THIRTY DAYS LATER, Barack Obama is our President, but the battle for Marriage Equality in CA goes on.

Proposition 8 passed by a slim margin of roughly 52% to 48% but the California Supreme Court will soon be considering lawsuits that seek to invalidate the Proposition, which some say "is a substantial revision of the state's Constitution, and therefore requires legislative approval".

Back on the Stanford campus, vigorous activism and debates continue to evolve. Seven days after the election, the Stanford BSU (Black Student Union) organized an open discussion titled "Blacks and Prop 8: Why Did So Many Blacks Vote Yes?", asking students and community members to take a deeper look at "what's behind the Black community's support of the Ban on Gay Marriage". Student members of BlaQS (Black and Queer at Stanford) also met separately to explore BlaQS's role in facilitating these challenging conversations, and to draft open letters to larger community regarding the intersection of black and queer issues.

In mid-November, a Stanford undergraduate sent an e-mail to the_diaspora@ titled "Call me wrong, call me narrow-minded....", where she stirred up further controversy and garnered a litany of replies. Similarly, a recent Stanford Daily op-ed post titled "The Right Angle" has received dozens of comments online.

Thirty days later, student activists at Stanford continue to organize, from planning future discussions on these topics, hoping to draw members and panelists from a diverse set of people of color, religious, and queer communities. We are also taking part in ongoing efforts to transition from work on Proposition 8 to the larger Marriage Equality campaign. For example, a number of Stanford students attended this week's Peninsula Marriage Equality Coalition town hall meeting in Palo Alto, and early next week the Emma Goldman Society for Queer Liberation plans to hold office hours in the LGBT-CRC to re-focus and re-group student efforts in this space.

Thirty days later, what can you still do?

By now you may have seen one of the delightful breakdowns of the way women are targeted in the media by Sarah Haskins in her delightfully skewed Target Women analysis.

She covers everthing from Twilight to Disney princesses to yogurt and cleaning products.

I was particularly struck by her irreverent analysis of jewelry commercials because during this holiday seasons it seems that jewelers are striking particularly hard at consumers and I can't go 15 minutes without hearing a jewelry commercial on either the tv or radio.

The phrases "he went to Jared" and "every kiss begins with k" are making me grind my teeth together.

After running laps on the Stanford track, a friend invited me to dinner at Sprout Cafe, one of the newest restaurants to hit the downtown Palo Alto dining scene.

As somewhat of a foodie myself, I wasn't sure what to expect -- was this going to pablum, bland, or food for once executed with some savoir-faire? Fortunately it was the latter, and am happy to say that I highly recommend that students and Stanford visitors alike visit this burgeoning new cafe.

Located right next to American Apparel on 168 University Ave, Sprout Cafe is a shiny new restaurant (4 months old!) run by a Vinh Vi, a former civil engineer and graduate of the California Culinary Academy.

As one of the editors of an online Guide to Sustainable Deliciousness at Stanford, I interviewed Sprout Cafe owner Vinh about his experience running this new, local business.

Vinh stressed that he and his peers worked hard to ensure that the food served was prepared with the freshest local and organic produce possible. I could tell that the food was made with love, as I quickly dived into my Seared Ahi Tuna salad with black beans, crunchy red onions, and a casual but tasty balsamic / olive oil dressing on the side (I designed my own salad, but sandwiches are available and soon, entrees will be on the menu). The bread, which came from the reknowned Acme Bay Area bakery, was also a delight, which is rare to find for such an affordable cafe on University.

Vinh told me that he wanted to strive to offer great food at reasonable prices, and even mentioned to me that Stanford students are currently eligible for a 10% discount if you show your student id card. I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a bit hungry just writing this blog post!

If you'd like to get (one mile) off campus, I strongly suggest you give Sprout Cafe a try. They serve organic salads, gourmet sandwiches on Acme (!) bread, fresh squeezed juices and organic teas. Finally, catering is available for student groups who want to make a tasty, local, and sustainable choice in the foods they serve!

(In my experience, Stanford Catering has a way to go in these domains, but lets do hope the winds of freedom and sustainability do blow up their way some time.)

Sprout Cafe, 168 University Ave next to American Apparel (between Ramona and Emerson)

(For phone number, hours, and more details, see the Palo Alto Online review or the high ratings on Yelp.com.)

Merry Christmas from the Stanford Blog!