Martel College begins searching for members

Most graduating seniors are fairly sure they will receive a degree at Rice's May 12 commencement . Who will speak at the event, however, remains up in the air. T h e 2001 C o m m e n c e m e n t Speaker Committee will meet in the next week to discuss additional possibilities for this year 's speaker. For various reasons, none of the e ight c and ida t e s who were approached accepted the invitation to speak at commencement (see box, Page 8). Members of the Class of 2001 voted in March from a list of 33 nominees. The committee then submitted to President Malcolm Gillis its list of 11 recommended candidates, consisting of the top 10 voteget ters plus writer I.arry McMurtry, who graduated from Rice in 1958 and received his M.A. from Rice in 1960, as an additional candidate from the Rice community. In late spring and through the summer, Gillis and Assistant to the President Mark Scheid contacted the candidates the university felt would make suitable speakers. Most of the candidates declined See COMMITTEE, Page 8