Karen Kurosawa – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Fri, 25 Jan 2019 05:47:31 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Karen Kurosawa – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 R&DE to terminate contract with Rangoon Ruby following labor law citation https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/23/rde-to-terminate-contract-with-rangoon-ruby-following-4-million-settlement/ https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/23/rde-to-terminate-contract-with-rangoon-ruby-following-4-million-settlement/#respond Wed, 23 Jan 2019 08:08:58 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1148564 Rangoon Ruby owner John Lee stated in an email to The Daily that the restaurant chain is in a position to “implement any remedial action” at the Stanford location.

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Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE) will terminate its contract with on-campus cafe Rangoon Ruby, which was cited for a labor law violation in June 2018 and agreed last week to pay a $4 million settlement to approximately 300 workers to cover unpaid wages and penalties. R&DE notified the vendor of the termination in early December 2018 after learning of the citation.

The workers, represented by the Asian Law Caucus (ALC), brought the case to the California Labor Commissioner’s Bureau of Field Enforcement (BoFE). While workers at the Palo Alto Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby locations will be covered in the settlement, Rangoon Ruby at Stanford was not implicated in the case, according to ALC case staff attorney Palyn Hung Mitchell. The Stanford location, located in Munger Graduate Residence Building 4, opened in January 2018, outside of the time period covered by the Labor Commissioner’s audit.

The citation detailed working conditions at the Rangoon Ruby and Burma Ruby restaurants, with reported violations including a failure to provide paid sick leave and paid overtime as required by California law. According to ALC, the restaurants called in employees to work before their scheduled shifts, without pay, in order to handle delivery orders, including many from food delivery apps.

According to R&DE spokesperson Jocelyn Breeland, R&DE and Rangoon Ruby are “working together on a transition plan” for the termination. Stanford Rangoon Ruby manager John Estandarte said he did not receive formal notification of the settlement.

“I was kind of surprised,” he said. “I saw [the settlement] in the news. Here, we don’t do overtime, and we have two hours [of] break.”

In an email to The Daily, Mitchell noted that Rangoon Ruby restaurant owners have indicated they are now in compliance with applicable labor laws. “The employer has publicly stated that it has made changes to come into compliance, which means that it wasn’t before,” she said. Rangoon Ruby owner John Lee wrote in an email to The Daily that the restaurant chain is in a position to “implement any remedial action” at the Stanford location.

“[Lee] has indicated that he now is and will continue to be in compliance with all applicable labor laws, which we applaud,” Mitchell wrote. “So to the extent that he was not in compliance at this location before, he should be now.”

“We worked very hard with the Labor Commissioner’s office to resolve this matter on positive terms,” Lee wrote in his email. “We support the Labor Commissioner’s efforts to see that all restaurant workers are paid appropriately.”

While a news release from the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) states that the citation was for wage theft, Lee noted that the settlement was reached without any admission of liability.

“Many of the communications refer to ‘wage theft,’” he wrote, “but the claims were disputed.”

Mitchell said the “settlement doesn’t overturn those citations,” noting that 2018 citations included violations of minimum wage and overtime laws.

In 2014, California Labor Commissioner Julie Su launched Wage Theft is a Crime, a multilingual public awareness campaign that aims to inform workers about wage theft and how to report labor violations. Employees with work-related questions or complaints may contact DIR’s Call Center in English or Spanish at 844-LABOR-DIR (844-522-6734).

 

This article has been updated to include additional comment regarding the 2018 citation.

In a previous version of this article, The Daily incorrectly stated that Rangoon Ruby at Stanford opened in Jan. 2017. In fact, Rangoon Ruby at Stanford opened in Jan. 2018. The Daily regrets this error. 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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ResX concludes work, proposals under review by Provost https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/14/resx-concludes-work-proposals-under-review-by-provost/ https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/14/resx-concludes-work-proposals-under-review-by-provost/#respond Mon, 14 Jan 2019 08:29:34 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1148158 On Dec. 21, the ResX task force submitted to Provost Persis Drell its recommendations on plans to shape Stanford’s residential living system.

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On Dec. 21, the ResX task force submitted to Provost Persis Drell its recommendations on plans to shape Stanford’s residential living system. As the effort is part of the university’s Long-Range Planning process, no significant changes will be made to the system for 10 to 15 years.

The contents of the recommendations, according to Brubaker-Cole, will not be disclosed during its pending approval by the Provost. The final plan will be presented to the Board of Trustees by April.

The ResX task force, comprised of faculty, students, alumni and senior administrators, conducted a series of town halls, visits to other campuses and survey data. According to Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole and Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education Harry Elam — theResX co-chairs — the task force met with more than 500 people consisting of students, alumni, resident assistants, resident fellows, ethnic theme associates (ETAs) and Associated Students of Stanford University members, in addition to collecting survey data from 600 members of the Stanford community.

“I think this is unusual for a process like this, but to our knowledge, we met with every single group that requested to meet with us,” Brubaker-Cole said. “It’s possible there was an email loss somewhere, but we don’t think so — we think we met with every single group.”

Included in these meetings were three with ETAs, whose demands included the expansion of ethnic theme dorms and extended increase of current ETA pay. Okada ETA Huanvy Phan ’19, however, expressed concerns about the effectiveness of the ETAs’ meetings with ResX.

“[ResX] would frequently change meeting times and locations very last-minute, give us less than 24 hours notice for meetings and would also show up late for meetings, thus cutting our time together short,” Phan said. “We would often have to move at a very fast pace through our meetings and therefore were not able to spend as much time as we wanted on certain discussion topics.”

Phan added that ETAs frequently “had to explain to [ResX] why students of color felt so disconnected from other dorm communities.”

“Our discussions with ResX showed how truly disconnected University administration is from the lived experiences of students and dorm life, especially in understanding how crucial Ethnic Theme Dorms are in building community and fostering a sense of belonging on this campus,” Phan said. “That being said, we are thankful for the opportunities we had to speak with the task force and make our demands heard.”

As noted in an update emailed to students on Nov. 29, the task force felt the best way to address its charge was to consult with students, faculty, staff and alumni.

“The task force appreciated that ETAs set aside time to participate in these discussions, and it benefited greatly from the ETAs’ perspectives,” Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs Communications Director Pat Lopes Harris wrote in an email to The Daily.

According to Brubaker-Cole and Elam, the proposal was formulated in accordance with three principles: belonging and community, student health and well-being and intellectual and personal growth.

“We wanted to define a set of principles that would guide further decisions — large-scale and micro — in the residential system,” Brubaker-Cole said.

According to Elam, ResX focused on four aspects of the residential system: housing assignment and process, “neighborhoods,” residential staffing and freshman residential configurations.

“These are things we wanted to see the principles work in relationship to,” Elam said.

The information from the meetings and surveys ultimately shaped the recommendations that are currently under review by Provost Drell, who will determine what proposals will be approved.

If the proposals are approved, the task force will list guidelines for the plan’s implementation.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Marguerite begins operations through new service provider https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/10/marguerite-begins-operations-through-new-service-provider/ https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/10/marguerite-begins-operations-through-new-service-provider/#respond Thu, 10 Jan 2019 08:00:04 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1148070 On Jan. 1, the Marguerite began operations under First Transit, which replaced TransDev as the shuttle system’s transportation service provider.

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On Jan. 1, the Marguerite began operations under First Transit, which replaced TransDev as the shuttle system’s transportation service provider. While drivers will wear new uniforms and some of the current vehicles will be replaced, there will not be changes to routes or schedules.

First Transit was selected by a committee of Parking & Transportation Services (P&TS) staff and senior management from Stanford Land, Building & Real Estate. The new provider’s contract is valid for five years, which P&TS Marketing and Communications Specialist Olivia Staciwa says is the standard length for these type of agreements.

“Stanford uses a service provider in order to leverage a much larger operator’s expertise in transit operations,” Staciwa said. “This allows our office to provide better transit operations to the Stanford community.”

First Transit was selected from a pool of five providers via a competitive bid process, which Staciwa said “helps to ensure [P&TS] continue[s] to meet the needs of the growing Stanford community and provides the best Marguerite service possible.”

According to Staciwa, the factors assessed in P&TS’s selection process included costs, proposal quality and the scope of services provided by each bidder.

“This is part of normal business operations to ensure that our office is meeting the transportation needs of the Stanford community,” Staciwa said.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

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Blend @ Annette’s Café to open in new science quad https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/09/blend-annettes-cafe-to-open-in-new-science-quad/ https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/09/blend-annettes-cafe-to-open-in-new-science-quad/#respond Wed, 09 Jan 2019 20:43:07 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1148044 The café will be located between the Sapp Center for Science Teaching and Learning (STLC) and the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Biology Research Building.

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Blend @ Annette’s Café will open in winter quarter as part of the University’s “new science quad,” the School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) announced on Wednesday.

The café, operated by siblings and local business owners Marc Lao and Jeeryn Dang, will be located between the Sapp Center for Science Teaching and Learning (STLC) and the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Biology Research Building. Breakfast, lunch and dinner will be served weekdays from 8 a.m. until 9 p.m.

The menu features Asian-style dishes, including rice bowls and noodles. Dang and Lao, who have Chinese and Filipino heritage, drew inspiration for Blend from the diversity of Asian food they cooked growing up, as well as from Sunnyvale’s Magic Wok, a family-owned and operated restaurant established by their parents in 1989.

“Family is at the cornerstone of our values,” Dang wrote in an email to The Daily. “Our cuisine is reflective of foods that we have connections to and have stories about.”

Dang added that a priority of Blend @ Annette’s Café would be to convey its family-oriented environment and service.

“There is a strong sense of support in family-owned businesses that extends to the care and concern for employees and the community as a whole,” Dang said. “We believe these values are beneficial to have in a community.”

According to Dang,  H&S Assistant Director of Facilities and Capital Planning Shannon Silva recommended that Dang and Lao participate in the selection process after dining at Magic Wok.

The selection process included a taste test conducted by a group of more than 100 students, staff and faculty in August. During the taste test, three vendors presented samples and menus.

Participants of the taste test emphasized the variety in Blend’s menu, which includes a traditional Filipino breakfast of garlic rice and fried egg, soups and bowls made to order with ingredients such as tofu, mixed greens and kimchi.

Blend @ Annette’s Cafe will also offer gluten-free and vegetarian items, as well as pastries and coffee.

Additionally, the availability of affordable evening dining on campus was an important factor in the selection process, according to Silva. Blend @ Annette’s Cafe will not accept meal plan dollars, however.

“We are particularly excited to become a part of the dynamic and diverse Stanford community where we will be surrounded by people who are continuously learning and growing,” Dang wrote.  

This article has been updated to reflect the change in the Café’s projected opening from late Jan. to winter quarter.

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Citing high-risk drinking on campus, University expands 5-SURE and Cardinal Nights; launches Alcohol Solutions Group https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/08/citing-high-risk-drinking-on-campus-university-expands-5-sure-and-cardinal-nights-launches-alcohol-solutions-group/ https://stanforddaily.com/2019/01/08/citing-high-risk-drinking-on-campus-university-expands-5-sure-and-cardinal-nights-launches-alcohol-solutions-group/#respond Tue, 08 Jan 2019 08:02:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1147993 The email, calling for engagement by the Stanford community, also announced plans to launch various new initiatives to address factors related to high-risk drinking.

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On Monday, Provost Persis Drell and Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole announced in an email that the University will expand 5-SURE and Cardinal Nights in an effort to better address alcohol use concerns in an academic environment. The email, calling for engagement by the Stanford community, also announced plans to launch various new initiatives to address factors related to high-risk drinking.

Ongoing concerns

Drell and Brubaker-Cole wrote that while they are unaware of any alcohol-related undergraduate deaths in the last 20 years, they remain “deeply concerned” in light of data reflecting a substantial share of Stanford undergraduates consuming alcohol at dangerously high rates.

The email cited regular alcohol transports among Stanford undergraduates, as well as “an alarming number of students” found unconscious outdoors in fall quarter.

“We are struck by the prevalence of binge drinking, the norms it creates, and the consequences,” Drell and Brubaker-Cole wrote.

They added that brain injury linked to binge drinking is especially concerning in an educational environment.

“There is … a growing body of evidence to suggest that binge drinking in particular can cause persistent brain injury at the exact time in life when there is the absolute most to gain (or lose) in terms of education and growth,” they wrote. “We cannot turn away from this, given we are here to provide the very best environment for your education.”

Changes in University approach

As evidence of Stanford’s altered approach on alcohol safety, Drell and Brubaker-Cole listed five specific initiatives.

According to the email, an expansion of the 5-SURE campus escort service and Cardinal Nights non-alcoholic social programming are initiatives Stanford is pursuing to “re-engage campus in a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to lessen high-risk drinking.” The two programs — expanded this year after a “generous” one-time donation — have increased in popularity during the 2017-2018 academic year, with 22,000 people attending Cardinal Nights and 10,500 passengers using 5-SURE.

In winter quarter, the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs will hear policy recommendations from the Stanford Law School Policy Lab on Alcohol Use Among Stanford Undergraduates, a group of undergraduates and law students currently analyzing University policies.

In addition, Stanford is in the process of becoming a JED Campus; the nonprofit Jed Foundation partners with high schools and colleges to strengthen their mental health, substance abuse and suicide prevention programs and systems.

“Becoming a JED Campus … will help us strengthen a number of campus-wide factors that together support student mental health and well-being,” Drell and Brubaker-Cole wrote.

Other JED Campuses include five of the eight Ivy League Schools and 19 California institutions, including UC Davis and Santa Clara University.

The University is planning to publish a report in winter quarter with data on student alcohol consumption. In addition, residential student staff will receive training, resources and support, with an increased emphasis on alcohol response and intervention.

According to the email, the University will launch an Alcohol Solutions Group in winter quarter. Consisting of students, faculty and staff, the group will collaborate with the Law School Policy Lab to consider steps forward in light of the data on high-risk drinking and brain development. More information on this initiative and the details of student involvement are pending.

“The group will consider steps we should take in light of what we are learning about high-risk drinking here, safety risks such as blackouts and injuries, and lasting impacts on brain development,” Monday’s email read.

In response to student voices advocating for a more active campus social scene, Drell and Brubaker-Cole announced plans to create a student group to formulate potential improvements in the Stanford social scene.

“We know that no single initiative or policy will address the myriad factors to consider,” Drell and Brubaker-Cole wrote. “… we are preparing to re-engage campus in a thoughtful and comprehensive approach to lessen high-risk drinking.”

Monday’s email marks the most recent of a series of changes to the University’s approach to alcohol safety. In 2016, the University implemented an updated alcohol policy including a restriction on high-volume containers of distilled liquor.

In Jan. 2018, Drell and Brubaker-Cole wrote to undergraduates expressing their concerns regarding alcohol consumption on campus and calling for collaboration from the undergraduate end to shift the direction of Stanford’s alcohol culture in a safer direction.

And in Sept. 2018, Residential Education (ResEd) redefined what constitutes “high-risk behavior” under its substance use policies. Student staff members expressed concern over the “high-risk” label, which covered behaviors ranging in severity from beer pong and smoking marijuana to taking shots and blacking out.

A leaked memo in Oct. 2018 revealed details on the level of communication between student staff and resident fellows regarding residents’ high-risk behavior.

The Daily has reached out to University officials for comment.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Kairos, Phi Psi flooded due to pipe breakage https://stanforddaily.com/2018/12/09/kairos-phi-psi-flooded-due-to-pipe-breakage/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/12/09/kairos-phi-psi-flooded-due-to-pipe-breakage/#respond Mon, 10 Dec 2018 05:13:53 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1147787 On Sunday evening, a water main break led to roadway flooding on Santa Ynez Street between Mayfield and Costanzo, causing flooding at Kairos and Phi Kappa Psi.

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On Sunday evening, a water main break led to roadway flooding and closures on Santa Ynez Street between Mayfield and Costanzo, causing flooding at Kairos and Phi Kappa Psi.

According to Stanford University Department of Public Safety spokesperson Bill Larson, efforts are mainly focused on preventing flooding of residences.

“[The fire department] has reduced how much water is flowing,” Larson said at 8 p.m. on Sunday. “Everyone is out there right now — they’re now trying to get the water shut off to prevent any flooding of residences.”

An AlertSU notification was sent out at about the same time.

According to Kairos resident Brian Morris ’20, the breakage led to a lack of running water in the house, which affected residents’ ability to complete house jobs.

“I can’t use the bathroom, which is pretty inconvenient,” Morris said. “I was on bathroom clean, but I’m not sure if that’s still going to happen.”

Phi Kappa Psi and Grove also experienced a halt in access to running water.

“Our hearts go out to our fraternity brothers,” Morris added.

According to an email from Interim Associate Vice Provost and Dean of Residential Education (ResEd) Koren Bakkegard to Kairos staff, potential damages to residents’ property or affected houses will be addressed.

“Row staff will follow up with you in the morning to assess other needs for the community,” the email read. “From the sound of it at this time, facilities staff are responding to the situation and while there is a lot of activity, no residents are displaced from their rooms, and food service should not be impacted.”

Santa Ynez Street and Constanzo Road were reopened at 11:05 p.m., according to an AlertSU update.

This article was updated to include that Phi Kappa Psi and Grove did not have running water and to include the road reopening.

This report will be updated as more details come to light.

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Three possible replacement names announced for Serra dorm https://stanforddaily.com/2018/12/05/three-possible-replacement-names-announced-for-serra-dorm/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/12/05/three-possible-replacement-names-announced-for-serra-dorm/#respond Thu, 06 Dec 2018 01:42:25 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1147719 The University has announced three possible replacement names for the Serra dorm in Stern Hall: Maya Angelou, Pat Parker and Sally Ride ’78.

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The University has announced three possible replacement names for the Serra dorm in Stern Hall: Maya Angelou, Pat Parker and Sally Ride ’78, according to an email sent on Tuesday by Assistant Dean of Residential Education (ResEd) Diontrey Thomas.

The three finalist names received the most votes out of a group of 11 names that were recently presented and voted on by Serra residents. It remains unclear which names received the most votes and how many votes were submitted for each name.

All three proposed names are of deceased American women.

Angelou was an artist and civil rights activist who produced plays, movies and television programs across a span of more than 50 years, before her death in 2014. Parker was a lesbian poet and activist who served as executive director of the Oakland Feminist Women’s Health Center from 1978 to 1988. She died shortly afterward, in 1989. Ride was an astronaut who became the first woman in space in 1983. She died in 2012.

The email — sent to student leaders, including members of the Native American Cultural Center, Muwekma, El Centro student staff and the Catholic Community at Stanford — asks for feedback on the proposed names.

The Daily has reached out to the SAIO co-chairs for comment.

In a separate email to The Daily, Student Affairs spokesperson Pat Lopes Harris wrote that ResEd plans to submit information on the names to Vice Provost of Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole by the end of the month, following any feedback received from students. Brubaker-Cole will then share the information with University President Marc Tessier-Lavigne and Provost Persis Drell.

“ResEd is engaged in an open and collaborative process,” wrote Harris, who also shared the original announcement email with The Daily.

The University decision to rename the Serra dorm, among other Serra-named landmarks, was released in September after the committee, charged with applying a set of previously developed renaming principles to all features named Serra on campus, concluded development of its recommendations to the Board of Trustees. In accordance with these recommendations, the Trustees decided to rename the dorm, along with the Serra House — the academic building within the Clayman Institute — and pursue the renaming of Serra Mall as Jane Stanford Way.

This report will be updated as more details and perspectives come to light.

 

Contact Holden Foreman at hs4man21 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

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Provost releases second annual Title IX report, qualified by underreporting https://stanforddaily.com/2018/12/04/university-releases-2017-2018-title-ix-report/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/12/04/university-releases-2017-2018-title-ix-report/#respond Tue, 04 Dec 2018 22:02:11 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1147638 The 24-page report, released Tuesday morning, is part of the University’s effort to track the success of its pilot Title IX process, effective since 2016.

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The 2017-2018 Title IX/Sexual Harassment report — the second annual report of its kind — details statistics on the 221 incidents of sexual misconduct, stalking and relationship violence reported in the 2017-2018 academic year and the 57 investigations into those incidents without revealing details of the individual cases.

The 24-page report, released Tuesday morning, is part of the University’s effort to track the success of its pilot Title IX process, effective since 2016. The pilot process uses the “preponderance of evidence standard” when evaluating responsibility and requires a unanimous vote from a three-person panel to find an accused individual guilty.

“Publishing an annual report is one of the efforts that we are making as a community to hold ourselves accountable on this issue,” wrote Provost Persis Drell in a letter to the Stanford community.

The 221 instances of reported misconduct from 2017-18 mark a jump from the 190 incidents reported in 2016-17. The 2017-2018 report also includes five misconduct cases that occurred in the previous academic year but whose investigations were concluded this year.  Additionally, the report includes statistics on interventions, including details on the gender and University affiliations of people who were involved in interventions.

Similarly to 2016-17, roughly one-third of 2017-18 misconduct cases centered on sexual harassment in a workplace or academic setting. In addition, there were 26 instances of non-consensual intercourse, a slight decrease from the 29 such incidents reported in 2016-17.

Of the 57 investigations carried out by the Title IX office, in only one case did an actual hearing occur. Three-quarters of the others were resolved through an administrative process.

The vast majority of cases included a female complainant and male respondent; however, in cases of relationship violence, the proportion was less disparate.

In her letter to students, Drell emphasized the document’s limitations, especially due to underreporting.

“We can assume that the actual numbers of incidents of prohibited sexual conduct at Stanford are probably greater than are being reported to us,” she wrote. “There are many reasons for this, such as fear of not being believed or of retaliation.”

However, Stanford Law Professor and Title IX activist Michelle Dauber expressed that underreporting may result from what she perceives as a lack of accountability in the Title IX process.

“Compared to last year there were fewer hearings and fewer consequences,” she wrote in an email to The Daily. “Faculty members were given “warnings.” Students were given “no contact” directives and counseling,” she wrote in an email to The Daily. “No one was expelled, only one student was even suspended. There is a complete lack of accountability, so it is no wonder survivors are deciding not to go to a hearing.”

The Daily reached out to Senior Associate Vice Provost of Institutional Equity & Access Lauren Schoenthaler for comment on this perceived lack of accountability.

Drell’s community letter, issued in tandem with the report itself, highlighted the presence of intoxicants in incidents of misconduct; about 65 percent of nonconsensual encounters involved alcohol, drugs or both.

The Provost also used data from the report to consider whether some groups are more apt to be involved in Title IX proceedings.

Contrary to the common perception that male varsity athletes are more likely to be respondents than other categories of students — an assumption perpetuated nationwide by Stanford swimmer Brock Turner, who assaulted a woman behind a dumpster at a Kappa Alpha party — Drell reported that “the percentage of reports involving male athletes was slightly lower than the overall population of varsity male athletes on campus.”

Drell said that the data was not conclusive as to whether members of fraternities and sororities were more likely to be involved in Title IX proceedings.

Title IX-adjacent issues have pervaded the Stanford community and surrounding area over the past year, particularly in the wake of the #MeToo movement. The 2017-18 report emerges amidst Stanford’s recent involvements in cases of sexual misconduct that have received nationwide attention,  including Stanford affiliate Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s accusation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, and the recall of Judge Aaron Persky ’84 M.A. ’85, who raised sharp criticism for handing down a lenient sentence to Turner after he was convicted of  three felony counts of sexual assault.

Last week, The Daily reported on claims of discrepancies between statements and practices in Stanford’s Title IX process, and limits of the Title IX office in some categories of cases, such as emotional abuse.

Drell’s report also follows reports from several women on campus that a man has stalked and harassed them in various locations on campus; one woman filed a report regarding the alleged stalker to the police on Sunday evening.  

“There has been a much-needed national spotlight on sexual violence and sexual harassment,” Drell said.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Julia Ingram at jmingram ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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After reviewing wrestlers’ claims of inappropriate locker room staring, Stanford finds lecturer Hung Le not responsible for violating sexual harassment policies https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/30/university-concludes-evidence-insufficient-to-prove-violation-of-sexual-harassment-policies-in-allegations-made-by-former-wrestlers/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/30/university-concludes-evidence-insufficient-to-prove-violation-of-sexual-harassment-policies-in-allegations-made-by-former-wrestlers/#respond Fri, 30 Nov 2018 22:04:40 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1147517 The University has dismissed allegations made by seven former Stanford wrestlers against lecturer Hung Le for an ongoing practice of inappropriately staring at them while they were showering naked in a locker room.

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Following the conclusion of a Title IX investigation that has been ongoing since the summer, the University has dismissed allegations made by seven former Stanford wrestlers against an individual — who the Mercury News has identified as lecturer Hung Le — for an ongoing practice of inappropriately staring at them while they showered in a locker room.

“There is not sufficient evidence that a violation of Stanford’s sexual harassment policy occurred,” the University wrote in a statement published on Nov. 30 in Stanford News.

The University definition of sexual harassment includes “visual, verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature,” when, among other situational factors, it could interfere with “an individual’s academic or work performance,” or create “an intimidating or hostile academic, work or student living environment.”

The Stanford News statement reports that the Title IX Office interviewed at least 30 witnesses, including former and current wrestlers and coaches, during its investigation. The misconduct is alleged to have taken place between 2002 and 2010.

“Many of the wrestlers interviewed were not discomforted by the individual’s conduct, some were, and others reflected that any discomfort they experienced was a product of their own relative immaturity at the time,” the statement read. “The individual involved has consistently denied any sexual intent.”

According to the statement, the locker room used by the wrestling team at the time was open to Stanford community members who used the University’s recreational facilities. In 2014, the team moved to a student-athlete only locker room, which they use today.

The statement clarified that the standard of proof used in the investigation was a preponderance of evidence, meaning that evidence must demonstrate “it is more likely than not that the alleged conduct occurred.”

“Without discounting the experiences of the individuals, the question was whether the conflicting evidence established by a preponderance of the evidence that the players were subjected to conduct of a sexual nature,” wrote Lauren Schoenthaler, Senior Associate Vice Provost of Institutional Equity & Access, in an email to The Daily. “We can share that the investigation found that much of the evidence in this case was disputed.”

To the lack of evidence, the University wrote that no allegations of inappropriate physical conduct were made, and that they had not received concerns about “the individual” being accused or any related issues from families affiliated with the Cardinal Wrestling Club, to which Le was formerly affiliated.

The University wrote they would reopen an investigation “if warranted” as additional information became available, encouraging those with knowledge of the situation to report to the Title IX office.

Schoenthaler emphasized that, despite insufficient evidence to find the accused individual of a policy violation, he was “given advisement.”

“We want people to come forward when there is a concern and we will often take steps to alleviate those concerns even when … the conduct does not reach the level of a policy violation,” Schoenthaler said.

“We acknowledge and regret the discomfort that individual student-athletes may have felt as a result of the shower facilities that were available at the time,” the statement read. “The outcome of the investigation is not intended to communicate any invalidation of the feelings or perceptions of those wrestlers who reported concerns. Rather, the outcome reflects the determination that the evidence gathered does not establish a policy violation.”

This report has been updated to include comment from Senior Associate Vice Provost of Institutional Equity & Access Lauren Schoenthaler.

This report will be updated as more details and perspectives come to light.

 

Contact Julia Ingram at jmingram ‘at’ stanford.edu and Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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University moves toward completion of Title IX investigation into former wrestlers’ accusations of non-physical misconduct by Stanford lecturer https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/29/university-moves-toward-completion-of-title-ix-investigation-into-former-wrestlers-accusations-of-non-physical-misconduct-by-stanford-lecturer/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/29/university-moves-toward-completion-of-title-ix-investigation-into-former-wrestlers-accusations-of-non-physical-misconduct-by-stanford-lecturer/#respond Fri, 30 Nov 2018 07:26:53 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1147501 Allegations made by seven former Stanford wrestlers that a University lecturer sexually harassed them between 2002 and 2010 are under investigation by the University’s Title IX office.

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Allegations made by seven former Stanford wrestlers that a University lecturer sexually harassed them between 2002 and 2010 are under investigation by the University’s Title IX office.

The investigation, launched this summer, is “nearing completion,” according to University spokesperson EJ Miranda. The Mercury News reported Thursday afternoon that the investigation could be wrapped up as early as Friday.

The wrestlers have come forward against Hung Le Ph.D. ’95, who works in Stanford’s computational and mathematical engineering department. They claim that the lecturer and longtime supporter of the team would stare at them while they were naked in the public locker room and sometimes touch himself, according to the Mercury News.

Le denies all allegations, saying that the accusations were rooted in a misunderstanding. He says that it was merely coincidental that he would shower in the locker room around the same time as the wrestlers.

“I never had any improper behavior,” Le told the Mercury News.

Miranda emphasized that the alleged misconduct was non-physical.

“There have been no allegations, at any time, of inappropriate physical contact with students or others in this matter,” he wrote. “Our commitment is to conduct such investigations thoroughly, fairly and impartially.”

Title IX Coordinator Jill Thomas declined to comment on the matter as of Thursday evening.

The allegations, according to the Mercury News, were made in relation to Le’s involvement with the Cardinal Wrestling Club, a youth program team associated with Stanford’s wrestling team. Le resigned from his position before charges were leveled.

Le had been associated with the wrestling team for 25 years, and was listed as a “Friend of Stanford Wrestling” in media guides. He frequently made donations, hosted dinners and served on the youth team’s board to handle its finances. He did not respond to The Daily’s request for comment Thursday night.

The wrestlers claim, according to the Mercury News, that Le often waited for the athletes to come to the showers after practice, even when training sessions ran late or ended early. The wrestlers also contested that the coaches did nothing to stop Le’s behavior.

“I felt pretty exposed and pretty unprotected by the folks who were supposed to be [guarding athletes’ safety],” said former wrestler Josh Brown ’06 in an interview with the Mercury News. “Any given day where that happened would be the worst day.”

Former wrestler Drew Martinez ’07 told the Mercury News that the coaches at the time, Steve Buddie ’91 and assistant Jay Jackson ’95, knew about Le’s behavior, but the coaches said they were unaware of the allegations.

“It breaks my heart that this comes up now and I am hearing of this,” Buddie, who led Stanford’s wrestling team from 2001 to 2005, told the Mercury News. “I had zero reported to me or brought to my attention.”

Contested claims

Ray Blake ’05, a teammate at the time and a current Associate Head Coach, told the Mercury News that to his knowledge, “nothing inappropriate ever happened, and if it had, I would have reported it immediately.”

Wrestlers told the Mercury News they did not come forward at the time because they were either embarrassed or did not take Le’s behavior seriously.

Although Le claims that the wrestlers never confronted him about being uncomfortable with his behavior, some wrestlers said they witnessed teammates confront him, according to the Mercury News.

Jay Jackson ’95 — assistant coach at the time — referred The Daily to the current coaches for comment, but added that, “There’s a backstory where basically disgruntled former wrestlers [are] trying to create a story that didn’t happen.”

Jackson declined to elaborate further on his refutations of the wrestlers’ claims. The Daily has contacted the wrestling team’s Sports Information Director Regina Verlengiere to receive permission to contact the current coaches.

Matt Gentry ’04, a two-time Canadian Olympian and 2004 NCAA champion for Stanford, also contested the severity of the allegations, although he confirmed that “excessive staring in the shower” did occur.

“To my knowledge, nobody actually felt threatened, harassed or changed their locker room behavior in any way (i.e. didn’t shower),” he wrote in an email to The Daily. “To my knowledge, nobody took this issue to our coaches, and I am confident that if they did, the coaching staff would have taken appropriate action.”

This quarter, Le was lecturing in courses including gateway vector calculus course CME 100, a class hundreds of students take at the outset of their engineering programs. His students were notified on Oct. 23 that he “had to take a leave of absence for personal and family reasons.”

No further details were officially released to Le’s students about the matter. In an official online academic catalog, Le is still listed as this spring’s principal instructor for CME 100.

“Because we were told Hung Le had a family emergency, I hoped that everything was going okay with him,” said Victoria Yuan ’20, a student in Le’s CME 102 class this quarter. “I was really shocked [to hear the allegations].”

According to Miranda, the University launched a separate Title IX investigation in 2010 in response to similar allegations, but concluded that “no violation of the university’s sexual harassment policy had occurred.” Le was told to avoid showers and individual encounters, according to the Mercury News.

University investigations in response to 2010 allegations found no violation of the university’s sexual harassment policy, according to Miranda. The current investigation was opened this summer after the University received further allegations of misconduct during the same 2002-2010 time period.

Le said the previous investigation was informal and that he was never interviewed by the Sexual Harassment Policy Office for it. The wrestlers who came forward with these most recent allegations said they were unaware of the previous investigation, the Mercury News reported.

This time, the Title IX office, which came into fruition in 2014, is conducting the investigation.

In light of the current investigation, the current head coach, Jason Borrelli, said he believed Le did not pose a threat and allowed wrestlers to attend holiday dinners which Le has hosted since 2010. Associate Head Coach Ray Blake, who attended the University at the times around when the alleged misconduct occurred, told the Mercury News that he does not recall anything inappropriate occurring.

But for some wrestlers, the effects of Le’s alleged conduct have had a lasting impact.

“Even to this day I am wary in locker rooms, at least keeping my head on a swivel,” Martinez told the Mercury News.

This article has been corrected to reflect that allegations made against Le in relation to his affiliation with the Cardinal Wrestling Club were made this summer, rather than during the previous investigation. It has also been corrected to state that the Title IX office was created in 2014, not 2011. The Daily regrets these errors. 

Contact Gillian Brassil at gbrassil ‘at’ stanford.edu, Julia Ingram at jmingram ‘at’ stanford.edu and Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Big Game rescheduled due to “very unhealthy” atmospheric smoke levels https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/16/big-game-rescheduled-due-to-very-unhealthy-atmospheric-smoke-levels/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/16/big-game-rescheduled-due-to-very-unhealthy-atmospheric-smoke-levels/#respond Fri, 16 Nov 2018 22:53:13 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1147077 On Nov. 16, the Big Game was postponed to Dec. 1 at 12:00 p.m. due to dangerous smoke levels from Camp Fire.

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On Nov. 16, Cal Athletics Director Jim Knowlton announced that the annual Big Game between Stanford and University of California Berkeley would be postponed to Dec. 1 at 12 p.m. due to dangerous smoke levels from Camp Fire. The game was originally scheduled to occur on Nov. 17 at 4:30 p.m. at Berkeley. The rescheduled game will still take place at California Memorial Stadium.

The decision, made in consultation with the Pac-12 Conference, was based on advice from medical and environmental experts.

“Once we realized that air quality would likely not return to acceptable levels, we made the decision to postpone for the health and safety of our student-athletes, coaches, gameday staff, students, band and spirit groups, alumni and fans,” Knowlton wrote in a statement explaining the decision.  

Shortly thereafter, Stanford Athletics Director Bernard Muir recognized those affected by the wildfires in an additional statement.

The entire Stanford Athletics community recognizes this has been an extremely challenging time for so many people who have been affected by the wildfires, both in the Bay Area and throughout the state,” he wrote. “We are thankful to the University of California for collaborating with us on the logistical challenges.”

The Stanford football team was told to “stay inside and avoid strenuous activity,” according to Thomas Booker ’22, a defensive end for the Stanford Cardinal.

The rescheduling followed both Stanford and Berkeley’s decisions to cancel classes on Nov. 16 due to high air quality index (AQI) levels considered “very unhealthy” even for healthy individuals. San Jose State University, San Francisco State University and Santa Clara University cancelled their classes that day as well.  

Stanford’s decision to cancel classes immediately followed the circulation of a petition, signed by 500 students, calling for increased access to respiratory masks for students and/or the cancellation of classes on Nov. 16.

Students also supported the decision to postpone Big Game.

“I’m really glad that they made the decision to postpone the game,” said Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) President Shanta Katipamula ’19.  “I think it rightly puts everyone’s health and safety first, and I’m glad they reached that decision.”

Charmayne Floyd ’19, chairwoman of the Stanford Axe Committee, expressed agreement with the decision as well.

“Safety has to be the number-one concern both for the football players and for the fans,” she said. “So while we’re disappointed we have to wait two more weeks to beat Cal, we’re happy that the universities are taking safety into concern.”

The Big Game’s postponement came alongside several other Stanford Athletics schedule changes. The NCAA women’s soccer tournament, originally slated to host second round matches at Stanford on the night of Nov. 16, moved the event from Cagan Stadium to the Salinas Sports Complex in Salinas, California. Meanwhile, men’s and women’s basketball weekend matches were cancelled outright, with no rescheduling planned. The men were scheduled to take on the Wofford Terriers on Nov. 16, and the women were slated to host Ohio State on Nov. 18.

Big Game traditions were impacted as well. The Axe Committee camps out in White Plaza every year during the week leading up to the Big Game and planned to do so for 121 hours this year to mark the 121st Big Game. The postponement, however, forced them to reschedule. According to Floyd, the camping was set to continue, but not necessarily for the full 121 hours.

“It’s likely going to be 28, because the announcement came 28 hours before Big Game was supposed to start,” she said.

Floyd also said that the Nov. 16 performance of Gaieties and the subsequent rally held by the band and the Axe Committee would continue as planned.

The only other time the Big Game has been postponed was after the assassination of President Kennedy in 1963. It has been cancelled outright on two occasions, during World War I and World War II.

 

Contact Bobby Pragada at bpragada ‘at’ stanford.edu, Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Michael Espinosa at mesp2021 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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ETAs call for pay equity https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/15/etas-call-for-pay-equity/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/15/etas-call-for-pay-equity/#respond Thu, 15 Nov 2018 13:32:30 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1146941 A group of Ethnic Theme Associates (ETA) from Casa Zapata, Okada and Ujamaa are petitioning for higher wages that match the compensation received by Resident Assistants (RA).

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A group of Ethnic Theme Associates (ETA) from Casa Zapata, Okada and Ujamaa are petitioning for higher wages that match the compensation received by Resident Assistants (RA). The petition has received 527 signatures as of Wednesday evening.

The role of ETAs includes advancing their dorm themes and supporting diversity education, according to Residential Education (ResEd). ETAs are responsible for theme programming, bringing speakers to campus and taking care of residents’ emotional needs.

Although ResEd pays ETAs $4,200 per year, it pays $11,822.25 per year to RAs, who “are expected to: attend and participate in regular house team meetings; work collaboratively as an entire team on community development and problem solving; and practice interpersonal skills associated with conducting difficult but tactful conversations, as well as giving and receiving feedback,” according to a ResEd webpage.

However, current and former ETAs have claimed that their work extends far beyond what is expected from them on paper.

“ETAs play nearly every role that an RA plays,” said Okada ETA Edwin Carlos ’20. “Residents do not distinguish which staff member they go to for emotional support, and in addition to having conversation relating to race and ethnicity and politics, ETAs are expected to be that [source of] support for residents.”

Former Okada ETA Ian Macato ’19, who is now a Residential Computer Consultant (RCC) in Trancos, echoed Carlos’s sentiment.

“[As ETAs], we’re doing the best for the dorm holistically, and often times we’ll have to take up work collaborating with other staff members,” he said. “We wanted to ensure that if we are to fulfill these roles, such as the logistical work of planning events and taking on other roles not in our job description, then we should be paid accurately for the work we’re doing.”

The University — not ResEd — awards each RCC with a stipend that ranges from $1,681 to $3,067, depending on the RCC’s assigned dorm.

The petition, which asks participants to indicate whether they believe ETAs should be paid more than their current salary, argues that the pay disparity is indicative of Stanford’s attitude toward students of color.

“This discrepancy in pay is proof that Stanford does not value the labor of students of color as much as it values other Residential Education staff roles,” read an email that circulated the petition.

The campaign to balance pay between ETAs and other ResEd student staff members began in 2016 as part of the Who’s Teaching Us campaign’s efforts to advocate for education diversity.

“I think [Who’s Teaching Us] provides a lot of context [about this] campaign and why we’re advocating for ETA pay equity specifically,” Macato said.

“Last year, I met with several administrators to work on increasing ETA pay,” he added. “We were able to start additional conversations about pay equity, particularly within ResEd as a whole.”

These administrators included those who were a part of a ResEd working group that was led by former Vice Provost for Student Affairs Greg Boardman, who preceded current Vice Provost Susie Brubaker-Cole. This group issued a statement to ETAs that assured them of the University’s “sincere commitment for collaborative engagement [to] address these issues.”

This year’s petition marks a revival of the campaign, which coincides with the University’s Long-Range Planning efforts to reshape residential life at Stanford through the ResX task force. According to Carlos, ETAs from Okada, Casa Zapata and Ujamaa have been meeting with the task force to discuss the pay gap.

“We told them we wanted the University to show that it truly values diversity and the labor of its students of color by paying ETAs equitably,” Carlos said.

According to Brubaker-Cole, the ResX task force is taking into consideration the demands presented by the ETAs.

“We in ResX have heard extensively about staff pay equity issues,” said Brubaker-Cole, adding that Student Affairs has established a subcommittee within ResX to address staffing issues, including the ETA pay disparity.

“What I’ve heard in interacting with students who are in those roles currently confirms … that residences in the dorms don’t discern across staff roles,” she said. “They see a staff person and they identify or feel close to that staff person and want to share their concerns with that staff person…and that they’re doing the work fully of what we view RA work to be, and it’s unfair that [they’re] not being paid equitably.”

Macato added that ETAs have faced increasing emotional demands as racial divisions in national and world news have impacted students.

“The ethnic programming — that is difficult work particularly [in] the past couple years with a lot the racial divisions and racial issues that have been coming up in the news and in the world,” he said.

In light of this, Macato is eager to move the campaign forward.

“I built on a lot of work that ETAs in the past had done,” he said. “I, along with other ETAs last year, wanted to increase [ETA salary] so that it was more aligned with the emotional, logistical and thematic work we were doing.”

This article has been corrected to reflect that ETAs from Okada, Casa Zapata and Ujamaa have been meeting with the ResX task force, not just Carlos and Macato. The Daily regrets this error.

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Second Ujamaa fire in three weeks forces evacuations https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/12/final-ji-second-ujamaa-fire-in-three-weeks-forces-evacuations/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/12/final-ji-second-ujamaa-fire-in-three-weeks-forces-evacuations/#respond Mon, 12 Nov 2018 08:02:11 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1146666 Around 3 a.m. on Friday, residents of Ujamaa House in the Lagunita residential complex were evacuated after a fire was reported in a resident’s room.

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Around 3 a.m. on Friday, residents of Ujamaa House in the Lagunita residential complex were evacuated after a fire was reported in a resident’s room.

According to Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUPD) spokesperson Bill Larson, no one was injured, and smoke damage occurred in only the room of the fire. Larson added that fire sprinklers were activated in the affected room and that the building was entirely evacuated until 7:30 a.m., at which point some residents were able to return.

According to Larson, the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The Friday fire comes two and a half weeks after an electrical fire in Ujamaa on the evening of Oct. 21. According to a resident, Friday’s fire occurred in the room adjacent to the room in which the fire occurred on Oct. 21.

“It was kind of inconvenient because the fire happened when most of us were sleeping,” said  Ruth-Ann Armstrong ’21, another Ujamaa resident and a writer for The Daily. “It was also surprising because the last fire was so recent.”

According to Armstrong, the affected room was in the B wing of Ujamaa. Residents of the A wing were able to return to their rooms before residents of the B wing could do so. Armstrong, a resident of the B wing, added that she was unable to return to her room until 10 a.m.

The Daily has reached out to the Ujamaa RAs and RF for comment.

This report will be updated as more details and perspectives come to light.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Stanford Marriage Pact announces second year of experiment https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/08/stanford-marriage-pact-announces-second-year-of-experiment/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/08/stanford-marriage-pact-announces-second-year-of-experiment/#respond Thu, 08 Nov 2018 10:02:00 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1146476 On Wednesday afternoon, an email sent by the Stanford “Marriage Pact” announced a second year of the experiment.

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On Wednesday afternoon, an email sent by the Stanford Marriage Pact — a dating survey distributed last year to match pairs of Stanford students — invited participants to submit feedback on their previous experience with their Marriage Pact match. The feedback form asked for details on communication between each participant and their match.

“The Marriage Pact is Back and cooking up something better than ever,” the email read. 

The survey used in last year’s Marriage Pact survey was designed by Liam McGregor ’20 and Sophia Sterling-Angus ’19 for a final project in their class ECON 136: “Market Design,”  in which they were asked to design a solution to a real-world market allocation problem.

Last year’s Marriage Pact form asked for details on preferences including religion, age and political beliefs. Recently, the pre-screening attributes of online dating have been leveraged as a launching platform for discussing the midterm elections, and online dating has faced criticism in general for its use of criteria based on political beliefs, religion, appearance and other traits for seeking potential romantic partners.

In light of such criticisms, an email from the Marriage Pact preceding the announcement of match results stated that matches “were selected because you two are seemingly similar. They may not be bae, but they could still be fam.” Still, in the Marriage Pact’s debut last year, an uneven gender balance of participants resulted in a number of discrepancies in matches.

“Last time, I signed up and was not matched with anyone,” said Amit Pasupathy ’19. “I saw [the email] and was like, do I want to put myself through this again [this year] — put my heart into finding someone for the rest of my life and get zero response? Honestly, I probably will. I am a desperate senior looking for love.” 

Pasupathy added that he was not expecting much of a change from last year’s Marriage Pact. And some past participants expressed uncertainty about the Marriage Pact survey and algorithm.

“I’m not so sure what this algorithm does,” said one student, who was matched via the pact last year. “I don’t remember specifically highlighting that … I wanted someone from my own ethnicity, but I did get someone from my own ethnicity. I hope it’ll be different from last year.”

“There is a lot that [the Marriage Pact] didn’t have time for last year,” Sterling-Angus wrote in a message to The Daily. “Market Design is still an emerging field with ongoing research. Expect some exciting new features.”

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Democrats Newsom, Eshoo sweep California gubernatorial and House elections https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/07/democrats-newsom-eshoo-sweep-california-gubernatorial-and-house-elections/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/11/07/democrats-newsom-eshoo-sweep-california-gubernatorial-and-house-elections/#respond Wed, 07 Nov 2018 09:37:40 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1146414 Gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom and incumbent House representative Anna G. Eshoo, both Democrats, swept their respective California state races on Tuesday.

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Gubernatorial candidate Gavin Newsom and incumbent House representative Anna G. Eshoo, both Democrats, swept their respective California state races on Tuesday.

Governor-elect Newsom, who currently serves as Democratic Lieutenant Governor to Gov. Jerry Brown, glided to victory in the California gubernatorial race over Republican opponent John Cox. Newsom — who has served as California’s lieutenant governor since 2011 and is a former San Francisco mayor — landed his victory on a platform devoted to homelessness, housing affordability and healthcare.

Newsom is well-known for his 2004 mayoral decision to issue marriage licenses to gay couples and for championing ballot initiatives in favor of legalized recreational marijuana and gun control. As governor, Newsom’s ambitions include developing 3.5 million new housing units by 2025, a push for universal healthcare, a statewide preschool program for all and increased investment in state infrastructure and job training.

His landslide win marks the first time in well over a century that a Democrat succeeded another Democrat for office. On the eve of Election Day, Gov. Brown issued a public endorsement of Newsom’s campaign, describing Newsom as a “visionary” against the “negativity and fear” Brown said has pervaded the nation under President Donald Trump.

Newsom has been widely regarded as a shoo-in for the spot since he announced his candidacy in February 2015. Cox, a San Diego businessman whose campaign centered around efforts to repeal last year’s state gas tax increase, struggled to win over constituencies in the deep-blue state. Cox employed Trumpian tactics in his attempt to garner the working class vote — emphasizing affordability issues and by portraying himself as “the forgotten Californian,” an advocate for struggling workers — but ultimately failed to tip the blue state red.

Following his January inauguration, Newsom will lead the world’s fifth largest economy on a largely anti-Trump platform, pioneering the resistance against national immigration and environmental regulations, amongst others.

Eshoo’s expected re-election

Democratic Member of Congress Anna G. Eshoo was re-elected to California’s 18th House District with a majority of votes over her Republican opponent Christine Russell.

Eshoo made headlines earlier this fall for her involvement in then-Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation process. Eshoo was the first member of Congress to hear Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s story of being attacked by Brett Kavanaugh when they were high school students. On Eshoo’s recommendation, Ford, a research psychologist at Palo Alto University, wrote a letter to Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee who was also re-elected Tuesday evening.

The letter was delivered to Sen. Feinstein’s Washington, D.C. office on Jul. 30 and was delivered to the FBI on Sept. 13.

A Sept. 17 statement on Eshoo’s website offered encouragement to Ford regarding her decision to come forward with her allegations.  

“I’m proud of my constituent,” it read. “I am grateful to her for weighing these equities and choosing to speak out on one of the most consequential decisions in our country, an appointment to the highest court in the land,” she said in the statement.

According to The Center for Responsive Politics, Stanford is the third largest contributor to Eshoo’s campaign. California’s 18th House district includes the Department of Energy’s Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), which is operated by the University. Eshoo represents a district containing multiple government agencies including the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and the NASA Ames Research Center.

Eshoo has also been a proponent of Net Neutrality. She co-authored the Telecommunications Act of 1996 as well as an amicus brief supporting states’ efforts to overturn the FCC repeal of Net Neutrality.

 

Contact Claire Wang at clwang32 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Serra residents to help rename dorm; Native community responds https://stanforddaily.com/2018/10/26/serra-residents-to-help-rename-dorm-native-community-questions-process/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/10/26/serra-residents-to-help-rename-dorm-native-community-questions-process/#respond Fri, 26 Oct 2018 07:44:43 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1145663 On Tuesday, Stanford Residential Education (ResEd) released an online form for submitting input on the renaming of the Serra dorm in Stern Hall. The online submission form is open to Stanford students, alumni, faculty, staff and administrators until Nov. 5.

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On Tuesday, Stanford Residential Education (ResEd) released an online form for submitting input on the renaming of the Serra dorm in Stern Hall. The online submission form is open to Stanford students, alumni, faculty, staff and administrators until Nov. 5.

Stanford announced in September that it would rename two buildings named after Father Junipero Serra, who has drawn sharp criticism for his mistreatment of Native Americans.

Serra residents and staff members will review suggestions submitted through the form later this quarter.

“I think it’s cool that we’ll be the first class with the new name, hopefully,” Serra resident Adam Nayak ’22 said.

The University is aiming to choose a name in line with the Stanford family’s founding vision of having campus features named after people associated with California history. The ResEd announcement added that potential namesakes who have been overlooked thus far in the University’s history will be given special consideration.

According to Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO) chairs Carson Smith ’19 and Will Paisley ’20, the Native community’s involvement in the renaming process will mostly involve the submission of names through the ResEd form and a final review of nominations.

“It wasn’t like the administration [intended to] make this a dual process between the Native community and [the dorm] Serra — they just gave it to Serra,” said Smith. She added that the University approved the process proposed by Serra staff and that it is unclear whether the University would have vetoed a proposal that failed to include the Native community.

“The Serra dorm has had the initiative to reach out to us, and they’re really open to working with us and hearing our narratives,” Paisley said. “There hasn’t been an administrative push to ensure there are conversations about this.”

According to Pat Harris, University spokesperson for Students Affairs, the decision to give Serra residents responsibility for the renaming process was based on historical precedent.

“The Serra wing of Stern Hall was named by students in the 1950s, and several other wings of Stern have been renamed in the years since,” Harris wrote in an email to The Daily, quoting from the Stanford News announcement of the decision to rename.

Serra residents and staff members set their own criteria for who they will consider naming the dorm after, with preference given to individuals who are deceased, have direct ties to the state of California or reflect diversity and inclusion. Dorm residents and staff will also take into account practical considerations such as house traditions and dorm cheers.

Nayak and Devon Holland ’22, another Serra resident, agreed that inclusivity will be vital when selecting the name.

“[It’s important] to make sure no one feels uncomfortable in the space that they’re living,” Holland said. “It would suck to feel uncomfortable in your own home.”

Smith and Paisley agreed that it is important to consider the implications of the new name on the dorm environment.

“If we nominate names of Native people, are we going to be comfortable with those being turned into themes?” Smith asked. “Are going to be comfortable with them being turned into dorm chants … [or] being used for a community that is not predominantly Native?”

The ResEd form provides space for three namesake suggestions along with space to describe how the suggestions match the Stanford family’s initial vision and the naming criteria. Three final names, selected by Serra residents, will be forwarded to Vice Provost for Student Affairs Susie Brubaker-Cole, who will then forward her own recommendations to Provost Persis Drell and President Marc Tessier-Lavigne for final consideration.

“Through a series of discussions, research and voting, the ‘Serra’ community will narrow down the list to three names based on each individual’s history and contributions,” Thompson wrote in an email to The Daily. “These names will be shared with the Native/Indigenous, Latinx and Catholic communities for review before submission to … Brubaker-Cole for further consideration.”

Smith expressed appreciation for the degree to which the Serra dorm’s process creates opportunities for different communities to give input on the final decision.

“If a marginalized voice is recognized at the end of this, I think I’d be happy,” she said.

Earlier this month, Brubaker-Cole, Thompson and Serra House Resident Fellow Michelle Reininger met with University leadership to discuss the renaming process.

According to Thompson, Reininger and Serra student staff later invited Muwekma-Tah-Ruk Resident Fellow Shoney Blake and Laura Jones, director of Heritage Services and University archaeologist, to discuss the history of student involvement in renaming campus buildings.

Smith confirmed that the Native community was not officially included in developing the renaming process, but added that a discussion with Reininger and Blake did take place, during which the two called for more concrete mechanisms through which Native students and other communities could express their perspectives on the issue.

“I feel lucky that we got to come [to Stanford] when it’s being changed,” said Nayak. “I’d be kind of uncomfortable knowing the history and wondering what’s being done about it. It’s good that there’s some sort of push right now.”

Smith and Paisley emphasized that the renaming process is only a start, reiterating a point made in a prior statement honoring the University’s initial decision to rename.

“The big point here is that this isn’t the end,” Paisley said. “This is the start of a dialogue that needs to continue and needs to be recognized, because it’s just been too long that our voices have not been heard while this University has functioned for [over] 115 years.”

 

This article was previously headlined “Serra residents to help rename dorm; Native community questions process.” The headline has been changed to clarify that Native students are supportive of the renaming process in general.

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Ujamaa evacuated after fire reported in dorm room https://stanforddaily.com/2018/10/22/ujamaa-evacuated-after-fire-reported-in-dorm-room/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/10/22/ujamaa-evacuated-after-fire-reported-in-dorm-room/#respond Mon, 22 Oct 2018 08:10:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1145322 Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday night, residents of Ujamaa House in the Lagunita residential complex were evacuated after a fire was reported in a resident’s room.

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Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday night, residents of Ujamaa House in the Lagunita residential complex were evacuated after a fire was reported in a resident’s room.

According to Bec Smith ’20, Palo Alto Fire Department said the fire originated from an electrical wiring issue.

While no one was injured, certain halls flooded after fire sprinklers activated. According to SUDPS spokesperson Bill Larson, the scope of the damage included residents’ belongings, walls and ceilings.

Several residents said the student currently living in the room was not present when the incident occurred. Witnesses reported seeing firefighters throwing clothes out of the window of the room, which is reportedly in the Lower B section of Ujamaa.

At around 8:20 p.m., the A wing of the dorm reopened, but the B wing remained closed as of 10:00 p.m.

“It doesn’t seem like it’s anybody’s fault,”  said resident Jamayka Young ’21, who lives next door to the room in which the fire allegedly took place. “[The resident] didn’t have anything happen because they weren’t there.”

Police from the Stanford University Department of Public Safety (SUDPS) and the Palo Alto Fire Department blocked off entry to the area around Roble Drive and Lomita Drive as well as the entrances to Ujamaa until the situation was confirmed to be safe.

“I saw that smoke was coming from the [affected] room,” said Ruth-Ann Armstrong ’21, another resident who lives near the room. “A [resident assistant] called the police, and it took them about 15 minutes to get here.”

Authorities confirmed that the scope of the damage was limited.

“It’s all done,” said SUDPS officer Victor Lee. “It could’ve been worse, but I think it was isolated to one room.”

However, not all of residents’ worries have been assuaged.

“I’m worried about my laptop, which is open and on my bed, and how I’ll get money from Stanford to pay for this,” said Young, referring to possible damage from the sprinkler system.

“It’s not great,” said Smith. “I have a midterm tomorrow; a lot of people have midterms tomorrow.”

Smith later added that “everyone is coming together in [Ujaama] to provide housing to people in B wing,” with residents from A wing offering places to sleep to those from B wing.

An email sent to the Ujamaa mailing list by RA Gia Page Soles at 11:16 p.m. stated that the Upper B wing of Ujamaa house was clear for access. The email also stated that the air quality was “fine,” and it also notified residents that dehumidifiers would be operating in the Lower B wing.

An email was sent to the same mailing list at 12:51 p.m. on Monday stating that anyone who was affected in the electrical fire was eligible to submit a form for reimbursement for any items that were damaged as a result of the incident.

The Daily has reached out to the Ujamaa RAs and RF for comment.

This report will be updated as more details and perspectives come to light.

This article has been updated to include details about how students can receive reimbursements for damaged property.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Indigenous Peoples’ Day Vigil explores heritage, historical pain https://stanforddaily.com/2018/10/09/indigenous-peoples-day-vigil-explores-heritage-historical-pain/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/10/09/indigenous-peoples-day-vigil-explores-heritage-historical-pain/#respond Tue, 09 Oct 2018 10:30:17 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1144553 On Monday evening, students joined the Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO) and the Native American Cultural Center (NACC) in an Indigenous Peoples’ Day Vigil.

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On Monday evening, students joined the Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO) and the Native American Cultural Center (NACC) in an Indigenous Peoples’ Day Vigil.

The event, aimed at spreading awareness of Indigenous history and culture, took place on the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Muwekma-Tah-Ruk house at Stanford and the 50th anniversary of the occupation of Alcatraz by Native American activists.

It also coincided with what some celebrate as Indigenous Peoples’ Day and others celebrate as Columbus Day.

“Indigenous Peoples’ Day is a reimagining of Columbus Day,” said Karen Biestman, Associate Dean and Director of the NACC and a lecturer in the Native American Studies Department. “It’s an opportunity to reimagine Native excellence on campus.”

The event was held to celebrate Indigenous cultures and histories as well as to raise awareness on topics like land rights and diversity within Indigenous identity.

“This is Muwekma-Ohlone land we’re standing on right now,” said Aja Two Crows ’21, co-chair of SAIO, in reference to the Native American group that lived in the Bay Area prior to colonization. “We want people to acknowledge that this was our land, and it is still our land in different ways, including emotional and spiritual ways, and this event symbolizes that for so many people.”

She also emphasized the multifaceted nature of Indigenous Peoples’ Day.

“I think this day represents so much,” Two Crows said. “It’s difficult to put into words, because there’s so much pain and history, but it’s also a celebration of us and our resilience, how we are still here … [Columbus Day] represented, for me as a child, a lot of the hypocrisy in this country and its glorification of people who destroyed lives. Indigenous Peoples’ Day represents not only the plight but the resilience of Indigenous people in the U.S. and in the world.”

“We do not let days like what some people call Columbus Day — named for a man who set forth a tidal wave of destruction for our people — define us,” she added.

Recent campus developments, including the University’s decision to rename some (but not all) campus features that reference California mission system founder Junipero Serra, were mentioned at the Vigil, and a statement issued by Stanford’s Native American community praising the Serra decision was read by Carson Smith ’19, a chair of SAIO.

“We honor the decision to remove Father Junipero Serra’s name from select campus landmarks,” the text of the statement — which was already public — reads. “We especially honor the many voices of Stanford students, staff and faculty who engaged in thoughtful inquiry, compelling conversations and scholarly research to better understand the complex impact of the Serra name and legacy for over three years … Together, we are uniquely positioned to reimagine the landscape honoring Native American excellence.”

The 2018-2019 academic year is also the first one in which the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band mascot, the Tree, has been donned by someone of Native American identity: Dahkota Brown ’20.

“These are important moments in time to share and to celebrate,” Biestman said. “This is a really monumental year, and we’re really excited to be collaborating and to be using this as a moment to educate each other and to use this as a moment to heal.”

The Vigil also included artistic performances, including storytelling, music, dance and songwriting.

According to Two Crows, it was important that the Vigil be inclusive to all communities.

“We try to emphasize that this is an event for all people,” she said. “Despite all that has happened, we are still working tirelessly to promote indigeneity and indigenous rights and welfare throughout the country, and we also want to take this moment to show Stanford what it means to be indigenous.”

Biestman emphasized the importance of having such opportunities for Stanford students to learn from and about one another.

“One of my favorite quotes is an Apache translation: ‘Wisdom sits in places,’” she said. “These kinds of venues are opportunities to share our wisdom, to share our stories.”

The Stanford College Republicans, for their part, celebrated Columbus Day with a Facebook post commemorating the “Discovery of America and Italian heritage.”

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Hoover series examines international effects of demographic shifts https://stanforddaily.com/2018/10/04/hoover-series-examines-international-effects-of-demographic-shifts/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/10/04/hoover-series-examines-international-effects-of-demographic-shifts/#respond Thu, 04 Oct 2018 08:25:23 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1144291 “Governance in an Emerging New World,” an initiative by the Hoover Institute, launched on Wednesday with aims to promote discussion and thinking on the challenges posed by rapid demographic, technological and societal changes on governance around the globe. The first panel in the series, moderated by Deputy Director-General of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Kori Schake, considered these issues from the perspective of Russia.

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“Governance in an Emerging New World,” an initiative by the Hoover Institution, launched on Wednesday with the aim of promoting discussion and thinking on the governance challenges posed by rapid demographic, technological and societal change around the globe. The first panel in the series, moderated by Deputy Director-General of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Kori Schake, considered these issues with regard to Russia.

The initiative is organized by George P. Shultz, Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution, who has previously served as the 60th Secretary of State and 62nd Secretary of the Treasury. The series will include roundtable conversations and public panels featuring speakers who have also authored scholarly essays that will accompany the discussions.

The series focuses on four 21st century challenges — shrinking workforces, rapid information and technology change, artificial intelligence and new means of manufacturing — and invites experts to discuss how these patterns might shape the world and disrupt traditional methods of governance.

“If you don’t understand these things, then you’re not gonna get the right answer,” said James Timbie Ph.D. ’71, a Visiting Fellow at Hoover involved in coordinating the series. “One of [Shultz’s] favorite phrases is ‘The future’s not going to be like the past,’ so we want to look into where things are going.”

Wednesday’s panelists included Chair of Cyber Issues at the Russian International Affairs Council Maria Smekalova, former US Ambassador to Russia and head of the Freeman Spogli Institute Michael McFaul, Princeton University professor and Hoover Fellow Stephen Kotkin and former Stanford professor and Hoover Fellow David Holloway.

Smekalova, speaking on the behalf of Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, began the discussion by addressing Russia’s place in a new world order — which is increasingly defined by rapid technology change — as it faces the demographic challenges of new migration patterns and an aging population. Smekalova also described the phenomena of “brain drain” currently affecting Russia, whereby many of Russia’s technologically-minded young people are moving out of the country.

“We do have a migration flow that comes into Russia,” Smekalova said. “But unfortunately… most of them are low-skilled workers who cannot substitute for professionals leaving to different countries.”

McFaul followed with comments on the potential for Russia to develop high tech industries, but also presented what he believed to be obstacles to technological progress and reasons for Russia’s underperformance: the “brain drain” phenomenon and a lack of capital.

“There is no Silicon Valley in Russia,” McFaul said. “But there should be.”

The talk, which was punctuated with a conversation on the importance of U.S.-Russian cooperation and nuclear security, set the tone for the rest of the series, the scope of which will also include international governance, nuclear proliferation and climate change. The series also aims to focus on developments that Shultz believes require long-term planning and strategy.

“I have six great grandchildren… you look at them and you think to yourself, ‘What kind of world are these kids going to inherit? And what can I do that can make it a little better?’ So that’s my motivating objective right now,” Shultz said.

He also emphasized that the global developments to be discussed in the series will affect everyone. One goal of the series is to encourage the Stanford community and others to learn more about such developments and the challenges they may pose to international governance.

“I hope we can encourage Stanford students to think about these topics throughout their education and their careers going forward and to feel that they can do something about it in a constructive way, because they can,” said David Fedor B.S. ’06 M.S. ’11.

“China In An Emerging World,” the second event in the Hoover series, will be held on Oct. 29 in the Hauck Auditorium of the Hoover Institution’s David & Joan Traitel Building.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Elena Shao at eshao98 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Scholarship Fund established in memory of Leon Cain J.D. ’19 https://stanforddaily.com/2018/09/26/scholarship-fund-established-in-memory-of-leon-cain-j-d-19/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/09/26/scholarship-fund-established-in-memory-of-leon-cain-j-d-19/#respond Wed, 26 Sep 2018 07:01:39 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1143885 Leon Cain was a rising third-year student at Stanford Law School. An advocate of increasing diversity in the legal field, he strongly believed in expanding access to legal education for black youth. Leon served as treasurer and board member of the Stanford Black Law Students Association. In the legacy of Cain’s advocacy, The Leon Cain […]

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Leon Cain was a rising third-year student at Stanford Law School. An advocate of increasing diversity in the legal field, he strongly believed in expanding access to legal education for black youth. Leon served as treasurer and board member of the Stanford Black Law Students Association.

In the legacy of Cain’s advocacy, The Leon Cain Scholarship Fund for Aspiring Black Law Students has been established by Cain’s friends and family. The Fund consists of money from donations as well as Leon’s own savings. At the time of publication, it stands at $54,091, surpassing the $50,000 goal.

Cain died at 27 years old on Aug. 19. A Washington, D.C. medical examiner investigating Cain’s death said that he died of “multiple blunt force injuries,” and the cause of his death was ruled an accident.

Born in Berlin, Germany, Cain grew up in Los Angeles and attended the University of Southern California (USC). He worked in California politics and began his legal education at Stanford in 2016. Cain obtained a B.A. in International Relations as a member of the USC class of 2013, where he also minored in German and Business Law.

In addition to his advocacy work at Stanford, Cain also served as Editor-in-Chief of the Stanford Journal of Law, Business & Finance. Shortly before his death, he had signed an offer to join New York Law firm Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz as an associate after graduation in 2019.

“[Cain] was a very successful member of our summer class and we were looking forward to having him join the firm as a full-time associate next year,” the firm said in a statement. “We mourn his passing.”

He is survived by his mother Henny, younger sister Kelly Hicks, stepfather Kelvin Hicks, cousins Janet and Vincent, aunt Elinor and uncle Alex, aunt Kirsten and girlfriend Rina.

A memorial service for Cain will be held on Oct. 14 at Stanford Law School.

 

This article has been updated to reflect the cause of Cain’s death as an accident, which was previously undetermined.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Stanford alum Lyric McHenry found dead on NYC sidewalk, man wanted for questioning https://stanforddaily.com/2018/08/29/stanford-alum-lyric-mchenry-found-dead-on-nyc-sidewalk-man-wanted-for-questioning/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/08/29/stanford-alum-lyric-mchenry-found-dead-on-nyc-sidewalk-man-wanted-for-questioning/#respond Wed, 29 Aug 2018 21:30:30 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1143528 New York City Police are now on the search for a man wanted for questioning after Lyric McHenry ’14 was found dead on a Bronx sidewalk around 5:00 a.m. on Aug. 14.

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New York City Police are now on the search for a man wanted for questioning after Lyric McHenry ’14 was found dead on a Bronx sidewalk around 5:00 a.m. on Aug. 14.

According to the New York City Police Department (NYPD), the 26-year-old McHenry, who was 20 weeks pregnant at the time, was found with “no obvious signs of trauma” on a sidewalk near Undercliff Avenue and Boscobel Place in Highbridge. Though she was found with a bag of what police believe to be cocaine, the cause of death has not yet been determined, pending investigation by a medical examiner.

McHenry graduated with a B.A. in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CSRE) and had been working on a number of film projects at the time of her death. According to an announcement from the Center for CSRE, McHenry was passionate about making the film and television industries more accessible to communities of color and to those excluded from representation in those industries.

McHenry grew up in Los Angeles and had worked at Refinery 29 and Complex after finding a passion for internet content. At Refinery 29, she created a YouTube show called “Lingo with Lyric” in which she explored the idea of a post-race society. She was also a producer on the short film “Downpour Summer,” which was released in 2016.

In her high school years, McHenry was involved in social justice causes, including working for the Obama campaign in both 2008 and 2012.

During her undergraduate years at Stanford, McHenry was involved in the arts, and she also studied abroad in Paris. She was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta. 

McHenry’s father, a Hollywood producer, issued a statement describing his daughter as “a brilliant, creative and lovely young woman who shared a deep passion for writing, film, and a longstanding commitment to social justice.”

Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly cited the title of McHenry’s YouTube channel. The Daily regrets this error.

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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TPUSA representatives talk identity politics, Trump and empirical evidence https://stanforddaily.com/2018/05/29/tpusa-representatives-talk-identity-politics-trump-and-data/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/05/29/tpusa-representatives-talk-identity-politics-trump-and-data/#respond Wed, 30 May 2018 06:29:53 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1141775 On Tuesday, Stanford College Republicans (SCR) hosted Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and director of urban engagement Candace Owens for its final event of the year, titled “Make Stanford Great Again.” The lecture and question-and-answer session revolved largely around the stances listed on the event description:

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On Tuesday, Stanford College Republicans (SCR) hosted Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and director of urban engagement Candace Owens for its “Make Stanford Great Again” event. The lecture and question-and-answer session revolved largely around the stances listed on the event description:

“Trump is great. Build the wall. Deport criminal illegals. Guns save lives. There are only 2 genders. Abortion is murder. Defund sanctuary city San Francisco. Taxation is theft. Affirmative action is racist. White privilege is a lie.”

TPUSA representatives talk identity politics, Trump and empirical evidence
(NIK WESSON/The Stanford Daily)

In a brief introduction, SCR president John Rice-Cameron ’20 praised the club’s work this school year, noting that, “after a year of almost complete inactivity last year,” the organization grew from 12 to 65 members. After asking SCR members in the audience to raise their hands, Kirk praised the group’s diversity, saying “I feel like it’s the United Nations.”

Although there were a small number of protesters inviting attendees to join them in a discussion outside the event, the well-secured event went smoothly, and the speakers made no mention of disruption. Further, the controversy over the naming of Stanford Professor David Palumbo-Liu to the TPUSA Professor Watchlist only came up briefly in response to a student question.

Kirk branded himself and Owens as “free thinkers,” beginning their discussion by denouncing claims of institutional racism in America. Owens said she holds the “simple idea” that people should not be held back because of the color of their skin, but she stressed that being black does not mean she has to be a Democrat.

“The thing about Candace Owens is she is a rule breaker,” Kirk said. “She is not supposed to exist. You see, the left, they have rules for how black people are supposed to vote and are supposed to think.”

Owens asked whether any audience members considered America more racist today than in the 1940s. When only one audience member raised their hand, Kirk said the response to the question was better than usual.

“My grandfather was picking cotton on a sharecropping farm,” Owens said. “He was branded in the face by the KKK for selling oranges on the wrong corner… it offends black history if I sit here and pretend I am more oppressed today than my grandfather was.”

The speakers also touched on  police brutality and the Black Lives Matter movement.

Owens blamed the media and Black Lives Matter, which she and Kirk called a political tool used by Democrats to mislead Americans into believing institutional police brutality exists.

“I would never deny a horrific event,” Owens said. “What I will deny is your right to manipulate my emotions because a horrific event happened, to be able to control how I vote and how I view the world because a horrific event happened.”

Owens compared police deaths to deaths from doctor’s errors. She said that she doesn’t understand why people boycott police but not doctors.

“It’s foolish to boycott people who save our lives,” Owens said.

Kirk pointed out that many Black Lives Matter protests take place in cities with Democratic city councils, mayors and congress members. He argued Democrats allow cities to deteriorate because they feel that they don’t need to earn the black vote through effective policy—instead, Kirk claimed Democrats can simply call Republicans racists.

“The left, [infects and destroys] basically everything they touch, and they have touched our urban cities over the last 60-70 years,” Kirk said. “Those are the places with the highest crime, the most widespread poverty, the highest unemployment, failing schools.”

Both speakers also agreed in their praise of President Donald Trump. Kirk also praised the leadership of women in President Donald Trump’s administration, naming Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley as examples of leaders.

“Donald Trump will go down as the greatest president of our lifetimes,” Kirk said.

During the question-and-answer session, the speakers urged dissenters to bring their questions forward, even allowing those with opposing views to cut in line. Questions from audience members revolved around topics including feminism, gender and climate change.

“I hate modern feminism,” Owens said, in response to a question. “Feminism today is a means to demonize men.” Kirk jumped in as well, arguing that the gender pay gap does not exist.

Another audience member asked what Owens and Kirk would say to someone who was questioning their gender identity, citing Owens’ earlier comment that identity should be celebrated. The speakers both said they sided “with science.”

“I don’t argue with science,” Owens said.

“Sex and gender are directly related,” Kirk added.

When the conversation shifted to climate change, however, the speakers said that they do not believe that anyone can prove that climate change is happening or that it is caused and controlled by human activity. Kirk said that a 99 percent consensus that climate change exists is not enough to convince him.

“So what about the one percent?” Kirk asked. “Science is not a democracy. We don’t vote on gravity. We don’t vote on Newton’s Second Law.”

Kirk added that people changed the term “global warming” to “climate change” in an attempt to convince more people of its reality, since they could not prove the earth is warming and climate is always changing. He and Owens likened this use of agreeable terminology to other initiatives such as Planned Parenthood and Black Lives Matter.

“That’s the thing about the left—they’re incredibly good when it comes to linguistics,” Owens said. “They use euphemisms.”

The event ended with Kirk imitating Trump, making hand gestures as the audience cheered and clapped.

“We are building a wall, and Mexico will pay for the wall,” Kirk said. “And with your help, we will make Stanford Great Again.”

 

Contact Holden Foreman at hs4man21 ‘at’ stanford.edu and Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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One year in, 1047 considers differences in resident Greek organizations’ visions https://stanforddaily.com/2018/05/11/one-year-in-1047-considers-differences-in-resident-greek-organizations-visions/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/05/11/one-year-in-1047-considers-differences-in-resident-greek-organizations-visions/#respond Fri, 11 May 2018 09:58:03 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1140947 This article is the third and final story in a series examining how the challenges and concerns of on-campus housing affect student lifestyle and well-being at Stanford.   This spring marks the close of one academic year for 1047 Campus Drive (known more colloquially as just 1047) as the first shared Greek house at Stanford, […]

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This article is the third and final story in a series examining how the challenges and concerns of on-campus housing affect student lifestyle and well-being at Stanford.

 

This spring marks the close of one academic year for 1047 Campus Drive (known more colloquially as just 1047) as the first shared Greek house at Stanford, housing members of the Multicultural Greek Council sororities Sigma Psi Zeta (SYZ) and Sigma Theta Psi (STP), as well as fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp). Non-Greek life affiliated students also live in the house.

In an unprecedented experiment to house Greek organizations associated with multiple genders and cultures in one house, 1047 has claimed “intersectionality” as its theme, citing the diversity of issues pertaining to the house and its residents. The Daily examined what residents — both members of the officially housed groups and members of the larger Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) — have deemed the successes and failures of the 1047 experiment.

“The house is an experimental sort of space for looking at intersections in Greek life,” said Stephanie Niu ’19, resident of 1047 and president of Alpha Kappa Delta Phi Sorority (aKDPhi), an Asian-interest sorority. “I think it’s particularly interesting for multicultural organizations because being in Greek life is something very gender binary and oftentimes not queer-inclusive.”

According to Sao Bac ’18, 1047’s community manager and SYZ member, 1047 has focused on serving as a space for Greek organizations that traditionally have not had a physical space, particularly the African American Fraternal and Sororal Association (AAFSA) and the MGC.

“Anyone can book [1047 for events], and we’re focused on Greek organizations that traditionally have not had a space on the Row,” Bac said.

As a result, Greek organizations not officially housed in 1047 — such as Lambda Phi Epsilon, an Asian-interest fraternity — have been able to use the space.

“1047 has also been really great to us, considering two multicultural Greek organizations are already there, even if it’s not us,” said Ryan Kurohara ’19, president of Lambda Phi Epsilon (Lambda) fraternity. “When we’re looking for a space to hold events, it’s been super nice to have other organizations in a house.”

Hilary Sun ’18, a SYZ member who lives in 1047, said the presence of a cultural-interest sorority on the Row holds special significance.

“I’m very invested in the house because the Row has historically privileged white males, and right now, it’s very obvious that it still privileges historically white fraternities,” Sun said. “Having a house was a way to recognize the work [MGC and AAFSA] have been doing over the years, and I think it’s also a way to shake things up on the Row.”

Early challenges

Despite efforts at 1047 to foster an inclusive environment, members of the house say it had a rocky start.

According to a former 1047 resident who wished to remain anonymous, the three organizations found it difficult to reach agreement on their visions and goals for the house in a series of contentious discussions.

The anonymous resident told The Daily that one difference of opinion started when a student visiting a SigEp resident at 1047 made the comment, “I’m a white girl; I’m as good as it gets.” 

“That set off an STP member, and [the visitor] was told to leave … and that she had no business hanging around in a house with two sororities of color, and she’s not welcome back,” the resident added.

According to SigEp members David Delgado de Robles ’18 and Antonio Aguilar ’18, Resident Assistant (RA) and Resident Computer Consultant (RCC) at 1047 respectively, the visitor was not a member of SigEp. They stated that the visitor was part of a crowd that had poured into 1047’s house get-together from all-campus party Eurotrash, which had been shut down.

“This event was an overflow from Eurotrash that kind of just walked into our space,” Aguilar said. “We were having a house event to unite the house community; the after-party of this kind of turned into an all-campus 2.0, not necessarily with our consent … and it was in the process of trying to get them out of the house that this comment was made.”

This incident revealed divergent attitudes in the staff — the CM at the time, an STP member, sought to foster an environment in which such an incident would not occur. But the anonymous resident said that “staff members who were not in STP [were] not really willing to do the unpleasant enforcement type of work that has to do with being on staff at a Row house.”

“The only people willing to do something about [the overflow from Kappa Sig] and kick people out of the house, which is what needed to happen … were the people that decided to leave staff,” the resident added.

Delgado de Robles, who did not hear the comment being made but played a role in handling the incident, stated that proper measures were taken following the incident and that it was reported to Residential Education (ResEd).

“From our end, we did whatever we had to do in terms of taking her out of our space and making sure she wouldn’t come back to our space in the near future because people didn’t feel safe with her there,” Delgado de Robles said. “[We reported to] ResEd to have an unbiased party step in.”

Though the incident was reported to ResEd, the staff of 1047 has yet to learn the outcome of the investigation. Delgado de Robles said he never heard back from ResEd.

ResEd did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Daily.

Reflecting on the incident, Aguilar said that residents’ expectations of the house proved difficult to reconcile in practice.

“This comment happened, and I don’t want to put words in anybody’s mouth, but I guess the general feeling was that a space where this can happen wasn’t a space where people wanted to be,” Aguilar said. “[It was] really difficult to generate the kind of space that they wanted while still having a normal, social house, and a lot of circumstances were difficult.”

Aguilar added that the staff discussed the incident and its aftermath throughout fall quarter — but the problem came down to a fundamental difference in what residents wanted from the house, Delgado de Robles said.

“When we were given this house, we were given a Row house that was going to be different,” Aguilar said. “And to a certain extent, SigEp leaned on the Row house part and making that a little bit different. But I think STP walked in with the ‘different’ part and kind of moved that into a Row house — so we had really different expectations.”

Sun said that the miscommunications that followed complicated the situation further.

“There was a lot of hurt going on in the first quarter,” she said.

Staff members added that they were disappointed by the support they received from ResEd, which did not help efforts to resolve the divisions in the house. According to Aguilar, staff training did not prepare them for the types of difficulties that arose from the differences in visions for the house — nor was ResEd consistently responsive to the house staff’s needs, until the internal divisions had already come to a head.

“I think part of the experiment failed because ResEd failed us,” Aguilar said.

The future of 1047

1047 will continue into next year as an intersectional Greek house. With a pre-assignment program for its open spots and more vigorous staff programming, current staff members said they hope to bridge the gaps in expectations for the house that were present earlier this academic year.

“I have a lot of faith, especially for next year, because we have a lot more experience,” Sun said.

In addition to more experience, Delgado de Robles said he hopes that the staff training for the next group is more effective.

“This year, the staff members are having weekly meals together and getting to know each other, which I think is really important,” Delgado said. “ResEd is implementing what may be better for the future.”

Bac added that she expects the goals of the house to be clearer going into the future.

“It’s supposed to be a good educational experience — and that’s what we want to shift it to and make it clear to everyone involved,” she said. ”It’s supposed to be fun, but it’s also supposed to teach you how to think about hard problems surrounding identity because we all have very different backgrounds and interests in the house.”

“I wanted so badly for it to work out and for [the house] to be culturally supportive, empowering and [an] inclusive space that’s radically different from what [Inter-Fraternity council (IFC) and Inter-Sorority council (ISC)] spaces typically are,” said the anonymous resident who commented on the divisions in the house during fall quarter.

Finding space for MGC organizations

While 1047’s official housing of SYZ and formerly STP was the first time an MGC organization had been housed on campus, it may be difficult for other MGC organizations to get a house in the near future.

To apply for housing, any AAFSA, IFC, ISC or MGC organization must receive an “exceeds expectations” rating on the Standards of Excellence system established by the University. However, cultural-interest Greek organizations often have too few members to apply for housing and lack a long history at Stanford in comparison to many other IFC and ISC organizations.

“I think in the near future … it’ll be very difficult for one of the [MGC] organizations to have their very own house, and that’s just because of numbers,” Kurohara said.

According to Fabian Badillo ’19, academic director for the Gamma Zeta Alpha fraternity, community centers such as the Black House, El Centro Chicano y Latino and the Asian American Activities Center are commonly used as spaces for events held by cultural-interest Greek organizations.

“Because [members] don’t live on the Row, we typically have difficulties finding spaces on the Row,” Badillo said. “It’s always been an issue when it comes to hosting things like all-campus parties.”

While most MGC organizations may not see a house for themselves in the near future, many MGC members say that this by no means undermines the sense of community within their organizations.

“It’s not like our organization is any less close because we live separately,” Kurohara said.

Badillo added that MGC members form close relationships through other means beyond shared housing.

“The MGC organizations are typically bonded over community service, academics, the love for your culture and the maintenance of your brotherhood/sisterhood,” Badillo said. “It’s the type of [organization] that you join for life, not necessarily something that you do just to have a residence on campus or just to have a club that you’re a part of while you’re [at Stanford].”

A Fountain Hopper (FoHo) piece said that the need to further divide the space in 1047 between two multicultural-themed sororities reflected the smaller size and presence of MGC organizations on campus, a statement that Kurohara agreed with.

“It kind of shows that the MGCs don’t have the presence — a lot of people on campus don’t know about the organizations, so I think that having a house does help MGC a lot,” said Kurohara. “I think that having at least one MGC having part of a house helps MGCs a lot in terms of campus presence.”

Though many MGC organizations are serving the community and developing their organizations without a designated house, Badillo says having a house may break this cycle as visibility for MGC organizations increases.

“If we had a space, we’d be more recognizable, and we’d be able to hold events more frequently,” Badillo said.

As 1047 wraps up its first year as an “intersectional” Greek house, most MGC organizations have yet to establish a permanent, recognizable and brandable space to hold events for their organizations and for the greater community.

“I was very excited to hear that Stanford was experimenting with having a shared house,” Badillo said, “I would hope that [1047] changes in that it becomes more of a home for MGC events.”

 

Residential Education did not respond to The Stanford Daily’s multiple requests for comment.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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GSC discusses fossil fuel divestment, GUP and elects new chairs https://stanforddaily.com/2018/05/10/gsc-discusses-fossil-fuel-divestment-general-use-permit-and-elects-new-chairs/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/05/10/gsc-discusses-fossil-fuel-divestment-general-use-permit-and-elects-new-chairs/#respond Thu, 10 May 2018 09:34:45 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1140853 On Wednesday evening, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) discussed a Joint Bill to Implement Student Will on Fossil Fuel Divestment and the General Use Permit (GUP). The Council also elected a new chairperson and two vice chairpeople.

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On Wednesday evening, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) discussed a Joint Bill to Implement Student Will on Fossil Fuel Divestment and the General Use Permit (GUP). The Council also elected a new chairperson and two vice chairpeople.

“We are the representatives of the student body and their will, so it seems appropriate that we take a first step by having Stanford Student Enterprises (SSE) divest from any fossil fuel investments that they may have or they may seek to have in the future,” said Caleb Smith ’17 M.A. ’18.

Smith said that bill is consistent with the will of the student body, but that it is unclear what impact this bill would have.

“I’m not 100 percent sure what level of enforcement this bill would have — whether we and the undergraduates can direct SSE to make sure it has no fossil fuel investments in its investment portfolio, or whether this would, instead, be a direction to our SSE Board of Directors that they ought to use their positions to seek a divestment policy,” Smith said.

The bill has no explicit timeline for when divestment is expected to begin and complete, but there are instructions for a report back six months after the bill has been enacted.

“I think this [bill] is primarily intended to explain to the student body at large that ‘we’ve heard you loud and clear and we are making sure we are trying to implement your will here,’” Smith added.

The GSC will continue to review the bill before its meeting next week.

In addition, the GSC also deliberated the GUP, whose final proposal is predicted to be heard in fall or winter 2018. The GUP is Stanford’s plan for development for approximately the next 20 years and it addresses plans for additional spaces for housing, classrooms and lab space. In addition, the GUP focuses on Stanford’s ability to compensate, retain and maintain the high quality of Stanford’s staff members.

The GSC discussed a bill detailing concerns about housing segments, arguing that Stanford has not made appropriate progress in developing affordable housing. The resolution urges the University to address these concerns and to report to the undergraduate and graduate legislative bodies.

Melanie Malinas, a fourth-year graduate student in biophysics and Gabriela Badica, a Ph.D. student in Iberian and Latin cultures and GSC Social Chair expressed concerns in the bill’s language and requested to edit it or add suggestions.

“I think it’s dangerous for us to say that we don’t support the GUP…because I really don’t want to lose the 900 spaces for graduate housing that the GUP provides,” Badica said.

Smith, who presented the bill, stated that the bill was open for changes in language.

“We don’t want to see the GUP rejected; we wish to see it amended to include additional housing,” he said.

Badica also reported that there were 1100 attendees in total, and that one transport occurred at last Friday’s Grad Formal.

“We had one transport, which I think is one too many…we’ve changed our event to move it from just being alcohol-[centered] to more diverse [activities] — so that there are more things to do,” said Badica.

At the end of the meeting, the GSC voted in new co-chairs Amy Tarangelo, a fourth-year Ph.D student in cancer biology and Yiqing Ding, a second-year M.S. student in aeronautics and astronautics. Additionally, the GSC selected Ricardo Peterson, a third-year Ph.D student in electrical engineering, as its new secretary.

The GSC also inducted Malinas and Abisola Kusimo, a Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, into its funding committee. Badica and Rui Liu, a third-year Ph.D. student in civil and environmental engineering, were selected to join the GSC social committee.

Next week, the GSC plans to discuss its operating budget in a closed meeting due to a scheduled discussion on proprietary knowledge about SSE operations. GSC members are also set to elect a new parliamentarian Diversity and Advocacy Committee liaison, as well as other positions in the forthcoming meeting.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Heritage Eats at Stanford to fill old Thai Cafe spot https://stanforddaily.com/2018/04/26/heritage-eats-at-stanford-to-fill-old-thai-cafe-spot/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/04/26/heritage-eats-at-stanford-to-fill-old-thai-cafe-spot/#respond Thu, 26 Apr 2018 14:15:16 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1140049 Starting in May, the new restaurant will feature house-made drinks, including boba, in addition to Asian cuisine. The official date of the restaurant’s grand opening has yet to be determined.

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Heritage Eats at Stanford will open in the cafe space at Jordan Hall, officially replacing previous vendor Thai Cafe, the School of Humanities and Sciences (H&S) announced Thursday.

Starting in May, the new restaurant will feature house-made drinks, including boba, in addition to Asian cuisine. The official date of the restaurant’s grand opening has yet to be determined.

Last June, after 30 years of operation, Thai Cafe owner Mykhanh Bahlman retired and closed down her restaurant, leaving the cafe space in the basement of building 420 in the Main Quad vacant. Less than a year after Thai Cafe’s closure, Heritage Eats at Stanford will be up and running under the leadership of general manager Chris Cutini, former manager of Los Gatos restaurant Nick’s Next Door.

Heritage Eats at Stanford will serve lunch five days a week, both throughout the regular academic year and through summer quarter. The menu featuring salads, sandwiches, rice bowls and a rotating menu of special items was designed by Ben Koenig, founder of Heritage Eats in Napa, CA. According to Koenig, information about the opportunity to set up shop at Stanford came through a regular customer at the flagship Napa location. Koenig said Heritage Eats at Stanford is part of his plan to create global flavors with fresh, locally sourced ingredients at an affordable price.

“I hope that over time we become known on campus as being a place that offers quality food packed with flavor, served affordably and with a smile,” Koenig wrote in an email to The Daily.

The decision follows an H&S survey of approximately 2,700 participants from the Stanford community. After the initial survey, four finalist vendors were selected for a taste test by upwards of 100 randomly selected participants who provided a ranking of their preferences.

“It was important to get the community’s input to help inform the decision,” said Shannon Silva, business and program manager for H&S Facilities and Capital Planning, in an email to The Daily.

According to Silva, Heritage Eats at Stanford earned the best rating for the taste of its food, and participants cited the availability of house-made drinks and variety as positive attributes for the restaurant.

“Our survey showed a strong desire for more pan-Asian cuisine on campus,” Silva stated. “On top of that, Heritage Eats at Stanford serves dishes from several other cuisines, so they will really increase the dining choices available at Stanford.”

Heritage Eats at Stanford’s menu will include rotating items including Thai-style Bao buns, shrimp tacos and falafel wraps. In addition, the menu includes house-made drinks such as Thai tea, hibiscus tea and Vietnamese iced coffee with the option of including boba.

“We pride ourselves on serving fresh food with bold flavor profiles that will keep things exciting,” Koenig wrote to The Daily.

Students expressed to The Daily that they hoped a new vendor at Jordan Hall would preserve Thai Cafe’s speed, convenience and low prices. The H&S survey suggested similar demands from the Stanford community.

“We saw some clear trends: people want to get their lunch quickly and at a reasonable price,” Silva told The Daily.

With its location at the heart of campus, Heritage Eats at Stanford will provide another lunch option for students on the go. In addition, the eatery will offer an order-ahead system via mobile app, as well as a catering service for the Stanford community.

“I’m excited to be able to spread our good food and good vibes around the area,” Koenig said. “We’d love to become a fixture in the local community, and hopefully we can be a memorable part of everyone’s time on the Farm.”

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

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GSC talks coterm housing, Diversity and Advocacy open meeting https://stanforddaily.com/2018/04/12/gsc-talks-coterm-housing-diversity-and-advocacy-open-meeting/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/04/12/gsc-talks-coterm-housing-diversity-and-advocacy-open-meeting/#respond Thu, 12 Apr 2018 07:12:34 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1139283 In its Wednesday night meeting, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) discussed its open meeting addressing university policies to improve conditions for graduate students. They also addressed housing opportunities for coterm students.

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In its Wednesday night meeting, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) discussed its open meeting addressing university policies to improve conditions for graduate students.

The meeting was jointly hosted by the GSC and Diversity and Advocacy Committee in collaboration with the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education on Tuesday evening. The open meeting emphasized issues such as healthcare and housing. It also presented results of the 2017 Graduate Student Council survey. The survey addressed topics surrounding graduate life such as stipends and housing, as well as featured student concerns about lack of diversity, healthcare and childcare.

“In my opinion, the most impactful issue discussed was the struggle for student parents to afford housing and child care,” said Rosie Nelson, a Ph.D. Candidate in the Graduate School of Education, GSC co-chair and current ASSU Executive candidate. “One recommendation is to provide additional need-based funds for student families to help defray costs, which will be an important first step while Stanford explores other long-term solutions.”

Kari Barclay, a second-year Ph.D. candidate in Theater and Performance Studies, said that the event was a good way to “strengthen the graduate voice” and brought the administration’s attention to graduate students’ concerns.

Nelson also discussed changes in housing from the Graduate Housing Advisory Committee (GHAC). According to Nelson, coterms will now receive “low priority” for housing as opposed to the previous “no priority” status, while Schwab Residential Center enacted pricing reductions to incentivize students from the Graduate School of Business (GSB) to live in the facility.

In addition, Nelson said that there will be significant changes to “flex spaces” that Residential and Dining Enterprises (R&DE) maintains to accommodate incoming graduate students in the fall while undergraduate students are abroad. According to Nelson, there will be more undergraduate students needing housing in the coming school year. GHAC and R&DE are currently trying to find 20 new flex spaces on campus.

“They will be trying to keep undergraduates together as much as possible to keep a sense of community and will not pair [undergraduate] and [graduate] students in the same apartment,” Nelson said.

The GSC also had a closed session in the beginning before the regular meeting where they discussed a bill currently inaccessible to the public.

Later in the meeting, the GSC discussed their plans for the annual Grad Formal event, which is scheduled to take place on May 4th, as well as approved funding for the Italy’s Liberation Day Celebration held by the Stanford Italian Society.

Election results for next year’s GSC will be announced on April 14. Council members briefly discussed potential future changes to the online ballot, and some voiced concerns about the current interface.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Stanford Democrats, College Republicans debate GOP tax reform https://stanforddaily.com/2018/03/08/stanford-democrats-college-republicans-debate-congressional-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-of-2017/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/03/08/stanford-democrats-college-republicans-debate-congressional-tax-cuts-and-jobs-act-of-2017/#respond Thu, 08 Mar 2018 08:47:41 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1138033 On Wednesday night, the Stanford Democrats and the Stanford College Republicans debated the Congressional Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The federal debt-to-GDP ratio, the university endowment tax, and the corporate tax reduction were addressed in the debate hosted by Stanford in Government (SIG), Stanford Women in Politics (SWIP), Stanford Politics, the Stanford Review and the Stanford University Speakers Bureau (SSB).

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On Wednesday night, the Stanford Democrats and the Stanford College Republicans debated the Congressional Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The federal debt-to-GDP ratio, the university endowment tax and the corporate tax reduction were addressed in the debate hosted by Stanford in Government (SIG), Stanford Women in Politics (SWIP), Stanford Politics, the Stanford Review and the Stanford University Speakers Bureau (SSB).

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, first introduced Nov. 2, was passed Dec. 22, 2017. The legislation includes a reduction in the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. Another key point included an increase in the child tax credit from $1000 to $1600.

The legislation would also impose an excise tax on universities with endowments exceeding $25 billion and with at least 50,00 full-time students.

The Stanford College Republicans, represented by Christos Makridis, a Ph.D. candidate in economics and management science and engineering, and Philip Eykamp ’20, expressed support for the corporate tax cut, saying that it would catalyze GDP growth, leading to a reduction in the debt-to-GDP ratio as well as growth in wages for workers.

“The way we increase growth is by giving people more opportunities to work. And the way we are going to solve the deficit problem in the United States is not by taxing more, but by getting GDP growth up,” Makridis said.

The Stanford Democrats, represented by Gabe Rosen ’18, Matthew Wigler ’19 and Caleb Smith ’17 M.A. ’18 expressed concerns about the beneficiaries of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, saying that it would primarily benefit the top income earners in the United States and augment income inequality.

“As a whole, the complete package is not going to provide substantive benefits in the long run for the working and middle classes,” Rosen stated. “Due to these unfunded liabilities [such as] the repeal of the individual mandate in the Affordable Care Act, we are only going to pass the burden onto the very classes that this bill is purporting to help.”

The Stanford College Republicans argued that the corporate tax cut would allow firms to allocate their funds more optimally, potentially allowing for increases in spending on research and development (R&D) or raising workers’ wages.

“When corporate tax rates get reduced, it allows for companies to optimally allocate their money in much more efficient ways,” said Makridis, citing a 2010 paper by Kevin Hassett, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. “Whenever the corporate tax rate gets reduced by one percentage point, about three to four dollars goes up in terms of real wage growth for the average worker.”

The Stanford Democrats expressed concern that the imposition of a tax would impact university endowments and corporate tax cuts, noting that universities are also crucial incubators for research and development.

“Why is it that it’s okay for universities with billions of dollars in assets to be able to afford an increase in their tax burden, but that logic doesn’t seem to extend to the trillion-dollar corporations who have huge magnitudes of assets on them?”  Rosen asked.

The event was followed by a discussion forum in which audience members asked questions and participated in discussion. The forum centered around the reforms in the Child Tax Credit in the Tax Cut and Jobs Act, as well as additional discussion about the endowment tax exacted by the legislation.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the name of debate participant Caleb Smith. The article also misstated that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 reduced the number of tax brackets from seven to four. In fact, there are still seven individual tax brackets. Additionally, a prior version of the article misstated that the legislation eliminated the student loan interest deduction and introduced a tax on graduate student tuition waivers. In fact, these proposals were not implemented. The Daily regrets these errors.  

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Resident Fellows working to cultivate community respect https://stanforddaily.com/2018/03/02/resident-fellows-working-to-cultivate-community-respect/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/03/02/resident-fellows-working-to-cultivate-community-respect/#respond Fri, 02 Mar 2018 08:07:45 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1137651 RFs are Stanford faculty or staff who live in apartments in or adjacent to student residences. They play a major role in shaping students’ living and learning experience by encouraging community building in dorms, providing residents with academic advice and more. The tone of the dorm community created by RFs can help set up learning opportunities for residents and help them feel at home.

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As dorm staff selection begins, resident fellows (RFs) are working to foster supportive and inclusive communities among their dorm residents at Stanford.

RFs are Stanford faculty or staff who live in apartments in or adjacent to student residences. They play a major role in shaping students’ living and learning experience by encouraging community building in dorms, providing residents with academic advice and more, according to associate dean of Residential Education Jennifer Calvert. According to Calvert, the tone of the dorm community created by RFs can help set up learning opportunities for residents and help them feel at home.

“What does a house feel like, what does a house value, what does a house do together, what does a house talk about together?” Calvert said. “All these kinds of cultural factors – an RF plays a role in that.”

Cheryl Brown, RF of the Meier Hall student residence and director of Frosh 101, a two-unit course that aims to help first-year students transition to life on campus, said she believes one part of her role as a resident fellow is to help promote inclusivity among her residents.

“I feel like our job is to create a space that feels like home for people from every background,” Brown said. “Sometimes our job is to provide a place for people to just come in and talk.”

Forming intentional communities

Every year, dorms set out community standards, principles that guide residents to act with awareness of their individual impacts on the community and the importance of their relationships with their peers. Meredith Manda ’19, resident assistant (RA) in the Otero student residence, emphasized the importance of creating an intentional community that emphasizes openness and inclusivity. 

Manda said that RFs, RAs, resident computer consultants, peer health educators and residents collectively contributed to the establishment of Otero’s community standards this year.

“A lot of it was intentionally having conversations that allowed people to feel like they can share whatever perspective they have on certain things and creating a space for diversity of thought,” Manda said.

Marie-Louise Catsalis, RF of Toyon Hall and music department lecturer, emphasized the importance of leading by example.

“I think it’s important to set a good tone in the dorm from the very beginning and to make sure that all students have a voice,” said Catsalis. “It’s important to make sure that underrepresented students are not being marginalized.”

Catsalis also pointed out the importance of dorm programming in creating spaces for diversity of thought, citing the “Beyond the Line” activity as an example. During the activity, a staff member asks students questions related to identity and life experience and invites participants to walk across a line depending on their responses. Students are also encouraged to elaborate on their reason for either crossing or not crossing the line.

“I love Beyond the Line because you get to speak and say why you made that move… You’re given a chance to listen to others, and you’re rewarded for listening to others’ input, which I think is really powerful,” said Catsalis.

Brown added that she often opens her house to host gatherings for students and that she also helps plan dorm-sponsored social events.

“We opened our house for the Super Bowl,” Brown said, “ This week, we’re going to go see Black Panther, along with a dinner and a discussion.”

According to Calvert, resident fellows’ role in making dorms an educational space is also significant.

“[The RF] has an incredibly important educational role — finding ways to integrate learning in the classroom and your life,” Calvert said.

Events organized by RFs are often inspired by RFs’ interests and fields of academic expertise.

“We have [events], particularly things that are linked to the things that my husband and I do at Stanford,” said Catsalis. “We take students to the opera, and our signature fall event is a trip to L.A.”

In addition to promoting dorm community through events, resident fellows also participate in the selection and training of house staff, who interact more with residents on a daily basis.

“[The staff] are the students we know the best,” said Catsalis. “We see our role as supporting the staff in running the dorm — we really let them do the day-to-day running.”

RFs meet with dorm staff weekly to discuss community issues as well as situations where RFs are needed to support RAs.

“Every week, we have a staff meeting — we talk about ways to build community, we give them feedback based on our experience and we also help them manage issues that come up in the community,” said Brown. “[Staff members] may ask us for mentorship for their own lives.”

Living at Stanford

According to Catsalis, one perk of the RF job is the ability to live on campus.

“It’s so convenient to live on campus,” Catsalis said. “But on the downside of that, you never leave your work. The only way I get a real break is to leave the premises—if I’m here all the time, then I’m working all the time.”

Brown echoed Catsalis’ sentiments.

“It’s very nice to walk to work and raise our kids in this community, but there’s also something about living where you work,” said Brown. “You live where you work, so you’re thinking about work all the time.”

However, Catsalis added that one benefit of having a living environment integrated with the workplace is that resident fellows are able to spend more time getting to know students.

“Before you become an RF, you think you know your students well because you see them in class, but I don’t think anything compares to living with them,” Catsalis said. “It’s a real eye-opener.”

“Whether there’s a performance, a lecture [or] a show, when you’re so close, you’re able to see the sorts of things students are involved in outside of the classroom, which is really awesome,” Brown said. “I really have loved the jobs that I’ve had at Stanford, but I think being an RF is one of my favorite things because… people show up authentically in their living communities, and you really get to see the full student.”

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu

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GSC passes resolution demanding subsidies for graduate students with dependents https://stanforddaily.com/2018/03/01/gsc-passes-resolution-demanding-subsidies-for-graduate-students-with-dependents/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/03/01/gsc-passes-resolution-demanding-subsidies-for-graduate-students-with-dependents/#respond Thu, 01 Mar 2018 08:07:11 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1137593 The resolution further stated that subsidy allocations would depend, in part, on the age of the children. Barclay said he would revise the resolution so that it would be clearer that the subsidies depend on this distinction.

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In its Wednesday night meeting, the Graduate Student Council (GSC) unanimously passed a resolution that calls on Stanford to offer subsidies to graduate students with young dependents in an effort to make childcare more affordable.

“In the name of gender equity, in the name of making Stanford a better place to be for grad students, this is something that’s very important,” said Kari Barclay, Ph.D. candidate in theater and performance studies.

The resolution did not specify where money for the subsidies would come from, stating that monetary allocations would have to be negotiated with the administration first.

The resolution further stated that subsidy allocations would depend, in part, on the age of the children. Barclay said he would revise the resolution so that it would be clearer that the subsidies depend on this distinction.

The proposals in the resolution contain details similar to those in the system currently in place at UC Berkeley, which provides a subsidy of up to $11,000 a year to cover living expenses for graduate students with children, according to Barclay.

“It’s a good practice, and as the Stanford Parent Alliance is pushing for affordable childcare, and as a [member of] the Diversity and Advocacy Committee, that’s something we’re pushing for as well,” Barclay said.

Following a presentation by Stanford Disability Initiative co-chair and ASSU Executive Cabinet disability lead Zina Jawadi ’18, the GSC also unanimously approved a resolution that said the Council will support the annual offering of a course of disability studies, and that they will stand as active allies in the disability community. The Undergraduate Senate passed the same resolution in their meeting this week.

In addition, the GSC discussed concerns regarding the lack of effective student representation in University committees such as the Graduate Housing Advising Committee. Council members expressed their concern that some graduate students on University committees are not well-informed on issues and so may not be able to effectively advise on them.

“One of the problems that we’ve discussed is that…you get [students] on these committees that are fairly checked out, and don’t do their homework,” said Alejandro Schuler, a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical informatics. “Academic staff take advantage of them and use students as a source of anecdotes, not really as [people who] actually [have] something interesting to add to the conversation.”

Schuler proposed adding more informed student representatives to committees under the Nominations Commission, a body of undergraduate and graduate students that appoint students to University Committees. Specifically, he proposed the idea of adding Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU) members as representatives. No action was taken on the proposal due to budget constraints on the part of the ASSU.

Additionally,  the GSC deferred voting on the General Use Permit Resolution until it reconvenes next week.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

This article has been updated to include information on the resolution on disabled studies and the disability community. 

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Stanford ‘Places I’ve Cried’ gains over 1,000 members https://stanforddaily.com/2018/01/22/stanford-places-ive-cried-gains-over-1000-members/ https://stanforddaily.com/2018/01/22/stanford-places-ive-cried-gains-over-1000-members/#respond Tue, 23 Jan 2018 07:28:36 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1135344 “Stanford University Places I’ve Cried” (SUPIC), a closed group on Facebook that invites students to write posts about specific places where they have cried on campus, has gained over 1,000 members. Many students say that the group, created by Annie Zheng ’20, fosters a spirit of vulnerability and counters “duck syndrome culture” prevalent on campus.

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“Stanford University Places I’ve Cried” (SUPIC), a closed group on Facebook that invites students to write posts about specific places where they have cried on campus, has gained over 1,000 members. Many students say that the group, created by Annie Zheng ’20, fosters a spirit of vulnerability and counters “duck syndrome culture” prevalent on campus.

Often, students choose to supplement their posts with more commentary on where they cried, and why. Posts range from, “In my bed because I’m afraid of my faculty mentors losing respect for me” to “At Lakeside [Dining], when the final straw on a bad week one was late night not having churros.”

Students recount emotional moments following bad interviews, academic crises and times when they have cried for no apparent reason.

“In all honesty, I started the group because I thought it’d be funny,” said Zheng. “But after you start the group and it gets followers, you kind of have to decide what kind of space it will be. So, initially it started because it was funny, but I also wanted it to be a place where you can combat duck syndrome.”

Duck syndrome — a colloquial term that originated at Stanford and evokes a duck that appears to smoothly glide over water but in reality paddles furiously beneath the surface — is a common metaphor for students who experience stress but feel the need to appear carefree.

Zheng says the page was inspired by the University of Illinois “UIUC Places I’ve Cried” Facebook group. The group is credited on the SUPIC page.

Self-deprecating humor is a common tool of choice on SUPIC. Carlos Ezquerro ’20 recalled using such humor when he posted, “Internally, thanks to a toxic masculinity that says that crying men have no place in society.”

“I kind of like the idea of parodying these sort of things that are going, quite possibly, wrong,” Ezquerro said. “It makes it a little easier to share when it’s in a lighthearted fashion. I think it functions in a similar way to meme pages, where you can bond over things that are kind of going wrong. I think it can be funny, but also impactful.”

Students also post in earnest. Serious messages became more frequent over winter break, Zheng noted, when some students chose to open up about challenges associated with life outside of Stanford.

“I posted on the group that one of the places that I’ve cried was on the way to the airport this winter break, after realizing that I spent a lot of my break trying to be productive rather than spending time with my family,” Edwin Carlos ’20 said.

“Over break, I thought [the posts about family] were super enlightening because I didn’t know that people had such a hard time over break,” Zheng said.

Although the group has been a space for students to become vulnerable, some see the Facebook group as a starting platform for taking greater measures for self-care and mental health as well as a reminder to reach out to peers.

“Facebook can definitely be a useful platform,” Carlos said. “It’s nice to see when my friends post on the group: It serves as a reminder that I should check in more often on people. Building that sense of community shouldn’t stay within an electronic platform.”

Zheng says that despite the openness the page has fostered with regard to bad grades, failed interviews and family issues, students still perceive some emotions as less socially acceptable and remain less inclined to open up about them.

“Stuff like jealousy, or feeling really insecure, or feeling bitter — those are also things people experience, and I think Stanford students do not like to talk about that,” she said.“So I feel like that is the deeper problem of duck syndrome.”

Even if some topics aren’t addressed, students still say that SUPIC provides a basis for emotional commonality among Stanford students.

“It gets at the idea that we all struggle,” Ezquerro said. “And it’s generally healthy and positive to be able to share that we struggle and also be able to notice that other people are feeling the same way.”

It reminds students, according to Zheng, that “it’s okay to be kind of messed up.”

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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SLS Dean Magill speaks on ‘What Matters to Me and Why’ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/11/16/sls-dean-magill-speaks-on-what-matters-to-me-and-why/ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/11/16/sls-dean-magill-speaks-on-what-matters-to-me-and-why/#respond Thu, 16 Nov 2017 09:24:41 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1133570 In the second talk of this year’s "What Matters to Me and Why" series in Old Union on Wednesday afternoon, Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School M. Elizabeth Magill emphasized the importance of facts, the pursuit of knowledge and gratitude.

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In the second talk of this year’s “What Matters to Me and Why” series in Old Union on Wednesday afternoon, Richard E. Lang Professor of Law and Dean of Stanford Law School M. Elizabeth Magill emphasized the importance of facts, the pursuit of knowledge and gratitude.

Magill discussed problems with today’s political climate in the larger context of history, expressing optimism despite new challenges of the contemporary era.

She emphasized the relevance of empirical knowledge in law, politics, technology and related fields.

SLS Dean Magill speaks on 'What Matters to Me and Why'
Stanford Law School Dean Elizabeth Magill discussed the importance of facts in her “What Matters to Me and Why” talk (COURTNEY DOUGLAS/The Stanford Daily).

“Facts matter to me a lot,” she said. “As someone with training as a lawyer and as a student of legal systems, I think I have a particular perspective on the importance of testing and establishing facts and what happens when we go wrong with that.”

Magill also addressed the problems of partisan divisions exacerbated by the rise of fake news.

“Whether we can establish facts anymore and whether we can agree on them is, of course, is a topic of a lot of hand-wringing today,” she said.

Magill cited technological advancements as one factor that augments political polarization, saying they have made it more difficult to know whether what one sees or hears is true. She expressed deep concerns about this challenge, especially in a university environment, where she said the quest for knowledge should be a top priority.

“I think we should all be deeply shaken by this threat [of uncertainty over facts],” she said. “If we can’t establish test and agree on facts, our capacity to generate knowledge will be degraded.”

Despite the threat of fake news and polarization, Magill expressed faith that the problem can be addressed when placed in the greater context of historical events.

She brought up the Revolutionary War, specifically the propagandized depiction of the Boston Massacre, as an instance in which the manipulation of facts caused deep divisions between the people.

“Paul Revere was a great propagandist… [He] was pretty good at fake news,” said Magill.

“It’s just not the case … that we are more divided today on matters of of great importance than we or any other society has ever been,” she added.

Magill said that she views the challenges of fact-checking in the age of rapid technological advancement as a call to action. She called on younger members of her audience to contribute to mending contemporary society’s complicated relationship to politics and truth.

“I think the next generation is going to help us solve this current threat, and I can’t wait to see it unfold,” Magill said.

When asked what gives her an optimism about the next generation, Magill referred to her students in Stanford Law School.

“I’m always inspired by their creativity and their ambition,” she said. “I’m an optimist by nature, probably, but it’s our students. That’s an easy one.”

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Ike’s owner, Singaporean food chef face off for Thai Cafe space https://stanforddaily.com/2017/11/13/ikes-faces-off-against-singaporean-food-for-thai-cafe-space/ https://stanforddaily.com/2017/11/13/ikes-faces-off-against-singaporean-food-for-thai-cafe-space/#respond Mon, 13 Nov 2017 08:32:09 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1133250 The two bidders who spoke to The Daily both have a history with Stanford. For the five years it operated as a sandwich shop in Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center, Ike’s enjoyed a devout following that mounted a protest in White Plaza when the store was forced to close in spring 2014. Since then, the chain restaurant has opened a grab-and-go store in McMurtry Building offering cold sandwiches, cookies and ice cream.

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The current owner of the McMurtry cafe, Ike’s Place, and a Stanford alum seeking to sell Singaporean street food joint are among the vendors vying to take over Thai Cafe’s vacant space in Jordan Hall, as the School of Humanities & Sciences’ (H&S) search for a replacement enters its public survey phase.

Ike's owner, Singaporean food chef face off for Thai Cafe space
Thai Cafe (SAM GIRVIN/The Stanford Daily).

Last month, H&S Director of Public Relations Joy Leighton told The Daily that the school aims to bring in a new business by spring 2018. Fast service and low prices are among the top criteria that will be used to judge applicants, said Leighton.

The two bidders who spoke to The Daily each has a history with Stanford. For the five years it operated as a sandwich shop in Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center, Ike’s enjoyed a devout following that mounted a protest in White Plaza when the store was forced to close in spring 2014. Since then, the chain restaurant has opened a grab-and-go store in McMurtry Building offering cold sandwiches, cookies and ice cream.

The other vendor hopeful is Roy Chan Ph.D. ’17, a recent alum who hopes to bring Singaporean cuisine to the Main Quad just months out of his chemistry graduate program.

Roy’s Singapore Kitchen

Chan’s proposed menu includes chicken rice and coconut milk-rice dish nasi lemak, along with rojak, a vegetarian option.

“In Singapore, these kinds of dishes are served by hawker stalls,” Chan said, “rows and rows of mini stalls, each operated by two to three people. They specialize [in a few dishes].”

He spoke admiringly of the street food culture of his childhood, which he hopes to emulate with his own shop.

“A few people cook a specialized dish and make it really, really good,” he said. “Recipes [can be] multigenerational.”

Growing up in a household that cooked often, Chan said he is comfortable enough in a kitchen to develop his own recipes. His parents own two shops selling fried chicken at Orchard Road in Singapore, and his mother is planning to help at his joint in Stanford if he wins the bid.

A self-proclaimed “foodie” who says he has traveled to places just to sample the local food, Chan hopes to bring his love of food and his studies together with his shop.

‘Chemistry is the main thing I do, but as a hobby, I do a lot of cooking,” said Chan. “I think my special talent is actually food … And chemistry and food have a huge overlap – there’s this branch called food chemistry.”

Ike’s

Shehadeh said that his new location will be structured differently from Ike’s Place, as the business will be tailored to be conducive to short wait times, a priority that he believes is in line with Stanford’s.

“We didn’t want people waiting — time is a premium, especially at school,” he said. “There are so many permutations with sandwiches, they would be unfit for the location.”

Instead, Shehadeh has proposed five different ideas: pizza and other Italian foods, Vietnamese street food, breakfast sandwiches & coffee, a pasta place and an American burger/chicken/milkshakes joint. Each of his proposals includes vegetarian, vegan as well as gluten-free options.

Students who frequented Thai cafe said they anticipated a replacement that would be just as conveniently-located and student-friendly.

“A lot of people have classes in that area,” said Amy Shen ’18, a computer science major who had several classes near Jordan Hall. “The food was tasty, though I’m not sure if it was the healthiest.”

However, Shen said that Thai Cafe’s cash-only policy – which its owner said helped to keep prices down– could be inconvenient for students. She hopes the new store will be similar to Thai Cafe in function, but with added benefits – such as taking meal plan dollars or serving to-go food and snacks.

“There were definitely times when I’d get food from Thai Cafe and have to awkwardly eat it in class,” said Shen, recalling her attempts to finish the full meals the cafe sold.

With both students and the university seeking fast service and affordability, students can expect an establishment with these traits as they await a decision on what will occupy the basement of Building 420. The survey to gauge student opinion on the new vendor will close Monday, Nov. 13.

 

Contact Karen Kurosawa at karen16 ‘at’ stanford.edu.

 

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