Traveling the Campus
It is recommended that all students either travel at night with a friend, use the campus shuttle, or call the University Police for an escort at x6000. Students should not walk about at night by themselves, especially when there are few others around. Shuttle buses run the inner loop, Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 10:45 p.m. every 5 minutes. On Monday through Thursday the Graduate route operates from 7:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. every 30 minutes, and on Friday night, the Graduate route is extended to serve the Rice Village until12:30 a.m. every 30 minutes, and the Greenbriar route operates from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every 5-8 minutes. The Texas Medical Center shuttle runs Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. every 30 minutes . During the school year on Saturday evenings, from 5:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m., a shuttle runs from the inner loop every 15 minutes to the Rice Village. On Saturday, all year, a shopping shuttle is provided from the Graduate Apartments to Target and Fiesta on Main Street from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every 30 minutes to Fiesta and Target. During the school year, a shopping shuttle is provided on Saturday at 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. every 30 minutes. For additional shuttle information, call 713-348-5996 or 5223 or go to http://park-trans.rice.edu/.
For added safety, security escort service is available by calling the University Police at 713-348-6000 or x3333. A night escort shuttle service runs from Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. On Friday and Saturday nights, the Rice Police Department provides the night escort service on request. On some occasions, individuals requesting escorts may need to wait, depending on staffing, call priority and volume of calls.
Weapons Prohibited
The possession of or use on campus of fireworks, ammunition, hazardous or explosive material, firearms, pellet and BB guns, illegal knives, other bladed weapons, clubs or other dangerous weapons is prohibited. Students are prohibited from possessing firearms on university premises, at university-sponsored events off campus, or in university vehicles used for transportation. This prohibition applies even to those licensed to carry concealed handguns under Texas law.
Registering Bicycles
Students are encouraged to register their bicycles with the University Police. The University Police will provide a sticker to identify the bicycle and engrave personal identifiers on the bike showing proof of ownership. In order to complete the bicycle registration you must access the following website: http://rupd.rice.edu/bicycle/.
Engraving Valuables
Undergraduate students: Interested students should bring their valuables to the University police officers visiting their college to engrave valuables early in the fall semester. The officers will assist students in preparing an inventory of their valuables. Students who live off-campus or miss the college visit may follow the procedures below.
Graduate students: Interested students should call the University Police Department and arrange to meet with a police officer to engrave an identifier on their property and prepare an inventory of valuables. Students may also check out the engraving tool from the University Police with a Rice ID.
Finding Lost Items
Send a description to the mailing list: lost-found-l@rice.edu. Your announcement will be posted on the Rice portal in the Lost and Found section. In addition, anyone who has subscribed to the mailing list will be notified when you send your message. Similarly, Rice Community Announcements should be sent to community-l@rice.edu for distribution to the mailing list recipients and for posting on the portal. Both Lost and Found and Community Announcements sections can be found near the bottom of the home page for the portal. To receive messages from these mailing lists, click on the Subscribe links in either section. Archived messages are also linked into these sections. Remember to proof-read your announcement before you send it to the lists; posted messages can't be deleted or edited. Report stolen items to RUPD at x6000.
Replacing a Rice ID
In the event that a Rice ID is lost or defective, go to the University Police Department. If the ID is damaged and no longer works in the card readers on campus it will be fixed free of charge. If the ID is lost or stolen, it can be replaced for a fee of $10. (Lost or stolen cards should also be reported to Fondren Library.)
It is against University regulations to hold more than one Rice ID or to lend (or give) the card to someone else. New Rice students will receive a Rice ID from the University Police. Students should carry their IDs at all times and make sure they work in the card readers. Students may be asked by University Police Officers to present their ID. Also, without an ID students may not check out books at Fondren Library or use their meal plan. Be aware of this when checking out materials or keys by surrendering an ID card.
Texas ID
To obtain a Texas ID, take an out-of-state driver's license or a birth certificate to an office of the Texas Department of Public Safety. For a recording of DPS office locations and hours, call (713) 957-6196.
In order to obtain alcohol on campus, students and guests of students must show one of the following three forms of identification: 1) a valid Texas driver's license,
2) an identification card issued by the State of Texas Department of Public Safety,
or 3) an out of state driver's license marked with an adhesive sticker acquired from the University Police. A Texas ID is also useful when writing checks around the city.