Apparently, Mr. Arrillaga didn't think we had enough already...

Beloved Admits,

I'm sure you've read tons of material on picking a school that fits, but how can you be sure? Picking 'the right' school can be a terrifying decision, but now that you have Stanford as an option, rest assured that at this point, you're probably only picking from some pretty stellar options. Whether Stanford already sticks out, or if you have to decide from a list of many top-notch institutions, read on to hear the musings of one very content junior who headed out West instead of elsewhere, and maybe you'll get a better feel for Stanford's fit for you.

Use this interactive graphic from the Times-Picayune (the New Orleans area newspaper) to see.

Although New Orleans is below sea level, the city proper would not have flooded during a Category 5 hurricane had the levees held.

The breaches at the London Avenue, 17th St, and Industrial Canals were what caused most of the damage. These breaches were due to poor planning, execution, and construction materials. At the London Avenue Canal, for example, concrete floodwalls were put only 17' into the soil despite the fact that the canal...

I read a book review for the upcoming How Doctors Think.
Sounds like an interesting read - now that I've decided to go to med school, I see things about medicine all the time. Everyone makes mistakes - including doctors.

I'm getting knee surgery next week and I'm going to ask my anesthesiologist what he thinks about the study that says that while anesthesiologists make up 6% of all physicians, they account for 25% of all physician substance abuse? It's kind of scary and I just want to know what he/she will say. I figure if he's clean he'll just be annoyed and tell me he's clean. The guy who's not clean will probably also tell me he's clean, but be just a bit more alert when he/she is working on me, because of the guilt of screwing up after lying to me would be awful.

That's my hope.

12:01AM this morning marked the beginning of the week-long annual blitz known as the ASSU Elections. During the wee hours of the morning, candidates and slates were prepping their Birdcage banners, slapping up fliers, and opening up boxes of chalk to begin the traditionally intense week of campaigning.

One Week for the candidates to make themselves known and for you to get to know them. Voting is on Wednesday and Thursday, April 11th and 12th, and the results will be announced on Friday, April 13th at 5:00PM. Here are a couple of resources to help you get started:

List of Candidates and Slates
List of Special Fees Groups
Election Calendar
Campaign Week Special Events!

For complete descriptions of all of the candidates and special fees groups on the ballot, check out the ASSU's Elections Handbook. We'll be bringing you more from the candidates and groups throughout the week. Stay tuned!

For some reason, the name "Band Run" just never seems to suffice. Hence, I'm titling this entry "Band Explosion." The first Wednesday of Fall and Spring quarters (for those who don't know), the band runs to several dorms on campus and stops at each one to play a song, dance, and be merry. It's a fantastic celebration... one that left me feeling slightly weirded out my Freshman year, but that now leaves me feeling... happy. Very happy. Makes me wish I would have joined Band.

Feast on the photos on the entry page!

Today, Google Maps released a new tool called My Maps. It allows you to create and share personalized, annotated maps. You can mark your favorite places, as well as draw lines or shapes to highlight paths or specialized areas. There is a great HTML function that allows you to add your own text, photos, and even videos to points on your maps.

While mashups are nothing new, this is the first time this function has been truly accessible to Google's non-techie users. As usual, Google (aka Stanford) developers have designed an interface that makes it really easy to get started. I created a map for My Workouts as part of my Couch-to-5K Running Plan in less than ten minutes. It's only week one of my training, but I can tell this is going to be a great tool to help me track my progress.

The trailer for 300 is by far the best way to experience said film; one gets a montage of unconnected cool images. Problem is, once the filmmakers connect those images into a story, a much, much worse film emerges. In general, I rarely am vituperative towards films; I’m usually indifferent towards films I don’t like. 300 was different—I actively disliked it. The main debate for me is this: propaganda or not?

I’m going to answer affirmatively; 300 in plot and dialogue is trying to push something. It feels kind of weird to take the same position as the Islamic Republic of Iran, but there was a definite agenda being pushed. That agenda was not really pro-Iraq War, as some have speculated. Rather, it was one of the conservative worldview in general, specifically the neoconservative worldview.

Here’s why, with several spoilers:

We are Brett Hammon and Lakshmi Karra (aka Brett and Lakshmi) and we are running for ASSU Exec. We would like to be your President and Vice-President because we will make Stanford a great place next year. We have the experience and the ideas, but what truly sets us apart is our leadership skills. All the executive slates are promising a lot of similar things - things that two people cannot possibly accomplish on their own. And we feel our strength will be leading and motivating the ASSU to want to accomplish these goals. We will be visible Executives showing up at all campus events and many student group meetings so that you'll feel comfortable approaching us with an issue.

So check out our platform in detail as well as some fun media at www.brettandlakshmi.com. Voting is next Wednesday and Thursday online at ballot.stanford.edu. All grads and undergrads (including seniors) can vote. You'll be hearing more from us soon!

March Madness is over. Say that to a basketball fan, for the reaction. If said basketball fan expresses nothing but regret, well, let’s just say he and I aren’t on the same wavelength. If, on the other hand, that basketball fan says, “Yeah, and I can’t wait for the NBA playoffs,” then we’re in agreement. For basketball fans like me and this hypothetical fan, the NBA playoffs are pure—we don’t have the hype machine like with college basketball, and we don’t have to deal with the silliness of some basketball people insulting another.

Every season during March Madness, writers and broadcasters feel the need to reaffirm their brand of the sport over the professional version. The professional version, we hear, is populated by thugs and lazy bums. They’re all flashy showmen who only care about the dunk and can’t shoot the midrange jumper. They’re all disloyal assholes who are seeking to kill their coach. They’re unruly motherfuckers.

That’s why you always see columnists urging kids to stay in school! It’s the only place you can learn how to play the game, and perhaps something about life as well! The money can wait! Have fun now! Etc., etc.

Hello! My name is Anarghya Vardhana, and I am running for Undergraduate Senate. Why should you vote for me? I have fresh ideas and realistic plans. I spent this year as a regular student, and felt that the connection between ASSU and the Student Body is limited to non-existent. Do you know what ASSU does? Do you know what kind of change ASSU can create?

As a Senator, I hope to establish a strong relationship between these two sides of campus, so that students can know who to go to with doubts, questions, or concerns. I also hope to create more intermingling between student groups, and strengthen larger groups, while giving smaller groups more voice and funding so that they may grow. Stanford's diversity should not simply be limited to different races, but should incorporate diversity in ideas, interests, and thoughts.

More activities during Big Game week, and a stronger re-instatement of the Band would increase school spirit, and truly get us rallied up to beat Cal!
Wouldn't it be awesome if Jamba Juice accepted the Cardinal Dollars from our meal plan? I hope to work with administration to offer students more dining hall options.
And a longterm goal and childhood fantasy would be to install water slides in Avery ... we'll see if that happens!

Overall, I am ready to take action, am always willing to listen and speak for you, and would appreciate a vote for Senate. Remember, you can vote for up to 15 people, so please vote Anarghya Vardhana for Senate!

Through a friend of a friend of a sister, I heard about a very interesting project called A Minute In The Life: The Simultaneous Photograph Project. The goal is to get as many people as possible to all take pictures within the same minute. He will then collect all of these pictures and do with them as he pleases. The chosen day is Saturday, the June 2nd, between 2:00 and 2:01 PM Eastern Daylight Time (11:00 and 11:01 PM for us left-coasters). Put it on your calendar and spread the word. Additional details can be found by following the link at the top of the entry. This sounds really awesome. Now, what do I want to take a picture of and send to some random dude in Bethesda, Maryland?

Of course, I can never avoid a Stanford history lesson. A while back, Stanford Magazine had a great article about the Muybridge photograph sequence (pictured), often called A Horse in Motion. Not only did it prove that all four legs of a horse are airborne mid-gallop, but it also challenged the traditional artistic depiction of horses in gallop (with legs extended, as opposed to tucked under). This 1878 series, taken rapidly with multiple fixed cameras, is often considered one of the most important precursors to film.

You can vote for up to 15 Senators! You can make the difference!

With over three years of experience in student government and leadership, I know what it takes to be a successful student representative. I am extremely efficient, reliable and professional. As you may have witnessed at the 2007 Mid-Year Convocation, I am an enthusiastic and passionate public speaker. I promise to be very dedicated to my position in the Undergraduate Senate, just as I was to my Frosh Council Presidency.

Former Frosh Council President; Stanford Debate Society Member; Stanford Wind Ensemble; Stanford Student Enterprises; 2007 Mid-Year Convocation Speaker

My platform:

- Hold ASSU more accountable for providing efficient support and freedom to students and groups
- Better funding for student groups and activities
- Decrease bureaucracy and revise regulations of the OSA
- Expand Cardinal Dollars to more locations on campus
- Provide support for student publications, arts and free speech
- Uphold Stanford traditions including LSJUMB
- Push for International need-blind admissions
- Increase student awareness and participation in the events and opportunities on campus
- Connecting the student body to build a stronger Stanford community
- Listening to your ideas!

Vote for TOM! :)

Please feel free to contact me. I am here for YOU!

www.tomvacek.com

My name is Stuart Baimel and I am pleased to be running for Senate this year. I recognize that the ASSU cannot do everything, and promising policies that will never happen (despite student-government promises every year, Dead Week remains alive) is not the best way to go about this campaign. Instead, I want to focus on policy issues that have a significant and attainable impact on student life.

One of my primary objectives for next year's Senate is to promote the arts. I've spoken to the members of many arts groups, large and small, and the two complaints I hear over and over again are a lack of funding, and partially as a result of that, difficulty with publicity. I believe that the ASSU next year can do a far better job of funding the arts, a sphere of campus life that should not have the funding problems that it currently does. The ASSU, in addition, has a formidable publicity apparatus that could easily be used to promote arts events such as performances, SOCA's Art Affair, and ongoing exhibits.

In the midst of all the flyers and banners on campus, and all the other miscellaneous advertisements (indeed, this is the...5th post of a Senate candidate advertising on the Blog), you might be overwhelmed or increasingly indifferent to more publicity. But, still, I feel compelled to display my reasons for running and try to convey the type of person I am.
Now I know some of you simply might not care about the Senate, and don't want your blog polluted by these ad's. So I'm not going to say any more, on this main page.
If you are interested in my campaign, click the "view more" button below".

My name is Sarah Golabek-Goldman and I am running for Undergraduate Senate. As a Senate Associate on the Communications and Advocacy Committees this year, I investigated new ways to improve communication between ASSU and the student body. In addition, I met with Bing Overseas Studies Program to broaden international study opportunities. While serving on the ASSU, I have learned how important it is to create student policies and programs that are practical and have a positive impact on Stanford students.

As a senator, one of my top priorities will be to make books more accessible to the student body. Under the existing system at Green Library, a professor must pay the cost himself if he wants to put an additional textbook on reserve. As a result, there is an inadequate amount of books on reserve and students who rely on these textbooks are academically disadvantaged. Next year, I plan to work with Access Services at Green Library in order to help reform the reserve policy so that students who cannot afford textbooks do not have to compete for books on reserve during exam week and are able to check them out for more than two hours.

Next year, I will promote sustainability by encouraging Stanford Dining and additional row houses to adopt environmentally friendly programs. In addition, I will investigate gender-blind housing and educate student groups about funding opportunities.

I believe that students should have a strong voice on campus. If elected, I will push for the ASSU website to be updated on a regular basis. In addition, I will set up more suggestion boxes around campus so that students can share their concerns and ideas with the Undergraduate Senate.

I have been endorsed by the Stanford Democrats, JSA, QSA and Stanford Review.

Thank you so much for your support. Please contact me at goldman2@Stanford.edu with any comments or suggestions!

On April 10, American Studies will be a leading co-sponsor of an event organized by Stanford Beyond Bars, an organization dedicated to sparking dialogue and consciousness of the issues surrounding incarceration. The event will be organized by American Studies major Jacqueline Gauthier, who is the coordinator of Stanford Beyond Bars. Since SBB's official inception in the fall of 2004, they have started a tutoring program with the San Francisco County Jails in association with the Northern California Service League and volunteered with prison activist organizations such as the Prison Activist Resource Center in Oakland.

Please feel free to check out our website at: http://www.assuexecutive.com. Thanks!

We, Hershey Avula and Mondaire Jones, are immensely excited by the possibility of serving as your ASSU President and Vice President. We take the important responsibilities of advocating on behalf of students to Stanford’s Administration; hosting quality programming throughout the year that reaches out to and positively impacts the entire student body; and strengthening all branches of the ASSU through our proven management skills very seriously. More seriously, many have said, than others who have never shown a real interest in student advocacy or in certain campus organizations, until it was time to declare their candidacies.

Equally as important as our demonstrated commitment to students is another quality that elevates the Avula/Jones slate above the competition: experience that matters. Our involvement in the ASSU, which began in the very beginning of our respective freshman years, ranges from social sector organizations like Frosh Council to leadership positions in the more advocacy-oriented Undergraduate Senate. No other slate has this advocacy experience.

Our expert knowledge of and experience navigating through the internal workings of the ASSU does not hinder our ability to notice and to rectify the failures of the ASSU. Instead, we have the totally unique advantage of having worked alongside this year’s, and past, ASSU Executives with critical eyes over their failures and successes. The insights we have gained over this period have enabled us to think outside of the box, and to devise a number of original yet achievable proposals that you can read about in our platform. Simultaneously, the excellent working relationships we have established with Administrators over the past few years affords us greater leverage in advocating the interests of the student body with Administrators. One example of this is when we collaborated with other ASSU officials to pressure Administrators into re-instituting the original plans for Old Union, which included more student space.

I was innocently surfing along on my usual internet routine the other day when I stumbled upon a hair-raising HIV/AIDS awareness ad:

The text reads: "Without a condom you’re making love with AIDS. Protect yourself."

The ad was produced by a French NGO called AIDES ("aide" means "support" or "help" in French), which was founded by Daniel Defert in 1984 following the death of his partner, philosopher (and former Berkeley professor) Michel Foucault. AIDES now operates in over 70 small towns and villages within France, and is recognized as one of the most important European HIV/AIDS NGOs.

While I was googling around to find out more about AIDES, I also (not surprisingly) stumbled upon ads from other NGOs which, through YouTube's helpful "related" feature, led me to even more anti-AIDS ads -- some good, some great, some not so amazing. Continue reading this entry if you'd like to to see some of the best, in my humble opinion.

Notably, most of these ads were produced for broadcasting in the First World, where infection rates are low and AIDS is now considered a "manageable" disease. Some of the ads will make you laugh. Some will shock you. Some might even warm your heart. But after watching several ad spots clearly designed to shock and scare, I can't help but wonder, "Is there such a thing as overkill when it comes to AIDS awareness?" (Pun not intended.)

Say "Yes" to Nho for ASSU Senate. For more, check out his Facebook group.

Write to the Registrar at registrar@stanford.edu

It was my sneaking suspicion that the Registrar would not be releasing (and making readily available) the results of its new Online Course Evaluations. E-mails to the Registrar's Office last week were replied to with simply "You can find some information on our website." Genius.

Today, the Daily confirmed that the Registrar currently has no plans to make the results available to students. It was always inexcusable that it is so hard to find out how students rate their professors, but now that the Course Evaluations are online and sport a 90% completion rate, it's a shame. Transparency should be the University's default, not its exception.

The ASSU must insist that the full results of Course Evaluations be made available to students, including at least a random sampling of student written comments.

I recently spoke with one of my favorite professors, democracy and Iraq expert Larry Diamond, about this lack of transparency from the administration. I was venting about how, in my opinion, the teaching in the Economics department is mediocre but that, like the rational economists they are, they would never improve unless they were given proper incentives -- i.e. the possibility of embarrassment -- by the availability of student ratings of the courses.

Professor Diamond was surprised that this information on the performance of professors and departments was not already available due to his leading of the original effort at the ASSU to get courses evaluated in the first place. When the Daily published its article today, I wrote to Professor Diamond and asked him to comment. Here's what he said (this letter should also be published in tomorrow's Daily):

I was disturbed to read today that the results of the course evaluations are not routinely and systematically made available to the student body. The current policy (or lack thereof) is ill-considered and indefensible for a number of reasons. The most obvious one is that students and their families are paying over $30,000 a year in tuition (or as much of that as they can possibly afford) for the privilege of taking these classes. The least that Stanford could do—and the minimum I think it is morally required to do—is to make this most fundamental piece of consumer information available to students before they spend something like $3,000 on a class.

Related to this is the difficulty students have in making informed choices about classes and professors. Four years go by very quickly for a Stanford undergraduate. There are often painful opportunity costs to taking one course instead of another. In terms of maximizing the quality and richness of their undergraduate experience, students should have as much information at their disposal as possible.

This year's An Art Affair (Stanford's largest student-organized arts festival) will be taking place in White Plaza this weekend, Saturday April 14th (6pm-Midnight), and Sunday April 15th (10am-4pm). Check out the tents going up in White Plaza!

An Art Affair is now in it's 8th year, and is bigger than ever before. This year, the festival joined with Stanford Community Day (April 15th) as a celebration of the Stanford arts community.

Some new additions this year include:
A Workshop Stage for student groups to give workshops following their performance on the Main Stage, FREE gourmet FOOD for Stanford students from the Cooking Club, special guest performances by KENNY ENDO and STANFORD TAIKO and GAMO DA PAZ and KUUMBA AFRICAN DANCE AND DRUM ENSEMBLE, and an extended schedule spanning two days-- moving the Stanford Soundtrack CD Release Party to Saturday night, and the general festivities to Sunday to coincide with Community Day.

Here's what you can expect at An Art Affair:
Over 60 performances on three stages, over 200 peices of visual art and photography on display (in two tent galleries), 3,000 free copies of the Stanford Soundtrack CD, 11 workshops from student organizations, FREE FOOD (on both days!) for Stanford students with SUID, and tabling from arts groups -- all to showcase the Stanford arts community in this annual celebration.

The festival is organized each year by the Student Organizing Committee for the Arts (SOCA). It is one of the largest and most ambitious student-organized events on campus, and is the biggest arts event of the year. Do not miss it!

Full Art Affair Program Details

The Dailyhas three big articles on the ASSU elections today.

The centerpiece is Christian Torres' article on the SOCC endorsement process. He takes a look at the controversy surrounding SOCC, and the relationship between Brett and Lakshmi, one of the two leading slates for ASSU Executive and SOCC. They, like Avula/Jones, discuss diversity in their platform, but SOCC has endorsed Avula/Jones.

A second article is about the endorsement process for three of the major student groups: SOCC, Stanford Democrats and the Queer-Straight Alliance (QSA). [Full disclosure: I have been endorsed by the Dems and QSA for my Senate campaign]. The endorsement processes are very different.

A third article notes that the Senate will be voting on a controversial resolution endorsing divestment from Israel.

The Stanford Review's Elections Issue came out a couple of days ago. They endorsed candidates for Senate and Executive, and wrote blurbs about all the Special Fees groups, although interestingly, did not give a simple thumbs up/thumbs down for them. All of their coverage can be found at Stanfordreview.org.

I've participated in several voter registration and GOTV efforts on campus and elsewhere because I believe strongly that active participation in government is integral to the health of our democracy. It is vital that young people speak up and have their voices heard. The actions of our leaders today are going to greatly impact the actions we can take in the future, especially when it comes to the dire fiscal calamity that they are leaving behind (but that's a story for another day).

You may or may not have been following the recent uproar over the firing--"purging" if you want to use the more alarmist tone--of the US Attorneys. But you should be. It has implications for young people's ability to vote.

Online voting has begun. Visit http://ballot.stanford.edu/ to cast your votes!

Elections are today and tomorrow (the 11th and 12th), and results will be announced at 5:00PM on Friday. Check out the ASSU Elections website for more info.

And now for a break from ASSU stuff:

Stanford's Women's Water Polo team is on a role, winning its 17th consecutive game on Saturday with a blowout of Long Beach State. The #1-ranked Cardinal are now 19-1 overall and 8-0 in MPSF play, with the only loss coming to USC during the Stanford Invite. With strong leadership from seniors Alison Gregorka, Christina Hewko, Meridith McColl, and Katie Hansen, this team seems certain to make a run for the national championship.

Come cheer on the Cardinal as it hopes to continue its streak next Saturday, April 14th against No. 2 UCLA at the Avery Aquatics Center at 1:00 PM. This is a really important game--one of the last home games of the season--and I hope a lot of people are able to make it. Be loud, and bleed Cardinal.

Check out this hilarious freestyle track about the Stanford caterpillar epidemic. It's called "Catakilla," and is by the new group JAM'D. (Warning: It's expletive-laden.)

Last night, SOCA members helping to organize An Art Affair, Stanford's largest arts festival (happening THIS WEEKEND!), took initiative to set up ~60 pink lawn flamingos across campus, all marked with "SOCA" and Art Affair information.

"Guerrilla advertising" has become a new tactic on campus this year, with the installation in the intersection of death (by the clock tower), and the investigative effort of the d.school in viral marketing.

What can we expect next?

When some people ask themselves "What Would Jesus Do?" in this modern age, some respond, "He would certainly carry big signs that say 'God Hates Fags' to soldiers' funerals!" Others respond, "Jesus would drive to Stanford and tell the students that homosexuals are going to hell!"

The latter response is, in fact, what three older men decided to do today. They stood outside the Spring Career Fair with big signs that read "The sin and the sinner go straight to hell together," and "Warning: Pornicators, Drunkards, Thieves, Adulterers, God Haters, Liars, HOMOSEXUALS - JUDGMENT."

Fortunately, Stanford students wouldn't have any of it. While it would've been preferrable to have the men carried off by campus security, the students made the best of the situation by calling on the men to cite Bible verses to support their claims of God's hate and by cheering on two gay students who made out in front of the demonstrators.

Fortunately, this nice little scene was caught on video (makeout session is at the end).

In a decision with repercussions for the burgeoning number of Facebook-ing and MySpace-ing teens, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled this week that high school students' free speech is protected by both the U.S. and Indiana State Constitution, even if the students' words are expletive-ridden or against school policy.

This court decision has huge ramifications for student expression on the Web, including us bloggers. The case focuses around a student only referred to as A.B. in court papers who was originally sentenced to 9 months of probation on six counts of harassment stemming from comments she made on MySpace highly critical of the school principal, Shawn Gobert. Juvenile court went so far as to declare her to be "a delinquent child."

The comments were posted to the supposed profile of Gobert, a page actually created by a classmate of A.B.'s, something she knew when posting her comments. She said she was even "pretty sure" which student created the online effigy. In light of this, the Court of Appeals held that A.B.'s virtual diatribe was in fact a form of "political speech," and thus protected under the Bill of Rights.

We'll be blogging live tonight from the CoHo as the winners and losers of the ASSU Election are announced.

For now, the Daily reports that there was a record turnout of --- 40% (about 6,000 students out of our roughly 15,000 voted).

With the race behind them, some slates looked back on the challenges and highlights of an intense campaign week.

Brett Hammon ‘08 said his slate worked to shed a positive light on ASSU candidates.

“A lot of people assume that everyone involved in the ASSU is a tool,” he said. “And while this is a pretty safe assumption most of the time, there are a good 15 percent of us who are not.

“I’m glad that I don’t have to watch my mouth anymore,” he added. “When I would cuss around voters, Lakshmi [Karra ‘08] would snap at me, ‘Brett, you can’t say that shit in public.’”

"We weren't expecting this!"

Full election results at http://elections.stanford.edu/ when the ASSU gets around to posting them.

Students poring over results

5:12 - ASSU Executive (Run-off Results):

Round 1
Avula/Jones - 1867
Submit - 136
Smith/Ladewig - 339
Brett and Lakshmi - 1715
The Warm Weather Party - 440
Submit eliminated first round

Round 2
Avula/Jones - 1883
Smith/Ladewig - 351
Brett and Lakshmi - 1739
The Warm Weather Party - 484
Aaron Smith and Kyle Ladewig eliminated second round

Round 3
Avula/Jones - 1957
Brett and Lakshmi - 1845
Warm Weather Party - 517
The Warm Weather Party eliminated third round

Round 4
Avula/Jones - 2030
Brett and Lakshmi - 1992
Avula/Jones is declared the winner

5:09

Eugene Nho smiles broadly after hearing news of his victory. His awesome YouTube ad clearly paid huge dividends as he was the top vote-getter.

New Undergraduate Senators (top 15 vote-getters):

Eugene Nho - 1364
Patrick Cordova - 1102
Waddie CrazyHorse - 878
Jonathan Kass - 768
Luukas Ilves - 766
Tom Vacek - 743
Jose Benchimol - 699
Stuart Baimel - 696
Ré Phillips - 651
Priyanka Sharma - 638
Vanku Kang - 621
Sarah Golabek-Goldman - 601
Corinne Prudhomme - 587
Andy Lomeli - 569
Esosa Ozigbo - 564

5:08 - Measure A: Constitutional Amendment passes with 87.44%; Graduate GO Pass Measure fails with 61%

5:08 - All undergrad special fees passed!!

5:08 - Comedy Night failed with only 47% of Graduate votes

5:08 All Joint Special Fees pass except for Stanford News Readership Program which failed because too many abstained from voting on it, although it did receive 53.61% support from those who did vote on it.

5:07 - ASSU General Fees - 0% increase in fee in both areas

5:05 Graduate Student Council winners (top 15 vote-getters):
District Winners
Shireen Baday (Law)
Yana Emmy Hoy (Medicine)
Fen Zhao (Natural Sciences)
Melahn Parker (Engineering)
Marja Mullings (Engineering)
George Bloom (Humanities)
Euan Robertson (Social Sciences)
Rhyan Uy (Business)
Kyle Anderson (Earth Sciences)
Heather Hough (Education)

At-Large Winners
Maxim Afanasyev (Business)
Hanna Muenke (Social Sciences)
Kristina Keating (Earth Sciences)
Zen Fan (Engineering)
Lan Wei (Engineering)

5:05 - Class President Slates
Sophomore - after 4 rounds of voting - The Giving Tree
Junior - (no competitors) - The Professionals
Senior - The Office

5:04 - 5848 voters, a 10% increase over 2006. 40% of all students voted. (1072 Freshmen, 875 Sophomores, 1019 Juniors, 634 Seniors)

5:02

Announcements begin. Record turnout this year. Record number of candidates. Good job candidates. "None of the campaigns were egregiously unfair."

5:00

CoHo is packed as announcements begin

4:58

Lakshmi Karra (center) and friends anxious as announcements are about to begin

4:52

Luukas Ilves looking Senatorial. "Like my father before me, I always wear a bow tie on election nights."

4:47 - Candidates wandering in

As we mull over a possible federal shield law and in the wake of the jailing of Josh Wolf (who is now free after 226 days), the question of whether a “blogger” or a “citizen journalist” is actually a Journalist -- with a capital "J" -- has taken front and center.

I asked that question (via email) to Kevin Bankston, a staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation. He succinctly responded, “Yes. A blogger is a journalist if they are doing journalism.”

The answer is an interesting one in the context of defining a journalist either through statute or case law. Many have qualms about the very prospect of inviting the government to define who is or isn’t a journalist. To them, the act is a form of licensing and an affront to the First Amendment.

However, Bankston’s answer shifts the focus from who is a journalist, to what is journalism.

According to Stanford Journalism Professor Ted Glasser, defining what is journalism is the lesser of the two evils.

K-Flay performs @ 11:30p

Tonight (Saturday) kicks off the Art Affair with a six-hour high-voltage concert by this year's fantastic Stanford Soundtrack performers. 3,000 free CDs will be given out, free pizza will be served at 6PM, and the Art Affair tents will be open all night. It promises to be fantastic (I mean, K-Flay will be performing, so obviously it'll be fantastic).

This year's Soundtrack is passionate and soulful, but laid-back and somewhat understated. Click a song to see for yourself:

Songs from the soundtrack and a list of song titles can be downloaded here.

Hey everybody, we've been fasting and camping out in White Plaza since Thursday. We're going to keep going until the university agrees to follow up on its rhetoric and pay all Stanford workers a living wage. We'll try to use this space to keep people updated about what's going on and how we're doing. You can also check out our website. Anyway, I'll try to put a real post later today when I get some time.

Why are students fasting?

I've uploaded to our Flickr account a few photos of the great artwork on display today and tomorrow at the Art Affair. Check it out!

Sorry for the delay between updates, today has been really big and busy. This morning we packed up our tents and left our space in White Plaza. We did this both to avoid causing a disruption to a student group that had planned to use the space, and more importantly, because we had a better place to be.

We are currently occupying the space in the Main Quad directly in front of Hennessy's office. So far he has not agreed to meet with us, so we're trying to make it so that at least he can't avoid seeing us outside.

A quick summary of how we got here: Today we had our big barbecue/rally for workers, students, and community members. While people were grilling and eating, two fasters and two organizers went to a speech by Hennessy to hold a banner demanding that he meet with us and to pass out flyers to attendees.

As soon as we arrived, Nanci Howe and multiple police officers surrounded us and threatened to arrest us. We hadn't been planning on interrupting the speech, but they were yelling so loud that a lot of people were distracted. Once they calmed down, we stood by the side of the speech and held the banner, and then flyered near the end. At this point, even simple things like holding up a banner have become difficult for the fasters.

Afterwards, we held the rally part of event, including speeches from union leaders, a faster, and the 6 new people who joined the fast today. We had a great turnout and the speeches really fired people up. We then marched past the crowds of people here for Community Day to Hennesy's office and set up our tents while police and administrators ran around trying to figure out what we might be doing. I think that they were scared we were going to occupy the actual office.

Today has been very exciting. Even though the fasters might not be physically strong right now, seeing the level of support and our own power has given us a lot of emotional strength, and we're prepared to carry on as long as necessary.

Right now, we're still moving stuff into our new camp. I'll try to write more and post more pictures and videos as soon I can.

Caterpillars munching on an art tent during An Art Affair/Community Day. Soon thereafter the tent collapsed, killing several patrons and destroying the art inside.

Actually, I'm joking. Community Day went off without a hitch. There were no reports of children choking on caterpillars, and in fact, many children were smiling.

Except for this one. She looks a bit befuddled.

This scene at the painting wall was cuter than hell.

Yes, folks, it's true (see Daily article). This year, candidates endorsed by the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC) did worse in the election than they did last year (btw, is there no SOCC website?). Perhaps that's because student discontent rose sharply under the Coalition's dominance of the Senate and students wanted a change. That would explain the strong showing by the anti-Office of Student Activities slate, The Warm Weather Party.

Most likely, SOCC fared poorly because the Queer-Straight Alliance (QSA) decided for the first time to step into the race. QSA endorsed six candidates for Senate and -- that's right -- all six of them were elected. QSA's Special Fees request passed overwhelmingly with 72% of the vote, just below the Stanford Band. And -- get this -- QSA endorsed both Avula/Jones and Brett and Lakshmi, leaving students helpless to decide and leading to Avula/Jones' victory by less than 1%.

In the words of QSA President George Xander Morris, "They had the exact same platforms, literally — not to criticize them, but they just did."

So what will the Senate look like next year? Six Senators will be "students of color." Six will be "queers and/or fag hags." And the three leftover Senators are clearly straight and white (actually, only Tom Vacek claims to be straight and white).

Interestingly, the Senator who won the largest number of votes in the election was endorsed by neither SOCC nor QSA. The top vote-getter -- Eugene Nho -- was, in fact, endorsed by the Dems.

But let's be honest, folks. Were the endorsements really that big of a deal in the end? It should be clear to everyone that Eugene Nho won because of his witty and creative YouTube ad, which analogized the student body's struggles against the Office of Student Activities to the epic battle between the Spartans and the Persians at Thermopylae. No offense to the Dems, but endorsements really had nothing to do with it.

So, please. I don't want to hear about the Dems vs. Review vs. SOCC vs. The Gays. Let's get real. This election was a victory for YouTube.

Final Election/Endorsement ratio for each group:
QSA - 6/6 (100%); Band - 6/7 (86%); Dems - 4/6 (67%); Review - 7/13 (54%); SOCC - 6/13 (46%)

By Anthony Sanchez
KZSU News

Take a bit of Craigslist, cross it with some Facebook, and add in student frustration with the high costs of textbooks and you’ll end up with something like HappyZork.com.

Launched last quarter at Stanford by senior Kali Donovan, HappyZork.com is a peer-to-peer website that facilitates the buying and selling of textbooks between students. Users can create profiles, complete with a picture, search or post textbooks on the website, receive offers, and complete their transactions on campus.

Reports are showing at least 31 are dead in the Virginia Tech shooting. I don't know what to say.

A gunman opened fire in a dormitory and a classroom at a college in Virginia on Monday, killing at least 30 people in the deadliest campus shooting in U.S. history. The gunman also was killed, and at least 22 other people were injured.

“Today the university was struck with a tragedy that we consider of monumental proportions,” said Charles Steger, president of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, in southwest Virginia. “The university is shocked and indeed horrified.”

The shootings spread panic and confusion at the college, which is popularly known as Virginia Tech. Witnesses reporting students jumping out the windows of a classroom building to escape the gunfire.

More updates from the Collegiate Times.

As you’ve no doubt noticed, the SLAC fasters are no longer occupying the Main Quad. At around 5:30 p.m. yesterday, after at least 3 uniformed and 2 undercover police surrounded the fasters’ tent encampment, negotiations regarding the occupation of the Main Quad began between various administrators and SLAC. The administrators, including Nanci Howe and Maureen Powers, told the fasters that they would be able meet with President Hennessy on Monday but did not give a specific meeting time. As SLAC members caucused about holding the Main Quad and increasing pressure on Hennessy, Maureen Powers made a phone call to the President and secured a 5 p.m. meeting time.

Terrible tragedies have unfolded today at Virginia Tech. Let us, the Stanford student body, send a message of support to the students there. Sign the petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/prayer4v/petition.html

The Strange Case of Salman abd al Haqq premieres this Wednesday, April 18th at 8PM in Cubberley Auditorium. Don't miss this important moment in Stanford student filmmaking and in the Stanford student body's response to America's torture scandals.

View the Trailer:

The first revelations of America's torture of prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay shocked many in the Stanford community. Even more shocking were revelations by the ACLU and others that the use of torture (including approval of specific techniques) was sanctioned at the highest levels of the Bush administration. Then came news that the CIA, notorious for using the most "aggressive" techniques, was operating secret prisons abroad. And as if that wasn't enough, the US government was also shipping prisoners to other countries notorious for their sanctioning of torture, such as Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Morocco and Uzbekistan. This extra-judicial process of holding prisoners in other countries is known as "extraordinary rendition," or as some would call it, "the outsourcing of torture."

With our government's commitment to human rights crashing down around us, one would hope -- no, one would expect -- that there would be some kind of artistic processing of the phenomenon from the Stanford community. A new film by Tim Gregory and Jeff Orlowski, entitled The Strange Case of Salman abd al Haqq, is exactly this sort of artistic processing. It is a forceful protest, in hopes that the American people and our elected representatives might begin to understand this moral crisis, and then really confront it.

To learn more about the film and the thinking behind it, I sat down for a few minutes with Tim Gregory, co-director, to discuss how it came to be.

SLAC marched this evening with about fifty supporters from White Plaza to Hennessy's office in the Main Quad, where SLAC and the President met at 5PM to discuss the group's demands for a Real Living Wage. To pass the time while SLAC and the President met, representatives from groups sympathetic to the cause gave speeches followed by more chanting.

Hennessy and SLAC met for about an hour, after which the students emerged and announced that another meeting would be held the following day. The University also released a statement this evening clarifying some of the University's difficulties in implementing a living wage policy for everyone affiliated with Stanford:

The students were reminded that there are hundreds-perhaps thousands-of contracts put in place each year. Some are for very small dollar amounts or are one-time contracts that last only a short time. University officials have stated that it would be nearly impossible to monitor this number of contracts or would require unreasonable additional resources to implement this level of monitoring.

For now, SLAC's fast continues. Read on for more video from SLAC and a list of attending groups.

The drought is almost over. Over the next eight weeks, you are going to see a lot information about Old Union come out. What's in it? When is it opening? What does it look like? This renovation is very exciting, and I can't wait to get the campus talking about it again. Be sure to check out the spread coming up in the Daily soon, and, of course, look for full and exclusive coverage from the Unofficial Stanford Blog throughout Spring.

Corrections have been made to this entry. Please feel free to e-mail us at the address above any time you feel our journalistic pieces do not represent the facts accurately, and we will make the corrections to the entries as soon as we can. That's the power of modern technology!

This just in... Senate sources are telling me that, although Hershey Avula and Mondaire Jones have been certified as ASSU President and Vice President, the ASSU Elections Commissioner, Bernard Luis Fraga, said tonight that he is bound by the Constitution to hold another runoff vote between the Avula/Jones and Brett and Lakshmi slates.

The challenge springs from a Constitutional provision that provides for such a runoff when no executive slate is able to secure a majority of everyone who voted in the election. Because the election was so close and many voters did not select a choice for ASSU Executive (some suspect grad students who logged in only to vote on the Go Pass measure), the Avula/Jones slate does not have a majority of all those voting in the election, and therefore technically a new vote must be called. To clarify, the Avula/Jones slate did receive a majority from those who voted in the ASSU Executive category, but they did not receive a majority among the pool of voters that includes those who did not vote in the ASSU Executive category.

BUT (wow, I'm getting tired) a new runoff will not be held if two-thirds of both the Senate and the Graduate Student Council vote to overturn the Elections Commissioner. This evening, the Senate voted 12-1 to overturn, leaving the fate of the election in the hands of the GSC.

Even if the GSC concurs with the Senate and votes to overturn the Commissioner, supporters of Brett and Lakshmi may go forward with a Constitutional challenge based on the claim that the Constitution strictly mandates a majority of all those voting. However, the challenge would be politically weakened without the support of at least one of the governmental bodies, and the Constitutional Council would be less likely to vote to hold the runoff.

Today's service in Memorial Church to remember the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting was simple and solemn. The names of the victims were read, each followed by a strike of a bowl-shaped object (I'm not sure what it was), sending clean, lingering soundwaves throughout the church.

After the names were read, observers were invited to line up to light a candle for the victims and to comment if they wished. A few people did speak, including a man who is an alum of both Stanford and Virginia Tech. He read a poem delivered by professor and poet Nikki Giovanni during Virginia Tech's convocation, which spoke of the school's strength and ability to overcome this tragedy. The poem ends with: "We will prevail. We will prevail. We will prevail. We are Virginia Tech."

Students, faculty, administrators, and other members of the Stanford community loosely filled the church pews for the service, which was presided over by Dean McLennan and Associate Dean Sanders.

After the service, I felt nauseous, and almost started crying when I spoke to my mom on the phone afterwards. This is painful for everyone, even all the way across the country.

Outside, a reporter interviews a student.

Our petition of solidarity with the students of Virginia Tech is at 488 signatures. I'm hoping to send it to them when we reach 500.

The New York Times is covering the release of footage, photos, and writings from the killer.

You've already heard all the warnings about taking Admit Weekend with a grain of salt but quite frankly, I've never heard of a single student (well, maybe this one) who took Admit Weekend for its face value. You're smart, you're here, and you already have the tools to go out and discover the "real" Stanford.

What constitutes a "real" Stanford? The classes? The incredible access to research that undergraduates have? Open-minded, accessible faculty? The funding Stanford provides? Great overseas opportunities? All of these, yes - but it's your classmates that will really help you find your anchor here.

Stanford has an amazing array of student groups. When I first came to Stanford, I found it difficult to believe that students were actually doing and running some of these groups. Groups like FACES, which organizes two professional conferences every year at Stanford and in China for student leaders. ASES, which promotes networking and mentorship for budding entrepreneurs in Asia. FACE AIDS, fighting AIDS in Africa. EPATT - East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring. Amazing events being put on by Stanford chapters of professional organizations, such as IEEE; BASES, connecting students with Venture Capital firms. SIG, providing Stanford students with internships in Washington, DC and beyond at key policy institutes around the world. The Stanford Dems, connecting campus to local California issues as well as coordinating student volunteers for national elections. There are several more that I'm missing right now.

Interested in news from the Stanford bubble and beyond? Want to know what's going on on campus? Tune into the Stanford Current!

The Stanford Current is KZSU 90.1 FM's news show that airs every Monday at 6:30pm. You can stream it live here.

Also, check out the Stanford Current's new website. You can download previous shows and check out the staff.

This week's show will include headlines from the Stanford bubble and beyond in "Your World This Week," a survey of campus resources for student welfare, and an interview with Peter Scheer, Executive Director of the California First Amendment Coalition, on Josh Wolf and who is a journalist.

Not mention our new segment, "Question of the Week," which we pose to random Stanford students. Look out for us on campus and give us your opinion! This week's question: Was the Three Ex-Terrorists Event constructive?

We will begin posting our audio content on the blog early next week.

Today is day 8 of the fast, and the situation is getting a bit more critical. One of the fasters has been feeling sick and is checking into Vaden today.

We met with representatives from Human Resources and Procurement departments today. We were able to come to some agreements about issues pertaining to transparency, and the head of HR conceded our points on a couple of issues related to restrictions on the living wage. However, she maintained that she had no authority to lift these restrictions and that the President would have to do so. We're hopeful that Hennessy will listen to reason, not to mention to the voices of the hundreds of you who have manifested your support. The more support you show, the sooner we meet again with Hennessy!

SLAC marched from the Activities Fair today to MemAud, where President Hennessy was giving a speech. They did not disrupt the speech, but rather sat on the front steps of the building and sang and chanted.

The Daily also ran two interesting point and counterpoint editorials today on what SLAC is calling for.

In light of our miserable failure to pass Special Fees for the Stanford News Readership Program this past election, one silver lining is the New York Times' announcement a month or so ago that it is giving away Times Select premium content to University students and faculty for free!

I learned of this fact today, but it's a bit anti-climactic for me. When the newspaper locked away its illustrious columnists under the Select program back in 2005, I couldn't imagine what life would be like without their liberal guidance. But I survived, and well, now I would like to think I'm stronger without having to rely on the crutch of their brilliance to decide where I stand on the issues.

So, Tom Friedman and Paul Krugman, it's nice to have you back. But with the NYTimes re-initiating the relationship, I sort of feel like you're asking to have us back.

The Unofficial Stanford Blog was tabling at Admit Weekend in a relatively secluded corner with few visitors. Despite the presence of KZSU and the Stanford Humor magazine, it was still relatively dull in our part of the admit universe ... until ... our new neighbors showed up.

The Arabesque Belly Dancing squad of Yule, Zataia and Zoe not only brightened our tabling locality with some colors but staged a great performance on some arabic music being played by KZSU. Here is a video of some wonderful belly dancing by these ladies:

and while these ladies were preparing to dance, some street dancing also happened in the vicinity (continue for video)...

White Plaza filled with tables yesterday and packed a lot more people than the usual lunch time rush -- add to that some music, dancers and performers, banners and signs, organizations soliciting e-mail list sign-ups, multi-colored flyer handouts, and you have an Activities fair -- this one being held on the heels of the Admit Weekend.

The huge list of organizations tabling reflect the diversity of this campus. There were religious and political organizations. There was ballroom dancing, latin dancing, belly dancing, salsa, waltz, ethnic dances, street dancing, competitive dancing groups, and every dance form in between. There were business, legal and debating societies. There were physical and mental health groups. There were activist groups on sexual rights, abortion rights, animal rights, and all sorts of different issues ... and so much more.

Check out a few of our photos from the fair, below. For more detailed coverage, stay tuned to the blog and... check out our Flickr photos!

The Band!



Belly dancers!

An animal rights activist!

So, life as a grad student on campus is tough. It's fun also, but it's challenging. Sometimes these challenges add to the fun. But other times, it's just one of those days. Days when nothing is going your way. Research is headed nowhere. Your perl code is sucking the life out of the 64 node cluster and yet, it's coming up with nothing of interest. Your project partner is slacking off and hence inhibiting your progress. You try to get some peace by spending some quality study time at the Law School Library, but the person next to you is talking the love-talk with his girlfriend and hence you decide - it's one of those days again! Being an international student, there is no family anywhere in a 4000 mile radius! And how much time can you spend talking to your girlfriend back home - burning a hole through your stipend? And... just when you decide it can't get worse - KABOOOOM.

As I'm sure everyone has already discovered, Google posted a rather sobering Earth Day logo today, depicting a melting iceberg. Yahoo, on the other hand, has turned its exclamation mark into a lightbulb, which is powered by the windmill "Y." Yahoo might be trying to be cute, but Google wins for impact. Millions of people will see the logo today.

In other news, the Clinton campaign has announced that it has gone completely carbon neutral, while the Bush Administration released a "fact sheet" citing its "strong environmental record."

Among the highlights of next year's Lively Arts schedule is the world premiere of John Adams' "Son of Chamber Symphony," co-commissioned by Lively Arts with Carnegie Hall and the San Francisco Ballet. Also featured will be Philip Glass' "Book of Longing," a collaboration with songwriter/poet Leonard Cohen, according to the Mercury News.

Also visiting will be a string quartet from Juilliard (Apr 9), the Blind Boys of Alabama (Apr 15), and Spike Lee (Jan 19).

The full schedule can be found here, on the Lively Arts homepage.

Stepping onto the padded carpet
chalk thick in the air
This place is my home
but it feels strange, unfamiliar

The apparatuses I used to spend
hours upon hours sweating over
Now seem hollow and distant
nothing like they used to be.

My hands, once thick and callous
now are soft, tender and pathetic.
My body, once limber and powerful
now moves with an ungainly trepidation.

My strength will return, be it weeks or months.
My weakness will banish. The rings and bars
will once again be my weapon of choice.
I'll stand tall once more.

In an effort to get students excited about the upcoming Democratic presidential primaries, the Stanford Democrats conducted straw polling in White Plaza last week and during the Admit Weekend Activities Fair to see which contender is most popular among the students here. Sneakily, the group included Al Gore among the potential candidates even though he has not done much to move in that direction. Probably a little bit of wishful thinking on their part (and what can I say? I'm a fan too). They also excluded the several other Democratic contenders, including Dennis Kucinich, who should at least get some of the sympathy vote. But for what they're worth, the results are pretty interesting (150 total votes):

Senator Barack Obama -- 50%
Senator Hillary Clinton -- 27%
Fmr. Senator John Edwards -- 11%
Governor Bill Richardson -- 7%
Fmr. Vice President Al Gore -- 5%

In their ProFroPo (that's "Prospective Freshman Poll") during the Activities Fair, Senator Obama scored an astounding 68% among the ProFros, compared to 9% each for Clinton, Edwards, and Gore. Wow.

Below are segments from the campus radio news show, the Stanford Current, from the 4/23 broadcast on KZSU 90.1.

Included in the segments is "Your World This Week," headlines from the Stanford bubble and beyond. Also, check out "Question of the Week," where we ask Stanford students a question of campus interest. This week's question: "Did the Three Ex-Terrorists generate constructive dialogue?" And lastly, an interview with Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Coalition. He'll be discussing who is a journalist in light of Josh Wolf and the surrounding legal questions.

You can listen to the entire broadcast here.

I thought this was hilarious and so I had to share just in case anyone missed it (I also love the requisite knock against fuzzies, being one myself). Is this a new trend?

I spent my weekend weathering a blizzard (well, a heavy dumping of snow is probably more accurate) in South Lake Tahoe at the staph retreat/orientation for Stanford Sierra Camp. The mountains, seclusion, and the relentless (but genuine) uberenthusiasm of former camp staph wrapped the 40+ of us in a shared feeling that promises a stellar summer. What follows is a bit about Sierra Camp to convince you to apply next year or to come visit us this summer.

Recruitment video:

The recent Stanford Democrats presidential straw poll had Barack Obama garnering 50% of the vote. If you combine the numbers for Obama, Clinton, and Edwards--the top three vote getters--they received 88% of the votes cast. If you are like me, then you're one of the lonely 12%. Or, if you don't support a certain candidate, then you are one of the cynics. Well, I'll come out and say it: I'm a cynic!

A recent piece at the Columbia Journalism Review should be something us cynics keep reminding people:

2008 is supposed to be the most "wide open" presidential race Americans have seen in eighty years. This election is of crucial importance -- the winner will have to deal with Iraq, Iran, North Korea, massive environmental issues, a staggering deficit, etc. But the country will only get the kind of national debate it desperately needs if the political press resists the time-honored temptation to put the horserace above all else.

It just so happens that Bill Richardson is not my top choice. (That spot currently belongs to Wes Clark, who wasn't even in the poll!) But why should we listen to the pundits and others who want to make this election about "rock stars" and ignore a candidate who has already done much of what the next president will need to do. I'll save Joe Biden for another day, but he has a fascinating history as well. Don't be afraid to be a cynic like me. Our country faces a lot of serious problems and we shouldn't have to rush in our decision. Nor should we be forced to accept the inevitability of 28 years of Bush-Clinton rule or a third year senator (both of whom I actually like). Don't be afraid to brush me off, I didn't even mention some of the other Democratic candidates!

New research coming out of Stanford suggests that ethanol might be just as harmful for human health as gasoline (if not more) and may not even have the desired CO₂ reduction benefits we need to actually take a step toward stopping climate change. Add that to the massive land use required for corn production (along with the massive pesticide use), and I'm suddenly feeling less enthusiastic about this as a fuel source. I agree with Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Mark Jacobson, who produced the results, when he says that better alternatives are electricity generated from solar and wind, and hydrogen fuel also ultimately generated from green power sources.

This is my P.O. box. 11247. Now, I don't know how many of you give your P.O. box much thoughts. But I certainly do. Especially as a graduating senior, I have quite a few poignant thoughts about my P.O. Box. Let me share them with you.

Firstly, one of the biggest regrets I have at Stanford: I never got to figure out who my neighbors are. Who are you, 11257? Do you ever check your P.O. box, 11246? And why is it that I have never run into 11248 in the past 4 years? Didn't you ever yearn to know who shares the P.O. box next to you? I did. I even entertained the romantic (and ridiculous) thought that 11237 could be THE ONE. That could definitely make a classic chick-flick.

Of course, my P.O. box did piss me off sometimes. Those days when I get the university bills. Those days when my P.O. box remained empty although I was eagerly awaiting the green card to pick up a package for my online purchase. Those days when my P.O. box contained only junk mails.

But 11247 definitely gave me some unforgettable sweet memories too. Unexpected surprise letters and greeting cards from friends back home. Notice to pick up a book I bought on booksamillion.com instead of getting ripped at the bookstore. Paychecks before "Kronos" came to Axess.

In less than 2 months, I will no longer be the owner of 11247. Maybe I'm just overly emotional (as usual). But I actually feel a little sad. Thank you for being there for me for the past four years, 11247. And for readers out there who have actually met your P.O. box neighbors in real life, count yourself fortunate. Be nice and say hi.

I don't know who's going to be the new owner of 11247 after I leave. But whoever you are, be nice to him.

Every day, on my way to class, I pass by the Hillel House, which has these luscious roses in the front yard, lining the driveway. Benefits of living on the Row, I guess.

Anyway, I've been searching for better subjects for display on my computer desktop lately, and thought today, "Well, how 'bout them roses?"

Take a look at these gorgeous roses, made desktop picture-size just for you (click on the images for high-res versions):

Why, how lovely! There are lots more where that came from.

(By the way, these were NOT enhanced other than a few tweaks here and there to make the images a bit brighter. Those colors are real, baby!)

With all of the new traffic that is bound to come to this blog, I thought it a perfect time to announce the launch of the the Student Unions blog, the third in what will hopefully become a full network of student blogs. With lots of help from USB contributors Galen (gttp) and Megan (studentarts), I was able to get this thing going, and I hope it will become a great resource for students interested in learning more about the unions and getting involved!

For now, most of the content will be around Old Union and its renovation. There seems to be a major gap between what a student involved in the process (like me) and what the average student knows. I hope this blog helps alleviate that and re-opens the channels of communication. So, check out the blog, leave your comments, or email me at studentunions@gmail.com. After all, this should really become a real student union.

We're pleased and grateful that the Daily chose to cover us in today's issue and are eagerly watching our visit statistics to see just what the "Daily premium" is for being featured in an article. We'll let you know.

Have a look at the article and let us know what you think. It begins:

On any given day, a reader of the Unofficial Stanford Blog might find a first-person account from one of the living wage fasters, a discussion of the University’s installation art or political commentary from an opinionated student. Since its launch on Feb. 10, blog.stanford.edu has acquired a following, with 33 separate bloggers writing hundreds of posts, 500 unique visitors a day and 11,000 unique visitors since Feb. 28.

Just a brief comment on why we're here. Our big commitments are to creativity and open-mindedness; the former because the medium is so flexible, and the latter because Stanford is such a diverse community.

There is so much going on here -- so many thoughts, so many activities -- that it's impossible to cover everything and from every perspective. What this Blog ensures is that, if you or your group wants to be heard, you have access to making that happen (signing up is easy), and a lot of flexibility in how you do it. Links? Photos? Audio? Video?

Folks, this is the 21st century. Let's make good use of it.

According to the American Institute of Architects, our very own Global Ecology Research Center is one of the top 10 "green" buildings in the nation. The article states:

"Global Ecology Research Center, Stanford, California, by EHDD Architects, a low-energy laboratory and office building that cut carbon emissions associated with building operation by 72 percent."

You can read about the other choices here.

Building image from the Stanford Report

Firefox is a clear choice for many students and tech aficionados thanks to personalized browsers, security, and the overall notion of fighting against the Man!

When the Stanford d.school and Firefox joined forces to spread Firefox for the Spring 2006 class, CIA: Creating Infectious Action, the synergy and results were incredible. Rockstar students, guided by rockstar teaching coaches, created some of the best Firefox extensions and marketing campaigns to date (check out this sex and religion combo: Firefoxies and Faith Browser).

Thanks in part to this success, the d.school launched CIA 2.0: CIA-KGB (ARRR!). And guess what, Firefox is back, and better than ever!

Students this quarter are once again doing some really cool stuff. For example, Madalina Seghete and Tyler Griffin Hicks-Wright's project, My Friendly Fox, seeks to improve the eBay shopping experience by customizing the browser with an eBay toolbar and an ad blocking feature. Moreover, they added oomph to the little fox that could... by adding another fox! Say hello to foxkeh.

At the d.school, the design process is highly looked upon. These students are working long and hard, and smart, to help users understand the benefits of a better browser.

A message from Cooking Club President Scott Walter:

Dear culinary enthusiasts,

Starting this Friday, as part of the annual Earth Week celebration,
Stanford will be operating a new weekly Farmer's Market ON CAMPUS!!!

The Stanford Produce Stand, located in front of Tresidder Union, will be
open for business every Friday during the growing season from 12-5pm.

I hope many of you will come out to support community farmers and take
advantage of the convenience and superior quality of locally farmed
produce! There will also be order sheets available if you would like to
pre-order produce for pickup the next week.

This is a very exciting new initiative and I'm hoping Stanford students
will take advantage of community supported agriculture here in the Bay
Area. Come show your support this Friday!

Scott Walter
President of the Stanford Cooking Club

Earth Week events organized by Stanford Dining

Just found out that during the month of May, Bank of America members can get into a select group of museums for FREE!

Museums in San Francisco that you get in for FREE during May:

• Asian Art Museum
• California Academy of Sciences
• SF MOMA
• Yerba Buena Center for the Arts
• de Young Museum
• Legion of Honor

Printed in The Stanford Daily 4/27/07
By Anthony Sanchez

In the old days, it was easy to recognize who was a journalist, one belonging to that class of elite individuals who could bring down a president with their powerful craft: simply look for the notebook and the press card stuck into the side of a fedora. But digital technology has turned everything upside down, and those days are long gone. That, and no one wears fedoras anymore.

Now, with a digital camcorder, a computer, and an Internet connection, anybody can be a boat-rocker by capturing a Macaca moment or bringing attention to Don Imus’ racist broadcast on their blog. So the question must be asked: just who is a journalist, nowadays?

Yesterday, we rolled out our new tour guides at the crisp hour of 6AM and made them walk backwards (as tour guides are wont to do) to the quad, where we fed them breakfast and did introductions. This new crop of 30 guides was selected from a pool of "well over" 100 applicants (in the words of our manager), making this job one of the campus's most coveted. And for good reason.

This is the lovely group I helped roll out from Branner and Wilbur, walking backwards

A number of our new hires come from cool places like Korea, Brazil, and Eritrea; they come from all academic classes (including some co-terms), and of course from many different majors (blah blah). We have two former ASSU Executive candidates, Ravenswood Reads tutors, a KZSU broadcaster, a PHE, several HoHos, research assistants, a Stanford Progressive writer, RAs, members of a cappella groups (Talisman, Counterpoint, Mendicants, and Everyday People), and a student rep to the Board of Trustees. Together, they speak 17 languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Marathi, Tigrinya, Telugu, Amharic, Arabic, Portuguese, Mandarin, and Japanese.

What can I say? I'm proud.

The crowd of new and current tour guides forms in the quad...

Students gathered around the Claw to cool off during one of the hottest afternoons we've had yet this year.

First off, if you don't know what Bollywood is - take a look at its Wikipedia article.

As a person who spends almost every waking hour on his laptop, I have interesting pastimes, one of which is checking out events.stanford.edu once a day.

On a plain Monday afternoon last week, I decided to distract myself from Perl/MySQL and steered over to events.stanford. And what I saw was something very interesting -- an event called exactly the title of this blog post. I was sort of stunned by the classification chosen -- so did they mean that most of the Bollywood women were either Prostitutes or Courtesans?! Well, I didn't know and since the description was not really descriptive, I thought I might as well check it out.

[Update: See Craig's video interview on the Jeopardy website!]

Fellow Grove dormmate and trivia extraordinaire Craig Boge '07 will be appearing on Jeopardy's College Tournament on Tuesday, from 7-7:30pm on ABC. Despite our best attempts to pry the details of his performance out of him since he returned from the taping in LA last Monday, we remain in complete suspense. You're welcome to join us for the viewing party in Grove Lasuen or simply watch from the comfort of your own lounge.

The Tournament begins Monday, April 30th and ends Friday, May 11th.

Go Craig!

In the wake of the "MacArthur Maze Meltdown", all Bay Area public transit will be free Monday, in hopes of reducing what is expected to be unbearably bad traffic. So, if you were thinking about going up to the City or down to San Jose for the Sharks' playoff game, I'd say this is as good a reason as any to make a day trip out of it. If you have no clue what this is all about, read the linked article or check out the accompanying picture.

Do you think it's okay to offer students a free drink in exchange for a signature on a special fees petition? If you don't, then this was the graduate election scandal the Daily never covered.

Click on image to read e-mail

As part of Stanford's Arts Initiative and the Stanford Institute for Creativity and the Arts (SICA), the Arts Facilities Task Force is working on Stanford's physical arts spaces, both current and future. The committee is particularly interested in getting input from students involved in the arts.

We want to know:

• What kinds of spaces you use, or would like to see more of on campus?
• What are some ideas for future arts spaces?
• What kinds of spaces could inspire collaboration and a culture of creativity on campus?
• How do we tackle decentralization, and how could we improve?
• What kinds of arts facilities are successful in residences, unions, and other shared spaces?
• What kinds of departmental spaces do you use often in academic settings?

This is your chance to add input for the arts facilities planning taking place now. Please join us and members of the Arts Facilities Task Force in getting your feedback.

Wednesday, May 9th, 6-7:30 PM in Roble Gym Lounge. Pizza Provided.
RSVP to Megan Miller at meganem@stanford.edu
http://studentarts.stanford.edu

Genderfuk, Stanford's biggest drag show gala is quickly approaching....

Wondered how to do your makeup? How to do your hair? How to dance like Shakira?
Learn from Shakira's mannish sister, Shaqueera, and fill yourself with a second helping of George Xander Morris.

Below are segments from the campus radio news show, the Stanford Current, from the 4/30 broadcast on KZSU 90.1.

Included in the segments is "Your World This Week," headlines from the Stanford bubble and beyond.

Also, check out "Question of the Week," where we ask Stanford students a question of campus interest. This week's question: "Should the US pull out of Iraq if it means leaving a non-viable Iraqi government behind?"

That's followed by an interview with Galen Panger, founder of the Unofficial Stanford Blog. He'll be discussing what inspired him to start the blog and how it has been going since its inception.

And lastly, we survey the counseling services on campus in light of student tragedies this year.

You can listen to the entire broadcast here.

Since I'm not a conservative, I am often referred to as a "Bleeding Heart Liberal." I'm probably a bit too demanding to be considered that in a political sense, but I do feel an obligation to donate blood to try to save a life. You can donate blood too! Its fast and easy and you can set up an appointment online at the Stanford Blood Center. They are in need of O-, A- and B-. If you don't feel like doing it for anyone, do it for the cookie and POG afterward (you can find out what POG is when you donate).

The blood center is on Welch Road and you can take the Marguerite (B-Line) or just take the nice walk over.

I was walking pass Braun Music Center today and I discovered a technological breakthrough at Stanford: the Music Department has finally replaced the old announcement banner to a "high tech" LED display board!

This apparent technological breakthrough seems pretty embarrassing to me. As a premier institution which name is often synonymous with the development of some of the most cutting edge technology in our society today, it baffles me that the university remains "primitive" in several aspects.

The other day, I also had to hand-write all the classes I've taken for my major and turn in a paper copy (wasting paper) to have my graduation approved. Already, I am not the most tech-savvy person. Yet, even I think (and know) that some processes can be made easier for both students and university administrators if we try to explore new ways of doing things which are clearly more efficient than the traditional "paper and pen" method.

I'm sorry if I'm sounding too cynical or bitter. At any rate, yay for the music department! No more hassle of changing the announcements on the banner every so often again. =)