social, political, and economic transformations caused by human migration indelibly affect the communities from where migrants originate. My Watson year is rooted in these towns and cities and looks at the ways women navigate these changing contexts. How do women harness their own agency to get by in the face of transforming communities and ways of life? I will spend my year immersed in five national contexts, collecting and documenting women’s stories of strength and resilience through both writing and photography.” “The Thomas J. Watson Fellowship offers college graduates of “unusual promise” a year of independent, purposeful exploration and travel -- in international settings new to them -- to enhance their capacity for resourcefulness, imagination, openness, and leadership and to foster their humane and effective participation in the world community.” Research description by Drayton Thomas-2014 “Pricing Credit Default Swaps on Mortgage Backed Securities.”- By Drayton Thomas This project uses an in depth analysis of characteristics specific to Mortgage Backed Securities to more accurate valuate Credit Default Swaps on those assets. It also evaluates the financial impacts of failing to accurately take these considerations into account.

Goodbye (for now) to our RA Teams! The end of the 2013-2014 school year meant that Duncarooâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s had to say goodbye to our beloved second (Suzanne Kemmer and Michael Barlow) and third floor (Nick, Kate, and Lulu Pascuzzi) Resident Associate (RA) Teams. To our RAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s: not just your events, but your long-term selfless service to building our college is something we will always be grateful for ! Somos Equipo Somos Familia To Suzanne and Michael, (and their guinea pig Badger), we will miss your Cafe Lounges, Saturday Night British TV, and your endless supply of healthy treats! Also, your ability to unite Duncaroos near and far is a fond memory we will never forget! To Nick, Kate, and Lulu, we will miss your Sunday morning breakfasts, Friday Night Movies, and seriously impressive Superbowl cakes. You have helped make Duncan into what it is today!

A charity event complete with live music, delicious food, and tie dye in the Duncan quad. All proceeds benefit beloved Duncaroo Jamas Raganâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Triumph Over Kid Cancer Foundation.


stokc 2 0 1 4 Matt Makansi and Drew Petty demonstrate a new favorite Duncaroo pastime-Corn-hole. Not really sure if they won this round, but hey-at Duncan College the points donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t matter!


Sensation: Inspired by the Sensation raves made popular in Europe, Duncan Collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Sensation continues to be a campus-wide hit.

Duncstep: Two-stepping in Texas is a rite of passage, that Duncaroos are happy to teach ! A dry public party in the commons, it gives students near and far a chance to take fun pictures along with showing off their dancing skills !

No taxat Beer Bike ion with out inebr ia


the state of Models Ali Pineiro, Matt Cruz, chelsea Ward; Photographers Janet Ni, ARIYANEH NIKBIN

State of the roonian

Published on Apr 29, 2014