The British System vs. Orange Power
Culture Wars: Forget the football game, does Rice or Texas provide the better college experience?
Editor's note: In this regular series, CultureMap staffers, contributors and selected experts will audio debate issues in the city.
The University of Texas and Rice University don't play in college football at Reliant Stadium until Saturday afternoon, but the battle has already begin in offices around Houston — including CultureMap's. The debate isn't over the outcome of the game itself, which seems long predetermined (Texas, the No. 4-ranked team in the country, is a more than 28-point favorite in Las Vegas).
Rather it's about being an Owl or a Longhorn and which is the better college experience.
CultureMap associate editor Sarah Rufca (who graduated from Rice) and senior account executive Meredith Riddle (a Longhorn alum) bring the laughter to war (is that allowed?) agree on a number of things (including Saturday's winner). Still, there's clearly a Rice way of looking at things and a Texas approach to viewing the world.
Which outlook is better? Who makes the more convincing points? Are you captivated by the British system of dorm life or the sheer power of Orange? Are you on Team Sarah or Team Meredith?
(Note to Rice fans, this could be your best shot at winning something this weekend).
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Photo by Leonid Furmansky