Sid Richardson College

Sid Richardson College is one of the nine residential colleges on the Rice University campus in Houston, Texas. Like the other seven residential colleges on the Rice campus, Sid Richardson College provides undergraduate residential and dining facilities, social organizations and student government, as well as faculty, alumni and community associates.

Sid Richardson College, also known by its student residents and alumni as "Sid," "SRC," "Sid Rich," or "Richardson College," was opened in 1971 as a men's residential college. A $2 million pledge from the Sid Richardson Foundation, which was established by Texas oilman, cattleman, and philanthropist Sid W. Richardson (1891-1959), funded the construction of the college. The college went co-ed in 1987. Richardson College is the tallest building on Rice campus - while there are only seven floors, each residential floor is split into upper and lower levels and the first floor has a very high ceiling, pushing the building's overall height to the equivalent of fourteen stories.

In addition to providing basic residential and social services to its residents, Richardson College is rich with traditions, which have included some notorious pranks. For example, Richardson students have made use of the six balconies towering above the main entrance of the college to "douche" unsuspecting visitors--including past Rice University president George Rupp and his wife--with buckets of water as they climb the steps to the double doors. While such "free-flowing water" is the only sanctioned projectile, rogue students have also flung flour tortillas and, in one particularly infamous situation, a flaming couch. Other unique pastimes include Balcony Ball, Vatoring, and Death Ball. On Fridays, the Sid Stacks blast "Radio Free Sid" (the named derived from Radio Free Europe of the Cold War era) with a pair of Klipsch La Scalas across the campus from the 7th floor balcony. Radio Free Sid begins and ends each roughly 3-hour-long set with AC/DC's "Back in Black." 80's Party and Tower Party are two of the main social events each year.

Richardson College has not historically achieved great success in the traditional Beer-Bike competition. In recent years, a tradition has emerged wherein the Richardson men's team intentionally disqualify themselves using any of a variety of means. They have been consistently successful in this goal every year since 1991 (with the exception of the races of 2003 and 2007, both of which were foot races due to inclement weather).

External links

*Guide to the Rice University Sid Richardson College Archives [http://www.rice.edu/fondren/woodson/archives/uasidrich.html]
*Sid Richardson College Website [http://www.sidrichardson.net]