That seems to be the only explanation for the exponential increase in number of banners and flags that have appeared all over campus.

The most noticeable of these new morsels of eye candy (of sorts) are the red quarter-circles with an unidentified leaf on them that adorn lampposts and poles along various sections of Campus Drive. The question, here, is not 'do they look nice?'; nor is it why did Stanford spend money on them/who donated them/it was Arrillaga, wasn't it? Rather, the important question here is: what does that leaf mean?

While browsing HuffingtonPost this morning in an attempt to put off being productive, I saw a picture of the main quad; after doing a double take, I read the headline: Stanford U. Looking to Sell $1 Billion in Assets.

(logo from Stanford Management Company, the company responsible for much of the school's assets )

Reuters reports that our school is looking to shed another billion dollars worth of stuff. The school is apparently "weighing offers" on any of its illiquid assets, meaning that it is considering getting rid of any of the parts of the endowment that are not cold, hard cash--including 'private equity investments' and 'timberlands' (not the shoe or the music producer, but, I believe, forests). Since I have limited knowledge of the school's detailed financial processes and limited knowledge of general finance, I have no way of knowing whether or not this is a good move. Future or current investment bankers of Stanford--I am counting on you to weigh in here.

Regardless, this development proves that the campus clean up was the only fire sale happening on campus.

Yeah, that's right--apparently Stanford is in the midst of something called 'Academic Campus Cleanup,' which is a euphemism for 'We're giving away stuff for free.'

How this has been going on for 16 years without me knowing--I love free stuff--is probably a testament to either my oblivion or the school's lack of publicizing this event.

If September 28 is Day 1, then today seems like Day 3, or the Bonair Siding/Janitorial Services/Fire Station etc. clean-up day. I'm actually in the market for a fire pole--used, like new--to speed up my descent from my room on the second floor to the ground so as to get to class more efficiently.

Check out the map on the site to see where the rest of the campus is throwing out perfectly good room decorations. I've heard that past cleanups have featured couches, chairs, and many more things that are appealing to a college student but not to an administrator.

This evening around 7, firetrucks were seen outside of Wilbur. Later, paramedics loaded someone into the back of a paramedic firetruck.