The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Mon, 18 Mar 2024 04:40:23 +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 The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 Women’s basketball earns No. 2 seed, faces Norfolk State in first round https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/17/womens-basketball-earns-no-2-seed-faces-norfolk-state-in-first-round/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/17/womens-basketball-earns-no-2-seed-faces-norfolk-state-in-first-round/#respond Mon, 18 Mar 2024 04:33:39 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244950 Stanford women's basketball earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament on Sunday. The team will now face Norfolk State at Maples Pavilion on Friday evening.

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As Selection Sunday progressed, the atmosphere in Maples Pavilion reached a fever pitch. Three No. 1 seeds had already been announced and excitement filled the building, as the team and Cardinal fans awaited for the announcement of the fourth No. 1 seed bid. Many bracket projections predicted Stanford would earn that spot, and the crowd was eager for these forecasts to come true. 

With fans audibly cheering in anticipation, ESPN dropped a dismaying revelation: the Texas Longhorns (30-4, 14-4 Big 12) had received the last No. 1 seed, knocking Stanford down to the two-line. The crowd fell silent in an instant.

While some fans may be disappointed, for head coach Tara VanDerveer, who is making her 35th trip to the NCAA tournament, the seed line is the last thing on her mind. 

“It’s not your seed that’s important,” said VanDerveer. “It’s [about] your team, how they’re playing and if they’re excited.”

Stanford will take on No. 15 seed Norfolk State at 7 p.m. on Friday. If Stanford wins, they will take on the winner of the Iowa State-Maryland matchup on Sunday. 

Stanford fans will also be able to witness both graduate student guard Hannah Jump and senior forward Cameron Brink compete for the last time at home. Brink described playing at Maples Pavilion at least once more as both “bittersweet” and “exciting”.

The week off after the Pac-12 tournament has also given the Cardinal a chance to improve, while also getting healthier. 

VanDerveer said that the team has had three practices since coming back from Las Vegas. An emphasis has been put on being more patient on offense, boxing out on rebounds, playing good transition defense and setting better screens. 

“I think the loss against USC can be a positive for us,” VanDerveer said. “Every disappointment is a blessing and we’ve used it that way. I think being a 2 seed can get under our skin a little bit, so we have something to prove.”

According to VanDerveer, the week off has also been helpful for sophomore point guard Talana Lepolo, who has been battling a knee injury during the latter part of the year. 

“I thought she had a really good week [of practice] last week,” VanDerveer said.

While March Madness is much different from other parts of the college basketball season, Stanford’s Pac-12 slate should prepare them well for success in the tournament. Seven Pac-12 teams received tournament bids and VanDerveer believes there should be even more.

“I think the Pac-12 could’ve had ten teams in the tournament,” VanDerveer said. “We’ve played great competition in the Pac-12. They’ve gotten us ready and we’ve gotten them ready.”

The Cardinal are looking to make their mark in this year’s NCAA tournament after a disappointing second-round loss to No. 8 seed Ole Miss last season. While Stanford has long since moved on from last season, avenging last year’s early tournament exit is still on the minds of many players.

“We do have last year in the back of our minds,” said Jump. “But I think that if we play Stanford basketball, like we’ve been playing all season, we’re going to be successful.”

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New alumni-led NWSL team becomes ‘the bridge that unites us’ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/stanford-alums-lead-bay-fc-in-first-season/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/stanford-alums-lead-bay-fc-in-first-season/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 08:41:37 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244864 The Daily delves into the $53 million 'roller coaster' that brought Bay FC to its inaugural season. Stanford alumni and former soccer players hope to leave a lasting local impact with the first professional women's soccer team in the Bay Area since 2010.

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On a warm February afternoon, fans gathered in the Coachella Valley — not for a music festival, but to get a first look at beloved National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) teams before the 2024 season.

But there was a new team on the block, sporting dark gray practice tops emblazoned with the newest logo in the league: a ‘B’ in gothic typography, accentuated with the silhouette of the Golden Gate Bridge and serifs depicting the Bay’s iconic fog.

Bay FC, the newest NWSL expansion team, is the first professional women’s soccer team in the Bay Area since 2010. The team’s appearance at the Coachella Valley Invitational represented years of preparation as they look forward toward their inaugural season in the NWSL.

A $53 million ‘roller coaster

Four legends of the U.S. Women’s National Team — Aly Wagner, Danielle Slaton, Brandi Chastain and Leslie Osborne — developed the idea to form an NWSL team that represented the Bay.

Dubbed the “Founding Four,” they first needed to raise enough capital to win the franchise rights. The last NWSL expansion team, Angel City FC, paid a $2 million franchise fee a few years before, so founding investors were brought on to reach that mark.

Among them was tech executive and former DCI fellow Rebecca Van Dyck.

“[I was] thrilled to get called early on,” Van Dyck said. “I’m a soccer player, I’ve played my whole life and in college … there’s no way I wouldn’t do it.”

In a new NWSL landscape, with media deals and strides toward equal pay driving up valuation, it quickly became apparent that $2 million would not be enough.

Ultimately, Bay FC paid a record-setting $53 million for the franchise fee. 

To close the gap, San Francisco-based equity firm Sixth Street made the largest institutional investment into a professional women’s sports team. The partnership also introduced talented executives to the team, like Sean Mendy M.A. ’10. 

Mendy said they bought into the vision behind the team: “We started visualizing what a franchise here could mean for women’s soccer, for women’s sports.”

In April 2023, the NWSL formally announced the Bay Area expansion team.

A momentous occasion, but the clock was now ticking: The executive group had just 11 months to build the entire organization from scratch — faster than any other franchise in league history.

They even started season ticket sales without a venue. An agreement was eventually reached with San Jose’s PayPal Park.

“It’s just been this crazy rollercoaster,” Van Dyck said.

A unique approach to play

Maya Doms ’23 was at her home in Davis during the 2024 NWSL Draft. Doms, who recently captained the Cardinal to the national championship, didn’t need to wait long: She was selected by Bay FC with the eighth overall pick, staying close to her Northern California roots.

“Being able to represent where I’m from is a huge honor and it makes me so happy that I can be a familiar face,” Doms said.

Joining Doms at Bay FC is her former Stanford teammate Kiki Pickett ‘21. After a decorated career on the Farm, Pickett anchored the Kansas City Current and North Carolina Courage defense the last few seasons.

Pickett said she was grateful to find a familiar face in Doms and eager to mentor a fellow Cardinal: “I’ve got to be a big sister.”

When building the roster, general manager Lucy Rushton and head coach Albertin Montoya stressed the desire to play a possession-based style, synonymous with FC Barcelona teams of the past. 

Along with Doms and Pickett the team sought out quality players who have proved themselves in the NWSL. But many blockbuster names came from overseas, like Nigerian international Asisat Oshoala and Zambian international Racheal Kundananji. Both are world-class forwards, and Kundananji’s transfer broke the world record transfer fee. 

Doms said the international players’ experience and style would help the team. “I’m just super excited to play on a big stage and I think we’re going to be getting a lot of fans at PayPal Park,” she said.

Echoing Doms, Pickett said the team was drawn together by shared interests: “We all want to win, perform well and get to know each other.”

Bridging women’s soccer and the Bay

For the team behind Bay FC — on the field and in the boardroom — success encompasses more than tallies in the win column. The club’s existence and development speaks to the exponential growth in women’s soccer worldwide.

From massive franchise fees to record-breaking transfers, Bay FC hopes to push the sport forward.

“The NWSL has the opportunity to be the premier league, and at Bay FC, a goal of ours is to be the premier global franchise,” Mendy said.

For Doms, the expansion team represents a homecoming. As someone who’s played for Northern California crowds her whole life, Doms said she has observed the growing local popularity of women’s soccer.

“We’ve got a ton of little girls coming out to our Stanford games, so I can’t imagine how many younger girls are going to be coming to the Bay FC games at PayPal,” Doms said.

She expressed excitement for the next generation: “The NWSL is getting bigger, getting more attention and getting more accessible to watch in-person and on TV.”

Many people on the team share a similar vision. Van Dyck said a frequent refrain is “Bay FC is the bridge that unites us.”

With this vision, you couldn’t write a more perfect script for the club’s first ever game action in the Coachella Valley.

In the 53rd minute, the ball sailed into the penalty box from a Bay FC corner. After bouncing around, it landed perfectly at Doms’s feet, who slotted it into the side-netting of the goal. 

The Davis native, and Stanford alum, scored the very first goal in Bay FC history. 

As the NWSL season approaches, Bay FC, a club shaped by its Bay Area and Stanford roots, starts to write its legacy, one they hope will leave a lasting impact on the Bay for generations to come.

The season starts Sunday, March 17, with Bay FC traveling to Los Angeles to face Angel City FC. The home opener is set for March 30 at PayPal Park.

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94% of elevators on campus have expired permits https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/94-of-elevators-on-campus-have-expired-permits/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/94-of-elevators-on-campus-have-expired-permits/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 08:39:50 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244572 Records reveal that over 95% of residential elevators and over 70% of non-residential elevators on campus have expired permits. Most of these elevators are still in operation and some consistently malfunction.

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Vince Pane Ph.D. ’23 was returning to his apartment at Blackwelder in November 2021 when he found himself stuck in an elevator between floors. Pane initially tried to call for rescue using the alarm and emergency call buttons, but found that they did not work, and his phone had no signal.

Pane, an American Ninja Warrior semifinalist, first tried to pry open the door with a knife from the dining hall, to no avail. Then, he climbed onto the elevator railings and proceeded to dislodge a ceiling panel with a series of kicks. As he recorded on his phone, he hoisted himself out of the shaft and jumped onto the next floor.

Later that day, Pane said he found the elevator blocked off with yellow tape. By the next day, it was up and running again, Pane said. As he heard no work on the elevator during the night, he believed that nothing was ever truly fixed.

According to Pane, the Blackwelder elevator’s permit was expired at the time. Though it has since been inspected, its permit expired once again on Aug. 12, 2023 — making it just one of the 260 elevators on campus, 94% of a total of 274, with expired permits, according to documents obtained by The Daily through a public records request. On average, each expired elevator is over 160 days overdue.

On their way to an ice cream study break on May 30, 2022, Carlene Sanchez ’24 and Katelin Rose Zhou ’24 free-fell two stories in an EVGR-A elevator and landed between the first and second floors. Zhou, Sanchez recounted, began catastrophizing.

“She was like, ‘What if someone calls it on the 10th floor, and then we go to the 10th floor, and then it drops?’” Sanchez said.

According to Sanchez, they were rescued by the Palo Alto Fire Department 20 minutes after repeatedly pressing the call button.

The Daily spoke to several students who shared similarly harrowing experiences with faulty elevators across campus. The doors of the elevator in Ng often open before the elevator has finished descending. An elevator in the Spilker Engineering & Applied Sciences Building has stuck buttons. An elevator in the McClatchy Building has its open and close buttons switched.

All of these elevators have expired permits.

The exterior elevator button box reads "Light does not work. Elevator does (most of the time)."
This seemingly humorous sign in the Packard Building claims the elevator only works “most of the time.”(Photo: ANDREW ZENG/The Stanford Daily)

An elevator mechanic, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation, told The Daily that elevators with expired permits are often unsafe to use.

 “[Parents] have a reasonable expectation that their children would be safe [here], right?” they said.

Each year, dozens of elevator rescue requests made to the Palo Alto Fire Department originate from the Stanford campus, including 41 in 2021 and at least 38 in 2022, Palo Alto Online reported.

Legal experts told The Daily that Stanford would bear liability in a potential lawsuit on the basis of expired permits or injuries resulting from an elevator malfunction. The University subcontracts its elevator maintenance to KONE, an elevator engineering company based in Finland. 

“The University maintains a full-service elevator maintenance contract with an outside service provider [KONE] that provides planned, reoccurring preventive maintenance as well as reactive coverage requiring one hour response time, 24/7,” wrote University spokesperson Luisa Rapport in a statement to The Daily.

Rapport wrote that KONE provides routine maintenance, despite state-wide inspection backlogs, and is expected to respond to elevator reports and outages within an hour.

KONE did not respond to The Daily’s request for comment. 

The California Code of Regulations mandates that “No elevator shall be operated without a valid, current permit issued.”

Palo Alto Online reported in December 2022 that there was a backlog in elevator inspections of more than two years in the San Jose district, which includes Stanford’s campus. Just nine inspectors are responsible for the district. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) acknowledged the need for more elevator inspectors and told Online that hiring was “a top priority.”

“The safety of our campus elevators is a top priority,” Rapport wrote. “Stanford remains in compliance with inspections and permit requests, but does not rely on the state inspection to ensure the safety and operation of our elevators.” 

After The Daily’s inquiry, signs began appearing on elevators across campus informing riders that the elevator was “routinely inspected by the State of California.” Records showed that many of the elevators bearing these notices had expired permits.

Accessibility issues arising from faulty elevator

Members of the disability community told The Daily that broken elevators significantly impair their daily lives. Adri Kornfein ’25 recalled having a “difficult” experience when she lived in Meier during her sophomore year. She uses crutches and lived on the third floor, relying on the building’s single elevator to travel to and from her room. That elevator, Kornfein said, was broken for half of the two quarters she lived in Meier.

According to Residential & Dining Enterprises’s website, all floors of Meier “are accessible.” Nevertheless, Kornfein said she left the dorm last spring without the elevator ever having been permanently fixed. That elevator’s permit is currently expired.

Kornfein said relying on Meier’s defective elevator was stressful. “Sometimes I would just stay in my room instead of going [downstairs], because it was hard to get up and down [the stairs] so many times,” she said.

Stuart Seaborn, the managing litigation director of the nonprofit Disability Rights Advocates, said his greatest concern with unsafe elevators was their impact on members of the disability community.

“Broken or non-maintained elevators pose a systemic problem to members of the disability community, and we have litigated that issue on multiple fronts,” Seaborn said. “When [elevators are] not maintained, they present a significant barrier.”

University spokesperson Mara Vandlik wrote, “A review of our records does not reveal any long-term outages for the elevator in Meier Hall last year.” The only extended period of outage happened in late October 2023 for 10 days, when parts had to be ordered before repairs could occur, she wrote.

Lloyd May, a fourth-year music Ph.D. student and former ASSU director of disability advocacy, said that Stanford’s inaction on elevator safety is one of many examples he sees of the University’s “systemic silo-ing” when it comes to addressing the needs of the disability community. Support for the disability community is handled by many different departments and offices that have little communication with one another, resulting in many inefficiencies, he said.

Similarly, Cat Sanchez ’19 M.A. ’21, former co-chair of the Stanford Disability Initiative, said it was “frustrating” for students with disabilities, who often get “very, very slow change or very slow response” when they raise concerns. She criticized the University for leaving students “in the position of having to ask for help” when University facilities like elevators do not meet their needs.

Kornfein remains disappointed with the University’s inaction toward elevator maintenance. “I just think [the University could do] better,” she said.

Vandlik also wrote that students who have elevator issues are encouraged to report by submitting a fix-it ticket or, if urgent, notifying their housing service center. Emergency maintenance is available after hours. 

“We appreciate that elevator outages are important to all students, but especially significant for those who need the elevator as an accommodation,” Vandlik wrote. Students are offered more accessible temporary accommodations if repairs cause an issue, she wrote.

“The University is committed to ensuring its facilities, programs and services are accessible to everyone, including those with disabilities,” she wrote.

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‘The Wolves’ lets each character score their own goal https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/the-wolves-captivates-beyond-field/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/the-wolves-captivates-beyond-field/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 08:19:39 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244903 Campus production "The Wolves" balanced serious issues with comedic relief through the touching story of a girls' soccer team, Ramzan writes.

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The TAPS Main Stage production of “The Wolves,” directed by Ph.D. candidate Marina Johnson, “kicked” around nuanced themes of identity, vulnerability and adolescent aspirations and showcased the concept that every player has their own unique shot in the game of life. 

“The Wolves” is a dynamic play that captures the lives of a high school girls’ soccer team (known as The Wolves) as they navigate the complexities of teamwork and the challenges of growing up. I attended the second of three performances on March 8 at the Harry J. Elam, Jr. Theater, and was astounded by the stunning set, dramatic lighting and intricate character work presented by each actor.

Upon entering the theater, the audience was met with an undeniably “real” feeling set — a stage designed as a grassy field adorned with sneakers, backpacks, benches and water bottles. The performance began in medias res, with the actors enthusiastically running onto the stage in overlapping high energy conversations. The topical lighthearted banter was highly comedic and landed well among audience members.

I was impressed by the immersive atmosphere created by the actors, who performed exercises like crunches, jumping jacks and stretches in synchrony while conversing onstage. The energetic choreography of soccer drills created a palpable sense of camaraderie among the teammates, drawing the audience into the world of the play with captivating intensity.

What struck me most about this play was its raw authenticity and the depth of its characters. A unique aspect of this performance was that there were no principal or leading actors; every character in the ensemble had their own individual bits and storylines that intertwined seamlessly, with no one character particularly outshining the other. Each member of the team is distinct, with their own struggles, dreams and insecurities, yet united by their shared passion for the sport of soccer.

#46, played by Deniz Yagmur Urey ‘24, provided a standout performance as a homeschooled misfit, viewed as an outsider by the team for her uncommon life practices. Her subtle yet charismatic line delivery was hilarious (notably, her response to the team mistakenly referring to the style of her home, a yurt, as a “yogurt”), and watching her find her place within the social hierarchy of the team over the course of the production was gratifying.

One of the play’s greatest strengths lies in its ability to tackle complex themes with sensitivity and tasteful coverage. The play ingeniously addresses a range of social fault lines, such as teenage “cliques,” gossiping and young death. From concerns with body image and identity to love and loss, “The Wolves” fearlessly confronts the realities that shape the lives of young women today in an immensely resonant and thought-provoking manner. 

As the play develops, for instance, an overall diminishment in the team’s health and morale is evident. A girl who had been struggling with an eating disorder, #2 (Sophia Wang ‘26) has a nosebleed onstage and #7 (Eryn Perkins ‘25) gets injured and is forced to use crutches for the remainder of the play. 

The declining physical health of the team parallels a decline in their social health, as the girls begin to have serious disagreements involving their personal lives, drama over #7’s boyfriend, and the girls’ opinions about one another. The fracturing of the team was portrayed with immense rawness and realism, and was mirrored in the play’s set design itself. 

In a particularly climatic scene, the back wall of the stage separates into two halves, seamlessly opening toward opposite ends of the room filled with beaming lights and intense fog. This jaw-dropping moment of suspense ended with a member of the team walking into the abyss of light, demanding the attention of everyone in the audience. This moment, as we come to learn, signifies the accidental death of one of the girls, and introduces sharp developments of grief among the teammates.

The ensembled cast delivered a stellar performance, bringing to life the multifaceted dynamics of teenagehood with remarkable nuance and sincerity. This production demanded and demonstrated a strong command of physicality, displayed in intense scenes of kicking soccer balls and running while simultaneously spewing quick witted banter with not a single actor missing cues, fumbling lines or sacrificing emotional connection at the sake of keeping up athletically. 

For many plays that are dense in textual dialogue, it can often be difficult for audiences to entirely follow specificity in discourse. Though “The Wolves” piece was chock-full of quick banter and intricate conversation, the commitment to storytelling and emotional clarity made this piece a joy to follow throughout its 90-minute runtime. 

Highly energetic music, stunning visuals and intense exercises in between scene changes provided great intricacy. Although the scenes individually were relatively long, they never dwelled on a singular topic, avoiding staleness and allowing the beats of the scene to flow seamlessly. 

From the spirited banter during warm-ups to the poignant moments of vulnerability, the actors captured the essence of adolescence, eliciting laughter, empathy and introspection from the audience. Each actor fully and authentically embodied their characters in dynamic ways, and there wasn’t a dull moment in this performance. The immense hard work and dedication of everyone involved in “The Wolves” was certainly evident, and made for a thoroughly compelling piece.

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Graduate student activities fee to increase by almost 70% https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/graduate-student-activities-fee-to-increase/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/graduate-student-activities-fee-to-increase/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 08:00:56 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244885 During its Tuesday meeting, the Graduate Student Council unanimously approved next year’s budget, which saw a more than 72% increase. The bulk of the budget increase is driven by a sixfold increase in annual grants.

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Activity fees for graduate students may increase from $38 to over $64 next academic year, after the Graduate Student Council (GSC) approved a 72% budget increase driven largely by rising annual grants. 

At Tuesday’s meeting, GSC members unanimously approved the council’s budget for the 2024-2025 academic year, which increased from $1,048,611.38 this year to $1,805,113.13. The bulk of the growth comes from annual grants, which will increase more than sixfold.

More than 43% of the hike in next year’s annual grants total will go to restoring funding for joint student groups — groups with mixed undergraduate and graduate membership — that the council did not fund last year, according to GSC funding committee chair and fourth-year physics Ph.D. student Tom Liu. These groups include the Stanford Speakers Bureau and Black Family Gathering Committee.

Another 28.2% increase will go toward grants for joint groups already funded by the council, and an additional 17.3% will go to funds for new joint groups that were previously deemed undergraduate organizations, such as the Stanford Powwow and Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band.

Some GSC members raised the possibility of reducing the student activities fee by decreasing annual grant amounts. According to Liu, though, reductions in annual grant amounts will marginally affect the activities fee but be felt very strongly by voluntary student organizations (VSOs). A $3 reduction in each student’s activities fee would lead to a 10% reduction in the annual grant budget overall, he said.

Perry Nielsen Jr. M.S. ’24, ASSU executive director for graduate student affairs, said that while the substantial activities fee increase is “shocking,” it is not as significant compared to other living expenses at Stanford.

“If we do see a reaction from the student body, it could put more pressure on administration to really address affordability at scale,” Nielsen Jr. said of the activities fee increase. “I don’t think we should be suggesting cuts in social activities for graduate students when that’s already something that we are really trying to prioritize.”

Council members agreed that next year’s numbers will set a baseline for the GSC’s budget moving forward. GSC co-chair and fourth-year chemistry Ph.D. student Emmit Pert said this year’s budget amounts were “very anomalous,” since GSC did not “pay for a lot of things that we could have paid for.”

“The increases are pretty large, but they are not as large as they look on paper one year after the other,” Pert said.

“The GSC hasn’t been very active until recently, so there has been no baseline to compare against,” Liu said. He added that the council had only given “a handful of grants” prior to 2020.

In a humorous turn of the meeting, GSC at-large representative and civil and environmental engineering master’s student Leon de Souza proposed a “Bill to Improve Mental Health on Campus” as the last agenda item of the night.

“Uncharacteristic spells of rain have caused a shadow, both literally and metaphorically, on our campus,” de Souza said, followed by laughter from GSC members.

The bill calls on the University to implement a “comprehensive cloud ban” and decrees that “no puddles exceeding 500 milliliters in volume shall be permitted on university campus grounds.” Further, it proposes that excess water be directed into Lake Lagunita to facilitate the community’s enjoyment of water sports on the lake.

“Let’s vote in favor to safeguard our mental health, our academic productivity and the legacy of sunny Stanford,” de Souza said, bringing a smile to many faces.

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Stanford Scholar Spotlight: Daniel Stauber engineers bioengineering opportunities https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/stanford-scholar-spotlight-daniel-stauber-engineers-bioengineering-opportunities/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/stanford-scholar-spotlight-daniel-stauber-engineers-bioengineering-opportunities/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 07:47:18 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244843 Daniel Stauber ’25 M.S. ’25 sat down with The Daily to talk about his experience and shares advice for younger students looking to get more involved with academic departments and find opportunities on campus.

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This article is the part of a series of student spotlights featuring students from a variety of academic departments at Stanford and the highlights and challenges of their academic journey.

When Daniel Stauber ’25 M.S. ’25 first came to Stanford, he knew that he wanted to do research using the CRISPR gene editing technology, but he was not sure how. Three years later, he has done research with the Markus Covert Lab and the Stanley Qi lab, carrying out hands-on work with biomodeling and variations of the CRISPR-Cas9 system, a gene editing technology. He’s also the president of Stanford Students in Biodesign and Biopharma, a club that facilitates student-led biotechnology projects.

Stauber sat down with The Daily to talk about his experience and his tips for younger students looking to get more involved with their respective departments and find opportunities on campus.

Background

Name: Daniel Aaron Stauber

Class: 2025, M.S. 2025

Major: Bioengineering

Clubs: Stanford Students in Biodesign and Biopharma

Research experience: Bioengineering Research Experience for Undergraduates (BIOE REU), Covert Lab, Qi Lab

Fun fact: He loves playing golf and used to compete in golf tournaments before Stanford.

This article has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

The Stanford Daily [TSD]: What drew you to bioengineering?

Daniel Stauber [DS]: It was my own background that drew me to bioengineering, especially health issues and family. My older brothers, who are twins, were both born with a genetic disease. Because of that, I grew up seeing them go through many difficulties. They were super smart and nice once you got to know them, but the issue was that people didn’t really get to know them. I had seen them struggle so much with that, and that led me to want to look into how genetic diseases come about and how to cure them. 

Eventually, [when I was 12], I stumbled into CRISPR, which I’m doing research in now, and fell in love with the idea. I got to Stanford and immediately found the one lab at Stanford at the forefront of CRISPR technology, the Qi lab at ChEM-H. I emailed Stanley [Qi] and asked to join the lab. Eventually, Stanley emailed me back and I did the BIOE REU   through him, and that’s how I began in his lab starting in the spring quarter of freshman year.  

Video: JANELLE OLISEA/The Stanford Daily

TSD: What are some of your most memorable experiences in the bioengineering department? 

DS: The professors are very willing to give you a chance to do research in their lab. Also, the Bioengineering REU is an amazing opportunity. I had done very little research before coming to Stanford and had very few wet lab skills. The REU [made me] a lot more advanced in CRISPR and wet lab, which allowed me to use a lot more of the resources in the bioengineering department. 

I’m also a part of the ChEM-H UEP, which is the undergraduate entrepreneurship program. It’s a really cool opportunity to work with a team to get seed funding for a novel therapeutic idea. 

TSD: Are you currently working on a startup?

DS: We’re currently in the very early stages of developing a startup, and we are going to compete for funding for that startup against other teams. It’s a form of CRISPR for gene regulation. 

Video: JANELLE OLISEA/The Stanford Daily

TSD: What are some ways that people could get more involved in the bioengineering department?

DS: There’s a ton of resources on the bioengineering department website. I would also say look at the web pages of adjacent fields, like biology. Aside from the websites, I would say you should just reach out to people and get close to someone who is already in that department, whether it be a junior, co-term student or even a faculty member. They’ll have a lot of knowledge about what things you should be going after and what things you should be looking out for. 

Video: JANELLE OLISEA/The Stanford Daily

TSD: Do you have any advice you would give to freshmen or people looking to get more involved in the opportunities available in the bioengineering department?

DS: Start looking early, and reach out to people. As much as you can find things online, there’s a lot of things that people who have already been through the process will know that you just won’t. Even though the bioengineering website is a great resource, it’s not everything. They do have peer advisors on there that you can always reach out to.

If you know that you want to get early research experience as a freshman because you’ve never done research before, apply for the REU. And the REU has an early deadline, so make sure you check it. There’s also Bio-X, and a bunch of other programs out there. 

I assume that most bioengineering people want to do research, but if you want to go more into creating a startup, I am the president of the Stanford Students in Biodesign and Biopharma. It’s the biggest biotech club at Stanford, and I may be a little biased, but I think it is the best place to get to know a community of people who are into biotech. 

There are also project teams in that club, and the lower classmen can get to know upperclassmen and get mentorship and guidance, as well as actual hands-on experience, whether it be getting to be part of biodesign classes, which is an integral part of the bioengineering curriculum, or just an introduction into what biotech is like. 

Video: JANELLE OLISEA/The Stanford Daily

TSD: Looking back at your earlier self who was really interested in the CRISPR technology and what you could do with it, where do you think you are in that journey and what are your next goals for the future?

DS: I think I’ve gone a long way from there. Starting from middle school, it was just a dream. I knew I wanted to go into it, but had no clue what it was about. Once I came to Stanford, getting into that research was so much more — you get to learn so much faster and so much more about the actual field. 

There’s so many new tools you could make with CRISPR, and that’s something I’ve done. I’ve worked with CRISPR-Cas13, which edits RNA instead of DNA. The end results are similar, but it’s not permanent…which could be really beneficial. I would say I know a ton more about the CRISPR field and about all the potential things you could do with it. 

For the undergraduate entrepreneurship program, I am actually trying to use CRISPR to cure eye cancer, which is completely different from what I wanted to do initially when I came [to Stanford]. There’s so much you learn both in your lab, and so much you can apply later on because of how much you learn. 

Video: JANELLE OLISEA/The Stanford Daily

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Brake the cycle: SUDPS enforces bike traffic laws https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/brake-the-cycle-sudps-enforces-bike-traffic-laws/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/brake-the-cycle-sudps-enforces-bike-traffic-laws/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 07:41:38 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244871 Following many campus bike accidents, SUDPS increased its enforcement of bike traffic laws.

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Campus police have become stricter about bike safety and traffic laws over the past few weeks, patrolling bike hotspots like Arrillaga Family Dining Commons, outside Stern and Roble Hall. 

According to a 2020 Daily analysis of Stanford Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) data, over 300 bike accidents were reported on campus between January 2014 and December 2018.

The increased monitoring of bike safety is “to ensure we are ALL safe during our travels on campus,” wrote SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson in a statement to the Daily.

When a student is stopped for violating traffic laws, a deputy will explain the violation, and then issue them either a warning or citation. According to Stanford Transportation’s bike safety flyer, the following actions may result in a citation:

  • Not stopping at stop signs
  • Riding on the wrong side of the road
  • Not having at least one ear uncovered while riding
  • Not having working brakes on your bike
  • Not having front white lights, rear red reflectors, and pedal and side reflectors at night
  • Not yielding to pedestrians
  • Not wearing a helmet if under 18 years old
  • Restricting access for pedestrians and/or mobility impaired when parking a bike
  • Riding a bike under the influence of drugs or alcohol

“Individuals who are issued a traffic citation for a bike violation can have their citation dismissed after attending a 1-hour bike safety class hosted by DPS,” Larson wrote. However, the opportunity to seek dismissal through the class will only be permitted for individuals who have not attended the class within the past 18 months.

Otherwise, the citation will be processed through the Palo Alto Traffic Court, where the penalties are not determined by SUDPS.

Some students criticized the increased enforcement as inconsistent or a misdirection in SUDPS resources.

Lauren Tapper ’27 has been stopped twice by the police while biking recently. The first time, she was given a pamphlet about safe biking practices and then issued a warning the second time. Both incidents took place near a stop sign.

“I don’t see a lot of people following bike laws here on campus. I see a lot of people going through stop signs, and there’s not a lot of bike lights or bike helmets being worn,” Tapper said. “When I was getting the ticket, two people right behind me blew past the stop sign, even though the police officer was right there.”

Zach Benton ’25 said that while he doesn’t like the idea of people getting in trouble, the enforcement of bike laws is beneficial.

However, Benton said that it seemed “a little bit weird” that SUDPS was using their resources to issue warnings and citations, when bike theft still remains a prevalent issue on campus. “I feel like that should also be a priority, but I feel like they haven’t really done anything about that.”

Benton was living in Yost House his sophomore year when his bike was stolen with only the remains of his half-sawed through Kryptonite U-Lock. His experience is not unique: In 2023, excluding the months of July and August, a total of 188 bike thefts were reported.

After his second bike was stolen only two weeks after the first incident, he decided to walk to his classes instead.

“As I’ve become more of a pedestrian, I’ve noticed that people don’t know how to ride bikes at all on campus. I feel like every day, I’ve seen something that could almost be a bike crash, or I would see an actual bike crash,” Benton said.

Tapper, who enjoys biking on campus, also acknowledged the dangerous behavior by bikers.

“I really appreciate the biking culture at Stanford,” Tapper said. “But I definitely think that it can get a bit dangerous, especially around things like the roundabouts or biking in the rain.”

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From the Community | A parent’s perspective on protests during Family Weekend https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/from-the-community-parents-weekend-2024/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/from-the-community-parents-weekend-2024/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 07:25:31 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244815 "On a university campus, one known globally for its wide-ranging academic pursuits and creative expressions, some of my fellow parents chose to verbally abuse someone else’s children," Bartol writes.

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Protest and activism at Stanford are deeply linked. Both have a long and powerful history that can be revisited by perusing Stanford Libraries’ “Activism” online site. Having witnessed both protests and activism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, it was vital to see crucial issues of our time — apartheid, racial discrimination, the Western Civilization curriculum, diversity in faculty representation — actively debated and acted upon by Stanford students, faculty and administrative officers.

Some protests were civil, others not, but President Kennedy and faculty eventually engaged with concerned and affected students. Conversations happened, regardless of how ugly it looked or difficult it got.

Yet now, given recent protests at Stanford’s Parents Weekend (reported, I would add, accurately in the pages of The Stanford Daily), the University is straying from the legacy of activism today’s students are embracing. The winds of freedom, it seems, still blow, albeit maybe only in one direction.

As an alum and parent of a Stanford student visiting almost three weeks ago, we expected to see growing dissatisfaction over the University’s position on Israel. Its investment choices, its stance on Israel’s war with Hamas and the plight of the tens of thousands of innocents dying unnecessarily in the conflict were common discussions with my student in the previous weeks.

We knew about the sit-in in White Plaza. We expected student protests all weekend. We hoped that President Saller and his peers would critically address the concerns of students both for and against the protests.

What I saw on parent’s weekend was both impressive and unexpected. Impressive, because of the ingenuity, persistence and non-violent actions of the students that made their points about their deep distress at Stanford’s possible ties to Israel’s current administration.

Unexpected, because of the reactions of many parents in attendance. These parents felt the right response to these protests was to shout down the demonstrators. Yells of “boos,” “shut up,” “go away,” “we don’t care” and applause by those same parents accompanied the students’ departure. Those reactions were simply sad, uncalled for and not the sentiment I expected from anyone associated with Stanford. Why belittle students earnest in their intentions and efforts, students who want to believe their chosen university could be something more?

It is easy to understand how those parents might come to those views and actions. For some, it was their first time on campus and their first time visiting their child in a place that, rightly, has changed them. Some clearly traveled great distances for the event. Still others expected an idyllic weekend to match the sunny weather and warm welcome. Maybe they did not agree with the reason for and target of the protests. Perhaps they did not like how the students’ points were being made, or maybe they just felt like this event was “their time” and should be free of disruption.

On a university campus, one known globally for its wide-ranging academic pursuits and creative expressions, some of my fellow parents chose to verbally abuse someone else’s children. All because those young adults were practicing one of the fundamental rights this country affords, essential to any credible institution of higher learning. It is a moment of powerful imbalance I cannot ever recall seeing in an academic setting.

With the words from the on-stage panel about fostering a civil and respectful discourse still ringing in the room, adults chose not to be the more mature, considered and compassionate example. Instead, in word and action, students were shown their concerns were worthless, that their beliefs do not matter.

And — perhaps more shockingly — President Saller, Provost Martinez and several deans sat on stage and watched. When presented with a chance to engage in a very real and honest way, they leaned back.

When there could have been a moment to show both rude parents and anxious students how to de-escalate and connect, they chose to look at their notes. By the administration’s performance that afternoon, it is not hard to believe students who say the past four months have been ones in which the University would not substantially engage, meaningfully speak or actively listen. No wonder students took to MemAud to make a stand.

It is not hard to grasp why the President and the Provost took little action. Since October, college campuses have been deeply and controversially embroiled in protests focused on every side of this conflict.

Ill-timed or poorly handled reactions by college leaders have cost at least two university presidents — one a Stanford alum — their positions by factions that would polarize and weaponize the ripples of this conflict to their own ends.

It is all too easy to believe Stanford’s leaders are exhausted by the tightrope that they must walk. But it is also a moment that desperately calls for engagement, discourse and intelligence in the face of disruption and disagreement.

To the student groups protesting the Israel-Gaza conflict, seeking to be heard and seeking real change from the University, know that the history of protest at Stanford does bend toward justice. 

You are doing what we should expect from brilliant, enthusiastic young minds on a college campus: making your voices heard, working to make our world better. You are seen and you are heard.

You continue a tradition I hope all students, faculty, administrators and — hopefully, someday — parents can come to respect. Perhaps not enjoy, but certainly understand its necessity.

To you, and on behalf of the parents and friends of the University that understand this moment, I would tell you this: Keep going.

John Bartol ’92 is a Stanford parent.

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You’ve Been Gilmored: Cross the Lorelai-ne https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/youve-been-gilmored-toe-the-lorelai-ne/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/15/youve-been-gilmored-toe-the-lorelai-ne/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 07:14:52 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244812 In the second installment of her column, Olenda Bogdan discusses main character Lorelai Gilmore's unique journey across two different social spheres — the elite world where she grew up in and the "common" world where she resides.

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I previously used Gilmore Girls as a prosperous ground to discuss love. Today’s article will step away from matters of the heart to consider the nuanced interplay of social dynamics and individual identity within the show’s enchanting world. One character stands as a remarkable bridge between two contrasting social strata. 

With her wit and charm, Lorelai Gilmore fluidly navigates the disparate worlds of aristocratic privilege and middle-class Stars Hollow. But what underpins her unique ability to traverse these social landscapes so effortlessly?

To start, one can argue that Lorelai is just a fascinating person. It’s her nature, her essence — I agree to a degree. Yet, I believe that intellectual architecture, the interplay between different forms of capital, provides a better framework to delve into skills and values that help us become more socially successful. Lorelai is a compelling case study.

More specifically, I rely on French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu’s capital theory, which argues that different capitals owned by individuals can determine their positions in the social stratification structure, influencing the pattern of social behaviors. It doesn’t need to be physical capital, such as actual endowments. In fact, there are three forms of capital: economic (wealth), social (networks and relationships), and cultural (knowledge, educational degrees, etc.). Throughout their lives, a person never stops accumulating these different forms of capital.

Lorelai Gilmore, the only daughter of Emily and Richard Gilmore, embodies this theory in a compelling way. Pregnant at 16 and on a path that diverges from her affluent upbringing, she represents a dynamic character who straddles two distinct social classes.

She both know a lot about the world of wealth and affluence, but she embodies the American Dream, where, after having left the protective wing of her parents with not a penny to her name, she climbed the social stairs to the middle class, thanks to her effort and resilience.

A poignant example of this dynamic is a conversation between Lorelai and Emily:

Emily: Your father would have gotten him [the man that Lorelai got pregnant at 16] a job with his insurance business, and you two would be living a lovely life right now.

Lorelai: Christopher didn’t want to be in the insurance business, and I am living a lovely life right now.

Emily: Oh yeah, far away from us.

Lorelai: Oh, here we go again.

Emily: You took that girl and completely shut us out of your life!

Lorelai: You wanted to control me.

Emily: You were still a child!

Lorelai: No, I stopped being a child the minute the strip turned pink, okay? I had to figure out a way to live. I found a good job.

Emily: As a maid! With all your brains and talent!

Lorelai: I worked my way up. I run the place now!

In this exchange, we see Lorelai’s negotiation between the worlds of her upbringing and her self-made life. 

Gilmore Girls offers numerous examples where Lorelai utilizes her unique mix of capital. Her ability to organize community events, successfully manage an inn and interact with the elite and the townspeople showcases her adeptness in different social situations. This blend not only highlights her social mobility but also her role as a mediator between different social classes. 

In fact, Lorelai’s cultural capital, acquired through her upbringing, allows her to navigate the elite world of her parents. She knows the codes and the right way to do things there. However, it’s her social capital, forged through relationships in Stars Hollow and her economic capital, built through her career, that enable her to bridge these two worlds and make them see each other.

Lorelai does this not only in terms of physical encounters, like when Luke meets her parents or her parents come to Stars Hollow, but also through linguistics — in the way she uses “inappropriate” with her parents and holds her body in a certain way, called hexis.  

For instance, in Season 2 Episode 10 “The Bracebridge Dinner,” a snowstorm traps Emily and Richard at the Independence Inn’s festive event. Here, Lorelai gracefully manages the situation, showcasing her ability to blend the formalities familiar to her parents with the casual, communal atmosphere of Stars Hollow. 

Nevertheless, there’s a palpable sense of Emily and Richard being mere observers rather than active participants in the town’s culture. Such instances suggest that the interactions between the two worlds — the Gilmores and the Stars Hollow community — are more about glimpsing into each other’s lives rather than fully embracing or understanding them.

Lorelai’s unique position facilitates these meetings, but they often serve to highlight the differences and inherent contradictions between the two worlds rather than resolve them.

Furthermore, Lorelai’s journey towards independence is intermittently marked by her reliance on her parents’ wealth, notably for Rory’s education at Chilton and her aspiration to open her own inn.

This dynamic reflects the intricacies and contradictions of Lorelai’s character, caught between her desire for self-sufficiency and the occasional necessity to tap into her family’s economic and cultural capital from her upbringing to navigate various social situations.

She also takes her time to fully recognize her feelings for Luke – before going all in with him, she goes out with men who belong to her parents’ world first. Maybe, at some unconscious level, she is still struggling with the education and values she internalized as a child. In a genius way, through Lorelai, the series poignantly illustrates the challenges of social mobility and the nuanced interplay between different social strata.

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Stanford fires Jerod Haase after eight seasons with no NCAA tournament appearances https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/stanford-fires-jerod-haase-after-eight-seasons-with-no-ncaa-tournament-appearances/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/stanford-fires-jerod-haase-after-eight-seasons-with-no-ncaa-tournament-appearances/#respond Fri, 15 Mar 2024 03:41:07 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244837 Bernard Muir announced that Stanford head coach Jerod Haase will not return next season.

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Stanford fired men’s basketball head coach Jerod Haase, who leaves with a 126-127 record and zero NCAA tournament appearances over eight seasons on the Farm.

A prolific recruiter, Haase brought three McDonald’s All-Americans to Stanford over the past four years. Still, the team was unable to reach the NCAA tournament under his leadership.

Haase had an overall 67-84 Pac-12 conference record, with his best finish coming in 2017-2018, when he posted an 11-7 record en route to a third place conference finish. The program only made the postseason once during Haase’s tenure, getting to the second round of the NIT in 2018.

Between 1995-2008, the Stanford men’s basketball team made the NCAA tournament 13 out of 14 years. However, since that time, the program has only made the tournament once — in 2014.

Stanford athletic director Bernard Muir will now begin a nationwide search for the 19th men’s basketball coach in Stanford history as the team prepares to move to the ACC. Early favorites to land the role include Washington State’s Kyle Smith and Princeton’s Mitch Henderson. 

“While the on-court results fell short of our expectations, Coach Haase led our men’s basketball program with great integrity and made a deeply positive impact on many Cardinal student-athletes,” Muir said. “As we embark on the search for our next head coach, I wish Jerod and his family all the best in the future.”

This article was corrected to more accurately reflect Haase’s record. The Daily regrets this error.

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Murderer from 1970s refuses to attend parole hearing https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/murderer-from-1970s-refuses-to-attend-parole-hearing/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/murderer-from-1970s-refuses-to-attend-parole-hearing/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 08:16:32 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244794 A Bay Area man convicted of murdering and raping a woman he kidnapped from the Stanford Shopping Center in 1974 refused to attend his 19th parole hearing this week.

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Burlingame resident John Warren Kreuter, convicted for the 1974 kidnapping, rape and murder of Palo Alto resident Liana Linda Hughes, refused to attend his parole hearing at the San Quentin State Prison this week.  

Kreuter has been determined unfit for parole 18 times since being convicted 50 years ago and this week’s hearing would have been his 19th.  During his first parole hearing in 1980, he admitted to his crimes, — a contrast to his denial of the accusations during his trial in the summer of 1974 following his arrest in February of the same year. His next parole hearing will be next year in 2025. 

On Jan. 29, 1974, 30-year old Hughes went missing from the Stanford Shopping Center. On Feb. 3,  her body was found in her motorhome parked in a Burlingame municipal parking lot. Autopsy results revealed fatal doses of the poison strychnine in her body, possibly dissolved in an alcoholic drink she consumed, according to a Daily article published at the time. Kreuter was convicted because of a bottle of strychnine found in his room and a right palm print found in the motor home that matched his hand. 

Because the case was classified as a first-degree murder, after 12 hours of deliberation over a period of three days in July 1974, a jury sentenced Kreuter to death in accordance with California law at the time. 

Kreuter was the second criminal to be convicted under a 1972 law which made the death sentence mandatory for “murders, robberies or kidnappings,” according to a Sept. 1974 Daily article

Kreuter’s death sentence, along with others sentenced under the same law, was changed to life in prison after the California Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional.

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University notifies individuals impacted by SUDPS hack https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/university-notifies-individuals-impacted-by-sudps-hack/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/university-notifies-individuals-impacted-by-sudps-hack/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 07:59:34 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244786 The University started outreach to 27,000 individuals whose personal information was stolen by ransomware group Akira’s attack on the Department of Public Safety (DPS) last May.

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Stanford has started to reach out to 27,000 individuals whose personal information was stolen by ransomware group Akira’s attack on the Department of Public Safety (DPS) discovered last September. The incident was isolated to systems and networks used by DPS, and did not involve any other parts of Stanford’s digital infrastructure.  

There is currently no evidence that the accessed information was misused, the University wrote in a March 11 update.

Akira previously threatened to leak the stolen data if the University did not pay an unspecified ransom. The Daily previously reached out to Akira representatives for comment on the scope and legitimacy of the listing through an anonymous portal. Representatives did not respond to the request.

Three impacted individuals in Maine were notified on March 11. Pursuant to Maine state law, Stanford also filed a data breach notification with the Maine Attorney General. 

Individuals started to receive notification letters earlier this week from the Stanford University Chief Privacy Officer, Nelson Akinrinade. Mailed notifications were delivered to anyone with an available mailing addresses. 

Identity protection services are available without cost to individuals who were affected. The University offered protection through IDX, which includes a $1,000,000 insurance reimbursement policy and fully managed ID theft recovery services.

The deadline to enroll in IDX services is June 11, 2024. 

Potential leaked information include names and personal information, like social security numbers, government IDs, passport numbers and driver’s licenses of impacted individuals. 

According to the University, the biometric data, health and medical information, email address with password, username with password, security questions and answers, digital signature and credit card information with security codes may also have been leaked for a small number of people.

Some impacted individuals were potentially minors, based on notification letters addressed to parents and guardians.

Law enforcement continues to investigate the incident, but established that the breach occurred between May 12, 2023 and Sept. 27, 2023. 

Shortly after the breach was discovered, federal and local law enforcement collaborated with external cybersecurity experts to terminate Akira’s access. According to the notification letter, DPS started work to improve safeguards.

“We take safeguarding your information seriously,” Akinrinade wrote.

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‘Yakuman Chance’: Girl talk at its finest https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/yakuman-chance-girl-talk/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/yakuman-chance-girl-talk/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 07:29:15 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244750 Sharing the stories of four friends coming together to play mahjong and catch up, "Yakuman Chance," an original play by Jayda Alvarez, gave viewers an intimate look into the intricacies, honesty and complications of female friendships.

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Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

Content warning: this story contains references to suicide. If you or someone you know is at risk, you can call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255. Additional resources are available here.

Jayda Alvarez ’24’s original play “Yakuman Chance” ran in the Nitery Theater from Feb. 29 to March 2, sponsored by the Stanford Theater Project. The play artfully wove together the dynamic nature of female friendships with weird, sometimes absurd humor and refreshing honesty.

For the duration of the 90-minute play, four actors gathered around a table — four young women, friends since high school, reuniting after a couple years apart to play a game of mahjong before they are blown apart again to their respective corners of the world. 

Actors would periodically move on and off the stage, but such actions were temporary: all movement was centered around the wooden table squared neatly in the middle of the stage. The characters were brought together by a physical location as they converged in the center of the stage, the physical convergence of the four different paths they led.

The singular set, designed by Richard John ’27, and small location did not detract from the play’s power; rather, it enhanced it. The theater felt cozy, and the distance between characters and audience members was marginal. It was a physical blurring of the line between the reality we live in and the reality Alvarez created.

Sitting in the front row of the theater, I could notice little details, like the stitching on a character’s bag, the grooves on the wooden chairs and the sound of the mahjong tiles as they clinked. The difference between what I saw and what the characters were experiencing grew smaller.

Lighting designer Ness Arikan ’26 expertly managed spotlights to draw attention to particular moments and highlight expert costume details, which were designed by Jeannette Chen ’23 M.A. ’24. The choice of two long braids for Piper — a childish, bubbly character — expertly contrasted with the lace blouse and brightly-colored bow donned by Brianna, a more mature yet easily excitable character. 

Sebastian Blue Hochman ’26, Yakuman Chance’s sound designer and composer, added to the ambiance with a mixture of live music and pre-recorded audio files. Hochman switched between the acoustic and electric guitars with ease, paralleling the thematic movement of the show. 

What struck me most about “Yakuman Chance” was the chemistry between the four actors. I was reminded of myself and my three friends from high school catching up during winter break over a game of Dora Candyland. 

Although our questions didn’t quite compare to Piper asking her friends “do you orgasm when you pee?” the scenes set up by “Yakuman Chance” made me feel just about as home as I do every time I start four-way FaceTime calls, watch my friends pile into my “clown car” or walk into class to see half of a sesame seed bagel left by my friend. I felt like each character was allowed to be their silly, authentic selves without holding anything back in a way that mirrored a real friend group.

“Yakuman Chance” also handled more serious issues with grace. Brianna shared the frustration and hurt she felt as she discovered her infertility due to PCOS. Her tone made her emotions clear as she lamented the loss of her dream to have kids and exasperatedly said it felt like she was no longer “enough of a woman.” The emotional impact of this scene hit much harder because her friends had teased her earlier on in the play for wanting to have a kid so young. 

Brianna’s experiences with PCOS were contrasted with her friend Christina’s, whose diagnosis was revealed in a nonchalant way by Piper in passing.

Two other members of the “gab circle,” Olivia and Piper, exchanged pointed remarks about the other’s privilege, whether due to their race or ability to attend college, throughout the show. Near the middle of the show, their quips escalated into an argument, with Piper accusing Olivia of idolizing others’ experiences as people of color and Olivia pointing out Piper’s privilege from being white-passing. 

In realistic fashion, they later made up only after prompting from the other two. This conversation highlighted the imperfect nature of friendships, made up of people who, though imperfect, seek to learn from their mistakes. 

There were moments of “Yakuman Chance” that emotionally wrecked me, specifically the one where Olivia confessed her previous suicidal thoughts. She revealed to her friends that when things got “real hard,” she’d make a list of things to stay alive for. Every time, the top three things would be “you, you and you,” she said, pointing to each one of her friends gathered around the table – the fourth being the long-running game of mahjong they’d play together. 

In response, the girls gathered together in a tight, heartfelt group hug with Olivia at the center as if the other three were protecting her after she was so emotionally vulnerable, and, as I noticed the tears in Olivia’s eyes, I became aware of the ones in mine.

The play’s conversations were just as organic and real as those in my own life, and Alvarez’s director’s note made it clear why. She described her unconventional directing process, with the first few rehearsals being devoted to playing mahjong and having conversations, much like the characters of the play do. 

“In our playing and talking, I witnessed the development of a sororal bond,” Alvarez wrote. “It dawned on me that we weren’t rehearsing the play, we were doing the play.” 

“Yakuman Chance” was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon. It was a wonderful blend of lighthearted humor mixed in with more somber topics, and I found myself blinking back tears more than once, both from uncontrollable laughter and upwellings of sadness.

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Stanford Heart-Up Culture: Episode 2 – DAHA Love? https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/stanford-heart-up-culture-episode-2-daha-love/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/stanford-heart-up-culture-episode-2-daha-love/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 07:03:46 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244739 Watch the newest episode of Stanford Heart-Up Culture, produced by The Stanford Daily video team.

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Stanford students don’t know anything about dating. About love. About human connection.

What do they know? CS and start ups. In this episode, we will see Stanford student Lauren attempt to find love with the help of her GroupMe dorm community.

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Editorial Board | What is an education without honesty? https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/editorial-board-what-is-an-education-without-honesty/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/14/editorial-board-what-is-an-education-without-honesty/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 07:00:36 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244761 "It’s time for us to confront the obvious: The long-standing Honor Code, Stanford’s institutional mechanism to combat academic dishonesty, has failed," writes The Daily's Editorial Board.

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Cheating at Stanford has become rampant in recent years. After seemingly every CS 106A exam and major assignment, students flood Fizz with posts asking how effective the CS department’s plagiarism detector is and whether they will get caught for receiving inappropriate help. Students circulate completed problem sets to copy and submit as their own work without giving credit.

It’s time for us to confront the obvious: The long-standing Honor Code, Stanford’s institutional mechanism to combat academic dishonesty, has failed. 

The Editorial Board believes that the Faculty Senate’s reinstatement of in-person proctoring is a positive step. However, proctoring alone does not address the bulk of the problem. 

The Vice Provost of Student Affairs established the Committee of 12 or “C-12” in 2022 to address the proliferation of academic dishonesty. C-12-led focus groups with students uncovered informal confessions about academic dishonesty on assignments beyond exams. Students told the committee that many violations, like plagiarism and unpermitted aid, such as unapproved cheat sheets or using the Internet — persist at Stanford.

Faculty hold the unique power to restructure courses to alleviate cheating. Upholding academic integrity is a shared responsibility between students and faculty members. Our recommendations allow faculty members to respond to cheating enabled by new technologies. 

To understand why this burden falls on faculty, we must consider how the Honor Code and student behavior have evolved. 

How did we get here? 

The Honor Code was established in 1921 and maintained its stance on proctoring until 2023. Prior to 2023, it compelled faculty to create “confidence in the honor of its students by refraining from proctoring examinations.” In turn, students assumed the responsibility to monitor and report violations by their peers. 

Students, however, have failed their side of the bargain. Out of the 720 total Honor Code violations reported between 2018-2021, only two came from students. In the past three years Honor Code violations have increased: 136 in 2018-19, 191 in 2019-20, and 393 in 2020-21. 

Largely in response to this trend, the C-12 proposed changes to the Honor Code last May to allow in-person proctoring, reversing a longstanding norm. These changes triggered a torrent of student dismay and anger. 

It is clear to us, a year after the Faculty Senate’s decision, that the proctoring policy would simply put a bandage over one wound, while more nebulous, common forms of cheating fester.

Why has cheating become such a widespread issue at Stanford? 

Certainly, there are substantial incentives to cheat; one factor is post-graduation opportunities. Whether it be graduate school or an interview at McKinsey, each seems to sport a daunting GPA cutoff, and students may feel tempted to use any means to keep those doors open — a pressure acknowledged by the C-12. 

When cheating becomes a widespread campus norm, the stigma attached to academic dishonesty erodes. Cheating becomes viewed as acceptable — or even necessary — to achieve success amid students who also cheat to stay afloat. Students may assume when exam scores are curved up, they are disadvantaged when they don’t cheat.

Furthermore, grade inflation contributes to an environment where an A is the expectation, and less is failure. 

An A should mark exceptional achievement in a course. In an academic climate where Bs are commonplace, perhaps a poor grade on one test would feel less like an outcome so bad that you should risk academic integrity to prevent it. 

The unrelenting pace in the quarter system also contributes: Seemingly never-ending midterms span weeks three to nine and the pressure to cram for several final exams and papers induce the temptation to cheat.

Stanford’s academic environment has transformed into a pressure cooker, exacerbated by technological change the University has precipitated. In our view, this enabling climate, rather than some generational increase in dishonesty, is responsible for much of Stanford’s current cheating problem. Students under pressure will cheat if given the chance, and that chance has exponentiated with the internet, ChatGPT, and workarounds to plagiarism detectors. Technologies outpace detection in many contexts, with some efforts even leading to false accusations.

How can we move forward?

The new environment around academic dishonesty needs intervention beyond codified rules, it necessitates a reimagined approach to exams, assignments, and their evaluation. In addition to proctoring exams, we recommend that faculty implement the following changes:

1) Phase out take-home examinations, especially ones graded solely on correctness, in favor of in-person exams and papers.

2) Allow for cited collaboration on homework — it happens anyway. 

3) Eliminate “reflection” assignments to assess attendance or completion of readings, as they’re easily completed by ChatGPT. If instructors believe reflection is crucial, it is most effective to evaluate through discussion sections, argumentative assignments requiring original thought or in-class assessments.

4) Emphasize why academic honesty is important, not only to avoid disciplinary action, but to realize academic learning goals. A speech from instructors early in the quarter, particularly in introductory courses, would reaffirm normative goals underlying policies designed to uphold academic honesty.

Academic dishonesty is a structural problem at Stanford, driven by new technologies and student culture. Changes that do not address this reality will fail to solve the problem.

If the honor code has broken down, it is because the trust between faculty and students has broken down. While we believe students are wrong to oppose the proctoring changes, we understand that the withdrawal of trust hurts. But faculty are justified in their desire to respond.

Academic dishonesty is immensely harmful — widespread cheating degrades the University’s purpose, community and institution. A widespread culture of cheating not only ruins the curve for honest students, but undermines a Stanford degree’s academic capital. 

We urge the faculty to seriously reimagine the responsibility to cultivate an environment supportive of academic integrity. There are no malicious professors in this regard — no one wants their students to cheat. 

We urge students to support faculty to create an academically honest classroom. Prioritizing shiny results over effort curtails students’ ability to gain a genuine education. The value of Stanford classes is the cumulative knowledge we obtain from them, not the collection of letter grades.

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A Spectator: To whom it may concern https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/a-spectator-to-whom-it-may-concern/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/a-spectator-to-whom-it-may-concern/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 06:53:23 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244641 After attending a reading at the Stanford Humanities Center, Benjamin Marra humorously reflects on the Center's choice of lighting.

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In his column “A Spectator,” a name inspired by Addison and Steele, Ben sets his sights on new frontiers of the navel — and sometimes beyond.

To whom it may concern at the Stanford Humanities Center,

I recently attended the reading of a wonderful poet on a nice rainy night at your center. This was the first time I had been inside the center, though I pass it every day and always note its attractive mid-century character, especially compared to the unattractive mid-century character of so many other buildings on campus. Though the reading itself was lovely, I’m writing to inform you that the experience was nearly ruined by the quality of light in your reading room. The light inside this room is too bright and too cold. The room appears to have been designed originally with a cozy and congenial idea in mind of reading and listening. With its low, warm-stained beams and built-in bookshelves, it has the feel of an alpine library. Somewhere along the way, whether or not you were aware of it, recessed lights were installed, along with baffling rows of spotlights, which on this night, shone additional beams at random members of the audience.

Whoever sat in this room appeared to be subject to an active interrogation for a terrible crime. There was no corner, even in the recesses of bookshelves, with a shadow. The books and windows were rendered flat, and may as well have been painted on the walls. This was the light to inspect moles under. My friend and I, both young and attractive, looked devastated and anemic in this light. I felt a pressure on our friendship which was unprecedented. This light was like the light that would precede a nuclear blast. The poet read something stark about the death of her mother, and when he finished I thought … Well yes, yes that’s right … and much worse too. A dear professor of mine tried to speak with me afterwards, and my tongue kept sticking in my jaw. There was nothing to say.

It was the light of a mind of no possibilities, the still, tinnitus light, with water dripping outside, lonelier than a Hopper painting. Whoever has chosen or approved this light has chosen to ignore her instinctual knowledge of what it means — in fact it refers very exactly, as if in words, to the despair which exists at all times of night in every city on earth. A man sits in a room which is just shapes, and outside the city is also just shapes, and no textures. His children are grown and have ideas just different enough from his own to produce distance, and his marriage is strained, and his life — oh, it is entirely over. 

We all know the light of this man, in which simple objects rear up and become menacing. A pencil, a dusty mug. Are any dignified and imaginative years of my life over? 

I understand that California has recently outlawed incandescent light bulbs, and I understand that beauty in everyday life is at the moment considered inconsequential, if not evil, and I also understand that this tone of fluorescent lighting is more or less standard in campus buildings, so that, walking here at night, it is common and maybe encouraged to feel as though one were a wayward spirit observing the rooms of purgatory, where other shades sodder or learn about guilt, having forgotten ideas like day and night along with the rhythm of the seasons, leaves falling into a pond outside the window, and the unexpectant smile of one you love, by the light of a small bedside lamp, deep in the past on a night that never returned …

Regardless, there must be a way. Whether there exists some kind of orange lens to put on the overhead lights, or some other solution involving sconces or floor lighting. You at the center have the unique privilege of your nice mid-century building with a courtyard, facing south on the grove of blue oaks. It asks for light that is more considered. I do not mean to be presumptuous on matters of budget. Even a single candle would be better, or perfect darkness. 

Sincerely, 

Ben Marra

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Drunken Angel: The Kon Ichikawa phobia https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/drunken-angel-the-kon-ichikawa-phobia/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/drunken-angel-the-kon-ichikawa-phobia/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 06:52:27 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244736 Alice Fang turns from looking at Taiwanese to Japanese films in the first installment of her new column "Drunken Angel." In the article, she "face[s] [her] fears" and looks at the work of Kon Ichikawa.

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Alice Fang’s column “Drunken Angel” introduces her favorite directors from the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.

In the summer of my sophomore year, I found my way to the Stanford Theater in Palo Alto, which at the time was screening movies by the iconic Japanese director Akira Kurosawa. Growing up I’d kept my distance from this director, associating him simply with the idea of old black and white samurai movies. I had felt that Japanese Cinema’s Golden Age comes from a world that does not cross orbits with my own. Yet when I walked into Stanford Theater’s screening of “Yojimbo,” without many expectations, gravity shifted. The moment the movie’s theme began playing, I fell hard and utterly in love. In retrospect, I am glad that I did not enter this world earlier. My first encounter with “Yojimbo” was such a beautiful moment that I wouldn’t want it any other way.

But the first Japanese Golden Age director I want to honor in this column is not Kurosawa. I decided that I first want to burrow deeper into the subconscious of my life lived in those films and “face my fears,” so to speak. At the end of the day, Kon Ichikawa is the moviemaker that scares me the most. 

In my head, I think of Ichikawa in relation to Stanley Kubrick, a director I had known and loved much earlier. The similarity, for me, comes from how they both move so easily between moods and genres. In the case of Kubrick, I think that the incredible perfection I perceive in each of his feats turns into a sense of coldness. He is so good at what he does that it is almost too good to be true, too good to retain enough human warmth for me to not be at least a little bit scared of him. 

If Kubrick is cold, Ichikawa, to me, is frigid: a freezing, deep fright. On the surface level, he also displays great mastery through his handling of a wide variety of genres, and his ability to move so smoothly between different styles and sentiments. But this mastery is not quite perfect. It is, perhaps, perfection askew. His movies are not pristine, impeccable systems, but seemingly well-organized systems that have a black hole somewhere inside that sends a chill down your back. 

The best example that can be used to explain my Ichikawa phobia is his 1959 film “Odd Obsession.” The story is driven by a relatively simple perverse-erotica plot: the protagonist is an art historian (Nakamura Ganjiro II) who, as his virility wanes, attempts to regain mastery of his sexual capability by orchestrating an affair between his wife (Machiko Kyo) and his daughter’s boyfriend (Tatsuya Nakadai). Those three main actors are themselves among the most formidable talents of Golden Age Japanese cinema, capable of doing justice to the widest variety of roles but capable above all of portraying the most terrifying characters. Joining forces with Ichikawa, they turn the story into an absurdist puppet play. 

Machiko Kyo plays the manipulated woman who knowingly feigns fainting fits in the shower, and conspiringly rises from her stupor to close her arms around the younger man, an abused doll that rolls its eyes the moment when you become assured of her lifelessness. Ganjiro, the frustrated puppeteer, packs all his male midlife crisis into a mask of calculated, composed gravity. Nakadai, the seduced pawn, but at bottom a heartless opportunist, plays along with his polite smile, impeccable demeanor, and innocent, glassy, doe eyes. 

Darker than this grotesque power play is the way that these characters are to meet their end. Spoiler alert — but it is impossible to talk about this movie without outlining its final scene. The helper in their house, Hana, has spent much of the screen time busing in the background over some bug powder. She is color blind, and the containers for insecticide and — of all things — some sort of salad dressing, happen to be red and green. At the end of the film, after Ganjiro’s character dies of heart failure, and as the remaining members of this love quadrangle are preparing to move on with their lives, Hana manages to take them all down with a poisoned salad. They converse with their usual hearty respectability, commenting along the way that the salad seems to taste strange. Then, one by one, they fall face flat into their plates. Questioned by the police, Hana insists that it was she who killed them all, that they were evil. The police officer laughs it off. (We are still not sure to what extent the poisoning was intentional, or whether it resulted from her mixing the two containers because of her color-blindness.)

In his film “Enjo,” produced in the year before, and again featuring Ganjiro and Nakadai, Ichikawa alternates between the absurdist to existentialist-nihilist outlooks. The film is adapted from Yukio Mishima’s legendary novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, which in turn took inspiration from the real story of a monk who burnt down the temple of his dreams. Mishima’s novelistic treatment flowers with internal dialogues and philosophizing on beauty, life, and death. Ichikawa, working with a visual medium, tunes down all this inner voice to near-silence clothed in high-contrast black-and-white silence. The protagonist stutters, and in the movie, all we hear from him verbally is his scarce, self-protective speech. But to me, this novel-to-film adaptation is as successful, as fundamentally comprehending, as Kubrick’s rendition of A Clockwork Orange. The desolate landscape of the film’s imagery, especially of the white flames tearing open the grayish sky in the end, strikes me as an incredibly astute representation of the aesthetic nihilism of Mishima’s protagonist, and Mishima himself. 

Ichikawa’s 1956 film, “Punishment Room,” burns his uncanny stamp into a third genre — the teenage angst, “Rebel Without a Cause” trope. This film was indeed grouped as an emerging trend in Japanese cinema at the time which took direct inspiration from the James Dean type hero. Like James Dean, Ichikawa’s protagonist charges half-blindly through life, confused, and angry, throwing his energy as if spitting fire. But the title of the film itself intimates that this teenage hero is not quite championed in the same way as its American predecessor. This film ends, literally, in a “punishment room.” The protagonist is tied to a chair in the storage room of a bar, where all his enemies have a go at him. Finally, the bunch of kids fear that they have killed him, and storm out. For a moment I believed that he must be dead. But then he gets up, still blindfolded, flounders around the room, miraculously find the door—and out he crawls through a dark alley, at the end of which is a light, and faint shadows of pedestrians that, the movie gently assures its audience, will surely find and rescue our hero. This is by no means a depressing ending, but my mind still lingers on the Punishment Room, the Japanese title for which also evokes the sentiment of executions. More “cause-less” than the protagonist’s rebellion is, in this case, the punishment enacted by his friends. 

Each of these three films, as I’ve summarized, operates under wildly different genres, source materials, and sensibilities. In his directorial excellence, Ichikawa is the type that does justice to his work by almost entirely disappearing into them, shape-shifting to the degree that you question if they could come from the same mind in the first place, only to recognize their familiar undercurrent through a retrospective washing over of existential dread. There is, however, another Ichikawa film in which he does seem to have disappeared utterly— I am as yet undecided on my verdict. His adaptation of Natsume Suzuki’s novel I Am A Cat, made much later in 1975, just seems so innocent in its portrayal of harmless satire and good-humored fun. Tatsuya Nakadai returns to play the middle-aged, scholarly main character, who spends his days bickering with friends and hanging out with his cat — the novel’s narrator and supposedly the story’s real protagonist. If there is the same dark undercurrent running beneath this film, I have not yet perceived it. I wonder if it has something to do with time, the gap of over a decade between this and the other aforementioned works. Or, perhaps, his sensibility is there all this time. Only that he has grown more masterful in shape-shifting, more at ease with his insistence at planting a black hole underneath each story told or retold, that he creates the full impression of having vanished from the audience’s view.

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‘Good’ Girlhood: ‘Drylongso’ views Black boys through a Black girl’s lens https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/good-girlhood-rediscovered-drylongso/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/good-girlhood-rediscovered-drylongso/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 06:33:10 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244713 'Drylongso' is a gem and tribute to the people of Oakland. It asks, how do you document Black life even as it continues to be constrained? writes columnist Blyss Cleveland.

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In her column “‘Good’ Girlhood,” Blyss Cleveland reviews female-centered coming-of-age films.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

From issues with ownership and music rights to a loss of the original footage, films fall out of distribution for a variety of reasons. For “Drylongso,” Cauleen Smith’s film that was released in 1998, it is ironic that it was lost to time until it was restored last year and added to the Criterion Collection. Smith completed the film while still enrolled in film school, and its meta-narrative tackles an ongoing problem: How do you document the ordinary and sometimes wonderful happenings of Black life amidst the specter of violence? 

Protagonist Pica Sullivan (Toby Smith) has tasked herself with addressing this challenge. She is a photography student trying to showcase her Polaroid portraits of Black boys and men who live in her West Oakland neighborhood. Her vision for her art is clear — Black boys and men are endangered and she wants to preserve images of them. However, she is running up the end of the semester and her chaotic home life makes it challenging to focus. There’s also a serial killer terrorizing the neighborhood, but this remains in the background until it doesn’t.  

Within this maelstrom, Pica becomes friends with Tobi (April Barnett). They first meet during a chance encounter after Tobi’s boyfriend abruptly pulls over and kicks her out of his car. Tobi is stranded and Pica (who was seated on her porch and witnessed Tobi’s boyfriend’s aggression) offers to call her a cab. The girls cross paths a few times before they go from acquaintances to friends. Once they are in each other’s lives, they each fill an empty space they didn’t know was unoccupied until the other one arrived.

Pica’s front porch provides refuge from the constant ruckus inside. She lives with her mother, Gloria (Channel Schafer), who is as skilled at throwing lively functions as she is at forgetting to treat Pica like her daughter instead of a roommate. Holding court on the porch also allows her to see Malik (Will Power), a fellow artist who is sweet on Pica. He passes by on his bicycle and inquires “Hey, when you gonna take my picture, girl?” A half-joke, half-complaint, Malik seems to be the only man in the neighborhood who Pica has not asked to pose for a portrait. The viewer learns this omission from her archive is not an oversight — she is waiting for the right moment.

Smith portrays Pica as someone who alternatively moves through the world with assertiveness and self-consciousness. She is frequently truant and when she does show up to class, she is late, listens to the end of her classmate’s confusing presentation and interrupts the polite discussion with a biting critique. When she meets with her professor, Mr. Yamada (Salim Akil, who co-wrote the script with Smith), Pica is initially reluctant to explain the concept behind her portraits, nor why she insists on using a Polaroid in a 35mm class. Instead, she imagines herself confidently reciting statistics about the high imprisonment rates and low life expectancy of Black men in America. 

In a later scene with Professor Yamada, Pica’s reverie comes into stark relief. As we learn the reason for Pica’s choice of medium, the audience is shown that people cannot be what they cannot see.  

It is a bold choice to tell a story about violence against Black males through a coming-of-age story about a young Black girl. However, being attentive to different ways of seeing and being in the world is the central message of the film. As Tobi tries to separate from her abusive boyfriend, she experiments with a masculine style of dress. In one scene, nervous white pedestrians jump out of her path while she’s roaming around donning her new look. When Pica asks if she’s afraid of being shot, Tobi retorts “I was afraid of that when I was a girl.” Black girls and women exist under a different, albeit no less deadly, threat of violence.

The serial killer who has been targeting male and female victims in the neighborhood is another source of neighborhood violence, as revealed by news reports throughout the film. While there is some resolution to this murder-y mystery, the plot line is a parable that suggests focusing on structural violence can obscure individual threats. 

Despite the heavy themes, the film has plenty of comedic moments. During a date with Malik, Pica chides him for not being a very curious person. He concedes that he’s not, but she says it like it’s a sin or something! If the true measure of a man is his ability to accept defeat with grace, Malik is truly undefeated. 

Gloria is also given surprising depth. Although she is depicted as a grown-up party girl who spends her days grooving or lounging around the house, when Pica asks for help, Gloria goes above and beyond. Learning to rely on others is an operative skill that Pica learns. Her mother, on the other hand, learns that giving her daughter space doesn’t mean keeping her at a distance.  

The title “Drylongso” is derived from a Gullah Geechee word for ordinary. Like many terms found in Black dialect, the word has multiple meanings and also indicates the standard and acceptable ways of doing things. The word is a fitting title for a touching independent gem that is ultimately a tribute to the people of Oakland. It is a vintage film about a contemporary problem — how do you document Black life even as it continues to be constrained? Make art that captures the beauty of people and places, and if it gets lost, find it and make it available to the next generation.

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University administrator asks campaigners to leave Tresidder on Election Day https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/university-administrator-asks-campaigners-to-leave-tresidder-on-election-day/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/university-administrator-asks-campaigners-to-leave-tresidder-on-election-day/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 04:49:45 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244667 Jeanette Smith-Laws, director of operations and student unions in the assistant vice provost’s office, allegedly approached two Peter Dixon tablers and asked them to leave during last week's primary.

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On Election Day, students campaigning for Peter Dixon outside Tresidder Memorial Union were asked to leave by a University administrator — an incident they described as voter suppression.

At 8 a.m. on March 5, Ethan Asher ’24, a student involved with the Peter Dixon for Congress campaign, asked poll workers at Tresidder Memorial Union about the rules for election tabling. An election official handed Asher a booklet with official information on electioneering and pointed at a physical boundary — green tape 100 feet away from the ballot box that as a campaigner, he could not cross. 

He and Sophia Woodrow ’24 set up tables outside Tresidder with campaign materials. Several hours later, around 6:45 p.m., they said they were asked to leave by Jeanette Smith-Laws, the director of operations and student unions. 

The students were ultimately allowed to stay, albeit without the chairs and tables originally provided by Stanford. They said the incident represents an instance of voter suppression, and have filed complaints with the California Secretary of State and the Santa Clara County Registrar’s office.

“The University encourages freedom of expression and its policies do not inhibit the expression of personal political views. To our knowledge, students engaged in campaign activities outside Tresidder Memorial Union were able to continue their pursuits,” Pat Harris, a University spokesperson, wrote. 

Asher said the purpose of tabling was not to convince voters to support their candidate, but to speak with undecided voters and celebrate democracy. “It was like, ‘Thank you so much for voting, polls are open until 8 o’clock, tell your friends,” he said. Asher was involved with strategic support and helping with the candidate’s mixed-income housing plan.

Woodrow described the environment as high-spirited. She said Mona Hicks, senior associate vice provost and dean of students, even thanked Asher and other campaigns for their presence. “No one was hostile in any way. It was kind of a culture shock coming from Georgia, a state where things like that get very, very tense,” Woodrow said. 

However, according to Asher, at 6:45 p.m. Smith-Laws approached him and said they could not be there. 

Asher said that when asked for clarification, Smith-Laws continued to ask them to leave. He said he told Smith-Laws about his earlier conversation with the election worker and explained his adherence to election laws, including the required 100-foot distance between campaigners and ballot boxes.

Asher said Smith-Laws responded that it was not about the law, but about adhering to Tresidder Memorial Union’s building policy. According to him, Smith-Laws said this kind of tabling was only allowed in White Plaza, the University’s determined “free speech zone.”

“This is not a free speech issue. The election law says that this is where we can stand, and the county verified that,” Asher recounted telling her, before he asked Smith-Laws to consult the election manager. 

Smith-Laws proceeded to the ballot box area inside Tresidder Oak Room and began to discuss the issue with a Santa Clara County official, according to the students. Meanwhile, Asher called Woodrow to inform her of the situation before he contacted the California Democratic Party’s voter protection hotline. Asher said he spoke with Emma Harper, director of operations for the California Democratic Party, with whom he confirmed that he was legally allowed to table 100 feet away from the ballot box. 

Asher said he approached Smith-Laws and the Santa Clara county election official with Harper on the phone as a facilitator — the election official refused to speak with Harper, according to the students. The election official then told Asher they had received reports of voter intimidation and blocked access to the ballot box. 

“Those are serious crimes that we were accused of pretty nonchalantly by a member of Stanford admin and someone who was an election manager with the county,” Asher said. 

On the other side of Tresidder, Woodrow said another Stanford worker approached her to say her table had to go.

“He told us he had had to kick the Girl Scouts out earlier that week after he bought cookies from them, and he said, nothing personal, nothing political, against the candidate that we were representing — just building policy,” Woodrow said.

Woodrow said the worker could not identify the specific issues related to her presence, and that they said they would send their boss to talk to her.

Asher and Woodrow were then told that they were legally allowed to be there, they said. However, because the tables and chairs were considered Stanford property, they were not allowed to use them.

They placed their personal belongings on the ground and proceeded to campaign. Asher said Smith-Laws and the election official gave them “dirty looks” from inside Tresidder. 

Another student at the campaign’s table, who spoke on the condition of anonymity due to fear of retaliation, said Smith-Law’s actions were “really uncalled for and unnecessary. It was really alarming to see someone that’s going on a power trip over a space when there’s so much more important things at hand.”

The Dixon campaign tablers left the area at approximately 7:45 p.m. “I think other campaign people would have left when they got asked to leave. But I know the law and I’m gonna make a scene because this is voter suppression,” Asher said.

On March 7, Asher met with Hicks. He said they had a productive private conversation regarding the incident and Hicks promised to resolve the issue before November. 

Asher has since filed an election voter complaint with the California Secretary of State and has attempted to file a complaint for voter suppression or irregularities with the Santa Clara County Registrar’s Office. He has yet to hear back. 

“I think it serves as a reminder that even though things like this happen in Georgia, where I’m from and in parts of the country where people more traditionally think about voter suppression, tactics like that can happen anywhere,” Woodrow said.

The Daily has reached out to Jeanette Smith-Laws and the Peter Dixon campaign for comment.

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Stanford bike thefts in 2023: A review https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/stanford-bike-thefts-in-2023-a-review/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/stanford-bike-thefts-in-2023-a-review/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 04:28:32 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1243817 In a conversation with Andrew from the Campus Bike Shop, the owner shared that he expects at least 10 of his rental bikes to be stolen during the Summer Quarter, Jay Gupta writes.

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The Stanford Bike Culture

Stanford is known for many things. From groundbreaking research to the occasional fraudster, the University has reached international acclaim on a variety of fronts. Among the University’s many achievements is its remarkable bike culture.

The Platinum Bicycle Friendly University Award is a distinction made by the League of American Bicyclists to recognize institutions of higher education for promoting and providing a more bikeable campus for students, staff, and visitors. Stanford, as it so happens, is the only university in the nation to be awarded four consecutive Platinum Designations. This should come as no surprise. With some 13,000+ bikes pedaling daily, the campus features a robust bike infrastructure with more developments on the way.

Stanford bike thefts in 2023: A review

Even little-known programs like Stanford Spokes, a team biking from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., connect the pastime to a broader educational mission of academic excellence.

Unfortunately, it is a simple fact that where there are bikes, there are bike thefts. In this article, I review reported bike thefts in 2023 and investigate where and when they happen. I follow up with practical actions you can take to prevent and prepare for the worst.

A Cold Open

Jason Lin ’25 is an undergraduate studying mechanical engineering here at Stanford. A rather wild fellow, I distinctly remember Lin as the RA who hosted an on-call where he awakened his inner ogre burning through Shrek movies while munching on raw onions shirtless. So it should come as no surprise that when his bike was stolen from the Caltrain Station after a fun outing in San Francisco, he took drastic measures.


Indeed, on top of filing a police report, Lin scoured Craigslist, where he would eventually find a suspicious listing that “beckoned for some vigilante justice.” Calling on his friends, Lin decided to organize a stakeout. Lin approached the seller in an empty parking lot across from the Menlo Park Fire Station while one friend stood by. The duo would ultimately find themselves talking to a rather intimidated middle-aged woman who, in fact, did not possess Lin’s bike.

The Statistics

While most of us wouldn’t go so far as to organize a stakeout in search of, as Lin would put it, our “inanimate wheeled friends,” the reality is that bike thefts do occur at Stanford often without resolution. As Andrew Meyer from the Campus bike shop wrote in a statement to The Daily, “The area in general is targeted by thieves due to the large volume of bicycles on campus at any given time.”

Every week, The Daily publishes a Police Blotter detailing a selection of incidents taken from the Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) bulletin. While the Police Blotters offer a great snapshot of incidents throughout the week, they do not give a full picture of bike thefts at Stanford. On the flip side, while the SUDPS publishes an annual crime statistics report in accordance with the Clery Act, it is difficult to investigate individual events. As Mishika Govil ’25 wrote in a statement to The Daily, “One thing that would be personally more helpful would be if there was more readily available aggregate data on times, locations, and general trends of bike theft data.”

Highlighted List of Police Blotter Incidents at Campus Bike Shop

With that in mind, I decided to review every blotter published in 2023. My review found that a total of 188 bike thefts were reported with 38 classified as grand thefts, 104 classified as petty thefts, and 46 as unknown.

For context, according to the SUDPS, “a Petty Theft is a value of property (in this case a bicycle) equal to or under $950 [and] a Grand Theft is a value over $950.”

Temporally, I find a higher incidence of bike thefts during October. This finding aligns with observations made by SUDPS who wrote, “there is typically a higher incidence of thefts at the beginning of the academic term when students return to campus with their bicycles, which thieves are aware of.” It is also worth pointing out that July and August are empty because The Daily does not compile Police Blotters during those months. In a conversation with Meyer from the Campus Bike Shop, the owner shared that he expects at least 10 of his rental bikes to be stolen during the Summer Quarter.

Spatially, I find that most bike thefts occur at Stern Hall and Main Quad. You can hover over the dots to view the incident information along with a clickable link to its source.

Beyond these hotspots, Omar Barba from the Campus Bike Shop also cautioned against “areas with a main road” notably including the Medical School and Oak Road.

Taking Action

Broadly, there are two ways to think about protecting our bikes: prevention and preparation. Prevention asks us to consider questions like what actions can I take in order to reduce the likelihood that my bike gets stolen. The SUDPS has a couple of thoughts on prevention.

Their first comment called on community members to be proactive and “immediately report suspicious activity by calling 911 or (650) 329-2413 (non-emergency).”

The SUDPS also recommended using “a U-Lock to secure a bicycle to a bicycle rack.”

That last point was echoed by the Campus Bike Shop. In a conversation with Meyer and Barba, the pair explained that understanding the psychology of a thief is helpful for prevention. According to them, thieves target bikes that look insecure, inconspicuous and expensive. For security, the Bike Shop recommends using a U-lock or Chain lock, replacing quick-release levers and adding a small cable lock to secure the seat to the frame.

For aesthetics, the Bike Shop recommends de-beautification. Barba warmly recalls a particularly motivated student who spray painted their bike hot pink in retaliation — they never faced issues during their time at Stanford.

Preparation asks us to consider questions like what actions can I take now in order to respond to a bike theft when it does occur?

On this front, the SUDPS encourages community members to “register their bicycle to increase the chances it will be returned to them if recovered by visiting: https://project529.com/garage.” For reference, most bike serial numbers are listed under the bottom bracket where the two pedal cranks meet. For more information, we recommend visiting Stanford Transportation’s bike registration page.

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From the Community | Instead of attacking critics of Israel, explain why we shouldn’t https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/instead-attacking-critics-israel-explain-why-we-shouldnt/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/instead-attacking-critics-israel-explain-why-we-shouldnt/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 04:09:46 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244439 "To attack critics of Israel with the label 'antisemite' also carries its own dangers — it not only evacuates the term of its legitimacy and power, it also distracts our attention from authentic antisemitism, which must be fought," Palumbo-Liu writes.

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As someone accused of being one the “worst racists” on campus (“Ph.D. student testifies before Congress on antisemitism at Stanford”), the Daily reached out to me for comment but scarcely used anything I gave them in response. So I asked to be able to more fully represent my reaction in this opinion piece.

From the Community | Instead of attacking critics of Israel, explain why we shouldn’t

In his testimony to Congress, Mr. Figelis cited one of my social media posts, which reads, “When Zionists say they don’t feel ‘safe’ on campus I’ve come to see that as they no longer feel immune from criticism of Israel.”  His testimony for Congress included this question: “Should any professor be allowed to celebrate the lack of safety of any student, regardless of how that student identifies?”

Feigelis distorts my statement in two ways. First, I do not “celebrate” any student’s lack of safety — my comment specifically regards a student’s “feeling” of lack of safety. Second, I am not even “celebrating” that feeling of lack of safety: I am saying that if one feels “safe” only when unchallenged in defending Israel and, conversely, “unsafe” because more and more people — not just at Stanford, and not just in the U.S., but globally — are vociferously criticizing what the International Court of Justice determined to be Israel’s “plausible case of genocide,” then one might want to brace oneself for more discomfort, because world opinion is changing. In the recent advisory hearings at the ICJ, only one country of the 50 that spoke asserted that Israel’s occupation was legal, and that country was not even the United States — it was Fiji. 

To attack critics of Israel with the label “antisemite” also carries its own dangers — it not only evacuates the term of its legitimacy and power, it also distracts our attention from authentic antisemitism, which must be fought. Bernie Steinberg, executive director of Harvard Hillel from 1993 to 2010 wrote:

Let me be clear: Antisemitism in the U.S. is a real and dangerous phenomenon, most pressingly from the alt-right white-supremacist politics that have become alarmingly mainstream since 2016. To contend against these and other antisemitic forces with clarity and purpose, we must put aside all fabricated and weaponized charges of “antisemitism” that serve to silence criticism of Israeli policy and its sponsors in the U.S. As a Jewish leader, I say: Enough.

Rather than using the occasion to sling mud at me in absentia before the Congressional choir, Mr. Feigelis might have attempted a more challenging task. If he believes critics of Israel deserve to be denounced and silenced as “antisemites,” then does it not behoove him to explain why Israel should not be criticized?  In today’s political environment, denouncing criticism of Israel as “antisemitism” is like shooting fish in a barrel. The Ph.D. students might more usefully spend their time elaborating a defense of Israel’s killing of over 30,000 Palestinians, including 12,000 Palestinian children, some 8,000 Palestinian women and 10,000 men, by means of bombing, shooting and starvation. He should explain why such atrocities are acceptable to him.

The bottom line is this: it doesn’t matter who is perpetrating the genocide that is unfolding before our eyes — it is not only our right, it is in fact our obligation to criticize them in the strongest terms possible. The charge of “antisemitism” seeks to deflect attention to the criminality of the State of Israel, and it is rapidly losing traction.

David Palumbo-Liu is the Louise Hewlett Nixon Professor and comparative literature professor at Stanford.

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A postcard from Ribka’s bedroom: Learning to love being basic https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/a-postcard-from-ribkas-bedroom-learning-to-love-being-basic/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/a-postcard-from-ribkas-bedroom-learning-to-love-being-basic/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 02:37:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244521 In another installment of "A Postcard from Ribka's Bedroom," Ribka Desta '27 talks about embracing the basic and the intriguing individuality complexes of pop culture enthusiasts.

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“A postcard from Ribka’s bedroom” delivers truths — harsh and kind. “Can a truth even be harsh, kind, subjective or objective?” Ribka Desta asks.

As she pens in her postcards, perhaps it is impossible to view things as they are — maybe you can only view things as you are.

As a proud middle school graduate, I am insanely happy to have shedded the “I’m-not-like-other-girls” skin of my tweenage self. She was unbelievably annoying. She would prance around claiming she had college-level reading comprehension and a sophisticated, individual philosophy (empathy, don’t murder, etc …).

I took pride in listening to musicians with less than a million monthly listeners on Spotify and watching obscure movies the general public couldn’t care less about. Passion was a competition, and I guess I thought there would be more room for me to gloat and glide in small concert venues and comment sections.

Maybe that came from the traumatic times during which teenage boys who thought they’d invented pop rock went around asking girls to “name three songs.” It was probably from the stigma around the word “basic,” currently my biggest pet peeve.

What’s the crime in being basic? Something is basic if it’s popular, which means it’s well-liked for a reason. Everyone breathes. Does that make breathing basic? Go ahead and hold your breath for me. You did it! You’re so original! Are you proud?

Anyway. Now, there is nothing I hate more than being unable to discuss a niche interest with someone else. I like sharing joy in seeing actors I’ve followed for years get their coins, or splitting anger with a friend over a show getting canceled. The first and only person I’ve met who had seen my favorite movie — “Mysterious Skin” — (disregarding my friends who have seen it solely because I had shoved it down their throats) was one of my coworkers. I was so overjoyed I nearly proposed right there in our workplace and caught an H.R. violation.

Still, when I saw an edit of this movie on TikTok that had more than a million likes I had a brief identity crisis. This movie’s dialogue rushes through my bloodstream. I know more about the film’s production process than I know about my brother’s career plans. I’m more “Mysterious Skin” than I am human, so how could some randos online intrude on that? I don’t want people to love this movie if they’re gonna love it wrong. Of course, you can’t love a movie wrong. I understand that. I’m probably just bitter.

Anyway.

Sometimes, I think of small authors and singers as pets or people in my pocket. Objectively, it’s a great thing to watch one’s popularity boost or have their content become mainstream. I want my favorite creators to get the money and fans they deserve. This means letting them off their leash and letting them walk around, grow up and grow legs.

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Stanford in Style: Reflecting on three winter quarter wardrobes https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/stanford-in-style-reflecting-on-three-winter-quarter-wardrobes/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/stanford-in-style-reflecting-on-three-winter-quarter-wardrobes/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 02:04:42 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244514 In the second installment of her column on fashion at Stanford, Rebecca Smith '25 looks back on her own style evolution on The Farm, from rocking the athlete backpack to going back to brunette.

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In Stanford in Style, Rebecca Smith ’25 dives into fashion on The Farm and what the things we wear say about who we are.

We’ve reached the end of another winter quarter — the lake is full once again, memories of sunshine feel like the distant past and it seems like everyone’s entered their grandma era.

Now that I’m a junior and am acutely aware that each quarter completed brings me ten weeks closer to corporate America, I find myself pensive and reflective in these quiet last days of my third Stanford winter. Sure, I’m looking forward to spring at Camp Stanford, but my own awareness of time’s frantic passing has me pondering days of winters past and the change that Stanford has wrought upon me.

I was a HumBio pre-med varsity athlete when I came to Stanford (shoutout women’s rowing <3) but somewhere along the way I’ve become an MS&E NARP (Non-Athletic Regular Person). Even on paper, I’m different from who I was when I first stepped onto Palm Drive almost three years ago. Change is one of my favorite parts of life, and how better to reflect on it than through a retrospective glance at my personal style through the years?

Prologue
What would a reflection on personal growth be without paying homage to my roots? Before Stanford, I had no choice in my sense of style. I went to Catholic school for 16 years and wore a uniform for all of them, which unfortunately didn’t leave a lot of room for personal fashion exploration.

Purely utilitarian in my teens, I reluctantly embraced our uniform, wearing the same pair of Clarks Wallabees every day from seventh grade until my high school graduation. The shoes stand as a testament to the constancy of daily life in high school: wake up, school, practice, homework, sleep, repeat. I don’t think I’ve ever owned an uglier pair of shoes, nor have I ever gotten my money’s worth quite as well.

Frosh Year

In my first year out of high school, I embraced athleisure and my athlete backpack with open arms, stepping into California for the first time. My bandwidth was low, too low to even wear jeans most days. Looking through my camera roll, I leaned into looking sporty, wearing leggings and a hoodie most days in the winter, and swapping the leggings out for running shorts in the spring. I had leaned in hard to sporty style, my outfits reflecting the deep sense of identity I had as an athlete, into the practicality and comfort of athleisure when you’re too tired to put on a pair of jeans.

But, on nice Wednesdays in the spring when we had practice off, I’m photographed in a floral dress with a sweater, or a pair of ripped jeans and a top that I really liked. Just looking back reminds me of the chaos of early Stanford, the uncertainty of self in a new place, and the time between arriving here and establishing myself. Throughout the spring, I start to see flashes of who I am now reflected in the outfit choices of who I was then: a square neck linen dress, a cute summer shirt, a sparkly tube top at a party. Starting to ground herself, but certainly still awash in change.

Sophomore Year

I stopped rowing sophomore year, and this huge lifestyle change and ensuing mild identity crisis was certainly reflected in what I was wearing. Now that I wasn’t an athlete, who was I? I stuck with the athleisure of days past in the late fall and early winter, again leaning into comfort and utility as I worked to establish who I was on campus and to myself yet again.

I can trace the beginnings of my style evolution and start of my NARP life through fit checks I sent to my mom — a pair of wide-leg black jeans I love, a cream sweater I wear often and my favorite pair of neutral wash jeans I’m wearing as I write this. I can see my transition out of uncertainty and into self-assuredness through these photos.

Sophomore year also brought about one of my favorite pieces: my Oddli shirt, that I customized with my name, Becky. The Becky! shirt is a true staple of my closet, constantly in rotation. I think it’s fun, playful, energetic and just the tiniest bit camp. Looking back, the advent of this simple baby tee reflects a real pivot in my time at Stanford — an embrace of self, comfort in authenticity and newfound joy.

The Present

Today, I feel like the way I dress is a distinct embodiment of who I am. I love to wear blues, greens and neutrals (my forever favorite colors). I wholeheartedly stand for linen and a knit as a go-to outfit choice, and I’ve embraced dressing comfortably, but still somewhat uniquely.

Another thing I’ve recently embraced is my natural hair color. I was blonde for almost five years, highlighting my naturally light brown hair multiple times a year. Blonde was fun, but I still feel like it was a way for me to present as someone I was distinctly not. My transition back to brunette represents my choice to wholeheartedly embrace who I am, and a comfort with myself and self-assuredness I feel for the first time since coming to Stanford.

A fun side quest of embracing myself has been my own personal style journey. It’s easy to feel adrift and uncertain in your early 20s, and I’ve embraced both change and authenticity through the way I style myself. Who’s to say how I’ll dress in five years, or even next September. Time will tell if I go blonde again, or if I swear off wearing a shirt with my name on it.

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Delicate Sensibilities: ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ is remarkably Gen-Z fluent  https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/delicate-sensibilities-bodies-bodies-bodies-gen-z/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/delicate-sensibilities-bodies-bodies-bodies-gen-z/#respond Thu, 14 Mar 2024 01:58:22 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244650 The dialogue in "Bodies Bodies Bodies," accurately depicts Gen-Z character relationships. The real standout of “Bodies Bodies Bodies” has nothing to do with the gore and everything to do with the dialogue, writes Donlon.

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In her column “Delicate Sensibilities,” Julia Donlon reviews provocative films.

Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.

How many horror movies have you seen which opened on a sustained close up of a steamy, queer makeout sesh? My tally comes in at a staggering one, but if you managed to beat me, do send me your list because I was instantly hooked. Maybe intrigued is a better word, because if you asked me what I thought I was getting into when I watched “Bodies Bodies Bodies” (2022), lovey-dovey kisses and awkward first “I love you”s in serene forests and softly lit meadows were very much not on my mind. But don’t worry, things very quickly hit the fan; darkness fell, and shadows and secrets came out to play.

The film’s central couple, Sophie (Amandla Stenberg) and Bee (Maria Bakalova), shake off the awkward and unreciprocated declaration by hopping in a car and heading to a gated mansion to meet up with Sophie’s friends. We are quickly introduced to a gaggle of party animals who, after rounds of shots, slaps and lines of coke decide to play the titular party game, Bodies Bodies Bodies. A game of fake death becomes one of real survival when David (Pete Davidson) meets a bloody end, and speculative fingers are pointed in every direction. Was it the weird, older and brand-new boyfriend Greg (Lee Pace)? Or the dominant, intense and knife-waving Jordan (Myha’la Herrold)? 

Of course, every character represents their own extreme — most are wealthy, many are vain or clueless — but each one is ultimately armed to the teeth with piercing insults (usually regarding the others’ aforementioned wealth, vanity and cluelessness). The exception is the soft-spoken, presumed protagonist, Bee, whose outsider status serves to elevate suspicion in the murderer witch hunt and also exemplifies the intense dynamics of a sprawling friend group to both the character and the viewer who does not yet know the extent of the messiness under the surface.

The horror elements are actually very palatable for anyone who is down with the slasher genre. Spoiler alert: characters fall from great heights, necks are sliced and a number of terrible fates are met due to blunt force head trauma — just your average kickback gone wrong, really. Despite this, I honestly expected the gore to be much worse and the reliance on jumpscares to be much greater; I was pleasantly surprised by some more sophisticated tension-building techniques and foreshadowing shots. 

I was not the biggest fan of the limited score, with regrettably short bursts of great pop tracks punctuating long bouts of silence. But combined with cinematography that showed a little love to the shaky handheld camera and a single on-location setting, it made for a small-budget vibe that did not take itself too seriously, a setup I ultimately appreciated.

Besides, if less music was the tradeoff for splurging on a stellar cast, I really cannot complain. Rachel Sennott gives an incredibly honest performance as Alice, the cause of many eye rolls and wielder of some of the most ironic lines in the film. I think she wins the award for most industrious podcast pitch at the least opportune moment (she was covered in various peoples’ blood). 

Therefore the real standout of “Bodies Bodies Bodies” has nothing to do with the gore and everything to do with the dialogue. The level of Gen-Z fluency is almost unparalleled in anything I’ve seen; even “Bottoms” (2023) (another stellar Sennott performance and writing credit), which I loved, also made a concerted effort to be timeless. “Bodies Bodies Bodies” instead leans hard into the emerging world of vapid social media presences and overt political correctness, affording itself the generous use of cellphones, popular TikTok sounds and internet-popularized lingo to craft a stunningly accurate picture of a modern college friend group. 

Earnestly-delivered lines about gaslighting and mental health often became the butt of the joke. My personal favorite outburst — “It’s creative nonfiction which is a valid response to life in an attention economy!” — is sometimes how I feel about this very column. Yet the film awards such truth and identity to these words in the eyes of its characters. The cast delivers them with such confidence and fluency that these bits never feel like a gimmicky Gen-Z takedown. Rather, it is evident that this was lovingly (and perhaps a little self-deprecatingly) crafted by people whose social circles actually talk like this to some degree. The film breathes life into its interpersonal dynamics using witty and complex sociopolitical banter, leveraged here to simply cause and escalate drama. 

Given that these hilariously satirical conversations are the stars of the show against a background of outrageous death, I will not waste breath (or keystrokes?) on the ending. I was slightly confused but found the final ironic stroke to be a breath of fresh air. I finished shaking my head at the ridiculousness of it all, smiling nonetheless. What a time to be alive.

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Behind Stanford’s doubled staff-to-student ratio https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/behind-stanfords-doubled-staff-to-student-ratio/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/behind-stanfords-doubled-staff-to-student-ratio/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:46:07 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244459 The number of staff at Stanford has more than doubled since 2000, drawing some criticism of administrative bloat. But many faculty say the increase both complements and directly supports the University’s academic environment.

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The number of staff at Stanford has more than doubled since 2000, drawing some criticism of administrative bloat — including from former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. Many faculty, though, say the increase both complements and directly supports the University’s academic environment.

Between 1996 and 2023, the number of staff, or non-teaching employees, grew at an average rate of 382 new staff per year — 950 per year since 2019. The University’s staff-to-student ratio concurrently increased from 0.42 to 0.94 staff per student, higher than 46 out of the 50 top universities as ranked by the U.S. News and World report. 

This expansion is largely at the School of Medicine, where the yearly staff growth rate of 5.6% is significantly higher than the 1.7% rate across the rest of the University. New staff are also being hired at the Doerr School of Sustainability and other incipient programs, and for research support across departments.

School of Medicine spokesperson Courtney Lodato wrote that the increase largely includes clinical educators who teach and provide clinical care, financed by external research funds from government and industry sources. The School of Medicine plans to hire over 300 staff this fiscal year.

Per the University’s 2023-2024 budget plan, each of Stanford’s seven academic schools except the Graduate School of Business will also onboard new staff.

Some professors said increasing compliance requirements on universities is partially responsible for staff increases. Between 1997 and 2012, the number of government compliance requirements on universities increased by 56%, with a 2015 study finding that compliance with these requirements consumes 3-11% of a university’s non-hospital expenses. 

Political science professor James Fearon said that since becoming a faculty member at Stanford two decades ago, he has observed an increase in compliance requirements, including certifications, surveys and paperwork.

Similarly, management science and engineering (MS&E) professor Peter Glynn Ph.D. ’82 said that 30 years ago, compliance requirements were less stringent, and faculty were instead trusted to maintain high ethical standards on conflict of interest issues. Now, Glynn said, there are more formalized systems for preventing offenses.

“While it complicates life for faculty, [compliance requirements] are a necessary part of the way the world needs to operate,” Glynn said. “It’s a necessary part of how we maintain confidence in what we do.”

Universities have also hired more staff to support students, such as for mental health, diversity and inclusion and career preparation. Stanford’s spending on student services accounts for 5.2% of the University’s overall expenses, an increase from 2.7% in 2000. Student service salary data, which is only available for 2019 and subsequent years, has remained relatively constant at 2.9% of the University’s total expenses. 

Graduate Student Council co-chair and fourth-year chemistry Ph.D. student Emmit Pert said he has noticed a large improvement in the availability of mental health services over the past three years, which he attributed to the hiring efforts of Counseling and Psychological Services. 

Similarly, Fearon said he and his colleagues have noticed “remarkable” growth in the Office of Accessible Education (OAE) over the past decade due to student need.

“Pretty substantial fractions of classes these days have OAE exceptions of various kinds,” Fearon said. “That makes for a lot more administrative work because you’ve got to have your teaching staff and your department staff handle these often conflicting and complicated OAE exceptions.”

Stanford also has unique characteristics that create high staff headcount, former Provost Persis Drell told the Faculty Senate during a May 2023 meeting: Unlike other institutions, Stanford requires more staff to maintain Stanford Research Park, a large housing portfolio and other facilities.

Her comments followed an April 2023 opinion by Betsy DeVos that criticized “ever-growing DEI bureaucracies on campus” and “the Stanford Title IX apparatus.” Stanford, DeVos wrote, “employs more administrators than it enrolls undergrads — focused on an agenda, not education.” This count included employees at SLAC National Accelerator Center.

The University directed The Daily to Drell’s comments last May, where she said public discussion on Stanford’s administrative staff growth was “misleading and simplistic, as it failed to recognize the complexity and breadth of Stanford.” 

Spending on administrative activities as a percentage of total University expenses has also remained at a constant 8.1% over the past two decades, despite the growth in personnel. 

Sociology professor Tomás Jiménez said people are often too quick to blame universities for staff bloat.

“It can be really easy to [say] ‘They’re not doing anything,’ and ‘Universities are just making it more expensive by hiring more staff,’” Jiménez said. “But my experience has been that when staff and faculty are really drawing on different kinds of expertise, it’s magic. It makes this place what it is.”

Before arriving at Stanford, Jiménez worked at the University of California at San Diego from 2005 to 2008, where he said faculty and students were limited by lower resource availability. 

“Here, you can create whatever you want, and it’s part of the wonder of [Stanford]. But to do that, you need help,” Jiménez said. “[Having staff] work for me has allowed me to do infinitely more research and be way more ambitious.”

Jiménez said staff help him broker relationships with organizations, find people to interview and coordinate research efforts with other faculty. For example, while planning an annual graduate student conference, Jiménez said staff helped him save time compared to his public university colleagues.

Similarly, Fearon said a larger staff allows Stanford to host an impressive number of events and speakers on a regular basis, as well as coordinate collaborations between centers and institutes.

Given finite resources, though, Glynn said Stanford “has to make careful resource allocation decisions,” particularly regarding how resources are “spread between the core mission and additional things the University has chosen to do.”

Between the years 2000 and 2023, spending on such auxiliary activities — housing and dining services, athletics, alumni affairs, health care services and other activities not directly related to teaching and research — has risen from 12.2% of total University expenses to 24%. Instruction and departmental research costs, on the other hand, have remained at a constant 34% of total University expenses since 2000.

In financial reports, health care services under the University (not Stanford Health Care or Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital) were listed as auxiliary expenses until 2019, after which health care services became its own category. For graphing purposes, auxiliary spending past 2019 are the sum of the listed auxiliary expenses and health care services. The following categories are not included in University spending: Organized research, libraries, development and SLAC construction.

Glynn noted that “there is a bureaucratic administrative element to a university, and the reality is that bureaucracies like growing in size.” He cautioned the University against straying from a teaching- and research-centered mission, and said it was important to ensure that “the growth of administrative function is aligned with the mission of the institution so that you don’t unnecessarily hire people.” 

At the same time, Glynn said his previous role as the MS&E department chair gave him a deeper understanding of the critical role staff play.

“Faculty could not do the job they do without a very effective and efficient staff,” Glynn said. “I give Stanford staff a lot of credit for why Stanford is viewed as being a tier-one university.”

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Pro-Palestine students protest Condoleezza Rice https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/pro-palestine-students-protest-condoleezza-rice/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/pro-palestine-students-protest-condoleezza-rice/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:44:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244578 Outside an event where Hoover Director Condoleezza Rice was speaking about American values, students protested Stanford’s affiliations with corporations that support the Israeli military, including Chevron and Lockheed Martin.

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Palestinian flags and “Spineless Saller,” a blown-up cut-out of President Richard Saller with bloody hands, waved overhead as 75 students gathered outside Encina Hall at 4 p.m. Tuesday afternoon. Protestors demanded the University divest from Israel, especially ventures tied to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, and criticized Hoover Institute Director Condoleezza Rice’s involvement in the Iraq War while she was U.S. Secretary of State. 

Inside Encina Hall, Rice was speaking at an event titled “What Does America Stand For?” hosted by the Center for International Security and Cooperation at the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies.

A speaker for student group Jewish Voices for Peace (JVP), who did not identify themselves, quoted the event’s title and responded, “Apparently genocide.”

Students demanded that Stanford divest from Hewlett-Packard, Lockheed Martin and Chevron. Speakers at the protest included leaders from organizations like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), JVP, and the Muslim Student Union (MSU). While associated with these companies through various avenues, it is unclear if the University is directly invested in them because details of the endowment’s portfolio remain private.

Yungsu Kim ’25, a member of the Stanford Asian American Action Committee (SAAAC) who led sections of the rally, said, “To Saller and [Rice], the ball is in your court. We [the students] can only point out the inherent contradictions in the University’s values and actions.”

The Daily has reached out to the University for comment. 

As speakers spoke on the actions of Rice and the U.S. government, students repeatedly chanted “Shame!” Speakers also criticized the Biden administration’s proposed $14.5 billion military aid package to Israel. 

MSU co-president Mahmoud Hamdi ’24 told demonstrators about his great-grandmother, who fled during the Nakba — an Arabic word meaning “catastrophe” that refers to the mass displacement of Palestinians during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. Rather than her life’s belongings, he said his great-grandmother chose to save her newborn baby, who grew up to be his grandmother: She understood the “value of human life,” Hamdi said.

Hamdi said colonial actors always use the “name of terrorism” to justify “ethnic cleansing.” According to him, examples of genocide and ethnic cleansing included the Rohingya in Myanmar, Uyghur Muslims in China and Iraqi people during Rice’s term as National Security Adviser and Secretary of State in the Bush administration.

The Israel-Gaza war is “not about religion,” he said. “It’s about settler colonialism and ethnic cleansing.”

The Daily has reached out to Rice for comment. 

“Not another nickel, not another dime, no more money for Israel’s crimes,” the crowd chanted repeatedly throughout the rally, at times replacing “Israel” with the names of companies like Boeing and Lockheed Martin. 

Lockheed Martin, the largest U.S. defense contractor and the company that supplies the Israeli military with planes and missiles, is a part of Stanford’s Industrial Affiliates Program. 

Organizers also said that Chevron, an oil and gas company, profits directly from Israeli occupation because of its gas extraction from gas fields near the Gaza Strip. Chevron is also a member of the University’s Industrial Affiliates Program.

The Industrial Affiliates program is meant to facilitate mutually beneficial exchange between Stanford researchers and corporations where “faculty and students can learn about industry perspectives and priorities, and corporate members are exposed to new ideas and research directions,” according to the program’s website. 

At around 4:45 p.m., Kim announced to protestors that administrators inside Encina Hall had told protestors to turn off amplified sound or face Office of Community Standards (OCS) disciplinary action. The organizers complied by turning off their microphones and speakers but asked the crowd to chant and drum louder. 

The protestors circled the building for the next hour until Rice’s event ended, chanting slogans including, “Free, free Palestine.” Security prevented protesters from entering the Encina Courtyard.

This article has been updated to reflect that Stanford’s investments are not publicly disclosed and it is unclear if the University is invested in Hewlett-Packard, Lockheed Martin and Chevron.

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Students spring into humanities research over break https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/spotlighting-humanities-research/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/spotlighting-humanities-research/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2024 08:32:50 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244606 The Humanities Research Intensive (HRI) seeks to provide undergraduate students with opportunities for hands-on research, improving the accessibility of humanities disciplines.

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When people think of research, they usually think of lab coats, number-crunching and computers. But what if research could be more than that?

The Humanities Research Intensive (HRI), a spring break research methods course first piloted five years ago, seeks to answer that question. Developed by Assistant Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences Jeffrey Schwegman and philosophy professor R. Lanier Anderson, the class provides early exposure to humanities research for frosh and sophomores, as well as a follow-up grant program intended to increase the accessibility and appeal of such research.

Humanities research has historically been less visible than its STEM counterparts across university campuses and, as a result, less engaged with. While Stanford students can participate in a variety of STEM research opportunities — from the paid computer science internship program CURIS to the bioengineering department’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) — students in the humanities face unique challenges. Schwegman said humanities faculty rarely need research assistants the same way that STEM departments do, as work is often completed independently with no built-in mentoring structure. 

Elijah Negron ’25, who is pursuing a combined major in philosophy and religious studies with a minor in classical languages, said it “can be difficult to approach humanistic research” and that projects “can be hard to get off the ground.” 

According to Schwegman, HRI is tailored toward students who are interested in the humanities but may not have had extensive previous research exposure. By providing opportunities for these students, faculty hope to open the doors for more underclassmen to get involved in humanities fields. 

“We’re trying to tease out promise and potential, rather than prior achievements,” Schwegman said. 

Hanson Hu ’27, a freshman interested in philosophy, said he was excited to attend HRI this spring break “to learn what philosophy research looked like,” specifically regarding what goes into a research paper.

The spring break program typically commences with a brief introductory session Sunday afternoon, followed by five full days of instruction, then concludes Saturday. According to Schwegman, days are split with lectures or discussions covering the research process in the morning, while afternoons are dedicated to hands-on projects within University collections. 

This experience is supplemented with visits to other campus collections like the Cantor Arts Center, the Archive of Recorded Sound, Stanford University Archaeology Collections, the Hoover Library and Archives and Memorial Church. A full day is also dedicated to an off-campus field trip — in recent years, for example, students have gone to Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve to explore research methods and topics in archaeology and environmental history.

HRI students also undertake a small research project as a practical application for the research skills they learn through the program.

Negron, who participated in HRI as a sophomore in 2023, described the program as a “really unique opportunity.” During the program, he studied a map from the David Rumsey Map Center titled “The Bridge to Total Freedom,” which shows the spiritual progression of a Scientology follower.

“It showed me how, with a little elbow grease, you can pull an incredible amount of information out of a seemingly very straightforward item,” Negron said.

According to Negron, funding in the humanities is often hyper-competitive and limited, which can make it difficult for students to get started. A major reason he chose to participate in HRI was because of the “accessible funds” that helped alleviate the burden for more competitive grants, like the Chappell-Lougee Scholarship

The summer after HRI, Negron obtained full-time funding to pursue a project that he believes will now be his senior thesis. 

“Even if you’re someone who feels like you have a grasp on humanistic research methods, the access to grants solely available to HRI students are extremely valuable,” Negron said. 

Following the program’s initial success, a program modeled on HRI was introduced as a Sophomore College (SoCo) course last year. Led by faculty members Elaine Treharne and Caroline Winterer, it will return this summer as HISTORY 30SC.

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Dear Diary: Almost summer https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/dear-diary-almost-summer/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/13/dear-diary-almost-summer/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2024 07:54:12 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244513 Amanda Altarejos narrates the experience of feeling untethered yet smothered by summer days.

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Dear Diary combines the intimacy of a diary-like narrative with the writer’s own experiences of things little in life and things big: politics and culture.

Dear Diary,

It’s almost summer. Between February’s gloom and March’s promise of unforgiving winds, there are a few days of relentless sun and leathered skin swinging to the soul of a soft, sparkling guitar. There are a few days thick with sweltering trees nearly melted to their dirt-ridden roots, a few days free of invisible frogs grumbling in sticky mud. It’s almost summer, and I can feel the warmth in my bones while blazing whispers burn strawberry fields onto my forearms. The sun seduces me. 

Slimy and slow. Lovesick, between humid breaths. A cure to something. 

Something, like an erratic heart. You hide when the sun comes out.

Erratic heart. When I lie there, waiting for the strawberries to ripen and transform into burnt sugar on salted skin, you seem to disappear. My body lightens — harsh beats become whimsical flutters, and blood no longer sends rocks and ripples into my gut. Sunlight sears right through me, right down into a child who prays, to their dusty ceiling, for god to feign ignorance to their tumultuous insides, like a cough syrup that drowns sick throats with cherry-flavored nothing. 

Skin peels, and that child fades away. I remain. Floating. 

No nurse clad in blue polyester and seafoam nylon comes to tell me that these sun-dried cherries are working, or that thank god I am healed because the jagged thrashing inside me has been smothered by the sun above. Instead, as I ripen, I listen to glimmering songs of wild horses and wild women, naively nodding my head to strums of the promise that there is something spectacularly wonderful about all this. About feeling adrift — untethered, free of a dragging, beating calamity.

I almost believe them, I really do, but that child comes running back, mildly tanner than last time; that syrup clogs the veins and that blistering light burns the skin and that sun cannot, it just cannot, wrap its tendrils around an erratic heart. No more dancing between rays, no more infatuated floating to the sound of Rolling Stones. 

A meandering stillness slips from my fingers. I try not to cry. These days, the sun boils through and through, beautifully, but it bares me whole. It’s sickly and disastrous. It’s almost summer.

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Sampath | Women’s basketball doesn’t need to dramatically change its offense to win https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/sampath-womens-basketball-doesnt-need-to-dramatically-change-its-offense/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/sampath-womens-basketball-doesnt-need-to-dramatically-change-its-offense/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2024 06:47:00 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244557 The current women's basketball offense fits well with the team’s strengths and maximizes the talents of its best players, Sampath writes.

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Over this past weekend, the Stanford women’s basketball team (28-5, 15-3 Pac-12) made a run to the Pac-12 tournament final, ultimately losing to the No. 2 seed USC Trojans 74-61. But more important than the final result, the game showcased two contrasting styles of basketball: one rooted in tradition and one rooted in the modern game.

The first offensive possession from each team demonstrated this point. After the Trojans won the tip, the team utilized off-ball movement and a spread ball-screen to get their star JuJu Watkins going downhill toward the basket. Watkins’s gravity drew the weak side defender down to the paint, and the freshman kicked the ball out to McKenzie Forbes, who drilled a 3-pointer. 

Once Stanford got the ball back, it ran the point series from the Princeton offense, with Kiki Iriafen getting the ball in the high post and Hannah Jump setting a pin-down screen on the strong side for Elena Bosgana. The ball eventually got reversed to Cameron Brink, who knocked down a 3-pointer from the perimeter to tie the game. 

However, the Cardinal weren’t able to convert enough of their shot attempts, shooting just 42% from the floor en route to their loss.  

“We have to execute offensively better,” said Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer after the game. “We didn’t always get the shots that we wanted.”

After the game, a number of Stanford fans expressed concern about the team’s offensive performance, hoping VanDerveer would institute sweeping changes before the NCAA tournament. But this concern isn’t just limited to Cardinal fans. Many who watch women’s college basketball would probably say that Stanford’s offense doesn’t seem as pretty as those of its counterparts at the top of the sport. This is because Stanford appears to be more dependent on post-ups and face-ups to manufacture points, rather than relying on precise shooting like other teams. 

While analytics have demonstrated that basketball is played most efficiently with a high volume of 3s, layups and free throws, this isn’t something that can be implemented by a simple scheme change. To play a more “modern” version of basketball requires lead guards who are proficient at shooting off the dribble and driving to the basket, as well as off-ball players who can shoot off the catch. 

The Cardinal do have numerous players who fit the second condition, but they lack a dynamic lead guard that can consistently make teams pay off ball screens beyond the 3-point line. There isn’t a guard akin to Caitlin Clark, JuJu Watkins or Hannah Hidalgo on the roster — or any guard with sufficient gravity to attract help defenders and force opponents into defensive rotation consistently. 

But what Stanford does have are two of the best post players in the country: Cameron Brink and Kiki Iriafen. Both players are adept in the post and have honed their skills to score in face-up situations. 

VanDerveer’s Princeton offense allows the Cardinal to play through Iriafen and Brink in the high post, a strategy I find optimal since they are Stanford’s best players. Moreover, the player movement within the offense has created the space for Brink and Iriafen to get clean post-up and face-up opportunities. 

So while I understand the fans who are clamoring for a revamped offense, you have to play through your best players. The current offense fits well with the team’s strengths and maximizes the talents of its best players. 

Stanford also knows the shot profile it should have given its personnel. The Cardinal rank only 108th in the country in 3-point attempts, electing to take a higher percentage of their shots within the paint. 

On Sunday, I often saw that the Cardinal were missing shots that they normally make, which I think helped warp the perception that the offense needs dramatic changes. However, I think changes need to be made only at the margins.

Certainly, Coach VanDerveer will emphasize to her players the importance of navigating physical play and how to approach facing more athletic opponents — problems that have plagued the team this season. But don’t expect wholesale scheme changes this late into the year. Instead, focusing on executing the current system will give the Cardinal the best chance at making another Final Four run.

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Police Blotter: Rape and oral copulation by force or injury https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/police-blotter-rape-and-oral-copulation-by-force-or-injury/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/police-blotter-rape-and-oral-copulation-by-force-or-injury/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2024 06:33:27 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244592 This article contains incidents that were reported on campus from March 6 to March 11, as recorded by the Stanford University Department of Public Safety bulletin.

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This report covers a selection of incidents from March 6 to March 11, as recorded in the Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) bulletin. Learn more about the Clery Act and how The Daily approaches reporting on crime and safety here.

Wednesday, March 6

  • Student residential burglary between 10 a.m. March 2 and 8:30 a.m. March 3 was reported at 680 Jane Stanford Way (Schwab Residential Center). 
  • Student residential burglary between 8:30 p.m. and 10:20 p.m. on March 5 was reported at 650 Jane Stanford Way (McDonald Hall).
  • Extortion at 1:30 a.m. on March 6 was reported at 554 Governors Avenue (East House).
  • A student safety incident at 1 a.m. on March 2 was reported at 500 Lasuen Mall (Hundred Block).
  • Petty theft of a bicycle between 10 p.m. on March 5 and 12 p.m. on March 6 was reported at 207 Running Farm Lane (Rains Apartments, Building 207).
  • A hit-and-run collision resulting in property damage, including vehicles, between 11:45 a.m. and 3:58 p.m. on March 6 was reported at 301 Quarry Road (Parking Lot 1).
  • Second degree burglary from a motor vehicle at 9:30 p.m. on March 4 was reported at 658 Escondido Road (Wilbur Lot).
  • Grand theft of a bicycle between 10 p.m. and 11:15 p.m. on March 6 was reported at 200 Running Farm Lane.

The Daily has reached out to SUDPS regarding the hit-and-run collision at 301 Quarry Road.

Thursday, March 7

  • Theft of personal property between 11 p.m. on Feb. 3 and 10 a.m. on Feb. 4 was reported at 658 Escondido Road (Wilbur Hall, Cedro).
  • Petty theft of bicycle parts between 8 p.m. on Feb. 28 and 8 a.m. on March 4 was reported at 736 Serra Street (EVGR Building D). 
  • Aggravated infliction of a corporal injury on a spouse between 12:01 a.m. on Apr. 1, 2023 and 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 1 was reported at 700 Campus Drive (Hundred Block). 

The Daily has reached out to SUDPS regarding the aggravated infliction of a corporal injury on a spouse at 700 Campus Drive.

Friday, March 8

  • Second degree attempted burglary from a motor vehicle between 8:30 p.m. on March 7 and 8 a.m. on March 8 was reported at 658 Escondido Road (Wilbur Parking Lot). 
  • Theft by use of credit card information between 3 p.m. and 11:40 p.m. on March 7 was reported at 757 Campus Drive (EVGR Building A).
  • Theft of personal property between 4 a.m. to 4:15 a.m. on March 8 was reported at 238 Santa Teresa Street (Ricker Dining). 
  • Petty theft between 1:20 p.m. and 1:40 p.m. on March 8 was reported at 353 Jane Stanford Way (Gates Building). 
  • Petty theft of a bicycle between 8:30 p.m. on March 7 and 8:45 a.m. on March 8 was reported at 618 Escondido Road (Stern Hall). 
  • Grand theft of a bicycle between 2 p.m. on March 7 and 2 p.m. on March 8 was reported at 400 Lasuen Mall (Hundred Block). 
  • Petty theft between 7 p.m. on March 7 and 7:40 a.m. March 8 was reported at 735 Campus Drive (EVGR Building B). 
  • Oral copulation by use of force or injury at an unknown time  on Feb. 3 was reported at 450 Jane Stanford Way.
  • A student safety incident between Feb. 1 and Feb. 26 was reported at 450 Jane Stanford Way. 
  • Rape by force and/or fear between March 1 and March 2 was reported at 450 Jane Stanford Way.
  • Petty theft of a bicycle between 1 p.m. on March 1 and 10 a.m. on March 4 was reported at 735 Campus Drive (EVGR Building B). 

The Daily has reached out to SUDPS regarding the rape at 450 Jane Stanford Way.

Saturday, March 9

  • Petty theft at 12 p.m. on March 7 was reported at 618 Escondido Road (Stern Hall, Burbank). 
  • Grand theft of an electric bicycle between 6 p.m. on March 8 and 11:30 a.m. on March 9 was reported at 1035 Campus Drive (Kappa Sigma). 
  • Petty theft of an electric scooter between 5 p.m. on March 8 and 7 a.m. on March 9 was reported at 326 Santa Teresa Street (Naranja). 

Sunday, March 10

  • Grand theft of an electric bicycle between 10 p.m. on March 9 and 4 p.m. on March 10 was reported at 757 Campus Drive (EVGR Building A). 

Monday, March 11

  • Petty theft of bicycle parts between 4:30 p.m. on March 8 and 9 a.m. on March 11 was reported at 655 Escondido Road (Branner Hall). 
  • Grand theft of money, labor, property and motor vehicle parts and accessories on March 11 was reported at an unknown time and location. 
  • Petty theft between 4:30 p.m. and 5 p.m. on March 8 was reported at 459 Lagunita Drive (Tresidder Memorial Union).
  • Obtaining money by false pretenses (over $400) on March 11 was reported at an unknown time and location.

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Cameron Brink declares for WNBA draft https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/cameron-brink-declares-for-wnba-draft/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/cameron-brink-declares-for-wnba-draft/#respond Wed, 13 Mar 2024 00:10:32 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244544 Senior forward Cameron Brink announced her intentions to declare for the WNBA draft on Tuesday afternoon. Brink is slated to be a top-three pick in the draft.

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Senior forward Cameron Brink will enter the 2024 WNBA draft, forgoing her last year of college eligibility, according to an announcement released on Instagram Tuesday. 

Brink has had one of the most storied careers in Stanford’s history. Coming into Stanford as one of the highest ranked recruits in the nation, Brink became a national champion in her freshman year while being selected to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.

Later, Brink collected two Pac-12 Player of the Year awards: one as a sophomore and one as a senior. The six-foot-four senior has also picked up three Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year awards during her time on the Farm. Nearing the end of her senior season and approaching the NCAA Tournament, Brink said, “Although I am excited for the next chapter, we still have unfinished business and so much to accomplish in my final season at Stanford,” in her social media announcement.

Multiple mock drafts project that Brink will be selected second overall in the WNBA draft by the Los Angeles Sparks, where she will replace Stanford alum Nneka Ogwumike ‘12, who recently signed with the Seattle Storm.

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‘Spineless Saller’ and Pillsbury Doughboy appear at 24th annual Midnight Breakfast https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/spineless-saller-and-pillsbury-doughboy-appear-at-24th-annual-midnight-breakfast/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/spineless-saller-and-pillsbury-doughboy-appear-at-24th-annual-midnight-breakfast/#respond Tue, 12 Mar 2024 09:46:20 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244475 Students gathered at midnight on Monday to enjoy free breakfast served by campus administrators. At Arrillaga, protestors criticized President Richard Saller's stance on the ongoing Israel-Gaza War.

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Vivian Liang ’26 was “going to go to bed,” when one of her friends talked her into Midnight Breakfast. A tradition since 1999, Midnight Breakfast provides a meal and a break as students scramble to prepare for winter quarter finals in a week commonly known as “dead week.”

It “comes to show how bizarre college can be,” Liang said.

Midnight Breakfast was more even more unusual this year, as several students protested the University’s response to the ongoing Israel-Gaza war at Arrillaga Family Dining Commons.

Protestors carried a cut out that featured President Richard Saller — organizers told The Daily it was intended to express disapproval over limited progress on committments reached between the University and the pro-Palestine Sit-in to Stop Genocide. 

Tuesday Utz M.A. ’24, who acted as “Spineless Saller,” carried around a cutout with Saller’s face and hands covered in blood. Protestors wanted to criticize Saller, who was serving food at Arrillaga, and mark him as “a puppet” more focused on outside donors than students, Utz said.

Utz said that protestors wanted to hold a mirror to Saller and reach students in the crowd. “I wanted students to consider that this is all a puppet show and that the people who are pulling the puppet strings are actively profiting off genocide,” Utz said.

Protestors were asked to leave Arrillaga by University employees.

Utz, who characterized the demonstration as “student art,” said the staff did not provide a reason when they were asked to leave. 

The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.

Richard Saller serves food at a dining hall.
University President Richard Saller serves food to students at Midnight Breakfast. (Photo: CAYDEN GU/The Stanford Daily)

Lakeside’s Midnight Breakfast had a less heavy tone. An inflatable Pillsbury Doughboy danced through the line and into the main room. “I’ve never been a bigger fan of anything in my life,” said Lizzie Tamor ’27, in reference to the inflatable.

Midnight Breakfast was a tradition Tamor admired long before Monday night. “Before I came here, I saw a TikTok about Stanford’s Midnight Breakfast and that made me want to attend Stanford,” Tamor said.

The overhead lights in both dining rooms were dimmed, with multi-colored strobe lights and a DJ stand near a Lakeside entrance. According to Aden Beyene ’24, “It’s fun, quirky and wacky.” 

Students were creative in the dark — with phone flashlights placed under orange juice cups as makeshift candles. Natalia Armenta ’26 said it created a great atmosphere: ““The vibe is here.”

For Jacqui McLean ’27, who went to Lakeside, she was pleasantly surprised that there were no lines for food. McLean and others praised the food served at various locations.

The menu included pancakes, omelets, fruit, pastries and tater tots. “This is bussin’,”  Janet Reza ’27 said. “Stanford showed off with this Midnight Breakfast.”

Beyond the food, Reza said it’s traditions “like this [that] make me feel like I belong.”

Others like Jasmine Agyepong ’26 agreed. There was a strong sense of camaraderie at the event, Agyepong said. “I noticed some students also dishing out food so it felt like a really good community and good vibe.”

Beyene’s only recommendation? “More dancing, a kitchen floor and a dance floor.”

Following her interview, a flash mob to “Cupid Shuffle” emerged, with a closing performance from the Pillsbury Doughboy.

For most students, the standouts from the night were the food and break from studying.

“Free food is always good,” Kaimana Kau ’27 said. But especially amid week 10, with finals around the corner, Jesus Olivares ’24 and others thought it was the ideal Stanford tradition to release stress.

“Stanford students love food, and food brings a lot of joy,” Miki Yang ’26 said. “I think everybody needs that for Week 10.”

Oriana Riley and Judy Liu contributed reporting. 

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Farm to France: Fiona O’Keeffe becomes U.S. Olympian in marathon debut https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/farm-to-table-fiona-okeefe-becomes-us-olympian/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/farm-to-table-fiona-okeefe-becomes-us-olympian/#respond Tue, 12 Mar 2024 09:17:32 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244448 Stanford cross country alum Fiona O’Keeffe made history in her marathon debut by breaking the U.S. marathon trials record by over three minutes.

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Farm to France is an ongoing series on Cardinal athletes headed to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris, France.

“I didn’t know what to expect. It was my first marathon.” 

Most athletes who have qualified for the Olympics brings loads of experience to their sport.  However, Stanford cross country alum Fiona O’Keeffe made history in her marathon debut by breaking the U.S. marathon trials record by over three minutes, with a time of 2:22:10 sec.

This performance punched O’Keeffe’s ticket to the 2024 Olympic Games this summer in Paris, which could vault her into stardom sooner than expected. 

Rising star

O’Keeffe’s coach Alistair Cragg explained that running the trials as O’Keeffe’s first marathon was to prepare her for the 2028 Olympics. “I believed that Fiona could likely be a medal contender on the World stage, so we felt that even the experience of running the trials will bode well for L.A. 2028.”

“But, as we saw, Paris 2024 is lining up very nicely in her crosshairs.”

O’Keeffe led most of the race and broke away at the end. Running most of the race by herself, O’Keeffe emphasized the importance of self talk to keep her mind focused. 

“I have a few mantras that I’ll go to that I’ve used in training,” O’Keeffe said. “Sometimes I’ll think about a hard workout that I’ve done and be like, I can handle this. I’ve felt this before. Just trying to kind of lean into the feeling of the race instead of being scared of it.”

Solving the training “Rubik’s cube

According to Cragg, marathon training is not as straightforward as training in other sports. Cragg used a Rubik’s cube as a metaphor: “Each marathon build up is like a Rubik’s cube. At first it seems jumbled and doesn’t make sense. But as the athlete’s fitness starts to fall in place, workouts almost fall into a familiar pattern.”

Consistency is more important than stand-out efforts, Cragg said.

O’Keeffe was focused on a consistent training pattern since her college days. According to JJ Clark, Stanford’s head cross country coach, the program tries to adopt a process of gradual athletic development that encompasses both the mental and physical elements in the sport.

Patience was the key in college, and it continues to be integral to O’Keeffe’s training. “Fiona is still only 25 years old, and we have emphasized patience, as we believe that she is going to be at the top of the sport for a very long time,” Cragg said.

Team behind the time

A cross-country star in college, O’Keeffe found that transitioning to marathon running came naturally. But beyond this skill foundation, Stanford helped her realize that she could achieve whatever goals she set, O’Keeffe said. 

Stanford “helped me just see the way that people were able to translate whatever vision they had, and whatever gifts they had into things that they were concretely achieving and striving towards,” O’Keeffe said. “That definitely helped me have a little more confidence to have crazy goals and dreams, and go after them.”

Even though the marathon is an individual race, the team environment factored into her success — a foundation built while on Stanford’s team. “I can’t overstate how much the team experience meant to me in school,” O’Keeffe said. While team environments are sometimes too competitive, O’Keeffe said her team members “were genuinely happy for one another’s success.”

Now training with the Puma Elite team in North Carolina, O’Keeffe found a supportive environment similar to Stanford’s squad. “When you see your teammate do something exciting and you’re able to be really happy for them, it inspires you. It’s this positive feedback loop.” 

O’Keeffe is grateful for the wisdom and support her teams have provided her over the years. And, O’Keeffe said, it makes everyday moments easier: “If I have an easy 10 mile run this morning, having teammates to go with a lot of the time turns it from being mundane to invigorating, because I get to be around people that excite me.” 

While the olympic marathon runner has already inspired people on her Puma Elite squad, she hopes her story can have an impact on a larger stage. 

“I hope that my story can inspire people to try new things,” O’Keeffe said. She encouraged people to embrace “aspirations that might seem beyond where they currently are.”

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A poem on oldest daughter syndrome https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/a-poem-on-oldest-daughter-syndrome/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/a-poem-on-oldest-daughter-syndrome/#respond Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:56:25 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244310 Les Ortega '25 pens a poem about growing up too fast and how being the oldest daughter has impacted her life experiences well beyond childhood.

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i am the oldest daughter

i am a perfectionist

An overachiever a people pleaser 

i can be bossy and neurotic 

At worst controlling

i know how to get my way

i am also a caretaker an overthinker 

i wait to see if you type differently 

If your tone changes

If there’s texts with my name in it

i am the oldest daughter 

Everything i do i have to be the best

i place my self worth on the way that i dance

The way that i read, the way that i write

The way i do math

How many jobs i have 

So really, how much of my personality is defined by being the oldest daughter?

i always need to be happy

Responsible for everyone’s emotions

Never bring anyone down, never lose my smile 

Watch what i eat, watch the way i speak 

Soften my tone, never be too loud

Always make my mom proud

i don’t remember my childhood

i grew up too quickly

i don’t remember the games i played, the shows i watched

How much of that is dissociation and how much of that is 

oldest daughter syndrome?

i became someone else’s mother at eleven and once again at thirteen

And that is not a role I chose to place on myself

They got to experience a childhood because they had me to make them experience it

i went to a school where “the gifted and talented” was plastered on the walls

i was complimented for being “mature for my age”

But now i see that wasn’t a compliment at all

Now that i have my own life, my own set of rules, that “maturity” has suddenly gone away

Anytime up to the age of 17 i have never let myself make mistakes

How could i? 

i had to hold it together when everyone broke down.

i had to hold my mother’s kids – my kids – in my arms to make them calm down. 

i was the therapist. the caregiver. the great hope for my family. the reason we will get out of poverty. the reason my last name will mean something. 

i crave taking on the emotional burden of others. 

Give it to me. all your pain. all your suffering. i can handle it. You don’t have to.

i’m strong enough. You don’t have to be. 

i carry a heavy weight i was indirectly asked to carry

But it’s okay! i crave taking on the emotional burden of others

Is it that i crave it or is it that i would feel worthless without it

Who am i if I can’t fix everyone’s problems? If i can’t provide solutions?

If i can’t be a caregiver then what would i be?

Why am i worth keeping around? 

Now that i have my own life, my own set of rules, 

i see the oldest daughter syndrome has never gone away

It takes over my life like a disease, an infestation

i am the oldest daughter in every relationship i am in

In my friendships. In my romantic relationships. 

Do i even love them if i don’t take on their pain for myself? 

Do i even love them if i let them carry their own weight by themselves?

The worst part of it is it takes a lot for me to feel truly loved

i’ve never been cared for in the same way i’ve learned to care for others since i was a little girl

Caring comes with protection. Loving comes with loyalty. 

You can love and care for someone and still stab them in the back.

Loyalty and protection are actions that for me are equivalent to love and care

i am the oldest daughter. The oldest sister.

But where is my older sister to hug me?

Where is my older sister that lets me cry over the same thing for days?

Will there ever come a day where i wont feel like shit for not being happy?

Will there ever come a day where i don’t apologize for not having a smile on my face?

Will there ever come a day where i don’t crave to be loved in the same way i love them?

But it’s okay! i crave carrying the burden of others

Who would i be if i wasn’t the oldest daughter? The oldest sister? 

Who would i be if i wasn’t a role model?

Who would i be if i had someone to look up to just like they look up to me?

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Shower Thoughts: Black ribbon https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/woven-together-with-black-ribbon/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/woven-together-with-black-ribbon/#respond Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:51:37 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244405 In the first installment of her column “Shower Thoughts,” Dan Kubota shares a collection of thoughts on her first crush, thoughts she "threw down on a Google Doc one late night when she couldn’t sleep."

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Dan Kubota’s column ‘Shower Thoughts’ explores those thoughts that you have when you zone out in the shower and let the warm water just run over you.

Last night, as I was cleaning out my belongings in my room, sorting through relics of high school — loose sheets of crumpled graph paper, five differently styled black pens mostly out of ink, far too many notebooks bursting with random papers stuffed into them — I found a piece of black ribbon in an old backpack, flattened neatly at the bottom. It was about two-and-a-half feet long, long enough to weave into a hairdo or to add to an outfit as a finishing touch.

For someone with a remarkably horrible memory, I still remember so much of what transpired — cutting you a piece of ribbon that night, ostensibly to make you a corsage with the flowers they had there (really, I just wanted to tie it in your hair or on a gift I was planning on giving you), wanting to meet up with you for pictures and pointedly avoiding you the whole time, then telling you that you looked beautiful. I’d like to believe that you said “you too” in response to my comment, but I can’t remember if you ever did. I meant it every time. I don’t know if you ever did when you’d say that to me.

I remember you turning to me and telling me our team’s upperclassmen were like the older sisters you never had. I was flattered but I was also a bit heartbroken knowing you’d never be able to like me like I liked you. I thought what we had was special. I thought the hours of running together down concrete sidewalks and up dusty hills, the long late-night conversations over the phone and via text, the sneaky notes during class and, of course, our divorced-couple banter at practices meant something to you too. I thought you cared about me in the same way I cared about you, and I’m not talking about the romantic feelings I once had, feelings that are now long gone. I thought that our friendship was strong enough to last a romantic confession; really, I’d foolishly hoped you valued our friendship enough to not let it crumble after you politely rejected me.

Looking back, I was wrong about you in so many ways. I was foolish to believe that you’d ever care or understand, believing you were my platonic soulmate in this fairytale I’d spun. I was so hopelessly in love with the idea of you, this fictional person I’d created in my head, that I missed out on the very happening, very real world around me. While daydreaming about you, I forgot the real world with my responsibilities and loved ones, people who loved me for who I was instead of loving the idea of me, people who showed up for me when I needed them and let me show up for them.

I can’t count the number of times I begged my mom to let me meet up with people I tried far too hard to impress and try to squeeze myself into a group that didn’t quite make room for me to be there, choking down my self-respect to try to earn theirs, all for the prospect of trying to say hi to you. I try not to remember every time that I held off on scheduling plans with my friends to see you for all of five minutes, and I cringe every time I remember my face lighting up and my head turning when I’d see you pass by while I was with my friends.

I want to forget the Google Doc filled with plans we’d do one day “when the time was right,” “when our parents would let us go” (it wasn’t a problem on my end, I would have moved mountains for you), “when we were both free,” filled with plans added by me and only me because you couldn’t be bothered to add any. I tried so hard to weave you into my life that I dropped all the other ribbons already in place. I was so afraid at the prospect of losing you that I ended up losing myself trying to hold on to you when I should have let you go.

I’m exhausted from always trying to pick up your slack and to keep you happy and the mood good; I’m exhausted of having to be the bigger person and not give in to the doom and gloom you constantly exude; I’m exhausted of always putting more in and not getting much back. I am tired of chasing after someone who doesn’t want to be chased after. I feel stupid for ever thinking that you wanted me to come after you, that you wanted me to try to help and care about you, that you wanted me. 

I feel sorry for myself for always giving you a second chance, for defending you to my family saying “maybe this time will be different.” I would say I feel sorry for you too, and perhaps I do: you’re so good at pushing people away that you couldn’t even let those who wanted to help you do so. 

I said I thought we were soulmates, tethered together by some invisible string of fate. I thought we’d be the kind of friends who see each other randomly again after goodness knows how long and pick up right where they left off, everything falling into place just how it used to be. Perhaps, a part of me will always love you; you were the closest thing to my first love. But I now look at this situation and you with a mixture of sadness and relief: sadness because you hurt me so and you don’t even know it, and how, at the end of the day, despite my best efforts, I still want to run back to you the minute you come calling, and relief because I’ve learned something from all those years of being your friend and it’s over — I am finally free.

Maybe I’ll use the black ribbon in my own hair. Or maybe I’ll gift it to someone else. Or, I’ll just burn it, once and for all.

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Sam Liccardo wins primaries for Anna Eshoo’s congressional seat https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/sam-liccardo-wins-primaries-for-anna-eshoos-congressional-seat/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/sam-liccardo-wins-primaries-for-anna-eshoos-congressional-seat/#respond Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:47:31 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244418 On Monday evening, Sam Liccardo was announced the winner of California’s 16th district primary with 32,123 votes, by a little less than seven thousand votes. Votes are being counted for the second candidate to advance to the general election.

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On Monday evening, Sam Liccardo was announced as a winner of the California’s 16th district primary with 32,123 votes. Liccardo, who’s approximately seven thousand votes in the lead, will move onto the general election for 16-term incumbent Rep. Anna Eshoo’s seat in Congress. 

As this race is a top two all-party primary, the two candidates with the highest votes will move on to the general election, regardless of partisan affiliation. Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and member of the 26th District Assembly Evan Low are still in the running for the other spot on the general election ballot. 

With 82% of votes counted, Simitian is closest to winning the second spot on the ballot in the general election with 25,379 votes after a close race with Liccardo.

Evan Low is also vying for the other spot with 24,630 votes. 

“We are so grateful that voters in both San Mateo and Santa Clara Counties have put Sam Liccardo in first place in the primary,” the Liccardo campaign wrote in a statement to The Daily.

In the statement, his campaign highlighted his commitment to addressing issues like “homelessness, the high cost of living, reproductive rights and protecting our democracy,” and they’re looking forward to continuing to discuss these “crucial” topics with voters over the rest of the campaign.

The Daily has reached out to the Simitian and Low campaigns for comment.

Correction: A previous version of this article referenced Joe Simitian as “mayor.” Simitian is a Santa Clara County Supervisor. The Daily regrets this error.

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Spring leap forward divides students https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/spring-leap-forward-divides-students/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/spring-leap-forward-divides-students/#respond Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:39:40 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244391 Clocks sprung forward an hour this weekend, causing many students to lose an hour of sleep. The Daily spoke to several students who were divided about whether daylight saving time (DST) should continue to exist.

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Daylight saving time (DST) began early this Sunday morning at 2 a.m., rolling the clocks forward an hour to allow for an extra hour of evening sunlight. The change stole an hour of sleep from everyone in the nation, save for those residing in Arizona, Hawaii and a few U.S. territories that opt out of DST. While Californians have voted to allow the legislature to abolish the time change, so far, the state has not ditched DST, and this shift still affects Stanford students amid dead week

Daylight saving time originated in the early twentieth century out of a desire to conserve fuel in the winter, according to Michael Downing, author of “Spring Forward: The Annual Madness of Daylight Saving Time.” Soon, lawmakers realized that an extra hour of sunlight meant more money for malls, shopping centers and sports and recreation industries.

Despite these proclaimed benefits, daylight savings has a dark side. A study of over 700,000 car accidents found a 6% increase in fatal car accidents the week after DST enters into effect. The American Academy of Medicine stands “unequivocally” against daylight saving time, claiming that the change is associated with cardiovascular morbidity, the coexistence of one or more cardiovascular diseases within a patient.

Stanford human biology major Meghan Jin ’24 said that she’s heard that daylight savings is “really bad for your circadian rhythm,” a claim backed by the National Institute of Health, which writes that DST can cause circadian misalignment. 

Stanford Medicine notes that this shift is particularly problematic for children. “Their circadian rhythms get used to a regular sleep-wake time, so when the clock suddenly springs forward, it feels like 7 p.m. instead of 8 p.m., and kids struggle to feel sleepy at the ‘right’ time,” said Caroline Okorie M.D. in a blog post for Stanford Medicine Children’s Health.

And it’s not just children who feel a negative impact on their sleep.

“I woke up this morning and I didn’t want to go to classes,” said Patrick Kim ’24. But Kim admits that he can see the bright side of DST. “My friend told me recently that after daylight savings you have more daylight,” he said. For Kim, learning about the extra hour of daylight was a key positive effect of DST.

Venus Porras ’23 M.S. ’25 is less forgiving. 

“Do you want a scathing review [of daylight savings]? It literally makes no sense,” she said. American lawmakers are divided over whether or not to abandon the idea of daylight savings. But if daylight saving time goes away, students have strong preferences for which schedule they stick to.

Agustin Otero ’24, for one, prefers this current, sprung-forward version of the clock.  

“I think [DST] is great in the summer and terrible in the winter,” he said. “I don’t care if it’s dark in the morning in the winter.” 

Despite overwhelmingly negative public opinion about daylight savings and new legislation to change it being introduced session after session in Congress, the current plan is for the clocks to fall back again in early November.

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Mahan Esfahani dazzles with fiery harpsichord flourishes https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/mahan-esfahani-dazzles-with-fiery-harpsichord-flourishes/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/mahan-esfahani-dazzles-with-fiery-harpsichord-flourishes/#respond Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:34:44 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244412 The harpsichordist revealed his playfulness and virtuosity throughout the night, Wang writes.

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Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.

Historical instruments might not be your idea of a fun night out, but Stanford alumnus and professional harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani B.A. ’05 turned that on its head with an incredible program of Tomkins, Bach, Applebaum and Scarlatti during his Wednesday performance.

The harpsichord can’t vary in volume based on finger pressure like the piano can. As such, Esfahani’s expressive performance demonstrated his mastery of the instrument and its complex stops and manuals that permit changes in tone and contrasting dynamics.

The first two pieces were composed by Renaissance/Baroque musician Thomas Tomkins and served as great openings to the concert. Esfahani opened with Tomkins’s “Pavana FvB CXXIII,” playing with remarkable control, beautifully highlighting its melancholy nature. 

He then went on to “Barafostus’ Dreame,” a lively theme and variations that presented a sprightly, dance-like theme. With fast moving scales and considerable virtuosity, the piece showcased a taste of the fiery energy that Esfahani would sustain throughout the concert.

Esfahani’s rendition of Bach’s “English Suite No. 2 in A minor” highlighted the characteristics of each movement in a wonderfully cohesive and authentic manner. One of my favorites was the third movement “Courante.” The harpsichordist highlighted the persistent rhythmic meter that was carried along by exceptionally clear counterpoint in a short, lively dance. 

Following the lighthearted “Courante,” the “Sarabande” provided an incredible contrast. Esfahani presented the movement’s heavy anguish and penetrative longing with remarkable authenticity and touch. His range in musical expression truly shone through in this movement, with an air of dark solemnity providing for an incredible listening experience.

Stanford composition professor and composer Mark Applebaum wrote the piece that Esfahani performed to conclude the first half of the evening performance. Titled “October 1582,” the song was inspired by the ten days that were cut out from the Julian calendar due to astronomical inaccuracy.

It was the only piece performed from a living composer in the program, as Applebaum jokingly pointed out in his brief speech to the audience. The strong composition utilized electronics, bells and visual cues such as giant post-its that wrote “THE END” at the end of the piece. 

It certainly wasn’t my favorite work in the concert, as the atonality felt rather bizarre in its portrayal of each of the ten days. As someone who has never really found the joy in atonal music, I found it rather hard to understand and, consequently, enjoy.

The second half of the concert revealed some of the most exciting and unique renditions of the music of Domenico Scarlatti I have ever heard. The explosiveness and energy that Esfahani brings to his music were truly at their best here. 

For instance, in “Sonata K. 28,” Esfahani created incredible vigor through the imitations of Spanish guitar technique Scarlatti embedded in the piece, offering a thrilling adventure through the lively work. I’ve never heard a more convincing and exciting rendition of the piece, and I absolutely loved it. 

In the final “Sonata K. 436,” Esfahani coupled his playfulness with virtuosity. He showcased his astounding ability to play with audience expectations by withholding cadential resolutions or playing moderately-paced scales that quickly snowballed into surprising eruptions. Despite these liberties, Esfahani’s interpretation always felt respectful and reverent of Scarlatti’s work, never overstepping the bounds the composer set.

I’ve really never heard the harpsichord played with such fiery energy. Esfahani offered a completely new perspective for me on the harpsichord, as he overcame the instrument’s limitations of color and dynamics in such a creative way. Watching his entire body move with each note felt like I was watching a performance that, while entertaining, felt truly authentic in his expression of the music.

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Poetry Live unearths aliveness and authenticity https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/poetry-live-unearths-aliveness-and-authenticity/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/12/poetry-live-unearths-aliveness-and-authenticity/#respond Tue, 12 Mar 2024 07:29:59 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244403 Spoken word performances at Poetry Live! immersed audiences in stories that were at once deeply personal and universal, Burtner writes.

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Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.

In seventh grade, I fell in love with spoken word poetry — I watched it religiously and performed it sparingly.

I discovered Olivia Gatwood’s “Manic Pixie Dream Girl” and Melissa Lozada-Oliva’s “My Spanish” on the YouTube channel for Button Poetry and was amazed at how their poems captured what it is like to feel alive.

As I watched these performers in person on March 7 at Bing Concert Hall, I found that same liveliness unearthed within me. From what I could tell, all of us — the audience and performers alike — unearthed something that night.

The evening began with student performances by members of the Stanford Spoken Word Collective. These performances felt gut-wrenching and raw. As openers, the performers taught the audience how to watch the show: how to listen, participate and immerse ourselves in the words. They revealed how alive poetry can be.

Through an extended ‘dog’ metaphor, an immigrant story and a powerful meditation on alcoholism, the collective’s performers touched on themes of race, place and deeply-seated emotion. Rhythm and rhymes took hold of the audience, alliteration abounded. Clichéd metaphors were made fresh, and impossibly large themes were made poetically succinct.

It’s striking that these performances took place on Stanford’s campus because, traditionally, the spoken word form is known for evading intellectualization. Sitting in the audience, clapping and stomping when the verse speaks to you, it is impossible to get bogged down in analysis and formality. The Spoken Word Collective brought us words off the page and they took on a life of their own.

When Gatwood took the stage, she managed to weave humor into an incredibly real rhetorical question. She read a poem about a high school friend: “I knew of her before I knew her, you know those girls?” — a concise way to encapsulate a universal truth of girlhood. In her poetry, she delved into the class politics of high school soccer, embedded love into a story about linens and poetically (of course) drew connections between the color of Pepto Bismol, “mace for girls” and a pink switchblade knife. 

Gatwood revealed that her performance was an unearthing in itself: many of her poems dealt with scenes from a life that time had separated her from: “I haven’t read these poems in, like, seven years,” she said.

Lozada-Oliva was up next. She read poems that included the topics of lovesickness and Our Lady of Guadalupe rolled into one, as well as a breakup that inspired the epic line, “I’m a wet little idiot.” She touched on identity and obsession while interjecting to include humorous context and asides. She then treated the audience to a contrapuntal poem, saying that she’ll likely only write “three in a lifetime.”

Lozada-Oliva ended the evening with a pandemic poem — as she puts it, “everyone gets one pandemic poem.” Somehow relatable while incredibly personal, humorous and dead serious, Lozada-Oliva captivated the audience through her dense and purposeful verse.

Something that struck me about both poets’ performances was their candidness. While artistic inspiration is sometimes elusive and mysterious, Gatwood got real about what inspired her to write her different pieces. This included a poem inspired by a quote which she simply “had to write a poem about,” from event introducer and ITALIC instructor Sam Sax: “relationships are just a little cult.”

In a similar vein, Lozada-Oliva got on stage after Gatwood’s nostalgic poems about her high school experiences and joked, “I wish I were younger.” When referring to her own vulnerability up on the stage, she quipped again about the audience watching her, saying “Oh my god, the eyes.” With art that deals so closely with the human experience, hearing these artists perform their own words with uniquely human interjections, active commentary and humorous asides was quite powerful.

At this year’s Poetry Live! event, the Stanford Spoken Word Collective, Olivia Gatwood and Melissa Lozada-Oliva unearthed personal and global histories, stories of past selves and emotions that feel at once personal and universal. For students and educators alike, Poetry Live! took the written word out of an academic setting and directly into our imaginations.

The audience was a lucky crowd. For everyone else, you’ll have to secure a ticket to next year’s Poetry Live!

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Beandon’s Musical Corner: MGMT carves a new sound with ‘Loss of Life’ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/11/beandons-musical-corner-mgmt-carves-a-new-sound-in-loss-of-life/ https://stanforddaily.com/2024/03/11/beandons-musical-corner-mgmt-carves-a-new-sound-in-loss-of-life/#respond Mon, 11 Mar 2024 08:23:34 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1244366 The album features multitudes — crunchy bursts of guitar and textured synthesizer hums amid a mix of rock and power ballads, Rupp writes.

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Editor’s Note: This article is a review and contains subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.

Welcome to a new and improved Beandon’s Musical Corner: The only place on campus for in-depth, exhaustive reviews on the latest releases in rock, jazz, experimental … and pretty much everything else. Brandon Rupp (also known by his mononymous musical title “beandon,” under which he releases music and DJs as KZSU’s Student Music Director) explores a new title and gives unfiltered feedback, regardless of the genre. Feel free to send him music — he would love to take a look!

Dear reader, put on your tinfoil hats. I have a question: Is it a coincidence that Ween’s last record, “La Cucaracha,” came out the same year, 2007, that MGMT debuted with “Oracular Spectacular”?

For the less imaginative among us, it may seem that the answer is a resounding yes. But Andrew VanWyngarden and Ben Goldwasser of MGMT have revealed themselves to be a spiritual successor to Dean and Gene Ween in many ways: they’re both quirky duos that love leapfrogging between disparate genres, leaning into their bizarre senses of humor, spotlighting the chameleon voices of their dynamic lead singers and masking chart-ready pop songs in layers of murk. Perhaps, I posit, reincarnation is real!

For fear of further alienating my readership, I’ll stop. Onto MGMT. 

I came to love these psych pop goofballs with their seminal progressive rock epic “Congratulations” (2010), which features the 12-minute behemoth “Siberian Breaks.” The album earned points by taking a page or two from the books of Mr. Bungle (listen to “Song for Dan Treacy” and “Disco Volante” back-to-back), Frank Zappa (“Brian Eno” is almost as much a tribute to Zappa as Eno himself) and more. In other words, it was fresh and fun prog — an utter rarity.

But that album is a long way from their humble beginnings as global superstars. While it is fair to say that they’ve only released three hit singles, what hits they have been! Most people have heard “Time to Pretend,” “Electric Feel” and “Kids,” and these tunes somehow haven’t lost their luster 17 years later. 

They released their strangest, though weakest record in 2013: the self-titled “MGMT.” It’s not terrible, but it simply doesn’t meet the standards the band has earned over their career. Then followed the wonderful “Little Dark Age” (2018), which featured contributions from Ariel Pink (another clear influence) and a title track that later hit big on TikTok. Then silence.

And, now we’re here. MGMT first hinted at their new album, “Loss of Life” through a cryptic Reddit post captioned “Just got done cooking L.O.L.” The emotionally inverse relationship between the grim title and its jaunty acronym is a testament to just how strange the resulting record sounds.

I could try to sum it up with a juxtapositional “[band] does [band]” soundbite: Ween does Meat Loaf, Aphex Twin does the Beatles, T-Rex does Dinosaur Jr.

Or I could complain that they didn’t continue the sound of their non-album single “In the Afternoon,” one of the best songs of the 2010s. But these all miss the point of the record. 

This record carves a new sound that is most reminiscent of their earlier self-titled misstep. However, it ends up faring much better. After a throwaway minute-long introduction to the album, we are hit with lead single “Mother Nature,” a gorgeous psychedelic breeze. The song immediately highlights that MGMT’s move to an independent label, Mom+Pop, has not diminished the quality of their production: they gleefully layer on Mercury Rev-esque flute melodies, crunchy bursts of guitar and textured synthesizer hums.

The following track, “Dancing in Babylon,” is another gem. It begins a trend that is littered throughout the rest of the album — power ballads plucked straight out of the ’80s. There, I’ve ripped the bandaid: this is an album of power ballads interspersed with a couple of rock tracks. Somehow, it works

It’s all in the attention to detail paid to every track. For example, listen to the bridge of the aforementioned track. Over a wonderfully cadencing chord progression, the lyrics feel uncharacteristically straightforward for VanWyngarden: “I wanna tell everyone I know I love you / I wanna touch the scars and break the chains that hold you.”

The interlocking vocals from Christine and the Queens, the first guest vocalist to appear on any MGMT record, just sell it.

“People in the Streets” is a bit harder to praise. It has some great guitar work and a groovy fretless bass, but the track takes its sweet time to become interesting. At least there is wild psychedelic soloing at the end. 

Two wildly different singles — the swaggering rocker “Bubblegum Dog” and psych folk ditty “Nothing to Declare” — are placed right in the middle of the tracklist. Both are wonderful, though the former has quickly cemented itself among my favorite MGMT songs.

A previously unreleased remnant of the “Little Dark Age” sessions, the track became popular on the strength of its odd title alone — I still have no idea what a “Bubblegum Dog” might be. The track represents MGMT at their most playful, with baroque harpsichord, chugging guitars and an unpredictable chord progression. It’s also a production marvel: Listen to those dissonant keyboard harmonies in the last chorus!

Some tracks lean into the prog weirdness of “Congratulations,” like the somewhat confusing “I Wish I Was Joking.” Meanwhile, deep cuts like “Phradie’s Song” would fit in on their 2013 self-titled record (as an album highlight, no less). The closing title track, “Loss of Life,” is much harder to describe. It balances glitchy drums with French horn arrangements, ultimately sounding like a scratched-up “Sgt. Peppers” vinyl.

I’ll leave you with the album’s biggest earworm for me: “Nothing Changes” is my favorite of the album’s power ballads. What makes the track so interesting is a central irony between the lyrics and instrumental — just as we’ve been hammered with the repeated lyric “Nothing’s going to change, believe me!” over a looping instrumental, the track explodes into a triumphant French horn solo. The song structure pokes a hole in the very idea that “nothing changes.”

Here, music itself becomes an undeniable counterargument to reactionary pessimism. The beauty of MGMT’s music is defined by an adventurous embrace of the constant current of progress. I don’t expect that to change anytime soon.

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