Elizabeth Woodson – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Fri, 09 Oct 2015 03:27:25 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Elizabeth Woodson – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 Response to Stanford’s release of the climate survey results https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/09/me-kk-response-to-stanfords-release-of-the-climate-survey-results/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/10/09/me-kk-response-to-stanfords-release-of-the-climate-survey-results/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2015 18:00:06 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1104565 Reading the results of Stanford’s climate survey on sexual assault last week, you may have been confused. I definitely was. 1.9% of Stanford students experience sexual assault? Unfortunately, that seemed shockingly low. Peer institutions have taken similar surveys in the past year and reported tenfold times that occurrence. Is Stanford really that different? Absolutely not. The results of Stanford’s climate survey are easily misunderstood without a thorough grasp of what our definitions mean.

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Reading the results of Stanford’s climate survey on sexual assault last week, you may have been confused. I definitely was. 1.9 percent of Stanford students experience sexual assault? Unfortunately, that seemed shockingly low. Peer institutions have taken similar surveys in the past year and reported ten times that occurrence. Is Stanford really that different?

Absolutely not. The results of Stanford’s climate survey are easily misunderstood without a thorough grasp of what our definitions mean.

This past year, I spent hundreds of hours co-chairing the Provost’s Task Force on Sexual Assault during my term as student body president. The result was a report of recommendations to be implemented campus-wide over the coming three years. We made the decision, of which I remain supportive, to narrow Stanford’s definition of sexual assault to very specific, egregious activity that is consistent with California’s penal code. As the report states, and university policy implemented on 3/31/15, “Under university policy (Administrative Guide 1.7.3), sexual assault is defined as engaging in certain sexual acts (such as intercourse) without indication of consent accomplished by means of force, violence, duress, or menace (defined consistently with California rape law) or where a person causes or takes advantage of another in an incapacitated state.”

Here, there is no grey area. Everyone on the task force, and every community member that I spoke to, agreed that expulsion should be our community’s response to such intentional acts of violence.

Specific language at the extreme end of the spectrum means that we can have more confidence that those who should no longer be a part of our community are indeed expelled. But there was a clear trade off – Stanford’s category of sexual misconduct expanded drastically to include everything from unwanted touching to nonconsensual sexual acts up to the legal definition of violence and incapacitation. This includes severe behavior that many agree is also a gross violation of our fundamental standard.

In light of this concern, the task force recommended that all sanctioning begin at expulsion and go down from there. “Reviewing panels,” the report states, “after they have determined that a student is responsible for a violating policy, should begin their consideration of sanctions with the most serious sanction, expulsion, and only then should the panel consider the less serious sanctions.”

At the time more than six months ago, and from a policy perspective, achieving a specific and legally robust definition for sexual assault was an important step towards achieving a safe campus. But I never anticipated that this language would be used to confuse what is a reality of sexual violence at Stanford.

Consuming statistics and campus climate surveys documenting sexual violence is incredibly difficult because there is no required standardization of definitions. This follows a trend in the national dialogue that largely ignores important nuances involved with the issues of sexual violence. Stanford’s climate survey states “the results presented below cannot validly be compared to those from other institutions or in academic publications” (20). And, in theory, I agree.

But the language used by Stanford is now so different from others that I feel it is critical to bring some clarity to the inevitable comparisons that will be made. So, what do the statistics from Stanford’s climate survey on sexual assault actually mean?  

First, those responsible for the acts of sexual assault experienced by that 1.9 percent of our overall student body should be in jail right now. As our report stated, “If an individual were convicted of this conduct in a criminal proceeding, the person so convicted would likely face prison time.” As we know, only one person has ever been expelled from Stanford due to sexual violence, so there is a clear disconnect here that I hope the new, clearer definition of sexual assault will address.

Second, the number of Stanford students who have experienced sexual violence, when more broadly defined, is striking.

To take a step back, Yale defines sexual assault as “any kind of nonconsensual sexual contact, including rape, groping, and any other nonconsensual sexual touching” and recently reported 16 percent of students overall experiencing attempted or completed actions in that category. If we were we to apply that lens to Stanford’s climate survey results, and in effect combine Stanford’s definitions of sexual assault and misconduct, 16.1 percent of students surveyed have had such experiences.  

Third, stating overall statistics that combine the experiences of all gender identities does not make sense. It has been well-documented that women experience sexual assault at a higher rate than men, and that men are even less likely than women to report. Stanford’s climate survey notes on multiple instances that undergraduate women, specifically first- and second-year students, are at the most risk of sexual violence. As long as these truths persist, it is critical to share gender- and age-specific data. Taking this lens to Stanford’s data, 37.7 percent of female undergraduates have experienced sexual assault or sexual misconduct. One recent article based on student response to the climate survey data release took this a step further, noting that 43.3 percent of undergraduate senior females at Stanford have experienced either sexual assault or sexual misconduct.

Language is critical, and can easily be confusing. I am deeply saddened by the language that Stanford has chosen to use in the release of our climate survey data. In my opinion, it is masking the legitimate extent of this atrocious problem at our university. I fear that those who do not want to see this problem will point to a statistic of 1.9 percent and feel they have license to draw a conclusion that rape does not happen at Stanford. That would be a severe mistake.

As a research institution, Stanford values data. I remain supportive of the climate survey in helping us collect Stanford-specific data on the issue of sexual violence, and am grateful to the 9,067 students who took the time to fill it out.

But as we have been reminded, we are a learning community. We must apply our critical analytical skills to all materials we consume, and this climate survey is no exception. Please, take the time to read Stanford’s definitions. Take the time to understand what the task force report is asking Stanford to deliver, and make it your job to see our words turned into action. That will get us closer to realizing the President and Provost’s call to action to address this issue as a community and achieve our shared goal of a campus free of sexual assault.

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at elizabethnwoodson ‘at’ gmail.com.

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This Saturday: your one chance to experience “Higher Ground” https://stanforddaily.com/2014/02/27/this-saturday-your-one-chance-to-experience-higher-ground/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/02/27/this-saturday-your-one-chance-to-experience-higher-ground/#respond Fri, 28 Feb 2014 07:56:16 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1082828 Higher Ground,” a student-created musical, will debut this Saturday, March 1, at 7 p.m. in Dinkelspiel Auditorium. This musical seeks to establish the legacy of gospel music through a powerful synthesis of student actors, choreographers from Stanford’s dance department, the student a capella group Talisman, a choir from San Jose and deep historical research.

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Courtesy of John C Liau.
Courtesy of John C Liau.

Higher Ground,” a student-created musical, will debut this Saturday, March 1, at 7 p.m. in Dinkelspiel Auditorium. This musical seeks to establish the legacy of gospel music through a powerful synthesis of student actors, choreographers from Stanford’s dance department, the student a capella group Talisman, a choir from San Jose and deep historical research.

The piece travels through time and space to the antebellum American South, various revival periods of the 20th century on the West Coast, the Gospel Golden Age, apartheid in South Africa and current narratives of justice influenced by that musical power.

While that breadth constitutes a lot of ground to cover in one performance, embodying versatility is a core tenet of gospel music. It has delivered praise, accompanied work, honored burial, comforted grief, planned escape, spread knowledge and still finds meaning within the heart of a 21st century listener.

This is one of our country’s first art forms— these songs have initiated and elevated social movements from every era and location. Yet a real understanding of the gravity of gospel music’s history is missing from the immediate recognition you feel when you hear “This Little Light of Mine.”

Jessica Anderson ’14 has sought to address this void. Having sung for over a decade, from theatre to jazz, her musical style arises from a “large medley of sounds.” At Stanford, Anderson has directed the Gospel Choir and starred in “The Color Purple.” Creation, to Anderson, has been a continuous part of life, choreographing entire shows to Stevie Wonder albums as a little girl.

This Saturday’s performance will demonstrate that Anderson has found not only a place to pursue art but also to create it, featuring her own talent as a performer but also tokens from various experiences— from connecting with former members of the Committee for Black Performing Arts to academic research— spanning her time at Stanford.

“A major lesson I learned was there is a way to pay homage to people,” Anderson explained. “One way is to play up individual strength, reminding them of their own worth.”

Make it out to Dinkelspiel Auditorium on Saturday at 7 p.m. Get there early, as it’s first-come, first-show. Allow the experience to find you, question you, move you. Because this is what Stanford is about— loving, seeking experiences to pursue that love, synthesizing findings around it, and producing a collaborative whole to honor it. So whether you are currently writing a term paper or founding a start-up, come take part in Anderson’s legacy of the power in intentional connection.

 

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson “at” stanford.edu.

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Cecile McLorin Salvant Captivates Valentine’s Day Audience at Bing https://stanforddaily.com/2014/02/20/cecile-mclorin-salvant-captivates-valentines-day-audience-at-bing/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/02/20/cecile-mclorin-salvant-captivates-valentines-day-audience-at-bing/#respond Fri, 21 Feb 2014 07:59:36 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1082531 This Valentine’s Day, Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall was graced by the presence of singer Cecile McLorin Salvant, whose unique talent is resurrecting the art of jazz in the 21st century. Announced from the stage, Salvant presented a program that refreshingly broke from the traditional collection of love songs expected on this day. Spanning genres, eras and emotions, Salvant sang jazz standards like “I Only Have Eyes for You”, excerpts from musical productions such as the “Step Sister’s Lament” from Cinderella, the soundtrack from a 1928 silent film “Laugh Clown Laugh.” It quickly became clear that one should not attempt to guess what was coming next.

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Courtesy of John Abbott.
Courtesy of John Abbott.

This Valentine’s Day, Stanford’s Bing Concert Hall was graced by the presence of singer Cecile McLorin Salvant, whose unique talent is resurrecting the art of jazz in the 21st century. Announced from the stage, Salvant presented a program that refreshingly broke from the traditional collection of love songs expected on this day. Spanning genres, eras and emotions, Salvant sang jazz standards like “I Only Have Eyes for You”, excerpts from musical productions such as the “Step Sister’s Lament” from Cinderella, the soundtrack from a 1928 silent film “Laugh Clown Laugh.” It quickly became clear that one should not attempt to guess what was coming next.

With Salvant, that unpredictability is a hallmark. She began her study of jazz while spending time in the South of France at age 18. She had always sung opera, but jazz? Not until she was stopped in the street by an elderly saxophone player who insisted that she join a jam session he was hosting that evening. This man would become her only jazz teacher. A mere five years later, at age 23, Salvant was the first-prize recipient of the Thelonius Monk International Jazz Competition. One might think this recognition would render the recipient a pompous diva. The opposite is true with Salvant.

Her humility was palpable from the moment she entered the stage, last in line behind the drummer, pianist, and bassist. She moved slowly, hands clasped across a full-throated red dress, manner unassuming yet elegant. Immediately, it was clear that Salvant was savoring every moment, and the audience followed her lead. She spent the majority of the concert facing away from us. The music moved her, sometimes out of the circle of light, inside which every performer is taught one must stay in order to retain the attention of the audience. But these antiquated rules of success do not apply to Salvant. She is comfortable in that darkness and will leave the light whenever she feels so inclined without being lost from view or forgotten by the audience.

Salvant’s unpredictability is the underpinning to her uniqueness. It seems that a range of ages exists in her body, summoned effortlessly and immediately when called upon. At times, Salvant embodied a young girl, voice high and airy as if floating above the auditorium as in “I Didn’t Know What Time It Was”, the timeless classic Salvant proclaimed as “my favorite, favorite, favorite, favorite”. A millisecond later, the depth of tone and wisdom found only in an 80-year old sage would emerge, octaves below what could be dreamed possible from her previous tone. And no air existed between these monumental peaks and troughs. Transitions were breathless, pure and smooth.

A very unique piece in the program was “You Bring Out the Savage in Me”, made famous in the 1930s. With lyrics that once must have shocked listeners, this piece viscerally showcased Salvant’s vocal depth, but through her trademark subtlety. The centerpiece of the song was a mesmerizing solo by the drummer, Pete Van Nostrand, involving every surface offered by the instrument. It must be noted that Salvant’s other two band members, bassist Paul Siviki and pianist Aaron Diehl, were also phenomenal. They possessed the true mark of excellence— you did not notice them when Salvant sang, but their solos were completely mesmerizing.

The pinnacle of the evening was Salvant’s rendition of Billie Holiday’s classic, “What a Little Moonlight Can Do”. It was almost impossible to link this musical innovation to its original fast-paced jingle. She began the piece with a chill-inducing series of oohs in the high register of her voice that automatically fills the listener with memories. She slid into the recognizable melody for intervals only long enough to remind the listener of the song’s roots. But no one was complaining, the audience would have happily followed her voice on whatever path she embarked and this song was no exception.

A standing ovation followed Salvant off the stage, pleading for more. Her single encore was dedicated to every audience member currently without a Valentine, the announcement of which received bemused (and perhaps appreciative) laughter. When Salvant began the immediately recognizable strands of Somewhere from Bernstein’s and Sondheim’s West Side Story, the audience released an energy that could be felt. Longing, memories, expectant, innocent, appreciative— the emotions evoked by her incredible talent are innumerable. This is a singer I will proudly tell my grandchildren that I got the chance to see performing live at the start of her career.

 

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson “at” stanford.edu.

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Stanford’s Chocolate Heads Movement Band Brings High Energy Dance to Campus https://stanforddaily.com/2014/02/20/stanfords-chocolate-heads-movement-band-brings-high-energy-dance-to-campus/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/02/20/stanfords-chocolate-heads-movement-band-brings-high-energy-dance-to-campus/#respond Fri, 21 Feb 2014 07:58:00 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1082561 Last Thursday, the Chocolate Heads Movement Band lifted the edge of the curtain to reveal our creation-in-progress: the second annual UnShow. The standing audience looked down from the stairs and balconies of the Cantor Arts Center lobby as our story unfolded in black light.

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Courtesy of Jae-Young Son.
Courtesy of Jae-Young Son.

Last Thursday, the Chocolate Heads Movement Band lifted the edge of the curtain to reveal our creation-in-progress: the second annual UnShow. The standing audience looked down from the stairs and balconies of the Cantor Arts Center lobby as our story unfolded in black light.

Created in 2009 by Aleta Hayes, a lecturer in the Dance division of the Theater and Performance Studies department, Chocolate Heads brings together energies from all molecules of Stanford, including graduate medical school students, computer scientists, writers, researchers. All are artists. Why? “Because everyone in Chocolate Heads is a rock star,” declares Hayes. And what she declares to be truth becomes it. This woman embodies creation, disseminating it at every step.

It was last year at the UnShow that my obsession with the group began. The invisible fingers it projected, breaking down the wall between spectator and spectacle, were addictive to me. It was connected, it was alive, and I had to become a part of it.

My first question upon joining in fall of 2013 was the name… a movement band? Isn’t this a dance troupe? Am I supposed to bring an instrument? The band originates from the power of our live musicians who co-create each piece with us as the movement evolves from sparks of ideas to a polished whole. Movement, as understood by the Chocolate Heads, involves physical displacement, velocity, air, connectivity, stillness and dance.

Our intention is to offer others the experience of being moved to tears, to laughter, to contemplation and to rejuvenation. We seek to provide experiences of recognition, of connection. Should the audience remain static, we have failed.

Finally, as an impact geek, I’m always thinking about social change.  Movements describe coordinated and passionate human efforts against oppression and toward unity. Each Chocolate Heads rehearsal begins and ends with unified action— bouncing, swinging, walking, jumping, all to one heartbeat. When all become one, a new heartbeat of feet is created. It is from that place that social movements have and always will arise.

The movement trifecta informs each decision in Chocolate Heads. “Why?” is constantly being asked. Our narrative is in constant consideration. We share consciousness, piecing together individuals and movement cycles in order to tell a story. Nothing is for exposition.

Our power comes from connectedness. From oneness. From nowness. This is incredibly appropriate for our era, so dominated by immediacy. The Mayfield Fellowship experience demonstrated to me that technology generates movement from the same constraints and ingredients as Chocolate Heads does. Are not production processes founded in communication and collaboration? That’s movement. This spring, Chocolate Heads will be releasing an app, Chocolate Head-Space.

Being a band member of Chocolate Heads has provided me another arena to practice problem solving. Diverse, iterative and empathy-driven, this group brings what I find most addictive about Stanford into one experience. Moving, we move others to create a movement. Won’t you join us?

 

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson “at” stanford.edu.

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Violin virtuoso Joshua Bell dazzles Bing audience https://stanforddaily.com/2014/02/14/violin-virtuoso-joshua-bell-dazzles-bing-audience/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/02/14/violin-virtuoso-joshua-bell-dazzles-bing-audience/#respond Fri, 14 Feb 2014 08:00:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1082352 Joshua Bell has been described as a “poet of violin,” a title he confirmed with gusto on Saturday night at Bing Concert Hall. Bringing life and drama to a program that featured musicians from disparate eras, from Giuseppe Tartini to Igor Stravinsky, Bell ravished the sold-out audience in a show that lasted almost two hours.

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Correction: In a previous version of this article, The Daily incorrectly reported that the second encore was a piece by Vitali. In fact, the second encore was Polonaise Brillante in D, Op. 4 by Henri Wieniawski. The Daily regrets this error.

Photo by Chris Lee, Courtesy of Stanford Live.
Photo by Chris Lee, Courtesy of Stanford Live.

Joshua Bell has been described as a “poet of violin,” a title he confirmed with gusto on Saturday night at Bing Concert Hall. Bringing life and drama to a program that featured musicians from disparate eras, from Giuseppe Tartini to Igor Stravinsky, Bell ravished the sold-out audience in a show that lasted almost two hours.

Bell’s world-class technique and stunning bow control created an effortless connection of musical lines in unusual and poignant ways. The violinist brought his very best on Saturday evening: not a single note was left unaccounted for, as he accentuated not just the clear musical cornerstones of each piece but also the minute tonal details.

Such characteristic skill was made apparent early on in the way Bell handled the cadenza at the end of the program’s first piece, Tartini’s “Sonata in G Minor.” Cadenzas, short inserts composed by the artist that exist for the sole purpose of showing off skill, are generally dramatic affairs that the artist purposefully disconnects from the rest of the piece as a demonstration of individuality.

Such overt validation of skill, however, was not necessary for Bell. He stopped neither at the start nor end of his cadenza, which consisted wholly of double-stop chords and involved strenuous string-crossings.

As the piano ceased its accompaniment for those few moments, the entire concert hall seemed to be holding their breath as the sound of Bell and his 1713 Huberman Stradivarius fully filled the cavernous space.

Bell’s performance of Tartini was energetic and dramatic, perhaps reflective of a composition written in response to a dream in which Tartini made a pact with the devil. While the very feat of playing the piece was meant to kill the violinist through pure exhaustion, Bell handled the second movement, a fury of four-string chords and too many trills to count, effortlessly.

Bell also played Beethoven’s “Violin Sonata No. 10 in G Major,” a piece composed half a century after the Tartini work. It was a more lyrical and serene piece, culminating in a surprising ending that left the audience in an ovation that lasted minutes.

The third piece in Bell’s performance was Stravinsky’s “Divertimento for Violin And Piano,” inspired by Tchaikovsky, whom the 11-year-old Stravinsky had the privilege of seeing only two weeks before his death.

Passive listening was not an option during the performance Bell’s powerful presence was immediately enthralling. He became one with the instrument, breathing according to the ebbs and flows, peaks and valleys of the musical landscape he was creating.

It was thrilling, as an audience member, to hear life breathed into the music as it bubbles into being. Perhaps the best example of Bell’s presence was his conclusions. Whether he whipped the bow across the instrument, fully extending his arm as if wielding a sword in the final blow of battle, or maintained the bow’s connection in perfect stillness, those final moments of silence following each piece’s conclusion were sacred ground.

Bell received an immediate standing ovation after the designated program was complete. He graciously surprised the audience by performing two more pieces: Rachmaninoff’s “Vocalise” and a show-stopping piece by Wieniawski. Another standing ovation followed, and all that could be heard leaving the auditorium were the awed responses from the mesmerized crowd.

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson “at” stanford.edu.

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The Impact of Intention https://stanforddaily.com/2014/01/16/the-impact-of-intention/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/01/16/the-impact-of-intention/#respond Fri, 17 Jan 2014 07:30:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1081575 In order for an action to have worth, it must be rooted in good intentions. But does it apply to the realm of social impact and acts of public service?

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In order for an action to have worth, it must be rooted in good intentions. Many would nod in support of this statement, and personally, I agree. But does it apply to the realm of social impact and acts of public service?

Before diving into that question, learning from a source of analogous inspiration can be helpful (shout-out to the d.school). In the United States legal system, intent has great affect on determining the crime and punishment of an offender. Malice aforethought — intent to kill — must be proven to convict someone of murder. It results in the most severe punishment for crimes involving the death of another human being.

Voluntary manslaughter, a lesser offense, is “an intentional killing that is accompanied by additional circumstances that mitigate, but do not excuse, the killing.” Emotions such as anger, fear or desperation reduce the severity of the crime from a murder to voluntary manslaughter. Intent is also central to the definition of involuntary manslaughter, “the unlawful killing of another human being without intent.” This version of the same act receives the most lenient punishment. Should the importance of intent translate as heavily to the creation of social good as well as harm?

64.5 million people volunteered 7.9 billion hours in 2012, including 63 percent of millennials (citizens aged 16-35). These individuals, whatever their motivation, are the engine upon which many nonprofits depend to provide the services so badly needed in our communities. I have never come across an organization that requires proof of pure purpose as a prerequisite to donating time or money. But should they? Does intention affect service?

Qualms about the factors initiating good deeds have been around for centuries, as noted by Dan Kadlec for TIME magazine. “The Chinese Zen Master Chuang-Tzu argued in the 4th century B.C. that most philanthropy was meant to further one’s own business or personal interests,” he points out in an article questioning why the reasons people give matter — as long as they do give.

There exist many combinations of either better or worse intentions leading to successful or failed outcomes. Examples include corporate giving — successful service performed for ulterior motives, and well-intentioned service resulting in disastrous consequences (such as Westerners serving abroad). These do not prove a point, but they do illustrate two things that are certain.

First, good intentions do not guarantee positive social impact. Dambisa Moyo, author of “Dead Aid,” is one spokesperson for this truth. Second, we have the responsibility of measuring outcomes regardless of intent. Stanford’s Paul Brest, previously of the Hewlett Foundation, teaches a course entitled Managing to Outcomes and has written and spoken on the topic for the Stanford Social Innovation Review and Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society. Not every solution is expected to work perfectly, but full effort must be given to ensuring the successful creation of positive social impact. Beyond that, it is necessary to record lessons learned from failures and share them to prevent future blundering of others.

So…does intention affect impact? Should high school-aged volunteers have to prove they are serving only to promote social good and not because an upcoming college application will expect it? I do not believe that intent should have that much weight. I cannot shake my instinct that any endeavor is better accomplished when one’s aims align with the purpose of the end goal. However, when we are faced with so many severe challenges, we cannot afford the luxury of deeming certain acts of service less than others and must focus all energy on positive outcomes.

 

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson@stanford.edu

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Seeding Social Impact https://stanforddaily.com/2014/01/09/seeding-social-impact-2/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/01/09/seeding-social-impact-2/#respond Fri, 10 Jan 2014 07:07:58 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1081371 It’s a fact: Silicon Valley and Stanford University are inextricably connected. In my opinion, the connection is valuable and particularly additive in the field of social impact.

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It’s a fact: Silicon Valley and Stanford University are inextricably connected. The New Yorker’s April 2012 article “Get Rich U” by Ken Aluetta voiced concerns about this relationship, but in my opinion, the connection is valuable and particularly additive in the field of social impact.

A few Silicon Valley-isms that are seeping into the world of doing-good and supporting young people in achieving change: the ubiquity of accepting and progressing from failure, a ‘get-out-and-try-it’ mentality, the importance of building empathy with your user, a prerogative to solve big problems, the commonality of adolescent CEOs…The list of trends goes on.

I want to focus on seed funding — chunks of capital, usually under $1 million, provided to an entrepreneur whose venture is in the idea stage. Seed money mitigates risk enough to test the product, market, and/or team, and hopefully prove that the concept can go from idea to company.

Traditionally, this money comes mostly out of the pockets of friends and family, but the process is now more institutionalized and popular. Seed funding is currently at an all-time high in the venture capital world.

“Last year, about half of all venture deals were in the seed and early stages — the highest proportion since 1985,” noted Nathan Heller in his recent article, “Bay Watched.” Prominent venture capital firms, such as KPCB, Khosla Ventures and Floodgate recognize the importance of supporting promising ideas and their creators in the initial stage.

Some venture capital groups even make their support for positive social change explicit. Sequoia has made “charities the backbone of our client base.” Their Great Causes initiative supports hospitals, foundations and other social change organizations as Sequoia’s investments profit. Another example is RSF in San Francisco, which only invests in nonprofits and is “dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money.” They also recently launched a Social Impact Fellowship program.

The positive ideology around financing young people with big ideas is spreading, which is great news for those interested specifically in positive social impact. Why? Seed funding supports thinking that is valuable to social impact initiatives.

Innovations are much better placed to flourish when given early financial support that can encourage user testing and product iteration. Accessing unrestricted funds for this is challenging for nonprofit social change organizations. Instead of devaluing the nuts and bolts, VCs encourage supporting the backend elements — development and overhead — in seed-funded ventures.

Lack of this kind of support is common in nonprofits, as noted by SSIR’s article “The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle.” Secondly, it is a reality that money flows define value in our society. Funding social impact initiatives signal that public sector problem solving has worth.

This was one of the main factors that inspired Steve and Anita Westly to create the Westly Prize, an annual initiative of their foundation that awards four young people with $20,000 each to pursue a problem-solving innovation. “We want to incentivize young people to try big things, to take risks, to be leaders. We hope that the Westly Prize will help in demonstrating the importance of working toward the public good,” Mr. Westly explained. This is venture capital seed funding, but for under-28-year-olds in California focused on social change.

Kiah Williams, one of last year’s winners, voiced her appreciation of the prize’s flexibility. “Having unrestricted funds was hugely important<\p>…<\p>it allowed us to ask ourselves how we can do what we do better, and then actually implement it.” SIRUM, William’s organization, connects clinics and donated drugs from suppliers, pharmacies and health facilities.

Williams noted that the prize allowed SIRIM to replenish areas that had been bootstrapped by her and fellow founders in the organization’s early phases, as well as experiment with technologies to improve company-efficiency, not to mention the added-value of mere monetary recognition from a respected source. “It means a lot that someone like Steve Westly, who has had a great for-profit career, is demonstrating interest in the innovative ideas of young people,” said Williams.

The Westly Foundation also initiated Social Impact Grants, a new program through Stanford’s Haas Center for Public Service granting up to $1,000. Structured by the Haas’s Principles of Ethical and Effective Service, students are free to use the money in the manner that best helps them.

Such support is, of course, not new in concept. Monolithic examples include Jeff Skoll, who has been supporting social entrepreneurs since 1999, and of course Bill Drayton has been leading the way for multiple decades. But these small-quantity, high-impact funds specifically for young people seem to follow the flow of Silicon Valley in a unique way that meets the need of this young population to create.

As Steve Westly explained, a generation ago an entrepreneur had to be 40 or 50 years old to achieve real change. The Nobel Prizes exists, but usually marks the end of an individual’s career. But in this technological era, you can solve a big problem in the world when you’re 16. Investing in that reality — through venture capital or foundation dollars — is critical. I look forward to seeing social impact being more and more supported by our Silicon Valley ecosystem.

 

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson@stanford.edu

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Seeding Social Impact https://stanforddaily.com/2013/11/22/seeding-social-impact/ https://stanforddaily.com/2013/11/22/seeding-social-impact/#comments Fri, 22 Nov 2013 21:49:19 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1080775 The positive ideology around financing young people with big ideas is spreading, which is great news for those interested specifically in positive social impact. Why? Seed funding supports thinking that is valuable to social impact initiatives.

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It’s a fact: Silicon Valley and Stanford University are inextricably connected. The New Yorker’s April 2012 article Get Rich U voiced concerns about this relationship, but in my opinion, one area where the connection is particularly valuable and especially additive is in the field of social impact.

A few Silicon Valley-isms and traits are seeping into the world of doing good and supporting young people in achieving change: the ubiquity of accepting and progressing from failure, a “get-out-and-try-it” mentality, the importance of building empathy with your user, a prerogative to solve big problems, the growing pervasiveness of adolescent CEOs, etc. The list of trends goes on.

I want to focus on seed funding — chunks of capital, usually under $1 million, provided to an entrepreneur whose venture is in the idea stage. Seed money mitigates risk to test the product, market and/or team, and hopefully allow a concept to progress from an idea to an actual company.

Traditionally, this money comes mostly out of the pockets of friends and family, but the process is now more institutionalized and popular. Seed funding is currently at an all-time high in the venture capital world.

“Last year, about half of all venture deals were in the seed and early stages — the highest proportion since 1985,” noted Nathan Heller in his recent article, “Bay Watched.” Prominent venture capital firms, such as KPCB, Khosla Ventures and Floodgate recognize the importance of supporting promising ideas and their creators in the initial stage.

Some venture capital groups even make their support for positive social change explicit. Sequoia has made “charities the backbone of [their] client base.” Their Great Causes initiative supports hospitals, foundations and other social change organizations as Sequoia’s investments profit.

Another example is RSF in San Francisco, which only invests in nonprofits and is “dedicated to transforming the way the world works with money.” They also recently launched a Social Impact Fellowship program.

The positive ideology around financing young people with big ideas is spreading, which is great news for those interested specifically in positive social impact. Why? Seed funding supports thinking that is valuable to social impact initiatives.

Innovations are much better placed to flourish when given early financial support that can encourage user testing and product iteration. Accessing unrestricted funds for this is challenging for nonprofit social change organizations. Instead of devaluing the nuts and bolts, VCs encourage supporting the backend elements — development and overhead — in seed-funded ventures.

Lack of this kind of support is common in nonprofits, as noted by SSIR’s article “The Nonprofit Starvation Cycle.” Secondly, it is a reality that money flows define value in our society. Funding social impact initiatives signal that public-sector problem solving has worth.

This was one of the main factors that inspired Steve and Anita Westly to create the Westly Prize, an annual initiative of their foundation that awards four young people with $20,000 each to pursue a problem-solving innovation.

“We want to incentivize young people to try big things, to take risks, to be leaders. We hope that the Westly Prize will help in demonstrating the importance of working toward the public good,” Mr. Westly explained in our interview. This is venture capital seed funding, but for under-28-year-olds in California focused on social change.

Kiah Williams, one of last year’s winners, voiced her appreciation of the Prize’s flexibility. “Having unrestricted funds was hugely important…it allowed us to ask ourselves how we can do what we do better, and then actually implement it.” SIRUM, William’s organization, connects clinics and donated drugs from suppliers, pharmacies and health facilities.

Williams noted that the Prize allowed SIRIM to replenish areas that had been bootstrapped by her and fellow founders in the organization’s early phases, as well as experiment with technologies to improve company efficiency, not to mention the added value of mere monetary recognition from a respected source.

“It means a lot that someone like Steve Westly, who has had a great for-profit career, is demonstrating interest in the innovative ideas of young people,” said Williams.

The Westly Foundation also initiated Social Impact Grants, a new program through Stanford’s Haas Center for Public Service granting up to $1,000. Structured by the Haas’s Principles of Ethical and Effective Service, students are free to use the money in the manner that best helps them.

Such support is of course not new in concept. Seminal examples include Jeff Skoll, who has been supporting social entrepreneurs since 1999, and of course Bill Drayton has been leading the way for multiple decades. But these small-quantity, high-impact funds specifically for young people seem to follow the flow of Silicon Valley in a unique way that meets the needs of this young population to create.

As Steve Westly explained, a generation ago you had to be 40 or 50 years old to achieve real change. But in this technological era, you can solve a big problem in the world when you’re 16.  Investing in that reality — through venture capital or foundation dollars — is critical. I look forward to seeing social impact becoming more and more supported by our Silicon Valley ecosystem.

 

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson@stanford.edu

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The Missing Link https://stanforddaily.com/2013/10/24/the-missing-link/ https://stanforddaily.com/2013/10/24/the-missing-link/#comments Fri, 25 Oct 2013 05:04:56 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1079774 Regardless of what matters to us, our job placements are not aligning with our stated priorities. Why is there such a drastic disconnect between millennials who want to create positive impact in their careers and the organizations that severely need their talent to successfully create change?

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What matters to you and why? This is our newest admissions question, the gatekeeper to Stanford’s privileged world and a testament to this institution’s desire to attract and support motivated students who posses sincere passions.

Presumably, successful answers involve stories of personal discovery, empathy for others, care about a specific challenge and how that individual has or plans to solve it.

What really does matter to us, current Stanford students? The Pew Research Center’s survey of the millennial generation demonstrated that we care about social impact, in some form or another.

Fifty-seven percent of 18-29 year olds have volunteered in the last 12 months. Twenty-one percent say “helping other people who are in need” is one of the most important things in their lives, and 60 percent say it is among the most important. Sixty-six percent say it is likely that they will switch careers sometime in their work lives. Fifteen percent prioritize having a high-paying career.

Regardless of what we say matters to us, whether in a Stanford application or a research study, ultimately our job placements are not aligning with our stated priorities. A recent article by Nobel laureate Robert Shiller noted this phenomenon and reiterated statistics to this end, most notably at Princeton where 46 percent of their 2006 graduating class entered jobs in financial services.

I am, of course, not the first to be asking the question of why there exists such a drastic disconnect between millennials who want to create positive impact in their careers and the organizations that severely need their talent to successfully create change; nor is this a question that is constricted to just one institution.

In February 2012, professor Robert Reich posted a question on Facebook to Stanford students and recent grads: “Why do so many students enter finance or management consulting?” The responding 58 comments highlighted that this was a heated debate with many opinions and little supporting research to back it up or provide answers, and there was confusion as to how earnest students could sincerely pursue work in a sector that created social impact.

That is why Stanford alumni Jonny Dorsey and Fagan Harris founded the Impact Careers Initiative (ICI) at the Aspen Institute in June 2012. It was clear that both the desire of young people to serve and the need of organizations for their talents are high … but where is the connection?

Today, it does not exist. Want to be an investment banker? A consultant? There is a pathway you can follow. I believe that if that is what you want to do, you should act on that desire. But if it isn’t, prepare yourself.

Getting a social impact career is a hard fight. Just a few barriers noted by the ICI research are the fact that visualizing a social impact career path is difficult because we lack archetypes, on-campus recruiting is almost nonexistent and respect for social impact jobs is far below those in the private sector. Bottom line? The connection is not there and finding a meaningful job opportunity will be an uphill battle.

This is why I took issue with Kevin Carey’s recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education. I agree that when freshmen arrive at Stanford and sit in the Main Quad listening to praising convocation speeches, they do not deserve to be here.

Carey cleverly reminded us that the word deserve derives from the Latin “de,” which translates to “completely” and “servire,” which translates to “to serve”, and they have not yet served adequately to be honored with the use of that word.

But are they being given the chance to? When they leave Palm Drive after graduation to begin their first job, have they been supported adequately to fulfill whatever passion they said mattered to them on their Stanford application essay?

I think my opinion on this question is clear: They are not… yet.

We have an exciting opportunity right now — Farouk Dey of the Career Development Center and Tom Schnaubelt of the Haas Center understand this challenge and want to build a successful connector between Stanford’s talent and jobs of positive social impact.

Over the past two weeks, 74 students attended three lunch discussions on social impact careers to design the ideal process for finding the jobs they seek.

President Hennessy’s column in the most recent issue of the Stanford Magazine, “Doing Well by Going Good,” is another testament to the fact that supporting students’ energies to create positive impact is a current priority.

By the time I graduate in June of 2015, I am excited to be one of a significant percentage of my classmates heading to jobs that will empower us to connect our interests and talents to creating positive social impact in the world.

We will be able to look back on our “What Matters Most” essay, and instead of being unrecognizable with our current passions and aims, the two will match. And when we return to campus for reunions, we will be able to feel that we do, in fact, deserve to be here.

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson ‘at’ stanford.edu

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What is Social Impact? https://stanforddaily.com/2013/10/12/what-is-social-impact/ https://stanforddaily.com/2013/10/12/what-is-social-impact/#comments Sat, 12 Oct 2013 23:13:40 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1079347 With the enormity of the resources available to us at Stanford, and with the extreme number of choices we have been lucky enough to have received during our time at this institution, is it right for us to move forward in droves towards lucrative but questionably impactful private sector jobs?

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On Tuesday, October 1st, 2013, Stanford University had a career fair, and the United States government shut down. As we handed our resumes to eager tech and finance recruiters in White Plaza last Tuesday, we made decisions about our futures and which issues will benefit from the skills we are building today.

The vast majority of the jobs offered for consideration at the career fair were not aiming to address the extreme dysfunction that we as a nation were experiencing on that same Tuesday. With the enormity of the resources available to us at Stanford, and with the extreme number of choices we have been lucky enough to have received during our time at this institution, is it right for us to move forward in droves towards lucrative but questionably impactful private sector jobs?

Thinking about and discussing these contrasts is not meant to instill a feeling of guilt or defense about our privilege, but instead is a necessary part of being a responsible ‘Stanford citizen’. We are lucky enough to be one of the 5.7% who get to learn from this incredible institution.

Everyone should follow their passion to their sector of choice, but now is the time to ask questions like “Am I appreciating the immense benefits I’m enjoying? Am I aware of the deep responsibility we, as the Stanford community, share to use our skills to solve big problems and create positive impact?”

Social impact is jargon – broad, vague, and somewhat inaccessible by definition. So what does it really mean? Technically, social impact is how organizations’ actions affect the surrounding community. In the Stanford context, I’d posit that organizations are students and our actions are how we are applying the skills we’re building to affect our surroundings.

There is an interesting and robust discussion on the nuances and particularities of social impact. Mario Morino, businessman-turned-philanthropist and author of Leap of Reason, believes that every effort, regardless of size, contributes social good to that cause. Others, like Emmanuel Fortune, who just graduated from Stanford’s Graduate School of Education, believe that this one-to-one definition skirts what matters most – improving quality of life. Quality and value should define impact over easily-measurable quantities and scales.

Regardless of these differences in definitions, it is essential to appreciate the issues at hand, and to consider the abilities we have as Stanford students to create and foster social impact.

Since 2012, the Aspen Institute Aspen Careers Initiative has been researching and publishing on how the millennial generation can produce significant positive change and avert the major crises we face by choosing impact careers. Interestingly, the main barrier is not a lack of desire to serve, but instead a dearth of robust pathways.

We, as Stanford students, do not face the challenge of opportunity access. We have the Haas Center to guide and inspire us, 100+ service-focused student groups to join, courses offered in departments from Urban Studies to Electrical Engineering, hundreds of speaker series, book signings, movie screenings, centers focused on Social Innovation, Philanthropy & Civil Society and Poverty & Inequality. In addition, this year our Career Development Center has a new executive director who I am excited to watch strengthen the connection between Stanford students and impact careers.

The resources are there for us to tap. We need to take responsibility for creating a stronger, community-wide conversation of how we are building our lives now to create positive impact in our futures. We need to continue it with the friends we know already prioritize impact, and share it with those who are focused on other areas.

And there’s a lot to talk about. How are young people interacting with the social impact space – from innovation competitions for young innovators to service gap-year programs? How are large corporations engaging in service and encouraging positive social impact through their expertise? What is the relationship between entrepreneurship and impact? What are the gender dynamics within the nonprofit sector? Asking these difficult questions is a necessary first step to engaging the social impact space, and ultimately contributing to it.

Social impact is a multi-faceted topic, and pondering one’s own actions, activities and motivations in a broad and long-term context is essential, especially given our privilege at a university that more than adequately prepares us to engage a variety of civic and social obligations.

I believe that social impact, at its most basic level, is where “your deep gladness and world’s deep hunger meet”, as Frederick Buechner wrote. Finding that intersection is one first step everyone can take towards realizing your own social impact. It’s what being at Stanford is about. So start thinking, talking, and doing. We have the resources at our disposal.

Contact Elizabeth Woodson at ewoodson@stanford.edu

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