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The Stanford Daily An Independent Publication
FRIDAY April 15, 2022
www.stanforddaily.com
Volume 261 Issue 9
“Facebook and Google aren’t being good corporate citizens”
Student activists hold teach-in, prepare for advocacy push By CASSIDY DALVA BEAT REPORTER
More than a dozen student organizers met at the Columbae residence Wednesday evening to learn advocacy techniques from activist Melissa Byrne and coordinate upcoming efforts. The students plan to implement the strategies they learned in their advocacy for campus change, including calls for endowment divestment and boycotting working at Google and Facebook. The students spoke with Byrne, who has worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns and has organized a number of human and civil rights demonstrations, about direct action strategies and how to delegate responsibilities within groups of demonstrators, The teach-in was hosted by Fossil Free Stanford and SumOfUs, a global consumer group aimed at holding large corporations accountable for their impacts on political, economic and environmental systems. Students gathered in Columbae’s lounge on the third day of the house’s “Fuck the System Week,” a weeklong series of activities and events geared toward social justice and activism and culminating in a “Fuck the Man” concert featuring artist Ivy Sole. “Every year, we have a week that is geared toward art and activism and social justice themes, and we have events throughout the week,” said Christopher Rilling ’22, one of the organizers of the event. “The goals for today are, one, to learn techniques for direct action on campus for whatever social justice goal you have and, two, to meet other activists who are also interested in
making change on campus.” Students spoke with Byrne about the techniques and elements of direct action, from “viz” (visibility) to “bird-dogging” (questioning figures of authority on the record about the subject of demonstration). Byrne shared her experiences working to effect change, from protesting against the Iraq war in 2003 to or-
ganizing messaging on Stanford’s campus for students to boycott working at corporations in Silicon Valley like Facebook and Google. “One campaign we’re working on now has to do with the way technology companies, especially Facebook and Google, aren’t being good corpo-
Please see TEACH-IN page 5
ULA LUCAS / The Stanford Daily
The teach-in was hosted by Fossil Free Stanford and SumOfUs, a global consumer group focused on holding large corporations accountable. Students planned to use the learned strategies in their campus activism.
ULA LUCAS / The Stanford Daily
Attendees joined in calls for social and environmental advocacy, including fossil fuel divestment and boycotting working at Google and Facebook. Activist Melissa Byrne, who has worked on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns, led the teach-in at Columbae.
UNIVERSITY
UNIVERSITY
From Stanford to the rabbinate MIKA BAUMEISTER / Unsplash
While positivity rates on campus have recently risen, testing has dropped significantly this quarter. Stanford lifted the testing requirement for most students on Wednesday.
HEALTH
Testing ends as positivity rates rise By SARAH RAZA BEAT REPORTER
Stanford will no longer require COVID-19 surveillance testing for vaccinated and boosted students, the University announced in an email to the community Wednesday. The announcement follows a relaxation of other COVID-19 measures in recent months, including the elimination of to-go boxes at dining halls and a county-wide removal of the indoor masking mandate. The prevalence of COVID-19 on campus has been on the rise since students returned from spring break. Cases reached 204 during the first week and dropped to 194 last week. But while case counts seem steady, testing has starkly declined, leading to a steep increase in the positivity rate. Only 3,384 tests were conducted last week, compared to the 10,154 tests that were conducted this time last quarter. The increased positivity rates come
Please see COVID, page 11
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Uni achieves renewables milestone
Phil Pizzo, the founding director of Stanford’s DCI program, is moving on
Stanford reaches 100% renewable electricity goal
By AUDREY BLOOM STAFF WRITER
At age 77 — a stage of life when many retire — Phil Pizzo is starting over. After a career in medicine, public service and academic administration littered with achievements and accolades, Pizzo is enrolling at the Academy for Jewish Religion, California (AJRCA) seminary and training to become a rabbi. His course of action is even more stunning given that Pizzo was raised Roman Catholic. He converted to Judaism two years ago. But those who know him say this move is exactly in keeping with who Pizzo is: a man who embodies the ideals of lifelong learning and reinventing oneself. “Some people want to just hang on forever. Not Phil,” said Pam Hamamoto, a former fellow at Stanford’s Distinguished Careers Institute (DCI), a program Pizzo founded and directed for the past 10 years that brings people who have had a successful career back to the classroom at Stanford. “He isn’t afraid to move on, even at his age and with the laurels he could rest on.” Pizzo, who currently serves as founding director of DCI, is stepping down at the end of this academic year. To Pizzo, change and continued challenge are part of a recipe for a fulfilling and purposeful life. “Looking back, I can see how the threads of my life came together to bring me here,” Pizzo said. “But I never would have thought it when I was young.” Lifelong learning, lifelong healing From his childhood in the Bronx, NY as a son of immigrant parents, to his advancement of lifesaving research on childhood cancers and AIDS, to his tenure leading Stanford Medical School, learning, questioning and caring for others have always been core to Pizzo’s identity. As a kid, Pizzo’s local library was his haven. He read on subjects ranging from biology to history
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By GEORGIA ROSENBERG EXECUTIVE EDITOR
and taught himself a great deal about each. A voracious appetite for reading remains foundational to Pizzo’s life. He wakes up at 4:30 a.m. and listens to an audiobook during his roughly 10mile daily run. He estimates that he finishes at least one book each week, and he’s hoping to get back into marathon training, so this number is likely to rise. Even with the tens of thousands of books Pizzo has read, it’s his commitment to caring for others and fighting for a better life for patients — especially children — that has taught him the most. One “youngster” (as he calls them) whom he remembers is Teddy, one of the two first “bubble boys.” Pizzo treated Teddy early in his career. He became Teddy’s doctor just after finishing his residency in pediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he became interested in infectious disease and pediatric oncology. Pizzo was called to the National Institutes of Health to care for Teddy, the son of the director of the National Cancer Institute (NCI). At dramatically high risk of infection due to aplastic anemia, or bone marrow failure, Teddy was confined to a sterile protected environment the size of a modern bathroom. He stayed there for seven years, during which time Pizzo became his primary doctor and only trusted caretaker.
Stanford is now running on 100% renewable electricity, the University announced in late March. The milestone comes after Stanford’s second solar station — Stanford Solar Generating Station #2 (SSGS2), located near Lemoore — went online in the middle of the month. “This is really core to Stanford’s long-term commitment to sustainability,” said Lincoln Bleveans, Stanford’s executive director of sustainability and energy management. “This is a multistep, multi-year commitment to an integrated solution that spans years and also spans administrations at the University. And it’s just an incredible example of Stanford walking the walk in its long-term commitment to sustainability and really focusing on realworld solutions.” Stanford’s first solar plant, located in Rosamond, came online in 2016 and brought Stanford to about 68% renewable electricity, according to Ron Gawer, the director of energy operations for Stanford’s Land, Buildings & Real Estate division. Together, the two solar plants are producing 120% of Stanford’s annual electricity consumption, Gawer said. He called the transition a “beautiful milestone.” “To say that you’re getting your electricity 100% renewable — to me, it’s just remarkable,” Gawer said. Despite this latest milestone, Stanford hasn’t reached 100% renewable
Please see PIZZO, page 11
Please see RENEWABLE, page 9
Courtesy of Phil Pizzo
Now stepping down from his position at 77 to begin studying to become a rabbi, Phil Pizzo and his storied career offer lessons for leading a meaningful and fulfilling life.
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2 ! Friday, April 15, 2022 CAMPUS LIFE
Six months later: Students critique neighborhood system By ORIANA RILEY
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
It’s been two quarters since undergraduates came to a campus divided into residential neighborhoods by the ResX system. The system, which was originally announced in 2019, sought to revolutionize residential life at Stanford through the division of existing dorms, co-ops, row houses and selfops into eight neighborhoods. “The neighborhoods seek to build stable communities that foster a sense of belonging and increase students’ abilities to form profound and long-lasting friendships,” senior director of communications for student affairs Pat Lopes Harris wrote in an email to The Daily. By implementing the neighborhood system, the University hopes that the new living environment will foster continuity in the residential experience. Over the next quarter-
century, ResX is aiming for the neighborhoods to become hubs of community, complete with a community commons (a space for meetings and social events as well as the home of a cafe or student-run grill), a central dining area and a place to pick up package deliveries. So how has the neighborhood experience compared to students’ initial expectations? Over the summer, students expressed both hopes and worries about the new system. Frosh, whose first housing experience would be marked by the change, shared careful optimism amongst concerns of feeling stuck. Assignments on West Campus were seen by some as less than desirable. Wyatt Denious ’25, a resident of Governor’s Corner (GovCo), and Shubhra Mishra ’25, a resident of Lagunita Court in West Lag, worried that their respective neighborhoods (D and R) on West Campus
would be less social than other neighborhoods. East Campus assignments, on the other hand, were coveted by many frosh. Zadie Schaffer ’25, a resident of Neighborhood A, said that she was “really excited to come into the neighborhood because it looked like a fantastic location.” Most of the incoming sophomore class was also new to Stanford housing after having experienced their first year online. But unlike the frosh, through the Neighborhood Assignment process, they had some say in their neighborhood assignment. Angelica Garcia ’24, a Neighborhood O resident, expected to “have the closest to the ‘FROSH’ experience” she had missed out on. But Nora Brew ’24, a Neighborhood F resident, was less optimistic: “I feel like how [the neighborhood system] was going to work wasn’t really explained very well,” she said.
On the other hand, juniors and seniors, who experienced the Stanford housing system pre-COVID, expressed a mixture of concern and excitement. Many student staff members, unlike much of the Stanford community, didn’t experience the effects of the neighborhood assignment process. Liam Fay ’23, a Resident Assistant in Neighborhood R, was placed in Florence Moore Hall his freshman year, which he said he “did not enjoy.” But he had pretty neutral expectations coming into Neighborhood R. “I didn’t really care about the neighborhoods,” he said. “Since I would just go wherever I was staffing.” After speaking to a ResX representative last spring about plans for Roble’s “sustainability” theme and the At Home Abroad house at Yost, Dominic Joseph DeMarco ’22 was pessimistic. He felt “there was a
lack of a full cohesive vision for the neighborhoods,” he wrote to The Daily. Now, students have lived with the ResX experience for more than six months and have even begun applying for neighborhood changes and new housing under the system. But the mixed feelings persist. According to students, West Campus’s anti-social reputation did not hold true. “A majority of my dorm experience has been overwhelmingly positive,” Denious wrote. He chalked his enjoyment up to the company, who he calls “genuinely the most amazing people I’ve ever met,” and shouted out the “many people from other neighborhoods who make the dreadful trek to GovCo just to hang out with us.” Mishra echoed similar positivity. “I love how social West Lag is,” she
Please see HOUSING, page 3
CAMPUS LIFE
Task force seeks to rejuvenate social life Students, alums commit to supporting campus social initiatives MHAR TENORIO / The Stanford Daily
By LUC ALVAREZ STAFF WRITER
A group of Stanford alumni, students, staff and families is launching a new initiative called the Undergraduate Social Life Accelerator Task Force, with the goal to reinvigorate Stanford’s social scene. The group aims to find ways to boost students’ engagement in campus social life and opportunities to connect with one another, according to the task force’s co-chair JT Batson ’05. These ideas will be based on focus groups with students, feedback from alumni and ideas from peer institutions, according to the group’s website. The task force’s leadership is comprised of two co-chairs, Batson and Dottie Jones Serure ’16 M.S. ’19, as well as representatives from each undergraduate class: Maya Guzdar ’22, Ecy Femi King ’23, Easha Nandyala ’24 and Andrew Mancini ’25. For Batson, Stanford’s social scene was part of what made the school feel like home when he was an undergraduate, living thousands of miles from his hometown Augusta, Georgia. Yet many students feel that Stanford’s social life “hasn’t felt as vibrant as it could be,” according to the task force’s website. Batson said he sees the formation of the group as a positive way to remedy this problem. Stanford’s social scene has experienced a unique type of change in the past few years, mainly due to the pandemic, according to Nandyala. This is a perspective that Nandyala said she feels is shared by many students in her class, and one that she hopes to represent on the task force. “A lot of sophomores can’t help feeling like
HEALTH
Cases drop to 194 as testing mandate lifts 147 students are in isolation as of Monday, and testing rates drop By GRIFFIN CLARK STAFF WRITER
ing halls has become more popular. Students have praised the containers for facilitating a more streamlined dining experience within busy Stanford schedules: “I really like the to-go containers,” Jesse Moonier ’23 said. “They allow me to consume my nutrients in the safety and solitude of my own room.”
Stanford reported 120 new COVID-19 cases among students and 74 new cases among faculty, staff and postdoctoral scholars for the week of April 4, according to the COVID-19 dashboard. These case counts coincide with the final week of mandated Color COVID-19 testing for vaccinated students. The University lifted the testing requirement for these students on Monday. Case counts have decreased by 13% among students and increased by 17% among employees compared to the prior week. According to the dashboard, 147 students are in isolation as of Monday — a drop from the 208 students last week. “We anticipated a rise in positive test results as students returned from spring break, and we are encouraged by the most recent data that show the numbers of students in isolation and those testing positive have declined,” University spokesperson E.J. Miranda wrote in an email to The Daily. Miranda wrote that mandated testing will continue for non-boosted students and for faculty, staff and postdocs who are not fully vaccinated. Stanford continues to provide students with Color COVID-19 tests and require biweekly tests for unvaccinated students. While vaccinated students no longer have to test through Stanford’s surveillance system, the University continues to emphasize that vaccination, testing and masking can prevent serious illness, according to the dashboard. The University’s seven-day positivity
Please see TAKEOUT, page 12
Please see CASES, page 3
ANDREA LIM / The Stanford Daily
Hoping to kickstart Stanford’s social scene, a new group is being formed to gather feedback and publish recommendations on how to create exciting social opportunities that appeal to all students on campus. we missed out or that we’re operating at 75% right now, especially when you hear from upperclassmen how different their time was,” Nandyala said. “Everyone wants that oncein-a-lifetime experience they can tell their kids about, but I’m hopeful it’s getting better.” The creation of the task force is “a strong statement that social life on campus is important — that it’s something that faculty, staff, alumni and students and the Board of Trustees value,” Batson said. To him, the task force is an effort to make sure that he and its
other members “have a good handle” on both the good and bad aspects of social life on campus. Members of the force also seek to “come up with a plan that we can all believe in and deliver on — that makes Stanford the place where we all want to be,” he added. The task force hopes to publish a report with recommendations for how Stanford’s social scene can be improved by fall quarter of the upcoming school year, according to Batson. As for what those recommendations
Please see SOCIAL, page 11
CAMPUS LIFE
Taken-out: Take-out containers gone from dining By SARAYU PAI Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE) began sunseting the take-out containers from all dining halls starting April 11, drawing sharp criticism from students who relied on to-go boxes for meal flexibility and dining safety. Signaling perhaps the end of an era, dining halls are nearing a full transition back to
pre-pandemic operations. The compostable containers available at the check-in were formerly ubiquitous around campus dining halls, accompanied by baskets of compostable utensils. Implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, the boxes were meant to enable students to eat in less crowded settings. But with increased vaccination rates and Stanford’s gradual relaxation of masking guidelines, eating in din-
CAMPUS LIFE
HEALTH
ASG stickers found on APhi cars
Stanford nurses preparefor first strike in 20 years
Anti-Greek organization denies involvement in act
The last time Stanford nurses went on strike against Stanford Health Care (SHC), nurse Fred Taleghani had no idea what was coming. The year was 2000 and Taleghani had only been at the institution for a year. The nurses’ union — the Committee for Recognition of Nursing Achievement (CRONA) — was far smaller than it is today. Over two decades after Taleghani walked out, nurses are lining up again to strike against Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. According to a Wednesday press release, CRONA has notified Stanford Health Care of its intent to strike beginning April 25 — a just days after a strike authorization vote which saw 93% of nurses support a work stoppage. Nurses’ previous contracts expired on March 31 after months of negotiations between CRONA and SHC, who meet for talks every three years. The hospitals have “secured the services of licensed, qualified, expe-
By BRANDON KIM
BEAT BEAT REPORTER
By CAROLYN STEIN DESK EDITOR
Members of the Alpha Phi (APhi) sorority found “Abolish Stanford Greek” stickers on their cars on Tuesday, just a day after selecting their new pledge class. The incident comes two weeks after Stanford announced which Greek organizations will be housed on campus for next year and as spring recruitment for both fraternities and sororities comes to a close. The Daily reached out to a representative of APhi, who declined to comment on the situation. The Inter-Sorority Council (ISC) did not respond to The Daily’s request for comment. A police report for vandalism incurring charges of less than $400 was filed on Tuesday with the Stanford University Department of
Courtesy of Residential & Dining Enterprises
After several members of Alpha Phi discovered anti-Greek life stickers on their cars, campus activist group Abolish Stanford Greek denied any involvement in the stickering incident. The group condemned the act and has offered to help remove the stickers from the cars. Public Safety (SUDPS). There are no suspects linked to the stickering at this time, according to SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson. Campus activist group Abolish Stanford Greek (ASG) wrote in a statement to The Daily that the organization “played no role” in the act, adding that the group passes out stickers at tabling events throughout the year. ASG said the group was “upset” to see that members of APhi found anti-Greek life stickers on their cars. “We strongly condemn this behavior and misuse of our name,”
ASG wrote. The organization has since reached out to both ISC and APhi to offer help in removing the stickers. ASG is no stranger to displays of public messaging. During Family Weekend this winter, the group tabled in white plaza, posted flyers across Tresidder Memorial Union and wrote chalk messages across campus with statistics from the ASSU Greek life survey results. The group also frequently hangs fliers and posts messages on social
Please see STICKER, page 9
rienced replacement nurses to ensure patient care remains uninterrupted” during a strike, according to Dale Beatty, the Chief Nurse Executive and Vice President of Patient Care Services for SHC, and Jesus Cepero, the Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President of Patient Care for Stanford Children’s Health. “Both hospitals will remain open and our community can continue to count on the safe, high-quality care it has come to expect from Stanford Health Care and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital,” they wrote. Taleghani, who is still a Stanford nurse, sees parallels between CRONA’s 2000 strike and its current efforts to win fairer nursing contracts. The central issue at hand — the ability to attract and retain nurses — is something that Taleghani said has been complicated by the disconnect between nurses and hospitals in negotiations. “The way the hospitals have presented the issues at the table, they’re seemingly oblivious to the
Please see NURSES, page 9
The Stanford Daily
Friday, April 15, 2022 ! 3
HOUSING Continued from page 2
said, “Location-wise, I love Neighborhood R. We have a beautiful courtyard, Farillaga and Lakeside at walking distance.” Fay’s experiences have also exceeded his expectations, though like Mishra and Denious, he also attributes this to the people around him. “I really enjoy Neighborhood R,” he said, “I don’t think that’s because of the neighborhood system. I just like the dorms that make up Neighborhood R.” Garcia attributes her love of Neighborhood O to the location. “I love Flomo’s easy access to all the dorms from within as well as how conveniently situated it is on campus. The downhill slope saves you time when you are literally running late to lecture,” Garcia said. DeMarco, however, has had a “wholly neutral experience” living in Neighborhood F. “If I didn’t have a green shirt with the F highlighted, I wouldn’t even know that I’m in Neighborhood F. Events, on-calls, gatherings and dinners are exclusively put on by the dorm,” he wrote. Schaffer said her experiences has been “up and down” thus far in Neighborhood A. In addition to dealing with homesickness and making friends, she’s also noticed “a lot of drama” in her specific dorm, which she said was “interesting to navigate.” Concerns about feeling stuck in their respective neighborhoods have also proven true for some students. Brew, for instance, doesn’t feel like her neighborhood has made the limits of the system worth it. “Besides a couple events at the beginning of the year, the neighborhoods have been completely pointless,” she wrote. “[The system] has made choosing where I want to live very very difficult. Most of my close friends are not in my neighborhood so I don’t have the possibility to live with them.” Schaffer agrees. “[The system] seems to penalize
CASES
Continued from page 2 rate rose from 2.01% last week to 2.61% this week for students and fell from 0.92% to 0.89% for employees. The number of tests administered to students dropped from 6,866 the prior week to 4,604. The seven-day positivity rate for students is greater than Santa Clara
By HANNAH BASALI STAFF WRITER
Courtesy of the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs
After over six months on campus, students compare their expectations and realities of the residential neighborhood system. While some expressed more pessimistic views, others shared feelings of hope and optimism. you for being friends with people outside your dorm,” she said. DeMarco knew he wanted to live in a traditional dorm this year, making his only option Kimball. “That’s not a bad option by any means — but it is a bit stressful knowing that if they don’t have room for you in your one upper-class dorm, then you get placed in a completely different living environment,” he wrote. But — in addition to constructive criticism — there are also some students who outright think the neighborhood system should be abolished. Erick Torres ’25, the creator of an ASSU petition that urges Stanford to abolish the neighborhood system, believes that it’s “completely unfair to mandate students to live in the same regional housing while keeping room and board the same for all types of residences.” The petition had over 150 signatures as of Tuesday afternoon. The University did not directly address the petition in their comment to The Daily. Despite Mishra’s positive experience with her own neighborhood, she says she signed the petition because she “hates” the neighborhood system. “It annoys me that [the ResX task force]
mainly looked at schools that had a neighborhood-style system going already,” she said, referring to the system’s creation. “If they really wanted to innovate, they would’ve visited all types of schools.” But there are also students who envision a future where the neighborhood system, perhaps with some improvements, could be beneficial to residential living. Denious is cautiously optimistic about the neighborhood system overall: “The neighborhood system has potential,” he wrote. “Because it’s such a new system, I think it needs refining.” Garcia thinks “the concept of community emphasized by the neighborhood system is ideal.” But she’s not sure how this system is “any more effective at establishing that than before.” Some are also hopeful that the system will streamline the housing process. Although housing options for student staff like Fay are not confined by the neighborhood system, he said he does “hope it makes the process of applying for housing simpler” for normal residents as well. Reflecting on housing applications before the implementation of the neighborhood system, DeMarco wrote that “the draw was simulta-
County’s 2.3% rate and California’s 1.7% rate. Many peer institutions are experiencing increases in student positivity rates. Harvard reported an increase to 1.37% positivity rate, and the University of California, Berkeley reported an increase to a 2.30% positivity rate. Stanford’s 2.61% positivity rate remains above that of Harvard and Berkeley. Of the 74 new employee cases, 30 are included in the
University’s testing count. The remaining 44 individuals tested outside the University’s surveillance testing system through rapid antigen tests or tested positive earlier than last week but just reported it to the University, according to the dashboard. A total of 2,807 students and 1,963 faculty, staff and postdocs have tested positive through Stanford’s surveillance testing system since June 29, 2020, according to the dashboard.
neously overwhelming and empowering. It was overwhelming because of the abundance of choice, but at the same time being able to rank and fully set your preferences gave a sense of agency in a system that necessarily comes down to draw number.” Harris wrote that the University was aware of the “importance of being able to easily assign with friends” and pointed students to “a new process that offers a streamlined and more transparent way of doing this.” This new procedure allows students to fill out a “much shorter application” with a group of friends in their assigned neighborhood, which they must do by April 18. Each housing group will then receive an “assigned gate time ([between] May 2327) during which they will go into the housing system and select their house and room all in one step,” which the University believes will increase transparency in the assignment process, according to Harris. Overall, however, DeMarco wrote that the neighborhood system felt like an “invisible change.” Whether or not the change felt invisible, it’s clear that the Stanford student body has yet to reach any general consensus on the new residential experience.
This report covers a selection of incidents from Mar. 29 to April 5 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.
TUESDAY, APRIL 5
" At
7:54 p.m., a petty theft occurred at Quillen Highrise. " Between 3:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., a bike was stolen at the Gates building.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6
" Between 2:30 p.m. and 4:50
p.m., petty theft occurred at the McCullough building. " At 6:15 p.m., tampering with a vehicle occurred at Palm Oval.
THURSDAY, APRIL 7
" Between
April 1 and April 7, vandalism incurring damages of more than $400 occurred at Lasuen Restroom. " At 10:22 a.m., a threat with intent to terrorize occurred at the Stanford Bookstore. " Between April 6 and April 7, a bike was stolen at Mirrielees House.
SATURDAY, APRIL 9
" At 12:10 a.m., a case of bat-
tery occurred and student safety was threatened at Storey House. " Between 5:30 a.m. and 1:15 p.m., petty theft occurred at Taube Tennis Center. " At 12:00 p.m., a vehicle was burglarized at Palm Oval. " Between April 8 and April 9, petty theft occurred at Munger Graduate Residences.
SUNDAY, APRIL 10
" At
7:35 a.m., a bike was stolen from Escondido Village Graduate Residences (EVGR) Building A. " Between April 8 and April 10, a bike was stolen from Escondido Village, Studio 5. " Between April 8 and April 10, a bike was stolen from EVGR-D. " At 5:10 p.m., petty theft occurred at EVGR-B. " Around 2:00 p.m., burglary from within a vehicle occurred at 295 Galvez St. " Around 2:00 p.m., burglary from within a vehicle occurred at 400 Roth Way. " Around 2:00 p.m., burglary from within a vehicle occurred at 459 Lagunita Dr. " Around 2:00 p.m., burglary from within a vehicle occurred at 295 Galvez St.
MONDAY, APRIL 11
" Between April 10 and April
11, a vehicle was stolen from 658 Escondido Rd. " At 6:15 p.m., petty theft occurred at Arrillaga Family Dining. " At an unknown time, burglary from a vehicle occurred at Manzanita Field Parking Garage. " Between 10:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m., an adult was cited with a warrant arrest for a misdemeanor at 600 Escondido Rd.
TUESDAY, APRIL 12
" At 10:00 p.m., loitering was
observed at EVGR-A.
" Between April 10 and April
12, a bike was stolen at EVGR-A. " At an unknown time, a bike was stolen at Yost House. " Between April 11 and April 12, vandalism under $400 occurred at Alpha Phi. " Between March 19 and April 12, mail theft occurred at Abrams Highrise.
The Stanford Daily
4 " Friday, April 15, 2022
OPINIONS The Stanford Daily
From the Community
An open letter to SCR: nonbinary people exist The author has requested anonymity for fear of harassment and doxxing. Content warning: this article contains references to suicide, self-harm and transphobia.
M
y sibling’s mind had changed by the time they were 11. That was in 2015. Neither of us understood the concept of gender or nonbinary yet — or even what it really meant to be trans, for that matter. But my sibling told me, “I don’t think I can be a ___. But I know I’m not a ___, either.” For a year after that, my sibling fought their gender. They tried on different clothes and different pronouns. None of it felt right. Then, when they were 12, we were introduced to the concept of nonbinary. I don’t need you to understand what it means to be nonbinary. But can you understand the smile on my sibling’s face? The way their back straightened, the way their voice got stronger and clearer in an instant? Life was not easy for them. This world is not tailored to trans people; this world beats them down and does its best to undermine their sense of self. Teachers at my sibling’s middle school refused to call my sibling by their name or pronouns. We were lucky enough to have supportive parents, who went to school administrators and asked that my sibling’s chosen name be noted on official documents. At their middle school, students’ nicknames were listed alongside their given names. Teachers used all of these “nicknames” except for my sibling’s. When my sibling asked their history teacher why, the teacher said, “that is not your name.” There were no non-gendered bathrooms at their middle school. Admin told them they would simply have to use the ___’s bathroom. My
sibling did, once. They went back to class and smiled through it. Then they came home and cried. They chanted, over and over, “I’m not a ___, I’m not a ___, I’m not a ____ — they’re going to say that I’m a ___, they’re going to say I did it once and I’m wrong, I’m lying, I’m a stupid lying ___, but I’m not — “ Our grandmother sent them emails with articles explaining to them why being trans and nonbinary was not real, and how they would grow out of it and “be normal” again in a few years. Some of their friends ceased being their friends. Some of their friends were told by their parents to stop spending time with my sibling. My sibling’s pronouns were contagious. My sibling’s identity was dangerous. Their existence was disgusting. Their existence was not allowed. Their existence was debated, again and again, in front of them, on national television in political and pop cultural debates, in the hallways where they were told over and over that they were wrong. When my sibling was 13 they were hospitalized for a suicide attempt for the first time. Thirteen. 13. 10 + 3 years. Do you know what that means? Do you understand that my sibling was in so much pain that when they were 13 years old, barely in puberty, they attempted to end their life? Are you a big sister? Are you a big sibling? Do you understand what that means? To come home and be told they are in the hospital? They had wanted to not be alive. They were never going to smile or laugh or annoy me again. Do you know what it is to be terrified? Guilty? Do you know the shame? The rage? They would never smile or laugh again, but at least they
Thomas Ehrlich
“I
A N I N D E P E N D E N T N E W S PA P E R
Executive Team Emma Talley
Editor in Chief
Georgia Rosenberg
Executive Editor for Print
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would never have to experience being told that their identity was not real, that something as tangible and true as the pavement under our feet was a lie. My sibling was in and out of the hospital for years. My baby sibling wanted to die for years. Do you understand that? So help me understand. Why does it matter if my sibling is not one of two genders? Please don’t come to me with religion. It’s not that. My sibling found shul comforting, but they did not go for five years. Religious life as a queer
person is scary. Hebrew itself is a language with two genders — it does not accommodate for them. I’m not angry at Hebrew for this. My rabbi rewrote a prayer so that it used conjugated words of both genders and unconjugated words wherever possible. He rewrote the parents’ blessing, so that my parents could bless my sibling in Hebrew words that applied to who my sibling was. If my rabbi can spend hours delving through liturgical Hebrew to make synagogue a little more accommodating for my sibling, you can manage to not have a sign
that calls them meaningless. My sibling is not one of two genders. My sibling has never been one of two genders. And why does that matter? Why is it so important to you what pronouns my sibling uses? The lives of trans and nonbinary people are not a debate. They are real. They are real people and you would tell them that they do not exist. Why? I want to understand. I really want to know why. How does it hurt you if my sibling gets to smile?
Tim MacKenzie
It can happen here: a call for civic engagement t Can’t Happen Here,” published in 1935, soon after Hitler became German Chancellor, is the story of a ruthless dictator elected president of the United States on a platform of traditional American values, as well as dramatic social and economic reforms. He quickly seizes all the levers of governmental power, supported by his own paramilitary forces. The novel was written by Sinclair Lewis, the first American to win the Nobel Prize for literature. At the time, it was considered dystopian fantasy. But as Hitler quickly took total control of the German government, the book became a wake-up call to protect American democracy. Today, Ukrainian President Zelensky is giving a wake-up call for nations around the world to protect their democracies and is a role model for defending the freedoms that democracy affords. But unlike Ukraine, American democracy does not face its danger from another nation. Our democracy is at risk from within. Abraham Lincoln predicted this phenomenon could happen in an 1838 speech when he said, “if destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.” On January 6, 2021, an insurrection sought to overthrow our democracy, followed by 147 members of Congress voting to overturn the results of the presidential election. Our democracy escaped destruction, but it was a very close call. It is up to us — all of us — not to let our democracy die by suicide. I wish this were hyperbole, but it is not. What can each of us do? It is tempting to think, “Not much: I am just one American — how could I help save our democracy?” But there is much we can do. And if we don’t, it is certain that the level of destruction will increase. Our democracy is fragile and in critical need of strengthening in four key arenas:
Established 1892
! First, protecting the right to vote. ! Second, stopping gerrymander-
ing of Congressional districts. limiting the influence of money in political campaigns. ! And fourth, reversing the political polarization that has crippled the abilities of our country and many states to adopt sound public policies supported by the majority of voters. ! Third,
I encourage you to look at those four clusters of issues in terms of what is actually happening — or not happening — in your own state. It may be tempting to focus just on the national scene, and that scene is important. But most of the action in these arenas is happening in states, just as was true when the Supreme Court recognized the right of gay and lesbian couples to marry: two-thirds of the states had already done so. Pick an issue and find a way to help. It should be easy to vote. But the sad reality is that it has become much harder in many states. In Texas, for example, legislation passed last year bans counties from allowing 24-hour voting, prohibits drive-through voting, makes it much tougher to vote by mail and imposes other severe restrictions on the right to vote. Florida, Georgia and other states have adopted similar limitations. You can volunteer your time, your money or both for an organization to help defeat such restrictions before they are adopted by your state and reverse them when they are already law. Rock the Vote, a leader in the fight against voter suppression, has many ways to help. Gerrymandering has warped our elections and deprived millions of a fair say in who will represent them. Parties in power can ensure they stay in power by strategically drawing the lines of Congressional districts. Nonpartisan state commissions are an effective way to preclude such partisan action, and seven states have adopted this approach. Consider volunteering for
Please see PARTICIPATE, page 5
Stanford’s budget part 1: endowment Tim MacKenzie has been a member of the Stanford community since arriving to start his Ph.D. in the chemistry department in Fall of 2013. Any errors in the description of the budget are the author’s own, and he welcomes a response from administrators — especially a detailed breakdown of the buffer funds and how they were (or were not) utilized during the height of the pandemic in 2020. He currently works as a postdoctoral researcher in the genetics department. This article is a part of a two-part series on Stanford’s budget. Part I: Introduction
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tanford recently announced record endowment returns, growing the total amount to $37.8 billion. It can be hard to find things that outpace the dizzying 52% return over five years since the endowment stood at $24.8 billion in 2017. Hard, but not impossible: health insurance costs for postdocs with dependents increased by as much as 61% over the past two years. Campus workers also faced an increase in insurance premiums. But that pales in comparison to the 80% increase in premium costs graduate students with dependents saw in the five years from 2013-2018. How is it that Stanford can simultaneously see record growth of the endowment, including nearly two billion dollars in gifts for the institution’s Long Range Vision, while leaving some of its most precarious workers in the lurch? Why is it that when advocates point to the endowment as a potential funding source for their requests, decision makers won’t even entertain the idea? In a recent article, I celebrated the student activists whose efforts led the administration to make an unprecedented investment in affordability initiatives. At the end of that article, I said that understanding how money flows in the university is an entirely different can of worms from recognizing the efforts of activists. It turns out to be more of a box of cans of worms — there is too much ground to cover in a single article. This pair of
articles is intended to help demystify the endowment and operating budget at Stanford and point towards possible avenues for advocates to create enduring change. Armed with a nuanced understanding of the operating budget and endowment, advocates will be better prepared to speak for their community and identify how to make their goals reality. Part II: The Endowment
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he purpose of the endowment is to provide “an enduring source of financial support for fulfillment of the university’s mission of teaching, learning, and research.” There is no single account with Stanford’s nearly $40 billion. Instead, there are more than 8,000 individual endowed funds, the vast majority of which have legal restrictions on what they are allowed to fund. For example, Stanford’s founding grant forbids sale of university land, which as of 2018 was worth nearly $20 billion and made Stanford the largest landowner in Silicon Valley. Stanford will only spend approximately 5% of the total value of the endowment in a given year. So how do the funds from the endowment ensure funding for their designated purpose in perpetuity when only a small fraction of the endowment is available for use? In short, Stanford is an investment bank with a hospital, research institute, and university attached. The Stanford Management Company (SMC, whose CEO was paid nearly nearly $4 million in 2019) invests the endowed funds, aiming for returns of approximately 10%. About half of that is used for payout to provide funds for the express purpose stipulated in the original donation. The rest is reinvested into the principal to keep pace with inflation. Without reinvesting some of the returns into the principal, inflation would eat away at the purchasing power of the endowment and future generations would not be able to access the same level of resources we can in the present. For similar reasons, anytime you do not get a pay increase that is at least as much as inflation, you are actually
getting a pay cut. Postdoc salaries are increasing by 4% this year, while inflation is over 8% — our spending power does not seem as important to the administration as the endowment’s spending power. Approximately a fifth of the yearly operating budget for the university comes from endowment payout. To ensure stability in yearto-year funding for university endeavors in the face of market volatility, managers of the endowment apply a smoothing formula to the yearly payout. Essentially, a weighted average between real and target payout with a long-term fudge factor is used instead of actual returns in an individual year. This practice helps determine the amount that gets paid out vs. reinvested to the principal in any given year, aiming to keep purchasing power equivalent every year. Especially good or bad returns in an individual year don’t cause sudden windfalls or shortcomings in the budget since SMC takes the long view. The need to protect against future downturns coupled with legal restrictions on much of the endowment payout is the reason administrators are dismissive of requests to utilize the endowment when the idea is proposed. Part III: The Operating Budget So approximately 5% of the total value of the endowment funds a fifth of the university’s operations in any given year. Where does the remaining 80% come from? A detailed breakdown of sources of revenue and expenditures for this year’s approximately $7.5 billion budget is easily accessible online. Every year in June, the Board of Trustees gives final approval over the yearly operating budget that was assembled throughout the academic year by the Provost and the Budget Committee and approved by the Faculty Senate in the Spring. Revenue in the yearly budget is broken down into six major categories: student income (i.e. tuition), university sponsored research (i.e. grants obtained by faculty and others), health care services (i.e. hos-
Please see BUDGET, page 5
The Stanford Daily
Friday, April 15, 2022 ! 5 GRADUATE STUDENTS
Tim MacKenzie
Grad student families Stanford’s budget part 2: solutions left in housing limbo
Tim MacKenzie has been an academic worker at Stanford for nearly a decade. He worked as a graduate student in the Chemistry Department to earn a PhD and now works in the Genetics Department as a postdoc. Any errors in the description of the budget are the author’s own, and he welcomes a response from administrators — especially a detailed breakdown of the buffer funds and how they were (or were not) utilized during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Tim MacKenzie has been a member of the Stanford community since arriving to start his PhD in the chemistry department in Fall of 2013. He currently works as a postdoctoral researcher in the genetics department. This article is a part of a two-part series on Stanford’s budget.
Part IV: The Buffers y previous article gave an overview of similarities and differences between the operating budget and endowment. Both are invested to generate revenue. The principal of the endowment is never touched; the money in the operating budget is contained in the expendable funds pool (EFP) which is, well, expendable. Unlike the endowment, EFP interest goes into university coffers rather than back to its own source. Stanford guarantees the balances of all accounts in the EFP regardless of market conditions. If there is a year with terrible returns, Stanford is on the hook even if the value of the EFP is not sufficient to fund university obligations. How does Stanford guarantee all balances if there is a down year for investment returns when so much of the budget is put into the market? The question of how to cover obligations during market downturns came into sharp focus during the Great Recession when endowment returns were hugely negative. Stanford has an obligation to cover payouts from the endowment and expenses in the operating budget. Following the scare caused by the 2008 recession, Stanford turned to a concept from chemistry to provide resiliency beyond the stability provided by the endowment smoothing formula: buffers. You may remember the concept of a buffer from high school in the context of acid-base chemistry; one hardly needs a PhD in Chemistry to grasp the concept. A buffer in chemistry is a solution that is able to resist changes in pH even when challenged with addition of acid or base. Stanford created a financial buffer to be able to resist changes in university operations when challenged with market downturns. Every year, excess returns from investments of the EFP get invested into the Tier I Buffer until it is worth 35% of the total EFP. After that, excess returns are put into the Tier II Buffer. Anytime returns from the endowment or the value of the EFP aren’t enough to cover the operating budget, money is withdrawn from Tier I Buffer until it reaches 80% of its initial size. After that, Tier II Buffer is used up before returning to the Tier I Buffer. The buffers also replenish individual accounts if returns are negative. If a professor taps into their grant to purchase an expensive instrument while the university’s investment of the funds has taken a downturn, the buffers make sure there are sufficient resources in a feat of financial legerdemain. In years with good returns, hundreds of millions of dollars are put into the buffers so they can fill this role; note the difference between the top line revenue and expenditures in the budget for this year (~$284M). By the end of the academic year, Tier I Buffer is projected to stand at $2.0
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Continued from page 4 pital income), expendable gifts, investment income (from both endowment and non-endowment sources) and other income. Total income in this year’s operating budget is projected to be $7.433 billion. Spending is broken down into four categories: compensation (i.e. salary), financial aid, debt service, and other operating expenses. Total expenses in this year’s operating budget are projected to be $7.149 billion. The majority of Stanford’s nonendowed funds are referred to as the expendable funds pool (EFP), which is expected to stand at $4.9 billion by the end of this academic year. A small fraction of that is put into cash to ensure liquidity on hand for short term needs; the remainder gets invested. The merged pool investments of the EFP track closely with endowment returns. There is one crucial difference, however: the vast ma-
billion and Tier II Buffer will be $1.7 billion. Page 9 of this year’s operating budget says “the buffers serve as a financial reserve in the event of an earthquake or other disaster.” In other words, Stanford has nearly $4 billion in a rainy-day fund. In the 2019-2020 budget, the last preCOVID budget, Tier I and Tier II Buffers stood at $1.4 billion and $1.0 billion, respectively. The buffers actually grew by more than a billion dollars during the ongoing pandemic. Meanwhile, hundreds of workers were laid off and subcontracted workers went months without promised pay. Apparently, a global pandemic does not reach the threshold of “earthquake or other disaster” required to utilize financial reserves to resist changes in university operations when challenged with market uncertainty. Though to the university’s credit, I am unaware of efforts to hire professors on a “without salary basis” like UCLA recently attempted.
Part V: Creating Lasting Change Hopefully this brief outline of the endowment and operating budget gives insight as to why withdrawing from the endowment is a non-starter. But that doesn’t mean there is no way forward. Rather than pointing towards the endowment as a source of funding, activists can suggest investment returns from the EFP or the buffers. Every year, interest from Tier II Buffer generates ~$50M for use at the discretion of the President. What administrators mean when they say there aren’t funds to cover a request is that Stanford is choosing to prioritize other things (say, growing the size of the buffers) over what is being asked for (say, salary high enough that you can afford to feed your family). So what can you do with this information? The most important thing is to get organized. The Budget Committee has already started work on next year’s operating budget — many major decisions will have already been made when the budget is sent out for approval by the Faculty Senate in the coming weeks and Board of Trustees in June. Now is the time to identify the needs of your fellow community members and present them to decision makers. If you don’t know who the decision makers are, the acknowledgements section in the executive summary of the budget is a good place to start. If you want to see the budget process in action, keep an eye on agendas for the Faculty Senate this quarter — faculty approval is a necessary step in the budget adoption process. Meetings are open to members of the Stanford community. Strong organization and clear demands made of decision makers can make change happen. The Black Community at Stanford published clear demands to the President and Provost in the summer of 2020, laying groundwork for a successful campaign by the Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA) over the last year to departmentalize African and African American Studies. When hundreds of postdocs and campus allies signed a letter decrying the cost increases for dependent healthcare, the increases were phased in over a year rather than happening suddenly. Graduate students have protested for years to save dependent health insurance plans from being canceled by the university. Before the pandemic, administrators would hold town halls where organized students could pressure decision makers. When the practice of holding town halls was suspended by the pandemic, students organized an event of their own to share their plan for a just and equitable reopening of the university. All of these approaches share a common thread: a committed core of
organizers crystallizing the views of members of their community and building a coalition with campus allies, presenting a united front to administrators over a sustained period. The tactics from the graduate students were successful: while postdocs and service workers on campus saw dependent health insurance costs increase, plan rates remained flat last year for graduate students. But success is not guaranteed. Stanford resisted calls from organized students to expand mental health resources even in the face of a lawsuit over their existing policies and conditions. It was not until we lost community members to suicide that Stanford heeded calls to expand CAPS. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for elite academic institutions to wait for the loss of community members to institute change. Building a broad coalition around widely and deeply felt issues is not a guarantee of success, but making change without doing so becomes exponentially more difficult. Another piece of advice is to push for the creation of an endowed fund to cover the costs of your request in perpetuity. The examples of victories listed above often involved the use of onetime funds from the university. Any improvement of material conditions is an achievement worth celebrating, but the use of one-time funds guarantees the need to continue to rehash the same battles in the future. With the anticipated 5% payout, a one-time investment of 20x the yearly costs for your request will ensure there will be funding for it as long as Stanford exists. Interest from the operating budget could serve as a source of funds. The development office could commit to fundraising for a specified purpose. Alumni can withhold donations unless they are put towards a specified endowed fund. Instead of asking to take money from the endowment, it is better to ask to grow the endowment by creating a fund that will cover your request for the foreseeable future. Stanford recently canceled the CalTrain GoPass for graduate students because the program was supported by one-time funds each year rather than being guaranteed through an endowed fund. But all the money in the world won’t guarantee you a seat at the table with decision makers, who may choose to vaccinate themselves before physicians treating COVID patients on the front lines. However, a strongly organized community that can rapidly mobilize in response to its needs can cause the university to backpedal and listen to demands. Existing power structures exclude many of us from decisions Stanford makes as an institution even though they will materially impact our lives. The failures of the university during the pandemic crystallized that realization for medical residents, who have since unionized. The new resident union can look to CRONA, the union that has been representing nurses at Stanford since 1966. CRONA provides an example of how activists can use union pressure and strikes to achieve their goals: for the first time in over two decades, more than 90% of organized nurses voted to authorize a strike after Stanford failed to respond to demands, including better mental health coverage. Nurses and residents share working conditions and could strengthen their power by supporting each other. Ideally a labor stoppage can be avoided, but the rest of the Stanford community can show solidarity with the workers by reaching out to leadership in the administration and calling on them to provide for the frontline healthcare workers who have borne the brunt of the pandemic. My mom is a nurse. If picket lines end up forming, I know which side I am on.
jority of the EFP (86%) receives no payout on investment return. Nearly all of the returns from investments of the multi-billion dollar operating budget are money in the bank for Stanford. A concrete example can help illustrate the practice. Say a professor obtains a grant that funds research in their lab at a total of $1 million. That money will not be used all at once — graduate students and postdocs will get their paycheck every two weeks, experimental supplies will be bought as needed, laboratory equipment will be one-time costs, etc. While the grant funds are not being used, Stanford takes the sum total and invests that, aiming for a 10% return. If the grant were an endowed fund, a portion of the payout would be reinvested into the principal to allow the grant to fund the research project in perpetuity, but the principal itself could not be touched. Given the limited size of research grants, it is not feasible to fund a laboratory solely on investment returns; for money in the EFP, the principal is allowed to dwindle to nothing as the profes-
sor taps into their grant. Meanwhile, the university pockets all the returns from investments while the principal remains. It can be easy to get lost in the weeds while trying to understand the various funds in the operating budget and the endowment. The major takeaway to keep in mind is that the endowment and operating budget essentially operate as two separate pots of money. Only a fraction of the total value of the endowment is available in any given year, whereas the money in the operating budget represents the real flow of money in the multi-billion dollar organization that is Stanford University. This fact is a major reason that administrators are resistant to calls to employ the endowment — in any given year they only have the money in the operating budget to really utilize. However, that does not mean there are no resources to respond to calls from advocates. The next article will highlight parts of the operating budget that advocates can point towards as potential resources to respond to their requests.
Off-campus residents wonder what’s next for their families By ITZEL LUNA STAFF WRITER
At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with undergraduates scattered across the country and most classes and research moved online, a number of graduate student families moved out of on-campus housing seeking more appealing and affordable residences beyond the Stanford campus. Now, as Stanford and the surrounding community approach a post-pandemic reality, student couples and families are growing increasingly frustrated with what they see as renewed pressure to move back to campus. Graduate student discontent with Stanford’s housing accessibility and culture is not new. The graduate student community has struggled to advocate for accessibility in the face of Stanford’s overarching power as a landlord, educator and employer. Coterminal students have also faced affordability concerns and housing insecurity over the past few years. During the pandemic, however, some students discovered a new option: off-campus housing. Until last summer, fourth-year Ph.D. student Gautam Machiraju lived on campus with his wife, opting for a studio apartment in the Escondido Village Graduate Residences (EVGR). But when he realized that online operations meant he no longer had to be on campus, Machiraju moved more than 100 miles north to Sacramento for his wife’s job. Machiraju recently moved back to the Bay Area in January, settling closer to campus in Oakland. A number of graduate students living off-campus have relied on Stanford’s Caltrain Go Pass program, which gives graduate students free access to the commuter rail line across all zones. This program was initially reserved for Stanford staff members but was expanded in 2014 to select graduate students. While there is no official requirement for graduate students to live on campus, Machiraju explained that graduate students are feeling pressure from the University to move back to campus because of a number of factors, including uncertainty surrounding the Caltrain program. Stanford Transportation’s website states that the Caltrain program will be discontinued
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rate citizens, from how they let disinformation run rampant [to] how they let hate run rampant,” Byrne said. “We’re working on a campaign where we get students to pledge that they are not going to work for these companies as long as they’re behaving this way.” Attendees crafted their own signs, writing messages like “Boycott Google, Meta,” and “Divest Now.” The student activists lined up in front of Columbae and along Mayfield Ave carrying their signs. Byrne advised students that facilitating group communication through apps like Signal, denoting safe spots for vulnerable activists, and designating an organizer as a “police liason” are all tactics that ensure protesters can stay safe and organized at future demonstrations for the causes or groups that
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All On the Line, one of the organizations pushing to eliminate gerrymandering. Common Cause is a national organization working to control the dangerous impact of money in campaigning. Unlimited money spent on elections has a corrupting influence. Common Cause was founded by John W. Gardner, a Stanford graduate and trustee, and a Republican who served in the Democratic administration of Lyndon B. Johnson. Make calls, write postcards and help get out the vote. Political polarization is crippling our country’s ability to adopt needed public policies. One corrective would be a move to rankedchoice voting, already adopted in Maine, Alaska and some cities. This reform can check the power of a vocal minority to win elections over
by the end of 2022. However, according to a recent update from the Vice Provost for Graduate Education, the University plans to use bridge funding toward the Caltrain program to mitigate the impact of the program’s discontinuation. Having moved away during the pandemic when policies were more relaxed, Machiraju is now frustrated with the lack of clear guidelines regarding whether grad students are expected to move back to campus. R&DE representative Jocelyn Breeland explained the off-campus graduate housing program was created because of the need for graduate students to have more affordable housing options near campus. Without this program, Stanford had to turn away more than 1,000 students a year who wanted university housing. The opening of the Escondido Village Graduate Residences has allowed us to provide on-campus housing to many more graduate students who want it,” she explained. But, because of the unusually large undergraduate population, EVGR Building A is being used to house undergraduates. “This, in addition to the need to leave some residences unoccupied for use as quarantine/isolation space, means that we will likely need to keep some off-campus housing for now,” she added. The construction of the EVGR complexes greatly exacerbated students’ frustrations with living options on campus. To make space for these new complexes, Stanford tore down existing housing units and eliminated some parking options. Scott Fleming, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in Biomedical Informatics recalled feeling left out of the conversation during the construction of EVGR. “To me, this is a system in peril,” Fleming said. “Ideally, Hail Mary efforts from students wouldn’t need to happen, because they would have already been included in the planning process upfront.” After moving off-campus in the summer of 2020, Fleming moved back to University-sponsored housing in September. He currently lives in the Oak Creek apartments, one of Stanford’s off-campus residence options, with his wife and child. He and his family hoped to stay there until he finished his Ph.D. But Fleming was recently informed by Residential & Dining Enterprises (R&DE) that he will not be able to renew his contract at Oak Creek.
Please see FAMILY, page 12 students are involved in. Byrne also pointed out the importance of using bright colors and catchy slogans when making effective signs. Hoisting signs is a popular protest tactic at Stanford — in February, grassroots organizers attended a sign-making event and later carried their signs to Dinkelspiel Auditorium to protest former Vice President Mike Pence’s talk at Stanford. Jason Swanepoel ’23 said the event helped him learn about “how to make picture-worthy signs” and “having cohesion between signs” at protests. “I’m sharing this with the groups that I’m a part of, trying to form cohesive, effective demonstrations and actions,” Swanepoel said. “The point is to get material changes in people’s lives, because we can do other things for fun,” Byrne said. “We don’t have to organize and we don’t have to take action; we do it because the conditions cause us to have to do that.” a moderate minority. The current winner-take-all approach is biased toward the extremes in both parties. Ranked voting does the opposite. Fairvote.org is dedicated to promoting ranked voting; ask how you can help. With freedom comes responsibility. As has been frequently said, “democracy is not a spectator sport.” We all have both opportunities and obligations to engage in protecting and strengthening our democracy. My college Professor Samuel Huntington concluded one of his books with these words: “Critics say that America is a lie because its reality falls so short of its ideals. They are wrong. America is not a lie; it is a disappointment. But it can be a disappointment only because it is also a hope.” There is hope for our democracy. But only if each of us is an active participant. THOMAS EHRLICH Adjunct professor in the Stanford Graduate School of Education
The Stanford Daily
6 ! Friday, April 15, 2022
CULTURE CULTURE
Mitchell’s ‘Sea Sick’ falls short Show lands on fresh but weak climate solution By BETTY HE DESK EDITOR
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ith her back to the audience, Alanna Mitchell scribbled statistics onto a blackboard as Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’” played in the background. With rhythmic taps of the chalk and fluid movements of her arm, Mitchell transformed writing ocean acidity into a dance-like performance. In her one-woman show “Sea Sick,” Mitchell endows dry numbers with emotive power and moral relevance by translating scientific knowledge into narrative and performance. “Science gives us knowledge but not meaning. Art gives us meaning,” Mitchell said. On Saturday night, Stanford Live invited Alanna Mitchell to perform “Sea Sick” in Bing Studio. She told wondrous stories from her expeditions into the ocean, urging her audience to confront how climate change has ravaged this crucial ecosystem. Mitchell emphasized that “the ocean contains the switch of life” — if everything on land died, creatures in the ocean would still go on living, but if everything in the ocean died, creatures on land would not be able to survive. Growing up on the prairies as a child, Mitchell did not expect to spend her career writing about the ocean. “Sea Sick” originates from Mitchell’s 2009 book of the same name, which she turned into a monologue to more vividly convey her research. The title, “Sea Sick,” captures both Mitchell’s personal fear of open water and the thesis of her performance — that the ocean is sick. Beyond being a warning about climate change, the show is also an existential pondering of the power of words in the face of imminent catastrophe. Ultimately, Mitchell attempts to find ease where there is none as she tells the audience to forgive themselves and to forgive each other as the first step to alleviating climate change. The show ends with a notable emptiness, however, as Mitchell does not propose any concrete actions. Mitchell’s gorgeous storytelling weaves together her underwater adventures to depict the ocean as a place full of mystery and enchantment. Basking under a ring of cerulean light, Mitchell began a story of snorkeling in the ocean near Panama and watching the annual coral spawning. On the sixth day after the last full moon of the summer, exactly 100 minutes after sunset, corals began to release their eggs and sperm into the pitch dark ocean
Please see SEA, page 7
XIMENA SANCHEZ MARTINEZ / The Stanford Daily
Hernandez-Clarke spoke about the history behind Casa Zapata’s murals at a lecture on murals and activism sponsored by the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity’s 17th Annual Anne and Loren Kieve Distinguished lecture events.
CULTURE
What’s behind a mural? Gina Hernandez-Clarke explains the 30-year history of the murals at Casa Zapata By XIMENA SANCHEZ MARTINEZ CONTRIBUTING WRITER
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uring her time as the Casa Zapata Resident Fellow, Gina Hernandez-Clarke became interested in the 30-year history behind the countless murals in the dorm and elsewhere on campus. Aside from adding to the “diverse and vibrant community” on campus, murals are also an “artistic gesture of protest,” HernandezClarke said. Hernandez-Clarke spoke about the murals at a lecture that was part of the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity’s (CCSRE) 17th Annual Anne and Loren Kieve Distinguished lecture events, which is sponsored by the CSRE and the Institute for Diversity in the Arts.
MUSIC
Sawayama takes San Francisco By KYLA FIGUEROA MANAGING EDITOR
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y three friends and I left Stanford on Monday at sunset for Rina Sawayama’s concert in San Francisco. Originally scheduled to take place two years ago, after the release of her debut album “SAWAYAMA,” the show finally took place this week at The Warfield. Sawayama has flourished through the pandemic, reaching 5 million monthly listeners on Spotify and receiving outstanding reviews for her album. The wait for this concert was well worth it — the small venue’s intimacy evoked high excitement from the crowd, marking the significance of returning to live performances. Sawayama’s art truly touched the hearts of audience members, providing the healing we need during these turbulent times.
Please see RINA, page 9
KYLA FIGUEROA / The Stanford Daily
Rina Sawayama delivered a memorable performance in front of long awaited fans, writes Kyla Figueroa.
By guiding the audience through a couple of murals on campus, Hernandez-Clarke shared her knowledge of the art’s history. “The Spirit of Hoover” is a mural located on the first floor of Casa Zapata. As explained by Hernandez-Clarke, the studentdriven mural was supported by Jose Antonio Burciaga, the Casa Zapata Resident Fellow at the time, and created to spark a conversation around “the student lack of engagement on issues on campus and beyond.” Different parts of the piece touch on various political issues of the time. The left panel of the mural alludes to efforts by student activists to get Stanford to divest from apartheid. The panel shows aggressive armed police officers with weapons and South African people protesting and pulling on the ropes attached to
Hoover Tower. HernandezClarke explained that the ropes pulling on Hoover Tower are meant to represent student movements. At the bottom of the panel, a piggy bank with the Stanford logo is shown receiving coins from the interaction between the officer and protester. Hernandez-Clarke explained that the evocative skeleton in the middle of the mural is meant to serve as a symbol to encourage students to see themselves in the social movements happening on campus. The overall objective of the mural, according to Hernandez-Clarke, was to spark conversations beyond the dorm about the issues the students were concerned about. In the right panel, the Statue of Liberty, with her torch dropped on the ground, holds an unbalanced scale with a woman
and a child weighing less than an illustration of food products. According to Hernandez-Clarke, this alludes to the United States’ political interventions that allowed companies like the United Fruit Company to exploit Latin American countries. One of the many meaningful aspects behind these murals was students’ involvement in the concept, painting and unveiling of the murals, according to HernandezClarke. She recalled from her own participation in the “The Spirit of Hoover” mural unveiling at the steps of Hoover Tower that murals have the “power to share history” because they “express ideas vividly and allow students to speak up.” She added that murals are an “important treasure of excellence on campus” and described them as “sites of public memory.”
MUSIC
I’m with the band: Smiths
Can we separate the art from the artist? By CHLOE ANNE WALSH COLUMNIST
Welcome to “I’m With The Band.” In this column, I’ll teach you how to become a fan of all the iconic bands that you have always heard of but may not truly know yourself. I’ll introduce you to some deep-cut songs that’ll elevate your status from “surface-level fan” to “real fan” and explain why, in my humble opinion, these bands are worth getting to know. Hopefully by the end of this series, you’ll see why you should become a fan of them, too.
”You ... you like the Smiths?” asks Tom Hansen in the movie “(500) Days
Please see SMITHS, page 7
The Stanford Daily
Friday, April 15, 2022 ! 7
MUSIC
Wallows delivers indie rock perfection By CAMERON DURAN
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allows deser ves the hype. With an effortless superstar aura, the band’s Thursday night performance at The Warfield in San Francisco would have had the same impact whether performed in a garage or Madison Square Garden: the venue shrunk to hold only you and the band. Led by the charismatic Dylan Minette and charming Breaden LeMasters on vocals and guitar, with drummer Cole Preston rounding out the band’s three central members, Wallows immediately captivated the audience with an intimate, rehearsal-like vibe. Yet, despite their unassuming persona, the band’s skill and passion for their music was evident, with crystal clear live vocals and energetic instrumentals. The members were in sync and comfortable, confident in their rising popularity with a clear identity and musical voice. Though the band’s six members walked onstage unceremoniously in T-shirts and cargo pants, the crowd’s reaction was explosive. The crowd’s energy stayed high throughout the concert, and for good reason. Just about every song was a fan favorite, and Wallows gave each a worthy performance. In addition to songs off their new album “Tell Me That It’s Over,” the band played hits off of their previous album “Nothing Happens” (2019) and EPs “Remote” (2021) and “Spring” (2018), as well as their breakout single “Pleaser” (2017). Though the
SEA
Continued from page 6 water. Mitchell described feeling the throttling of the corals’ sexual energy in the water. But this miracle of birth became tinged with a sense of despair, as the marine biologists on Mitchell’s trip realized that only a quarter of the corals had spawned: increased atmospheric carbon dioxide had made the water too warm for the coral to reproduce, resulting in this rare ritual of birth being tainted with death. Witnessing the ailing ocean prompted Mitchell to embark on marine expeditions to learn more about the effects of global warming on this crucial life source for the Earth. Throughout her journey, she is repeatedly struck by the distressing notion that “the ocean is warm, breathless and sour.” As she writes down data of the ocean’s increasingly acidic pH levels from dissolved carbon dioxide, she urgently appeals to the audience: “I need you to understand what this means.” She highlights the need for the foreboding impact of carbon emissions not only to be told, but to be heard. Mitchell movingly ponders her place in telling this story that seems too big to handle. She confesses her own feeling of helplessness as she realizes the magnitude of the task before her. She flashes back to her twelfth-grade English teacher’s disparaging comment: “You’ve never had an original thought in your life, and never will.” In addition to lightening the mood with humor, Mitchell uses this flashback to demonstrate the same sense of
music was largely true to the recordings (especially the vocals, to a wildly impressive degree), slight changes to the arrangements made things special. The versatile group played around with the instruments for each song. In addition to guitars, bass, drums, keys and synth, the band also brought out a trumpet for a few songs, played by Danny Ferenbach. Minnette held a guitar, tambourine and harmonica. The band members’ individual skill as performers was clear, and they balanced each other perfectly. As a lead singer, Minnette, also known for his role on Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why,” didn’t disappoint. Wearing his signature sweater vest, he exuded a natural stage presence, walking confidently across the stage and grooving along to the beat, his points and nods eliciting screams from the adoring audience. While slower songs were accompanied by an emotional Minnette gripping the microphone, faster songs had him dancing and delivering guitar solos. While the outgoing Minnette broadcast his energy throughout the crowd, a more subdued LeMasters was able to engage with fans individually. LeMasters gave shoutouts to the balcony, wished fans happy birthday and received gifts including a bouquet of flowers and a homemade Shrek hat, which he wore for the rest of the set. Standing alongside Minnette’s larger-thanlife personality, LeMasters also had his moments in the spotlight, with his guitar solos and smooth vocals taking center stage. The group was personal inadequacy that overtook her. Self-doubt and guilt gripped her as she questioned what she — a little girl from the prairie — could do to save the ocean and save humanity from itself. Her answer to alleviating climate change is to forgive ourselves. She reiterates that this forgiveness is not cheap grace, but “steely, intentional, catalytic.” Forgiveness would allow us to take the energy we channel into guilt and anguish and redirect it toward finding solutions and enacting institutional change. Mitchell frames mankind’s journey to reverse climate change as a quest and encourages audiences to be the heroes to save ourselves from extinction. There is a refreshing strength behind Mitchell’s message of forgiveness, yet it is a weak note to end on for a show that tries to inspire action and propel systemic change. Forgiveness is too abstract a step to take — the conclusion wasted the show’s momentum, grinding it to a skidding halt; the answer that Mitchell arrives at rings hollow. Granted, Mitchell displays honesty and sincerity in her concession that the question of how to enact the systemic change required to reduce carbon dioxide emissions remains unanswered. Still, the unsatisfying conclusion to “Sea Sick” prompts a further existential quandary: are narratives about climate change bound to end in either empty hope or certain doom? How do we rewrite this story that is hurtling towards a bleak conclusion? Editor’s Note: This article is a review and contains subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.
Courtesy of Stanford Live
Though aesthetically pleasing and consistently profound, Mitchell's show fails to provide a satisfactory message. Outdated research and abstract aspirations leave something to be desired, Betty He writes.
CAMERON DURAN / The Stanford Daily
Wallows provided adoring fans with an intimate set filled with skilled performances and indie energy, writes Cameron Duran. so comfortable playing together that the performance could’ve been a jam session of a group of high school best friends (which, given Wallows’ teenage origins, it kind of was). The group’s bond was obvious in its performance; each member’s instruments and vocals melted together easily into a resonant, joyful sound. The relaxed tone of the show was emphasized by set choices. A bare stage with only a few mic stands and scattered white floor lamps added to the feeling of being in a homey, personal space with the band. The lights (including the color-changing lamps) glowed warmly, unobtrusive but a perfect complement to the music. A credit to the technicians, the lighting on stage seemed almost alive, with pulsing purple light serving as the heartbeat of a ballad and bright red accompanying the beating heart of a rock song. The band clearly knows and loves its audience and gave them a great show accordingly. Several songs included well-known singalongs, most notably “Are You Bored Yet?,” during which Minnette prompted an overjoyed crowd to sing Clairo’s verse. Though Clairo was absent, the concert did have a surprise guest. Toward the end of the set, Lydia Night, lead singer of pop-punk band The Regrettes, ran out onstage to wild cheers. Night joined Minnette on the melancholic “Permanent Price,” and her moody backing vocals complemented the song well. In an otherwise flawless set, Wallows’ only visible slip-up occurred during the up-tempo “Marvelous,” sung by a tambourine-playing Minnette. After mixing up some of the
lyrics during the song’s rapid introduction, Minnette quickly called to restart the piece, telling the audience that they deserved for the band to perform the song correctly. If anything, the crowd was more excited the second time around; they were honored that Minnette would do it over just so they could sing along to the right lyrics. The ensuing performance was a definite high point in the set. The band’s closeness with its fans was similarly evident during the group’s encore. After the band played its last song (and Minnette threw his pick into the audience), the crowd soon began to chant “one last song!” After leaving us waiting for a minute, the band returned, lamps pulsing green light in time to the infectious rhythm of “Hard to Believe.” Minnette asked a fan to choose the next song, and after a few moments setting up, the band performed an unexpected performance of “Ice Cold Pool.” Crowd favorite “Remember When” rounded out the encore — the actual ‘one last song,’ as Minnette joked. spill tab, also known as Claire Chicha, was well-chosen as opener. Her performance — a mix of relaxed aesthetics, relatable lyrics and dance-worthy instrumentals — matched Wallows’ energy to a tee. The singer was joined by bassist Caleb Buchanan with a minimalist setup of a laptop and a couple mic stands. Just as every great opener does, spill tab got the crowd grooving along even though most of the audience was unfamiliar with her music. She also dipped into some acoustic covers, including Usher, Kelly Clarkson and Moses Sumney, inviting the crowd to sing along. The
highlight, however, was her original songs “Velcro” and “Grade A,” whose higher tempos got the crowd amped up for the main act and encouraged at least a few of us to give her discography a good listen. The Warfield, a beautiful, ornate place decorated with wooden paneling and rich, deep reds, was occupied mostly by high schoolers wearing bright patterns, tote bags, wide leg jeans and chunky black platforms. At my first concert in over two years, I was delighted to see the tradition of wearing your coolest outfit to a concert is still in practice (albeit with a few more masks involved). The band and the venue’s commitment to the fans was clear throughout the night. Water bottles were handed out, paths into the pit stayed clear and paramedics actively surveyed the crowd. Following their example, the audience was energized but respectful; the venue was comfortably full, but members of the crowd left each other enough room to breathe. Midway through Wallows’ set, Minette took a few minutes to ask a crowded section to take a step back and offered more water. “Whatever you guys need,” he said. “We want you guys to be comfortable.” Fame looks good on Wallows. I have no doubt their stardom will continue to rise in the coming years. Their talent speaks for itself; no pretense necessary. A must-see live show, the Tell Me That It’s Over Tour is undoubtedly the perfect moment to catch this group amid their ascent to indie rock greatness. Editor’s Note: This article is a review and contains subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.
SMITHS
Continued from page 6 of Summer.” When I used to think of the Smiths, I always thought of the infamous elevator scene in “(500) Days of Summer” — you know, the one that sends the message that a woman’s taste in music is the only thing you need to know to fall in love with her. But ever since Steven Patrick Morrissey attempted to justify a racist claim he made by stating that “everybody prefers their own race,” subversive infamy of the Smiths has mixed into my prior associations. The disparity between the many ways I see the Smiths fascinates me, and ultimately leads to the question: is it possible to separate an artist from their art? Most people know the Smiths as the ultimate pioneers of indie music. Without the help of any major record label, the Smiths formed in 1982 with lead singer/lyricist Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr. From the beginning, Morrissey was vocal in his belief that pop music was a dying industry, and that he was “a prophet of the fourth gender” who planned to “save rock ‘n’ roll.” With vehement lyrics that blurred the line between music and poetry, the Smiths quickly found themselves a dedicated underground fanbase consisting of the misunderstood, alienated and lovelorn listeners alike. In their short-lived existence, the Smiths became one of Britain’s most influential bands before ultimately breaking up in 1987. Having sold many millions of records, the Smiths are far from underground today. Over the years, the band has grown to emblemize our modern notion of indie hipster culture. This association has grown posthumously — because the only thing more hipster than loving an independent underground band is mourning an independent underground band that was popular before your time. In pop culture, the hipster-like qualities of the Smiths led to their music being featured in an array of indie-romance movies that depict female characters who fit the manic-pixie-dream-girl (MPDG) trope. Let’s take a look at the Smiths in “(500) Days of Summer.” Our protagonist, Tom, and his object of infatuation, Summer, stand in an elevator together as “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” plays loudly out of Tom’s headphones. “The
Graphic: KIRSTEN METTLER / The Stanford Daily
Smiths? I love the Smiths,” Summer remarks in a dreamy whisper while pointing to his headphones. Never mind the fact that this song is their most popular by a landslide — Summer’s basic awareness of the band’s existence is enough for our newly lovestruck Tom to slowly remove his headphones and meet her gaze while stuttering, “You ... you like the Smiths?” And just like that, “cool hipster girl who likes the Smiths” is now deemed the love of Tom’s life. This is far from the only time that pop culture has chosen to use the Smiths as a sonic association for the whimsical MPDG, with their music also being soundtracked in films like “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Closer.” If a MPDG is an enigmatic woman who comes on the screen to help the male protagonist learn about himself before fluttering off into nonexistence, then it’s safe to say that Hollywood sees the Smiths as the ultimate manic pixie dream band. After all, the Smiths were an elusive, poetic group that came on the scene to help save pop music and were gone all too soon for us to fully understand who they were as musicians. It’s a perfect pairing, an indie dreamlike band with these indie dreamlike girls, right? Well, not really. This line of thinking is far from the truth. Although pop culture wants “hipster” to be the defining term for the Smiths, the phrase “problematic” is a much more honest representation of the group. Morrissey has never redacted nor apologized for any of his blasphemous comments, indicating he isn’t trying to present himself as anything close to politically correct. The disparity between pop culture’s perception of the Smiths compared to their actuality has nothing to do with illusive deceit but rather a collective desire to value how we want to see the Smiths over reality. Many fans openly acknowledge this falla-
cy, with certain band reviews for the Smiths beginning with disclaimers that ask the reader to ignore Morrissey’s insensitive remarks. Since the band’s breakup in 1987, frontman Morrissey has done anything but disappear. Over the years, he has made an endless amount of politically and racially insensitive comments, voicing his support for a far-right anti-Islam British political party and making violent claims regarding veganism, as seen in his 2009 Coachella performance. When we allow ourselves to make personal connections with music, it is often easier to separate the artists from what we listen to. We all do it to a certain degree, even if it is a subconscious decision; most of our favorite songs rely much more on our individualized memories rather than the biographical backstory of the artist. But when it comes to political and racial insensitivities, how much can we truly separate the artist from our personal connection to the art? For the Smiths, is the “cool hipster” image more accurate than what they culturally represent? Or do the words and actions of the artist themselves always reveal an indisputable truth of what lies behind the music? For me, the enjoyment of listening to music has always been a combination of my own experiences and my cultivated relationship with the artist themselves. So, yes: “How Soon Is Now?” has been on my running playlist since 2016 and remains featured today. But, more often than not, I do find my finger hesitating over the “skip” button whenever I hear the opening guitar riff. My picks: “This Charming Man,” “Half a Person,” “Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want,” “Asleep.” Editor’s Note: This article is a review and contains subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.
The Stanford Daily
8 ! Friday, April 15, 2022
THE GRIND
A new generation of students Notes from teaching CS to high schoolers By BRIAN SHA
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ALLISON ARGUETA/The Stanford Daily
Like my parents, I have changed with time. I’ve grown from when I watched their wedding video for the first time.
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ove
THE GRIND
etters
On my parents’ wedding video By ALLISON ARGUETA
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oddlers are connoisseurs of quality media. Four-year-old me was no exception. As a young tastemaker, I had Disney princess movies on rotation. Cinderella would traipse across my screen in glittery, billowing skirts. Ariel swam under the sea with ocean friends. There was one movie, however, that I liked better than anything Walt Disney could create — it was my parents’ wedding video. Growing up, the easiest way to entertain me while my mom cooked tortillas on the stovetop was to pop my parents’ wedding videotape into our static-filled television. I would lie for hours on my parents’ bed, entranced by the low-resolution video, with my head propped up on my hands and feet kicking back and forth. My mom was confused (and mildly concerned) by my constant demands to watch it, but each time she would comply. My parents were married in August of 1991 in muggy southern California at the age of 23. Their limousine was late, the church was stuffy and the wedding cake had a built-in water fountain. My mom, with her poofy, beaded wedding dress and hair coiffed up to the skies, was more beautiful than any princess I had ever seen. My dad was equally as charming in his single-breasted suit and bowtie. Their cheeks were rosy and glowing; they radiated hope. (Maybe it was due to the intensity of the California sun.) As a child, I liked to believe it was an outward expression of their joy at having found a “happily ever after.” To my four-year-old self, my parents looked so wise and sure. They would be untouchable by any obstacles for forever. As I got older, my obsession over my parents’ wedding video was replaced by other media. First it was an ardent love for “High School Musical.” Then, in middle school, it became Young Adult fiction novels, and in high school, it was old boy-band albums. At the same time that I was discovering my other interests, I was also adding my own memories to the family video collection. My school performances, quinceanera celebrations and graduations are all immortalized on tape. My adolescent life gradually filled with memories and people of my own. I relished the newfound independence. But the wedding video never really disappeared. Every few years through my teens, my family would watch old family videos to fuel their nostalgia. I couldn’t understand my childhood fervor for their wedding video whenever I rewatched it. The video was cute, but I preferred watching home videos that featured myself to relearn the moments of my life I’d forgotten. What could have driven my four-year-old self to watch their wedding video multiple times a day? I believe that most media pieces can be completely understood and appreciated only when your life cir-
cumstances align. One could argue from the perspective of a child psychologist that as a toddler, I was more than ready to receive my parents’ wedding video. The people in the wedding video were family members, emotionally securing my family networks and helping diversify my limited childhood vocabulary. In contrast, as an older kid and teen, I was no longer in that headspace. I was moving away from solely my family’s worldview and becoming more independent. It was a time for focusing on developing my sense of self. Now, as a young adult in college, I think the circumstances of my life are aligned again. Over quarantine, I watched my parents’ wedding video and was shocked by how young they looked. At 23, my parents were only three years older than I am now. The selfassurance I had once seen on their faces then appeared to be a sense of youthful hope and recklessness. I saw two young adults bravely plunging forth into the great unknown with only a few clues to go on. Unlike what I had once thought as a toddler, my parents were not motivated by the prospect of a happily ever after, a life without difficult times or hard work. They were driven by the joy of possibility with someone they loved, every day a new adventure, a new challenge. When I look at my parents today, they are no longer the aimless young adults I saw in that video. The creases around their eyes have deepened after a lifetime in the sun, and their hairs have started to gray. Their faces are colored by the stressors and joys of a life well-lived. They have built a home, lost sleep, accomplished goals, found purpose, lived through recessions, tasted new dishes simmering in old pots and, best of all, raised me. My parents are different people than they were thirty years ago on their wedding day. Yet, while life has thrown them many obstacles since then, my parents’ cheeks have yet to lose their rosiness. Like my parents, I have changed with time. I’ve grown from when I watched their wedding video for the first time. Now, as a young adult, my brain has almost finished developing, and while I am still occasionally shaken, my sense of self has crystalized into something I’m proud of. After years of hopeless romanticism and photo albums documenting my Halloween princess costumes, I no longer buy into the idea of happily ever after. Instead, although I still struggle to find courage to swim in it, I’m more comfortable with the idea of ambiguity. I know now that life isn’t all peaches and sunshine; challenges arise when you least want them to, and even the good things, especially the good things, take effort. Every day of my life isn’t and won’t be a “happily ever after.” While I’ve grown, remnants of the four-year-old little girl I once was still exist inside me. I can articulate her thoughts with more clarity. I think that little girl has intuitively reached a conclusion about courage, one that I was only able to reach with deep reflection. There is a reason I loved my parents’ wedding video so much — sometimes, in life, you just have to jump in headfirst and say “I do.”
his past fall quarter, Stanford offered an introductory computer science class to more than 200 talented high school students from around the nation. When I first received the opportunity to serve as a Teaching Fellow for the course, I was particularly drawn to the program’s goal of opening the Stanford experience to under-resourced high school students. Thanks to a partnership between Stanford University and the non-profit National Education Equity Lab, this pilot project introduced the students to programming in Python, web development and other topics such as computer architecture and security. While I was initially excited about teaching students how to code, by the end of the program, I ended up learning a lot about social inequity and how elite institutions such as Stanford have the resources to inspire a whole new generation of students through innovative and accessible educational programs. During my first training session organized for the teaching fellows — current Stanford students and experienced alums — I was
Photo: Unsplash
Undoubtedly, information is more readily available than ever in a world where software provides us almost infinite leverage. But my experience with this class made me realize that technology alone will not solve complex societal issues, writes Brian Sha. surprised to learn that the high schoolers would complete the same “CS 105: Introduction to Computers” course offered to regular Stanford University students. I started working on my teaching plan with a bit of nervousness because these students were not only taking a rigorous Stanford course, but they were also doing so despite coming from under-resourced backgrounds. However, as we went through our first class together, nervousness quickly turned into enthusiasm. As I learned that many of the students were the first in their families to enroll in a college course
or pursue STEM education, I was reminded of the National Education Equity Lab’s tagline: “Talent is evenly distributed, opportunity is not.” One student wanted to study Computer Science, hoping to get a high-paying job that would allow her to take care of her mother, who works multiple jobs to support her family. Another student aspired to be an astrophysicist and work on space exploration. Another student, a first-generation immigrant, wanted to be a tech entrepreneur and build products that would empower his underserved
Please see TEACHING, page 9
HUMOR
Twitter Green
Photo: flickr.com
“I decided to call it Twitter Green because of how you will feel when you know what I am thinking at all times: sick,” Musk told The Daily.
Company to upload Elon Musk’s consciousness to users’ brains By UCHE OCHUBA DESK EDITOR
Editor’s Note: This article is purely satirical and fictitious. All attributions in this article are not genuine, and this story should be read in the context of pure entertainment only.
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witter’s newest board member, Elon Musk, suggested a series of changes to Twitter Blue, Twitter’s $2.99/month subscription service. These included removing ads and giving automatic blue “verified” checkmarks to subscribed users. In addition to this, Musk unveiled plans for Twitter Green, which will use Neuralink’s brain-implanted
computer chips to directly upload Elon Musk’s stream of consciousness to users’ brains. “Everything I am thinking, at all times, will be directly uploaded to your brain.” Musk told the Daily. “Take that annoying voice in your head. Now imagine there were two. And it comes from someone you can really trust. Me.” Musk continued: “Now you won’t even have to open up Twitter to see my next rambunctious take. Also, you can’t turn it off.” “I take my intellectual property very seriously, but I am also generous, so I am considering offering the service for a paltry $500 per hour. I decided to call it Twitter Green because of how you will feel when you know what I am thinking at all times: sick.”
HUMOR
Sike! You didn’t get into Stanford University reveals admission was an April Fools’ prank By OM JAHAGIRDAR MANAGING EDITOR
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n Friday April 8, 2022, high school senior Praneeth Kolichalla was greeted by the following message in his inbox: “an update has been posted to your application.” Though usually nerveracking, this notification did not perturb Praneeth. He had already been admitted to Stanford a week ago and was overjoyed he wouldn’t have to consider going to Berkeley. More than anything, this email piqued his curiosity. Sporting his Stanford hoodie, he went to the admissions portal on his Stanford-stickered laptop, logged
NIKOLAS LIEPINS/The Stanford Daily
“Gosh darn those silly rascals! Welp! They got me!” exclaimed an amused Praneeth exactly according to plan. in with his username (praneeth_k) and password (dreams_of_going_to_stanford), and clicked on the button to view the update. A large bolded “April Fools’!!!” emblazoned the screen as virtual confetti streamed from above. “We got you, didn’t we?” read the opening line. The body of the letter went on to explain that Stanford admissions had been planning the prank for years, and that in fact nobody had been admitted to the Stanford Class of 2026. “Gosh darn those silly rascals! Welp! They got me!” exclaimed an amused Praneeth exactly according to plan. “Much to my chagrin, seems like I’ll be going somewhere else and will harbor no ill will towards Stanford for this slight.”
The Stanford Daily
TEACHING Continued from page 8
community. Many of them hoped to one day attend prestigious institutions such as MIT, Harvard, Yale and Stanford. Before I started teaching this class, I used to believe that tech was doing a great job at democratizing educational opportunities. After all, many of the same programming and Artificial Intelligence classes that I took at Stanford were freely available on Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms such as edX and Coursera. “The internet has allowed anyone in the world to learn technical skills and rise up the socioeconomic ladder” is a narrative that I have often heard in the Silicon Valley bubble, especially at Stanford, which has produced nearly one-fifth of all unicorn companies. Undoubtedly, information is more readily available than ever in a world where software provides us almost infinite leverage. But my experience with this class made me realize that technology alone will not solve complex societal issues. When some of the students, who were very enthusiastic in the beginning, started missing classes and assignments, it took me some time to figure out the problem. Students at elite institutions can often be very vocal about what they want. The high school students, especially those from underresourced backgrounds, however, often hesitate to ask for help. As I started actively reaching out to them, I discovered that they were constantly navigating through tough circumstances that were difficult to notice in our Zoom sessions. These included not having access to a reliable computer or internet connection at home; not being able to attend office hours because the timing clashed with part-time jobs; difficulty accessing a myriad of platforms used in an online Computer Science course; and
RENEWABLE Continued from page 1
energy quite yet. Achieving this metric would require all campus activities, including car use, kitchens and heat, to run off renewable sources. Gawer said that Stanford is currently operating at about 70% renewable from a total energy standpoint. While 100% of Stanford’s electricity and chilled water can be described as renewable, about 15% of the University’s winter heating still comes from natural gas, according to Gawer. Stanford first committed to long-term renewable electricity use with its launch of the Energy and Climate Action Plan in 2009. Two years later, the Board of Trustees gave concept approval to the Stanford Energy System Innovations (SESI) project, which included the introduction of the two solar plants, as well as other efforts to transition Stanford away from fossil fuels. The two solar plants, in conjunction with other SESI initiatives, will reduce Stanford’s greenhouse gas emissions by 78% from 2011 peak levels. SESI will also contribute to an 18% reduction in the University’s potable water use. These statistics, according to Gawer, take into account Stanford and its “research and support facilities,” such as the Redwood City campus and Hopkins Marine Station. They do not include buildings operated by Stanford Health Care. So what does “100% renewable electricity” mean in practice? Gawer describes California’s grid as a swimming pool. Stanford’s solar generating stations can be thought of as “putting water into the pool,” Gawer said. Stanford is one of many entities in California that takes water out of that pool to power its operations. This means that the electricity used on campus — whether by a computer charger or a TV — is not necessarily coming directly from Stanford’s two solar plants. “The electricity that we consume — the electron going into our computers here on campus — it’s highly unlikely it’s the same electron that was generated at the solar plant,” Gawer explained. “It’s not a fixed wire, like an extension cord.
STICKER
Continued from page 2 media during Greek life recruitment cycles. “Our hope is to expand the conversation we started last year by bringing more students and Stanford community members on board with our mission,” ASG wrote in an email to The Daily. Recently, the group has been focusing on giving underclassmen “all the facts when considering joining a Greek organization, help provide a
Friday, April 15, 2022 ! 9
HUMOR
Imposter Syndrome. I learned that these were only a few of the many problems they had to deal with and wondered about how effective MOOCs were at democratizing education. After doing some research, I learned that MOOCs have massively underperformed on their promises. Around 96% of all MOOC participants in 2017-18 did not complete their courses. It turns out that tech, on its own, won’t magically “fix” education. On the bright side, however, I learned that the high dropout rate could be reduced by more than ten times through a scalable, human-centered section-leading model that is integral to Stanford’s introductory Computer Science curriculum. In this model, which was also a hallmark of the pilot project, students participate in weekly discussion sections led by a section leader or a teaching fellow who also grades the assignments and exams. The students in my class unequivocally agreed that they wouldn’t have gotten much out of the prerecorded lecture videos alone. The active learning during live discussion sections, according to the students, was vital to their progress in the course. When the day to celebrate the students’ successful completion of the course came, I could not be prouder of what the students had achieved. I am incredibly grateful to Stanford’s Office of the Vice Provost for Digital Education, the Department of Computer Science and the Graduate School of Education’s Transforming Learning Accelerator, which made this pilot project possible. This experience has inspired me to explore innovations in education further and be a part of Emerson Global, where high schoolers worldwide get matched with mentors from top institutions such as Stanford. I cannot wait to see how the incredibly talented and bright students of today will take charge of solving the most pressing issues of our times through technology and innovation.
Is it cake? We asked
And so what we’re doing is we’re putting electricity into the grid, and we’re consuming it here.” SSGS2 is Stanford’s portion of Slate, a larger solar energy project that was developed beginning in 2015 by Recurrent Energy, a subsidiary of Canadian Solar. The plant was purchased by Goldman Sachs Renewable Power in January 2021. Stanford is one buyer of the energy generated by the facility, which sits on about 420 acres. While Stanford explored other renewable energy options, the University settled on solar as the most economically and technically viable option, according to Gawer. Representatives from Students for a Sustainable Stanford (SSS) called the transition “a wonderful step on the road to becoming a more sustainable university,” adding that they hope that Stanford “will continue to work toward net-zero emissions and possibly even accelerate its timeline for doing so.” While SSS was not involved in the transition process, the group is continuing to work toward helping Stanford eliminate Scope 3 emissions, which include commuting and air travel, among other activities. Stanford hopes to eliminate Scope 3 emissions by 2050. But while Stanford has committed itself to transitioning away from fossil fuels on campus, debates over divestment persist. Stanford’s endowment remains indirectly invested in fossil fuels, though the University has no direct holdings in the 100 major fossil fuel companies, as defined by the group Fossil Free Stanford (FFS). Representatives from FFS could not be reached for comment on Stanford’s electricity milestone. For Bleavans, the transition epitomizes why he came to Stanford after a nearly 30-year career in the global energy industry. “We have really just gotten started,” Bleavans said, adding that he has been inspired by “the incredible desire and commitment of the University to position itself as a leader — not just to make things great for Stanford, but also to be that exemplar for the rest of the world.” “This is a perfect example of why I’m here and why we’re all so excited to be part of this journey,” he said.
RINA
By CASSIDY DALVA
STAFF WRITER
Editor’s Note: This article is purely satirical and fictitious. All attributions in this article are not genuine, and this story should be read in the context of pure entertainment only.
A
n innocuous-looking toilet paper roll turns out to be an angel food cake in disguise. A worn-out tire is actually a flourless chocolate cake covered in dusted frosting. The recent Netflix show “Is it Cake?”, based on a genre of viral TikTok videos where bakers prepare cakes that appear to resemble household objects, accessories or even other foods, has garnered significant attention from viewers worldwide. With such striking dessert facsimiles in abundance, students who binge-watched the eight-part series in March are now secondguessing whether the objects and sights in their surroundings are truly just inedible articles. Our team at The Daily investigated five key attractions on campus, settling the debate once and for all: is it cake? 1. The Econ 1 Blue Books These always appear to be remarkably thin when observed from the outside, but on the inside, you see at once that the consistency is rather thick, and there’s so many hidden layers! You never run out of room to draw your supply and demand graphs, and it seems there are always more problems that must be solved in its labyrinth. Are those a stack of pages or layers of vanilla filling? Only one way to find out ...
Continued from page 6 Sawayama’s music is admired for encompassing a wide range of genres, including elements of rock, R&B and Y2K pop. She is also known for her brilliant taste in fashion, with bold colors and statement pieces accompanying each of her looks. The night was filled with costume changes for both the singer and her two stunning backup dancers, ranging from streetwear with baggy pants to an all-white set to a 2000s-inspired look with low-cut jeans. The start of her show had incredible swagger — she opened with “Dynasty,” the first song on the album, in a fully red two-piece with a cropped red jacket. After greeting the audience, thanking us for the support and for “changing [her] life,” she jumped into her hit “STFU!,” removing her jacket and revealing a matching red cami. The audience chanted the iconic chorus and fun lyrics like, “Have you ever thought about taping your big mouth shut, ‘cause I have, many times.” She then played “Comme Des Garcons (Like The Boys)” — a song that, in my opinion, would suit any runway show. It is a boost of confidence, especially with the repeated line “I’m so confident,” which Sawayama emphasized before the start of the song. For a brief moment during the bridge, the melody disappeared, and there was a brief pause. Sawayama asked the audience to “get low,” building suspense for the outro. The crowd soon erupted into jumping and dancing. Sawayama reminds me of Doja Cat: both artists maintain “real” energy while being incredible onstage performers. For instance, before the song “Akasaka Sad,” Sawayama bluntly declared that “this song is about depression.” Her tone implied the statement was a joke but also simultaneously admitted to her own struggles with mental health. In the song “Bad
NURSES
Continued from page 2 more balanced perspective on Greek life, reduce some of the peer pressure that surrounds the rush process, and help students find healthier sources of community on campus,” ASG added. Community dialogue is also a major part of ASG’s mission — particularly with members of Greek organizations. This year, ASG has “separately met with individual fraternity and sorority members, Tri Delta and ISC, to discuss reforms to the recruitment process,” the organization wrote, noting that they would also be open to reform discussions with APhi.
current state of nursing,” Taleghani said. One key issue that has been a constant throughout negotiations is staffing. SHC has “a definite staffing issue,” according to Stanford clinical nurse Rachel GratzBeken, who said this has impacted her ability to provide care. According to Gratz-Beken, intensive care unit nursing shortages at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital have sometimes pushed her nursing unit to care for critical patients. But her unit is often clinically inappropriate for many of the patients it receives. Caring for these patients takes resources away from her unit, which in
Photo: Unsplash
2. Stern Burrito Okay, this one is slightly less original; burritos are probably one of the easiest non-cakes to make appear cake-like. But that’s all the more reason to be on guard; after all, the aluminum foil wrapping is just a little too lush in appearance — it must be a metallic frosting coating those bean-shaped mounds of chocolate. Nevertheless, cutting into the burrito revealed the disappointing truth: the Stern burrito is not, in fact, a cake. 3. The Claw The streams of water erupting from The Claw as eager students kick off spring quarter with some classic fountain hopping would be hard to pull off in the world of dessert-making. But difficulty does not imply impossibility, and our team sensed that something was off. After brandishing marshmallows on wooden dowels and dunking them in the fountain, our deepest suspicions were confirmed: the
“water” in the Claw is, in fact, an elaborate chocolate fountain that has been dyed with a patented substance rendering it transparent in appearance. 4. Our friend’s electric scooter So sleek, so fast. Watching our friend zip off to Coupa on that lovely vessel, we couldn’t help but wonder if that Gotrax logo had been stenciled on in royal icing. The minute he wasn’t looking, we touched our knife to a miscellaneous wire and took a crunchy bite. 5. The Hoover Tower Have you ever actually touched Hoover Tower? Then how do you know it’s not an elaborate tiered dessert blanketed in caramel ganache? We pondered whether to taste a structural beam at the tower’s base, but venturing into the tower’s hallowed chambers, we couldn’t help but appreciate the architectural wonder and feared that our experiment might compromise the cake’s structural integrity.
Friend,” Sawayama opened up about her mistake of “being too caught up in herself,” and reminded the audience to not forget about loved ones around you. And in “Love Me 4 Me,” she put forward the notion of “needing to love yourself before you can love others,” acknowledging obstacles that can come in the way of self-appreciation and emphasizing the importance of self-love. Sawayama identifies as queer, and her song “Cherry” discusses her sexuality. During a groovy disco-funk rendition of the song’s intro, she called it her “coming out” song. She is also an ally of the trans community: during “Love Me 4 Me,” she asked the audience to look each other in the eye and say, “Trans lives matter,” creating a validating moment during the show. The artist dealt directly with the current state of the world. During a long costume-change sequence, audio clips from the news played in the background — topics and issues ranged from climate change to the pandemic to racial justice. A space once filled with music was replaced by a moment of reconciliation. The serious moment, however, did not deplete the energy in the concert hall one bit; in fact, Sawayama’s voice appeared within the clips, reminding audience members of their ability to change the world and our resiliency of the past two years. Fists up, unified, empowered and inspired, the crowd chanted her name and welcomed Sawayama back with open arms for the song “Who’s Gonna Save You Now?” The show maintained a captivating energy for its duration: I never stopped dancing and swaying. It was a party, a celebration of love — colorful strobe lights immersed me further into the music, particularly the green lighting in “Snakeskin” and the colors of the bisexual flag during “Cherry.” Other elements, like the feigned saxophone playing and exaggerated dance moves during “Paradisin,” also added to the energy. There was the typical phone-flashlight moment during the touching “Chosen Family,”
where that sense of unity within the audience continued as Sawayama sang about agency in relationships. And this excitement, ready to take whatever she gave us, howled when Sawayama showed us a song from her next album: a rock ballad titled “Catch Me in the Air.” While performing, she hinted that the new album is “coming sooner than you think.” After “Cherry,” the supposed last song, an encore ensued, giving the audience more with “XS,” “F*ck this World (Interlude)” and a solo performance of her collaboration with Lady Gaga titled “Free Woman.” When we emerged from The Warfield, my friends and I were stuck in a state of admiration. We had only good things to say about Rina Sawayama — how talented she is, how theatrically amazing the show’s design was and how goodfor-the-soul the event was. It was a beautiful experience to share. “Rina is the ‘it girl’ we all need,” Drew Feinman ’23 said. “For someone who never listened to her music before, I was completely absorbed by her energy. It was cathartic to be there.” “ The whole thing felt triumphant; there was a sense of agency that was important, especially after the past two years with the pandemic,” Danny Ritz ’23 added. Driving down 280 back to Stanford with the night sky hanging over us, my friends and I continued to unpack the amazing show and enjoy this memory-making moment. Big things were coming — the eventual end of school year and, even further down the road, graduation, the search for a career, midterms, projects, finals and all the personal and global stressors that are impossible to avoid. But we weren’t afraid of the future; the energy and love in Sawayama’s music carved room in our lives for continuous resiliency, release of negative energy and, in return, warmth and healing to help us keep pushing into the unknown. Editor’s Note: This article is a review and contains subjective opinions, thoughts and critiques.
turn exacerbates staffing issues, Gratz-Beken said. “It’s a cyclical process,” she said. “It could be prevented if we had more critical care nurses to help out.” Beatty and Cepero defended the hospitals’ efforts to increase staffing, writing that both hospitals have “made significant investments in nurse staffing in recent years, even as many hospitals face unprecedented staffing challenges.” They explained the clinical nurse population at SHC has increased by 36% since January 2019, while the clinical nurse population at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital has increased by 24.5% in that same timespan. Mental health has been another area of continued emphasis for CRONA, especially as staffing issues have placed a physical and
mental burden on nurses. Overwork has been an issue, according to Taleghani, contributing to a “challenging recruiting environment” for the hospitals. Nurses have continuously called for increased paid time off as part of their efforts toward a better work-life balance. “This is not just about us,” Taleghani said. “It’s about making this into a sustainable career.” Beatty and Cepero wrote that while the hospitals “are disappointed that the union has chosen to strike,” their goal “has always been to reach a mutually acceptable agreement through good faith negotiations.” According to Hernandez, CRONA remains “willing to work with the hospital to avoid a work stoppage.” Still, the union is ready to strike for the contract it believes it deserves.
The Stanford Daily
10 ! Friday, April 15, 2022
SPORTS
HULL DRAFTED BY FEVER
SENIOR GUARD TAKEN SIXTH OVERALL IN DRAFT By JEREMY RUBIN
SENIOR STAFF WRITER
Lexie Hull is headed to Indiana. Following an outstanding career on the Farm both on and off the court, the senior guard was selected sixth overall by the Indiana Fever in the 2022 WNBA Draft. Hull, who “has been the engine that’s made us run” (as head coach Tara VanDerveer puts it), finished her time at Stanford with career averages of 11.1 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game, along with numerous athletic and academic accolades. She is a 2021 NCAA Champion, an Elite 90 award winner, a three-time All-Pac-12 player and a two-time first-team Academic AllAmerican. “You truly could not ask for someone to do more for a team than Lexie Hull has done,” VanDerveer said before the draft. “With her hard work ethic and drive, Lexie is sure to find success.” During her senior year, Hull upped her career averages in nearly every category while also nabbing more than two steals per game and shooting 39% from deep. She matched or eclipsed career highs in points (36), assists (five) and steals (six) during the 2022 NCAA Tournament, and she helped the Cardinal reach a second straight Final Four.
As a two-time Pac-12 All-Defensive Team member, the do-it-all guard will bring stout defense, highlevel shooting and a little bit of everything to the Fever. During the 2021-22 season, Hull finished third on the team in scoring and rebounds, fourth in assists and first in steals — good for 30th in the nation. With the selection, Hull becomes the 28th Cardinal player to be drafted into the WNBA and 13th in the first round. Guard Kiana Williams ’21 was the most recent Stanford player to be selected, going 18th one year ago. “It would mean the world to be able to walk on the stage at the draft, but I am hungry for any pick because I know that regardless of where I’m taken, there is a lot more important work to do,” Hull told Insider before the draft. “I am excited for an opportunity to try out for any WNBA team and have the chance to play with the best players in the world.” Looking ahead to next season, the Cardinal are set to lose several key contributors from this year’s team, and it remains to be seen how their absences will be filled. Notable departures likely will also include Hull’s twin sister and 2022 Sixth Player of the Year Lacie Hull, sixthyear guard Anna Wilson and fifthyear forward Alyssa Jerome.
MIKE RASAY/isiphotos.com
On Monday, senior guard Lexie Hull was selected with the sixth overall pick in the 2022 WNBA draft by the Indiana Fever. Hull leaves her time on the Farm as an NCAA champion and an All-Pac-12 player.
FOOTBALL
Depth on display for fans Freshmen shine as fans get first look at 2022-23 Cardinal during spring game on Saturday By DANIEL WU STAFF WRITER
Before this weekend, freshmen tight end Sam Roush and wide receiver Mudia Reuben had never played a snap of football in Stanford Stadium. Just a few months ago, they were finishing high school. On Saturday, they proved their mettle as college football players in a high-scoring spring game, catching two touchdowns each as Stanford showed off its depth at the end of the team’s spring training period. It will be hard to draw too many conclusions from the Cardinal and White game. The majority of Stanford’s starters sat out, and the team only played through a handful of drives starting in its territory and from the red zone. “This was a glorified practice,” head coach David Shaw said after the game. “We took a lot of the things we’ve been working on and didn’t show them today, for obvious reasons. Just an opportunity to get out there and play fast.” Among the players sitting out were all of Stanford’s starting pass catchers from last year — though fifth-year wide receivers Brycen Tremayne and Michael Wilson suited up and participated fully in warmups — and almost the entire cornerback room. That opened the door for Stanford’s underclassmen to shine. Matched up against a depleted secondary, Roush and Reuben stole the show with a series of highlight-reel catches. Streaking down the middle of the field, Roush reeled in a 15yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Tanner McKee and hung on to survive a tough hit from sophomore safety Mitch Leigber as he went to the ground. “Anybody can make a catch in the back of the endzone when they’re wide open,” McKee said. “When there’s a safety breathing down your neck ... if you can go catch and protect yourself, take the hit, hold on to the ball and get six points, those plays really make a difference.” Two drives later, Reuben stretched over the sideline in the endzone to catch a well-placed back-shoulder ball from McKee and showed off his body control to keep his feet in bounds for the touchdown. Reuben’s emergence as a freshman is an encouraging sign in particular; he only started playing football as a high school sophomore but was recruited for his 6-foot-3 size and speed.
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Cardinal sweep Cougars
Home finale ends in 3-2 victory over BYU By TAMMER BAGDASARIAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER
BOB DREBIN/isiphotos.com
Freshman tight end Sam Roush (86, above right), one of the Cardinal’s early enrollees, caught two touchdowns at the team’s Cardinal and White scrimmage. Most of the starters sat out, giving the rest of the team the opportunity to play in front of fans at Stanford Stadium on Saturday. “The most impressive thing for me, for a guy who’s played a lifetime of soccer, his eye coordination and his body control in the air are outstanding,” Shaw said. Reuben and Roush caught another touchdown each from sophomore quarterback Ari Patu, who looked sharp in the drives he led. But the biggest play of the day came from junior running back E.J. Smith. Smith, set to take over the starting role in the backfield with the departure of Austin Jones and Nathaniel Peat, wasted no time showing why he spent the spring training period garnering heaps of praise from the Stanford coaching staff. The Dallas-native opened the day’s scoring with a 40-yard pass reception out of the slot, beating sophomore safety Jimmy Wyrick on a clean Texas route before outrunning the rest of the secondary to the endzone. In between Reuben and Roush’s first scores, he added a short touchdown on the ground with an outside run. “E.J. Smith is ready,” Shaw said. “Walks with a lot of confidence, plays with a lot of confidence. He can make plays from anywhere, as a runner, as a receiver. Excited about where he is.” Stanford’s undermanned de-
fense didn’t come away with a turnover but played tough throughout the scrimmage and managed a few stops and noteworthy plays. Senior cornerback Nicolas Toomer, one of the few true cornerbacks who saw the field on Saturday, made a touchdown-saving — if a little high — hit on sophomore running back Caleb Robinson and almost had an athletic interception against junior quarterback Beau Nelson. Senior safety Jonathan McGill also came close to picking off a pass from McKee but settled for a pass breakup. “It’s just the little things, the execution, understanding your assignment, not overrunning the ball,” McGill said. “That was something that I was kind of disappointed that we didn’t do a great job of, myself included. But I felt like starting off the energy and the passion was what we wanted, and what we’ve been working towards this entire spring.” The impact that Roush, Reuben and fellow early enrollee freshmen edge defender David Bailey made this spring also bodes well for the future of the team. The trio are the second ever class of freshmen that Stanford has permitted to join the University and football program midway through
the school year as early high school graduates — an option that Stanford previously did not allow, which cost the program countless potential recruits, Shaw said. “We want more,” Shaw said of the early enrollees. “These guys came in as basically as high school seniors in January and have felt comfortable the entire time. I think that’s been exciting for everybody.” Big questions remain for the Cardinal: how well a young and undersized defensive line can develop, whether the offensive line can reverse its decline to support the new backfield and how healthy the team’s veteran contributors will be by fall. But Stanford concludes its spring training with encouraging performances from the team’s underclassmen and — for the first time in two years — a full schedule of summer sessions unaffected by COVID-19 to come. The Cardinal will have two more training periods, one from April to June and another from the end of June to August, during which the team usually develops the most, according to Shaw. “We’re in a good place,” Shaw said. “But the mountain’s ahead of us. We haven’t even started climbing yet.”
In any other season, the last game in front of a home crowd would mark a triumphant senior night. But this year’s home finale victory proved why every member of the small Cardinal team is set on returning to compete next year. No. 12 Stanford men’s volleyball (12-11, 4-6 MPSF) was down 2-0 early on Saturday night, but the Cardinal banded together, surging back to complete a reverse sweep against Brigham Young (8-14, 3-7 MPSF). The victory marks the first time since 2015 that Stanford has gone 20 versus BYU in a single season. “Gritty, courageous fortitude,” said head coach John Kosty. “These are the things that we’ve been working on all season. To have these opportunities and [ ... ] show that we can grind it out with anybody.” Looking to repeat Friday’s dominant performance and complete the series sweep against the Cougars, Stanford entered the building on Saturday with renewed energy. It quickly became clear, however, that BYU had something different in mind. After the two teams traded points early in the first set, Brigham Young gained the first separation of the night, taking a 9-6 advantage. But redshirt junior libero Justin Lui stepped up, diving into center-court to dig consecutive swings from BYU outside hitter Davide Gardini and bring the Cardinal within one point. Later, down 18-15, junior outside hitter Will Rottman recorded his fifth kill, sending a powerful swing through a two-man block to put Stanford within striking distance. Any run that Stanford had in store was stifled by Gardini’s offensive attack, however, and the Cardinal dropped the first set 25-19. The Cardinal looked more like themselves in the second set. After sending a freeball over the net to the Cougars, junior setter Nathan Lietzke denied the attack with his first solo block of the night. Moments later, he served an ace into the back
Please see COUGARS, page 11
The Stanford Daily
COUGARS Continued from page 10
right corner. Forcing BYU out of system, Stanford stretched the early lead to 9-3 after multiple BYU attacking errors. Despite keeping the Cougars at bay for the majority of the set, offensive errors started to pile up for Stanford late in the set as the lead narrowed to 21-20. Junior opposite Luke Turner gave Stanford some room to breathe, rising up from the left side line for his second kill of the night. Two points later, Turner did it again, giving Stanford a 24-23 lead and a chance to even the game at one set apiece. With a chance to ice the set, Turner couldn’t get the ball through the block. The two teams locked at 24. Gardini and Rottman traded kills to a tie at 25. But a service error from Rottman followed by an attacking error handed BYU the comeback victory in the second set. The Cardinal are used to playing from ahead when they win, striking first in all of their previous 11 victories this year. Prior to Saturday, Stanford had not overcome a twoset deficit since 2017. This time, in front of a raucous home crowd, there was a palpable difference. From the huddle on the sideline, Kosty could be heard shouting, “right back, right back.” As Stanford walked back on to the court, Turner paced between his teammates, repeating, “We’re taking that back right now.” That sentiment is a part of a larger mentality that Kosty said the team has been cultivating all season. “With a young team, they like to look behind them and worry about the last play that they made, not the next play they can make,” Kosty said. “So that’s part of the training
COVID
Continued from page 1 as health experts grow increasingly worried about the spread of the omicron BA.2 subvariant, which now accounts for 86.2% of new cases. “We would like to reassure you that we have plans in place should we see a substantial increase of positive cases among students,” wrote Mona Hicks, Senior Associate Vice
PIZZO
Continued from page 1 Teddy’s condition was too advanced for treatments available at the time to save his life. He died after seven years under Pizzo’s care. The experience instilled in Pizzo the importance and urgency of medical research. It also brought him “to the boundaries of my efforts to understand life, death and human suffering,” Pizzo wrote in an application essay to the AJRCA rabbinical school. Leading research and advocacy Just a few years later, in 1982, still early in his career at the age of 38, Pizzo made good on his learnings. At the time, he was running the pediatrics program at the NCI. HIV/AIDS had become a major national concern, embroiled in a climate of extreme anxiety and fear. Seeing the implications of a burgeoning deadly disease for children, Pizzo was adamant that the NCI devote meaningful resources to studying it. “It was an uphill battle,” Pizzo remembers. “Nurses didn’t want to be part of it, my colleagues didn’t want to be part of it. Everyone was scared.” But Pizzo insisted. “I had to go and do battle with the FDA, with drug companies — everybody,” he recounts. “It was a slow, tortured process.” Pizzo ended up steering the institute to take on pediatric HIV cases and eventually developed new retrovirals to treat the disease. “His absolute devotion to treating HIV in children and finding answers was incredible to witness,” David Poplak, a medical fellow at the NCI during Pizzo’s tenure, and one of his oldest friends, told Stanford Medicine magazine. “His leadership and commitment to the cause made a profound impact in the field.” Neurodevelopmental problems were a hallmark of the disease in children, which exhibited very differently from HIV in adults. Children who were talking would either stop advancing in their communication skills or see them rapidly decline. Mothers were witnessing their children who had learned to talk suddenly go mute. Under Pizzo’s guidance, the NCI was able to develop drug delivery techniques that reversed this
Friday, April 15, 2022 ! 11 we’re in right now — always looking forward, keeping your eyes up and staying positive.” From that point on, Stanford refused to fold. In a set that closely mirrored the second, the Cardinal drew first blood, taking an early 106 lead. The intensity almost boiled over as Rottman and Gardini exchanged words for the second time of the night, earning Rottman a yellow card. Over the course of the set, Rottman showed that he was capable of turning that fire into results, racking up six kills and a solo block in the set. Up 15-13 after a fourpoint run from BYU, junior middle blocker Adam Chang entered the game and made a huge dig to set up another Rottman kill, forcing a Cougar timeout. But BYU would not let up, putting together two more runs and narrowing the lead to 21-20. Looking to escape a fate similar to the second set, the Cardinal subbed in sophomore outside hitter Aidan Peters, who quickly recorded his first kill of the night. On set point, Stanford was bailed out by a BYU service error, and the Cardinal won 2523. “After the second set, we were obviously kind of down but we had no doubt that we were still going to come back and win that match,” Lui said. “It was echoed by the coaches and the players’ attitudes and body language.” Looking to force a fifth set, the battling Cardinal started to find points easier in the fourth. Stanford’s defense made all the difference, as multiple early blocks from Lietzke and junior middle blocker Nathaniel Gates stifled the BYU offense. Peters, who stayed on the court for the rest of the game, stepped up as well, recording four kills in the set. Stanford’s versatile attack kept the Cougars guessing, and the Cardinal took the set 25-20. Provost and Dean of Students. Students who are not fully vaccinated are still required to test twice weekly with Color. Color test pick up and drop off remains available at select locations across campus, and rapid antigen testing kits are available for pick up from Arrillaga Family Dining Commons. Masking continues to be required in classrooms, at Vaden Health Center, and on public transportation such as Marguerite buses. University guidelines strongly recommend wearing masks indoors. process. An exemplary moment of Pizzo’s career happened in 1987 when he was chief of the Pediatric Oncology Branch at the NCI. President Ronald Reagan was scheduled to visit the facility ahead of announcing his special Commission on HIV. As chief, it was Pizzo’s job to show Reagan the importance of research funding and, daringly, to get a picture of the President embracing a child with AIDS in the ward. When the moment arrived for Reagan to hold the child, he did nothing. Resolved to deliver on the vital agenda of the Institute, Pizzo picked up the child, who was named Michael. “I literally plunged this youngster into the President’s arms,” he recounted. The press snapped a photo and it appeared in The New York Times the following day. The photo belied the President’s comfortability with the issue, but it changed the narrative around AIDS in America. “I think it did more to destigmatize the disease than any other photo,” Poplak said. The shot humanized HIV with a stamp of cultural approval from the top. “If you really care about something, you need to stand up for it and take the risk,” Pizzo said. Fundamental to Pizzo’s philosophy about risk and reward, though, is the absolute disavowal of seeking credit or recognition for any of his work. “I’ve never sought recognition or a position or title. It’s about the cause, not the credit,” Pizzo said. Remarkable is how entirely Pizzo lives this ideal. “He’s such a role model,” says Mike Takagawa, a current DCI fellow. “He so perfectly exemplifies humility, integrity and strong leadership.” After his career in medicine and research, Pizzo became the Dean of Stanford Medical School, serving in this role for 12 years. Redefining longevity and purpose Even with all his medical and leadership accomplishments, it’s the way Pizzo embodies a new way of thinking about longevity that those who know him say makes him truly inspirational. Pizzo founded the DCI after contemplating his own transition out of his deanship at Stanford Medical School. “I had seen early in my career the need for all of us to proactively transition before someone says it’s time to go,” Pizzo said.
AL CHANG/isiphotos.com
Junior setter Nathan Lietzke (12, above center) serves the ball during a game earlier in the season against USC as junior outside hitter Will Rottman (15, above left) waits. Tensions were high against BYU, as Rottman earned himself a yellow card after repeatedly arguing with a BYU player. “He’s a spark plug,” Kosty said of Peters. “He’s just a great volleyball player, and his defense and his intelligence helped us.” This season, home court advantage has been a major factor for Stanford, who has an 11-2 home record and a winless record on the road. If the crowd presence was not already noticeable at Maples, it became undeniable in the fifth set. Chants followed every point, and the home fans made the blue sea of BYU fans look more like a pond. “No doubt, it definitely helped swing the energy our way,” Lui said. Entering the third hour of a marathon match, the Cardinal needed all the extra energy they could get on Saturday night. The set started off quickly, with both teams trading early runs. Down 11-
SOCIAL
Continued from page 2 will be, “anything is on the table,” Serure said. Serure said she anticipates that holding focus groups with current undergraduate students and hearing from alumni about their experiences from their time on campus will guide the task force’s findings. She also said she hopes the task force can create a sense of continu-
9 in the fifth set, which goes to only 15 points, the Cardinal dug their heels in. For three straight points, Stanford looked like a brick wall, as Gates and Lietzke came up big with blocks and Rottman added to his kill tally. With Stanford leading 1412, the fans rose to their feet, a historic comeback victory firmly within the Cardinal’s grasp. But for the first time all night, Peters faltered — his serve hit the tape and fell back on Stanford’s side, and two swings narrowly missed the sideline. With the score knotted at 16, the battle was on. Needing a two-point margin to win, neither team could string anything together. Attack error followed block; service error followed kill. For 13 straight points, the Cardinal and the Cougars traded blows. Leading 23-22 and following an unforced error from BYU, Stanford
had one more chance to put the rgame away. On Stanford’s ninth match point, Peters went back to the line, sending a jump serve just within reach of the diving Brigham Young libero. Gates and redshirt sophomore middle blocker Ethan Hill rose up, blocking a powerful Gardino swing. A Cougar miscue gave Rottman a freeball, which he sent right back at Gardino, ricocheting into the stands. In the third longest game in MPSF history, Stanford completed its largest comeback of the season, winning 3-2. Rottman led the team with 32 kills on .391 hitting, and Lietzke totaled a season-best 58 assists. The Cardinal will face No. 8 Pepperdine (14-9, 5-5 MPSF) in Malibu on Thursday, as they look to end the season on a hot streak heading into MPSF playoffs.
ity between class years so that traditions can be passed down. She cited as one such tradition the large-scale tailgates hosted by multiple student organizations before home football games when she was an undergraduate. With a student body as diverse as Stanford’s, the task force expects to hear varied feedback on what to do to improve the campus social scene. Carlos Alcantar ’25, for example, said he hopes more attention is given to Cardinal Nights, which is Stanford’s alcohol- and drug-free social programming.
“I think Cardinal Nights is an opportunity for people of all sorts of backgrounds to just come together,” Alcantar said. “Because it isn’t a party that only attracts the really social kind of people. It just brings out so many new faces that you normally wouldn’t see, and you just get a greater diversity of people.” The task force encouraged students to share their ideas — interested students can contribute through the group’s Google Form. Tammer Bagdasarian contributed reporting. Minnesota, the University of Chicago and Oxford all count themselves among a growing group of universities establishing similar programs.
Courtesy of Phil Pizzo
Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan holds a child with AIDS in the ward. Pizzo placed the child into the President’s arms when he was chief of the Pediatric Oncology Branch at the National Cancer Institute. He had an epiphany: what he had been planning applied more widely than to just his own path. As lifespan has meaningfully increased over the past century, people at many moments in their midand late-career need opportunities to rethink and renew their purpose. “This was a point to think transformatively about how individuals could change the arc of their own personal life course,” Pizzo said. DCI was founded as a place for people to pause, take stock, reflect and re-engage in learning, with the goal of revitalizing their sense of purpose. Fellows have no requirements and can take courses freely across all the schools of the University. The Institute, housed in Stanford’s Center for Longevity, also seeks to help educational institutions rethink the traditional mantra
that universities are for educating young people. Most broadly, DCI is about added impact for society. “How can this growing demographic of people over 65 become an asset to society instead of a cost?” says Katherine Connor, Executive Director of DCI and 2018 program alumna. With a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience, this demographic is vastly underutilized. So far, the program has been a success. “What’s not to love?” Connor said. “It’s an amazing chance to step back and reflect, reframe and think very intentionally about what you want to do with your next 25 to 30 years, and how you can make a difference in some way.” Other universities are also picking up on Pizzo’s example. Notre Dame, UT Austin, the University of
Turning to Judaism And now Pizzo is walking the walk — starting rabbinic school this coming September. Pizzo discovered Judaism through his wife, Peggy. As a spiritual woman, she has explored multiple religions including Catholicism, Buddhism and Quakerism. Peggy became involved with a local synagogue, Beth Am, because the community was supportive of early childhood development, an area where Peggy devoted her career. She had no intention of becoming involved in the religion. Pizzo started to come along, accompanying his wife to weekly Friday night services. “It just felt right,” Pizzo said. “From the very first time, it felt like this is where I belonged but didn’t know it before.” “I used my usual method,” Pizzo explained; by this, he means he read hundreds of books — fiction and nonfiction — to learn everything he could about the Jewish religion and the history and philosophy of the Jewish people. Phil and Peggy converted to Judaism together in 2019. Seeking the usual level of depth and understanding he has his whole life, Pizzo became interested in becoming a Rabbi nearly concurrently with his interest in converting. He saw how much the desire made sense given his interest in philosophy and theology and his lifelong passion for being a healer, guide and advisor. “I thought to myself, ‘If I could start over again, what would I do?’” Pizzo recounted. “And then I thought, ‘Well, can I do it?’” He sees rabbinic study as an opportunity to learn a discipline new to him but deeply connected to values and interests he has held his whole life. He especially hopes to develop a greater understanding of the connection between physical and spiritual healing. Pizzo envisions a new chapter of his life as a teacher and scholar, in addition to being a pastoral counselor and healer. He plans to develop learning opportunities for students to explore the intersections between science and religion and to write and publish about these topics for academic and public audiences. “I’ve been lucky in my life to never have had a job,” Pizzo said. “I’ve always had a calling.”
The Stanford Daily
12 ! Friday, April 15, 2022
MEN’S GOLF
Stanford sinks in Santa Cruz By GAVIN MCDONELL MANAGING EDITOR
No. 14 Stanford men’s golf closed its regular season play on Wednesday at the Western Intercollegiate in Santa Cruz, Calif. After three rounds at Pasatiempo Golf Club, Stanford ended in a tie for 12th out of 14 teams — the Cardinal’s lowest finish this season. “It was obviously disappointing for us to finish toward the bottom of the field,” said head coach Conrad Ray on Wednesday. In last year’s edition of the Western Intercollegiate, Stanford contended for the team title. Thenfreshman Karl Vilips played in the final group, leading the Cardinal to a second-place finish behind eventual NCAA champions Pepperdine. This time around, Pasatiempo looked completely different. The Alister MacKenzie-designed course, which is famous for its fast and undulating putting surfaces, is always a challenge. But as wind and rain swept through Santa Cruz during the opening round, the par-70
course presented a much sterner test than usual. Not a single player broke par in the first round on Monday, and the field scoring average was more than seven strokes over-par (77.39). The Cardinal golfers in the starting lineup, who teed off in the afternoon, got the worst of the draw, facing higher winds and lower temperatures than those who teed off in the morning. As a result, the Cardinal struggled to post low scores in the opening round, recording a 45-over-par 395. Sixth year Henry Shimp, who competed in the tournament as an individual, led the team with a firstround 76. The Cardinal improved on their first-round score by 12 shots on Tuesday, shooting a 33-over-par 383. Vilips bounced back from a firstround 83 to shoot 73. Shimp matched Vilips’ score for his second consecutive low round for the Cardinal. Heading into the final round, Stanford sat in 13th place at 83over-par.
BOB DREBIN/isiphotos.com
Sixth year Henry Shimp hits an iron shot at The Goodwin earlier this season. At the Western Intercollegiate this past week, he posted Stanford’s best individual finish with a tie for 17th as the team finished 12th overall. With a team title far out of reach, the Cardinal had one goal in mind for the final round: improve on their scores from the first two days of play. And that’s exactly what they did. In clearer skies and better weather, Stanford posted a sevenover-par 357 in the final round, its best score of the tournament by 26 strokes. Out of the eight Stanford golfers competing in the tournament, seven recorded their best score in the final round Wednesday. Sophomore Michael Thorbjornsen led the way with a team-best, three-under-
WOMEN’S WATER POLO
Defense shines in victory The fieldmouse is fast, but the owl see By NOAH MALTZMAN STAFF WRITER
No. 2 Stanford women’s water polo (17-2, 3-1 MPSF) swam away with a 15-5 victory against No. 13 San Jose State (11-14, 0-6 MSPF) in its final away game of the season. For the first couple minutes of gameplay, both teams struggled to find the back of the net, until graduate driver Makenzie Fischer ended the drought with a penalty shot. Fischer’s goal was followed by excellent defense from sophomore goalkeeper Maya Avital and sophomore driver Jewel Roemer. On a power play shortly after, Roemer stole the ball and assisted Fischer for the second goal of the game. The Spartans responded immediately with a goal of their own to get on the board. However, this did not deter the Cardinal, who proceeded to score three more goals in the opening period. At the end of the first period, Stanford held a 5-1 lead. After an SJSU shot clock violation early in the second period, Stanford junior driver Ryann Neushul found the back of the net. Soon after, the Spartans turned the ball over and allowed yet another Stanford score, this time by senior 2M Aria Fischer. Less than a minute later, Roemer scored for the Cardinal. Near the end of the first half, both teams entered a three-minute cold spell until junior 2M Lexie Rowell scored. The teams entered
TAKEOUT Continued from page 2
The decision was spurred by a desire to facilitate community in dining halls along with financial and environmental concerns, according to an R&DE statement. “This academic year alone, more than 1 million to-go containers have been used, and the additional cost for containers and waste hauling has been substantial.” R&DE administrators also cited worries about the food and landfill waste generated from the containers.
ERIN CHANG/isiphotos.com
Junior driver Ryann Neushel (above) led the way with four goals on perfect 4-for-4 shooting against the Spartans at San Jose State on Saturday. The Cardinal ended their final away game of the season with a win. the break with Stanford on top, 9-2. The Cardinal shot efficiently in the first half, only missing seven shot attempts. In comparison, San Jose State missed six shots in the first quarter alone and ended the half with 10 missed shots. Even beyond their shooting struggles, the Spartans could not initiate much offensively against a lockdown Stanford defense. The Cardinal forced six Spartans turnovers in the half. The third period began with a goal from senior 2MD Chloe Harbilas. Both teams then went back and forth for the majority of the quarter until Neushul dented the twine, kicking off a dominant stretch from the Cardinal defense. Stanford forced two turnovers and a bad shot to close the period, giving the Cardinal a 14-4 lead heading into the final period. The final eight minutes of play were less action-packed. With Stanford up by 10 goals, head coach John Tanner implemented a stalling strategy, involving much more passing than shooting. The Cardinal still played stout defense, allowing only
one goal the entire quarter while forcing four turnovers. When the final buzzer rang, Stanford was on top, 15-5. The Cardinal’s defense shined in this matchup. Stanford forced 12 turnovers, nine of which were steals. While the Spartans’ defense also notched double-digit turnovers, their defensive efforts could not keep up with the intensity that the Cardinal brought to the match. Neushul led Stanford’s scoring attack with four goals on a perfect 4for-4 shooting performance. Following her, Aria Fischer scored a hat trick while Mackenzie Fischer and junior 2MD Sophie Wallace notched two goals each. Avital had nine saves and a steal as well. Next up, Stanford will take on No. 14 Indiana (13-12, 1-3 MPSF) in its penultimate match of the regular season. The Cardinal will look to extend their record against the Hoosiers to 9-0 all-time. The first sprint will start on Sunday, April 10 at 10 a.m. PT at Avery Aquatics Center.
Olivia Schroeder ’22 said that, regardless of the reasoning behind the discontinuation, she believes that “[R&DE] should let us bring our own containers in so we can benefit from eating food wherever we need to.” Currently, students are barred from bringing personal containers and bags to take food from the buffets. R&DE further states that bags may be checked at their discretion when on dining hall premises. Barry Cheung ’23 echoed concerns about the decision, which he called “a travesty.” “It feels like they’re using sustainability as a pretext to limit our options,” Cheung said. The timing of the decision also
evoked criticism from some students, including Isaiah Turner ’23, who said that even if R&DE planned to eliminate the boxes, he would have preferred the change being made after the current academic year. Since R&DE made this announcement, Stanford students have been circulating a petition calling for the continuation of the COVID-era policy, either through bringing back single-use containers or sourcing sustainable alternatives. The petition had garnered over 160 signatures at the time of publication. For now, however, to-go container enthusiasts will have to eat their meals on-site.
SARAYU PAI / The Stanford Daily
As of April 11, takeout containers have been discontinued in all Stanford dinings halls. More than 1 million to-go containers have been used throughut the current academic year, sparking concerns about waste.
par 67. Junior Barclay Brown shot 71, while Vilips and senior Ethan Ng fired matching 73s. Shimp ended the tournament with the highest individual finish for the Cardinal, a tie for 17th. With his final round 69, the sixth year completed a stellar career at the Western Intercollegiate. Shimp made four starts at Pasatiempo in total and finished in the top 20 three times. Last year, he placed in a tie for sixth after a thrilling fourunder-par stretch on the final round’s back nine. While the Cardinal ultimately only beat one team in the tourna-
FAMILY
Continued from page 5 “We’ve moved basically every year since we started here,” Fleming said. “Had we known that we would have to move out of Oak Creek, we wouldn’t have applied.” Fleming originally decided to leave campus when Stanford released a campus compact about the University’s COVID protocols that all residents were required to sign and abide by. Fleming said he felt uncomfortable signing the contract given that it included his young child, who oftentimes isn’t considered a member of the Stanford community. Fleming also felt that Stanford was neglecting resident children by shutting down playgrounds and daycares. “It poisoned the culture within the Escondido Village community,” Fleming said of the compact. According to Breeland, R&DE will make decisions regarding the status of off-campus housing for the upcoming year after the lottery deadline passes on May 5, as they have in prior years. “We may choose to keep some off campus complexes while letting other ones go,” she explained. “The number of graduate students applying for housing, in conjunction with the number of spaces we need to keep offline for quarantine/isolation space, will dictate what offcampus spaces are available for next year.” Breeland wrote that students and families like Fleming’s currently living in off-campus housing will not be able to renew their contracts. Instead, they can list their current housing as their first choice and, if that housing is kept as an option, they will be placed there. Diverse housing options for graduate students, Machiraju said, are vital to creating a fulfilling living environment for all students. “Before [EVGR], with the offcampus units, you could really tailor your housing experience to whatever you actually need,” Machiraju said. “If you take that out completely, then students feel like there’s only one option, and it’s not what most people want.” Third-year Ph.D. student in biomedical informatics Checo Gonzales had a similar experience in late 2020 when he and his partner decided to move off-campus and settle in Redwood City in housing outside of what Stanford offered. Gonzales’ main frustration with housing was the limited options offered by Stanford. He explained that searching for non-Stanford housing allowed him to find cheaper housing with a yard in Redwood City, which was much more compatible with the lifestyle he and his partner wanted to live. Machiraju echoed this sentiment, pointing out that graduate students can rent a house off-campus for about the same price as grad students can rent an apartment on campus. A studio apartment in EVGR has a monthly rate of $2241 for couples without children. Students with children can get a twobedroom low-rise in Escondido Village for $2490 per month. Breeland said R&DE leases off-campus apartments at market rates and then, “thanks to a significant university subsidy, is able to offer them to students at rates comparable to those for on-campus apartments.” Machiraju said the COVID-19 pandemic prompted students to “question ‘why do we need to actually be here,’ when there are cheap-
ment, Ray has a positive outlook heading into the Pac-12 Championships. “We had our best round the final day and hopefully learned a lot of lessons on a very demanding golf course that we can carry with us as we move into the postseason,” Ray said. “I firmly believe that our best golf is ahead of us, and sometimes tough results get everyone’s attention. I expect good things at Pac12s.” The conference championships will take place on April 25-27 at Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Wash.
“To me, this is a system in peril” — SCOTT FLEMING, fourth-year Ph.D. er and better alternatives.” Gonzales also felt that there was an unequal relationship between graduate students and R&DE. Oftentimes, because of the dorm options, lack of flexibility and inability to negotiate with R&DE, he felt that he was being treated like an undergraduate student. “Working with housing made us feel like they were treating us like we were 18 years old and living in dorms,” Gonzales said. “I just turned 30 and I have a partner. The idea of living like that, it just wasn’t going to be good for our lifestyle.” Living on campus, he said, resulted in an isolating living environment. Gonzales found solace in moving to Redwood City because of the area’s prominent Latinx community, which allowed him to build more familial bonds. “I really do value the opportunity to just be around regular people, as opposed to other sorts of elite academics,” Gonzales said. “It’s nice to just be hanging out with people who are more like my family members, in terms of their life experiences, and to be able to connect and talk to them.” According to Gonzales, R&DE “has a very particular idea of the kind of student that they want to live on campus.” R&DE has specific parameters for defining a family, which affects who is eligible to live in campus housing. According to the University’s policies, a family is considered a spouse and any of the students’ children. The policy states that “Stanford does not provide housing for extended families — including students’ parents, siblings or live-in childcare staff.” This definition of family, Gonzalez pointed out, ignores some students, specifically those in the Latinx community, who tend to live in multigenerational households and need to support older generations. Breeland wrote that “R&DE is pleased to offer a variety of housing options — on and off-campus — to meet the diverse needs of our students. This includes single students, couples and students with children or other legal dependents.” Unsatisfied with the housing situation, Gonzalez has decided to move to Chicago with his spouse. He described this decision as “bittersweet” and expressed sadness about leaving his cohort behind. However, he stressed the importance of being able to build financial equity and felt he couldn’t achieve that here. For Gonzales, this decision was possible because work for his Ph.D. program is primarily done on remote servers. But for other students whose programs require inperson work, housing options are far narrower. “It is really unfortunate to feel so devalued,” Gonzales said. “There’s a certain lifestyle that we think that we deserve and it’s unfortunate that Stanford doesn’t seem interested in maintaining that.”