Two-hundred and sixty five Stanford students gathered today at the Women's Community Center on campus for a "MEGAPHONEBANK MARATHON to Defeat Prop 8", according to a representative from the Stanford Student Coalition for Marriage Equality (SCME). This makes the effort the single largest phone bank organized this year in California to Oppose CA Proposition 8.

Proposition 8, which would amend the state constitution to eliminate the right for same-sex couples to marry, has been a key focus for activism, campaigning, and education this political season. Stanford's White Plaza has been a host to a number of Student rallies, from an early October rally featuring Candace Gingrich to rallies which brought in speakers and celebrities from all over California.

In related news, a Stanford Computer Science student launched an iPhone-based (mobile) Guide to California Propositions [in Plain English].

This iPhone-based guide is intended to help voters quickly read about California Propositions as they face long lines to vote come Election Day, and can be found at http://rspace.stanford.edu/. Users can quickly browse the California propositions, read short summaries of each proposition, and follow web links to find out more information about each ballot measure.

For more information on California Propositions, please see the California 2008 ballot measures on Ballotpedia.org, and rock the vote!

Today at noon, Stanford students will unexpectedly gather en masse inside Stanford's student union (Tresidder Memorial Union), to protest the passage of Proposition 8 and remind California residents that the passing of Proposition 8 sends a destructive message to the nation's gay youth.

According to one study, one in three queer and questioning youth in America attempt suicide. "On November 4, Florida, Arizona, and California banned same-sex marriage. Arkansas banned adoption by people 'cohabitating outside a valid marriage' after banning same-sex marriage in 2004. With the passage of Proposition 8 and similar legislation across the country, what messages are we sending our youth?" said Amanda Gelender, a student activist on campus and founder of the Stanford Theatre Activist Mobilization Project (STAMP).

The protest hopes to fan the flames of an ongoing revival in student activism on the Stanford campus. There has not been such a level of organized activism on the Stanford campus since the 1970s, observed one Stanford dean. In fact, many students today feel that the fight for marriage equality and related issues are quickly becoming the civil rights movement of their generation. "It is important to send a poignant message to the Stanford community and LGBT youth everywhere, letting them know we not only support but affirm their queer identities and legal rights," said one Stanford graduate student majoring in Political Science.

Today's protest is part of a larger set of activist efforts on the Stanford campus, including on-campus sit-ins and the largest organized "No on Prop. 8" phonebank in all of California so far. Organized by the Stanford Student Coalition for Marriage Equality (SCME), hundreds of students reached out to thousands of undecided voters across the state. On the day before the 2008 Presidential Election, San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom spoke to an audience of hundreds outside of Stanford's Old Union building.

Beyond the borders of campus, tens of thousands of American citizens have taken to the streets to protest Proposition 8 and show solidarity with marriage equality activists. Online, nearly five hundred Stanford students have registered on Facebook to attend the nationwide JoinTheImpact.com rally, which will take place simultaneously across the nation on Saturday at 10:30 am PST.

Gavin Newsom speaks to Stanford students in front of Old Union, VINCENT CHEN/The Stanford Daily

It’s that time of year again…no not Thanksgiving…well, yes, but also….(drum roll) the Facebook fbFund competition! The competition is an opportunity for new entrepreneurs to receive funding for applications they have created. It may seem hard, but the purpose of this competition is to bring new depth to the incredibly deep pool of apps that already exist on Facebook. The 2nd round of the competition is going on right now between 25 apps that have been selected out of a group of over 600. The top 5 of these remaining apps that get the most votes by Nov. 30 will receive over $225,000 in funding.

I was browsing through the apps in this year’s competition -- which range from apps where you can "give thanks" or create digital wedding books to those letting you browse wine lists or compare prices. One of the stand-outs this year is an application called Daikon. This app was made by Stanford students (surprise, surprise), and is in fact the only Stanford-submitted app in the competition (this surprised me, given all the application hype going on last year on campus). The basic idea behind Daikon is that it lets you build your own application without any coding or programming knowledge whatsoever. Think DreamWeaver but for Facebook. Yes, you can get your friends to add the app after you make it, and yes, you can publish it in the Facebook app directory so strangers can add it too.

In terms of functionality, the apps you create with Daikon can do a wide range of things: from selling t-shirts to promoting an event for a student group to even making a Hannah Montana fan club. What's cool is that you can actually make useful stuff that helps in daily life (yes, Hannah Montana is important). The app interface is good, but I did have difficulty figuring out how to actually get my finished app published on Facebook. Fortunately the developers included a step-by-step wizard to help you when you get to this part. Overall I liked this app a lot, and would love to see it become a permanent fixture of FB. My advice to the makers –- add more widgets and templates to let people create more types of apps. I give Daikon a rating of 8 out of 10.

You non-engineering majors should check it out here (just kidding engineers -- you can check it out too)
And vote for it in this year’s competition

Here's the promo:

Daikon from Yuri Yamaguchi on Vimeo.