Wants Your Stories
Reaching beyond the hedges: Book aims to illustrate Rice University's greaterimpact in Houston
Houston, It's Worth It
Despite not having any official city designation, no slogan has come to epitomize Bayou City better than the "Houston. It's Worth It" campaign of recent years, full of personal accounts of the city's charms despite what the project terms "the twenty afflictions" — mosquitos, potholes, humidity, etc.
After the original HIWI collection and a book about Hurricane Ike and its aftermath, Houston It's Worth It is producing a third tome, this time about Rice University and its impact in Houston, both for students and other residents.
HIWI: Rice is timed to correspond with the university's centennial celebration and is currently soliciting both photos and short stories about what "the Institute" means to Houstonians.
There’s a well known expression about how Rice students “stay behind the hedges.” There may be some truth to that but we all know that Rice has played an influential role, in countless different ways, in the lives of Houstonians for, well, a century. So we want to dispel that simplistic notion by publishing another great collection of comments, stories, and photographs that show your own unique perspective.
We’re looking for any anecdotes, souvenirs, or indelible memories. ... We see this book being part love letter, part roast, part remembrance. We’re looking for anything that reflects this venerable institution's presence in our community. From concerts to sporting events, art exhibits to summer camps, running the trail to falling in love — even tying the knot. Have you ever shot bottle rockets in the parking lot? Were you there for Kennedy’s speech? Ever knocked back a few at Valhalla? Do the words “Beer Bike” mean anything to you?
What are your favorite Rice memories? And what Houston institution or event should HIWI tackle next?
Sante's Garden Room is decorated with two olive trees.
Photo by Chris Furia