On Friday, I had two fun meetings with leaders of two of Rice’s most revered traditions. In the afternoon, I met with the Beer-Bike coordinators, Teddy Grodek and Phillip Tarpley, to hear their plans for this year’s big day. I’m impressed by their understanding of the complexities of the event and by their vision of the future of Beer-Bike. In the evening, I had the pleasure of joining our student director of O-week, Katherine McConachie, and the newly selected O-week coordinators at Lyle’s for the start of their workshop. They are a wonderful group, energetic and creative.
In both cases, I was reminded of a significant challenge our student leaders face. Innovation is exciting and change brings constant improvement, but traditions are strong and everyone resists change in tradition. College campuses are particularly resistant to change. I think it is vitally important that we support our students who are willing to see possibilities for improvement, whether in greater safety, more inclusive participation, or more fun. Some changes occur by accident, others by necessity. But the best changes come from a vision of what might be and a willingness to face the inevitable resistance. I applaud their ingenuity and their courage.
As a personal note, Paula and I are writing this blog at 40,000 ft while flying to Tacoma to meet our new grandson, Parker, for the first time! I’ll post a picture on the Dean Hutch facebook page when we get there.