In light of several events highlighted by recent Stanford Daily articles, it appears there were two problems with the recent elections: voter disenfranchisement and campaign regulation. For each of these problems, there exist common-sense—if not necessarily simple—reforms that should be implemented to ensure a fairer and more representative election in future years.

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At the end of the day, students don’t truly expect a whole lot out of their candidates, perhaps as a consequence of the administration, or simply a consequence of the nature of Stanford, where it is often tough to find time to truly look for change.

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The lead up to the event featured a common refrain. Broadcasters, critics and friends all remarked that, “None of the movies were happy,” or that, “The Academy only nominates cheerless movies.”

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Three books. Different stories, but the same message. Kyle D'Souza reflects on the search for meaning which unites us all.

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What if an application, in two years, created an environment where anyone could gain one million followers and celebrity status by simply putting their face in front of a cell phone camera? And, what if all these nascent celebrities were all under the age of 17?

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According to the World Health Organization, the United States is ranked below Costa Rica and Chile at 31st in life expectancy, one of the lowest ratings among developed countries. Exacerbating the U.S.’s substandard level of life expectancy is the exorbitant cost of a healthcare system among developed countries that still leaves citizens uninsured.

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Most of all, many were disappointed about being forced to pick between two candidates they perceived as unethical liars. An election where many failed to find a good choice bred disillusionment and disenchantment.

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For that week, my SPOTlets wanted to create a radically different community than their past high school culture, one shared in a common culture of care and compassion, a willingness to listen and to hear. These qualities, while simple, laid the roots for a magically different week.

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Some of the wisest words I’ve heard came from Paul Farmer, founder of Partners in Health, who once said, “The idea that some lives matter more or less than others is the root of all that is wrong with the world.” Wars, poverty and inequality have manifested the truth of this quote, and throughout our shared history, society has consistently struggles with balancing self-interest with compassion. Over the past few months, I believe we have forgotten this fact again.

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From the summer before I entered into Stanford, taking time off had always been in the plans. I wanted to come in a little wiser, a little more experienced, and with more of an idea of how I wanted to spend my four years here.

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I wanted to give some friends and peers the opportunity to set the record straight. Thus, without political intent, I asked some student-athletes on Stanford sports teams, for their perspectives on what real locker room talk is on their teams. Here are their responses.

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By witnessing Asian countries like China, Japan, and South Korea grow in dramatically different ways and traditions, we can broaden our too-often closed ideas on how humanity and societies can (and maybe should) function.

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For better or for worse, the laws and policies we create will directly impact full lives, especially those less-privileged, from inmates to the elderly or the sick. Unfortunately, we see an election cycle today where policies look corrupted, where morality is hard to find, and where shapeshifting and selling out for a vote or an extra dollar has become so clearly the norm.

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For all I talk about living intentionally in my columns, I do a terrible job of it. Whether it’s getting involved in too many things every quarter or indecision over small dilemmas, my “yes-man” psyche, one of my greatest strengths, can often be the very thing that overwhelms and fails me time and time again.…

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After finishing winter finals, I had to figure out what I was doing for Spring Break before heading out to Santiago, and if you knew anything about me, you would know that indecision is normally my kryptonite. While I’ve never regretted a decision in my life, I consistently find myself agonizing over decisions, weighing each…

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For the first time in years, a voiceless people across the United States is finally being empowered to help solve what I believe is the greatest problem facing America. Over the past year, a set of leaders, including Pope Francis, Barack Obama, comedian John Oliver, politician Bernie Sanders and rapper Talib Kweli, have spoken out against…

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Week 5 – Chile. Living in Santiago brings history to life. Chile is only 25 years removed from the 17-year military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, one of the most controversial, complicated and painful dictatorships of Latin America, and responsible for the deaths of over 2,000 “disappeared,” civilians kidnapped and likely killed by DINA and the…

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Rush is over at Stanford, and even 6,000 miles away, I felt its presence. Its influence permeated through photos, Yik Yak posts, Facebook messages from freshmen about advice on rush and endless Snapchats of my sophomore girl friends simultaneously in love yet stressed about rush and their respective sororities. With all of this angst surrounding…

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Greetings from Santiago! I will be writing weekly from abroad this quarter, hopefully bringing some neat stories to light and giving you a peek into my experiences away from Stanford as I go. I can promise to provide an unfiltered stream of consciousness; however, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me with thoughts/comments/suggestions. When…

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The first two weeks of this quarter, I found myself in a funk. Each morning, I would wake up with a sinking feeling in my chest — anxious and filled with a million plans, with only 24 hours to fit them all in. Between shopping 30+ units, dealing with personal relationships, studying for looming midterms, and upcoming…

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Here it is: Why don’t we talk about death? The questions around end of life include some of the most important questions in our world, yet we rarely take the time to educate ourselves about this. Do we not discuss because we are scared? Because the very word death is taboo? Or do we remain silent because of what thinking about death might reveal about us and the way we live? I won’t be so presumptuous and crass as to intuit why we don’t talk about death that much on campus.

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Professor Mehran Sahami says the darndest things. This past Wednesday, at a panel called “The Purpose of a College Education”, a student asks “What advice do you have for us?” Professor Mitchell Stevens from the Graduate School of Education speaks first. He advises dating around academically to find the best major, practical advice that we’ve all received from our advisors and teachers.

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Stanford’s men’s and women’s cross country teams have started strong this season with sensational top-3 finishes in all invitationals thus far as well as top 5 rankings for both teams. Although ranked as high as 2nd earlier in the year, the men are currently ranked 4th by the USTFCCCA and are expected to seriously contend for…

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