Defensive backs Julian Neal and Jordan Washington both announced their commitments to Stanford this week.
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On Wednesday, Stanford received their second transfer commitment of the offseason when former Fresno State cornerback Julian Neal announced his commitment to the Cardinal on social media. Neal, a Bay area native from San Francisco, will have one year of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-2 cornerback had 35 tackles, two interceptions and five pass deflections for the Bulldogs during the 2024 season. He started four games and played in all 12 games for Fresno State. Neal will make an immediate impact for the Cardinal next season with the departure of fifth-year cornerback Zahran Manley. He will bolster a defensive back room that had to play many inexperienced freshmen last season due to injuries.
Neal possessed other power-conference offers from Kansas State, Northwestern, Washington State, West Virginia and Cincinnati.
On Friday, former Dartmouth defensive back Jordan Washington became Stanford’s third transfer portal commitment of the portal cycle. Washington tallied 30 total tackles and had 11 pass deflections for Dartmouth last season. He is a two-time All-Ivy League team selection and helped Dartmouth win a share of the Ivy League title three times during his tenure.
Washington held transfer offers from Western Kentucky, UTEP and Miami (Ohio) among others. He will have one season of eligibility remaining. The Cardinal will look to secure more transfer commitments in the following weeks to fill out their roster for next season.
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Stanford wide receiver Elic Ayomanor declares for NFL DraftStanford football's star wide receiver Elic Ayomanor announced that he would be declaring for the NFL Draft on social media on Friday.
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Junior wide receiver Elic Ayomanor intends to enter the NFL Draft, he announced Friday on X. The decision comes after head coach Troy Taylor said that he expected Ayomanor to be back, in a press conference ahead of Stanford’s game against San Jose State in November.
Ayomanor was an All-Pac-12 Honorable mention last season, and achieved second-team All ACC honors this year. In total, Ayomanor tallied 125 receptions and 1844 yards over the course of the past two years. The Canadian product will be most remembered by Stanford fans for his performance against Colorado last season, where he accumulated 13 receptions for 295 yards in the Cardinal’s 29-0 comeback win over the Buffaloes.
Ayomanor has been graded out as a top-100 prospect, with the potential to go in the early-second round of the NFL Draft if things shake out right.
With the departure of Ayomanor, wide receiver is now a position of need for Stanford. While freshman wide receiver Emmett Mosley V displayed flashes of brilliant play last season, other receivers on the roster have had more inconsistent production thus far in their careers.
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Former Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels to transfer to AuburnStarting quarterback Ashton Daniels will transfer to the Auburn Tigers next season, leaving younger players to compete for the starting quarterback role.
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Former Stanford quarterback Ashton Daniels told On3 Sports Monday that he would be transferring to Auburn next season. Daniels will likely play backup to Jackson Arnold, who transferred to the Tigers from Oklahoma.
Daniels recorded 1,700 yards passing, 10 touchdown passes and 12 interceptions during the 2024 season. He also ran for 669 yards, displaying an impressive ability to improvise and escape the pocket. Daniels is the second Stanford player to commit to a SEC school after right tackle Luke Baklenko announced his commitment to Oklahoma earlier on Monday.
With Daniels and redshirt junior quarterback Justin Lamson transferring, incoming freshman Bear Bachmeier and true freshman Elijah Brown will look to compete for the starting quarterback job. Additionally, the Cardinal could also be looking out for a veteran quarterback to poach out of the transfer portal.
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Lifetime Cardinal works to burst the Stanford ‘bubble’Connecting donors, student-athletes and the community, Lifetime Cardinal aims to foster a collective spirit around Stanford athletics promoting meaningful service and volunteerism.
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Venky Ganesan, a Bay Area resident and the father of two Stanford undergraduates, sees Lifetime Cardinal as a game-changer for Stanford sports.
“It doesn’t matter who you are or where you’re from or what your identifiers are,” Ganesan said. “When you’re cheering for a team, you feel like you’re a part of the same tribe. With Stanford sports, you have this unique opportunity where you can have excellence on the field, but also it’s a community moment.”
Founded in 2022 by a group of Stanford alumni athletes, including entrepreneur and former men’s soccer player Allen Thorpe ’92 and former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck ’12, Lifetime Cardinal connects more than 130 student-athletes with alumni through networking, mentorship, education and career opportunities. The initiative aims to ensure student-athletes are recognized as individuals with potential far beyond their athletic careers.
The recent transformation of the collegiate athletic landscape with the introduction of Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) regulations in 2021 has encouraged universities like Stanford to invest in their athletes in multiple ways. Lifetime Cardinal is taking a unique approach, incentivizing athletes by compensating them for community outreach and social impact efforts. Supporters of the initiative, like Ganesan, recognize multiple avenues for impact with this model.
“We get student athletes to spend time helping our community and give them the opportunity to learn,” Ganesan said. “Unfortunately, I think there are communities around Stanford that feel it is too elitist… We are changing that by making the communities feel like they should embrace Stanford and by putting our athletes in places that they don’t normally get to see Stanford athletes, we are telling that community: ‘You and Stanford are together,’ and that Stanford is their team.”
Sophomore defensive back Adam Rourke believes Lifetime Cardinal has benefited him both on and off the field. Through community service events and mentorship opportunities, Rourke has gained a deeper appreciation for his ability to impact others.
“There’s a lot more to football than just lining up pads and hitting a guy across from you at full speed” Rourke said. “I think community service is a large part of that, and being able to help people around you in whatever capacity it may be. It gives you a sense of gratitude.”
Having participated in activities with local organizations, such as mentoring at the Haven Family House in Menlo Park, Rourke has become a vocal advocate for service.
“There’s always someone who needs help, and if you can serve something greater than yourself, that is always going to be more fulfilling,” Rourke said. The more you can be involved with the people around you and the community projects around you, the more it helps everyone and creates a better environment for what Stanford is meant to embody.”
Fifth-year linebacker Tristan Sinclair also values Lifetime Cardinal’s influence on his Stanford experience. The program has connected him with local organizations, like Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, where he participates in events that allow athletes to interact with kids through sports and informal hangouts. Sinclair underscores the importance of the Lifetime Cardinal staff who make these opportunities for community engagement possible.
“What Lifetime Cardinal has done is they have full-time people working on these events and coordinating with us, giving us more opportunities to give back,” Sinclair said. “Kate Dahlman at Lifetime Cardinal has been amazing — setting up so many events and opportunities for us to give back. Playing with kids in hospitals or with developmental disabilities is always the most fun thing. It’s always more fun than the game, and Lifetime Cardinal has opened the door for us to do even more of that.”
Reflecting on his experiences, Sinclair emphasized the joy of connecting with young fans.
“I was just a little kid like them,” he said. “Even just being in the shoes now where I can go to the hospital and hang out with the kids, play sports, or watch a movie — it means the world to them. For me, it makes me feel like I’m giving back, and it’s something I love being able to do.”
Lifetime Cardinal also collaborates with organizations like the Women’s Coaching Alliance, founded in 2022 by Pam Baker to address the lack of female coaches in the Bay Area. After her husband, a dedicated coach of youth female sports teams, passed away from pancreatic cancer, Baker launched the Alliance to train prospective female coaches through leadership programs offering mentorship and compensation.
Partnering with Lifetime Cardinal has amplified Baker’s mission. Benefit events hosted in collaboration with Stanford’s women’s sports teams, including the basketball team and its legendary former coach Tara VanDerveer, have drawn attention to the Alliance’s work.
“The more that we can showcase the athletes as partners with us, it not only raises their profile as making a difference in the community, but certainly for us it brings in new people to our community,” Baker said. “So it’s a nice win-win.”
Having witnessed the collaboration between Stanford’s student-athletes and local, mission-driven organizations, Baker appreciates the lasting significance of these efforts.
“I think that star athletes can get in a bubble, just because of who they are and the stature that they have,” Baker said. “I think that when they can step out and see the community around them and experience it, and recognize that in some cases just showing up can make a huge difference, is really powerful for them.”
Baker emphasized the unique synergy between Stanford’s values and Lifetime Cardinal’s approach.
“[Stanford’s] progressiveness in the institution, and certainly its leadership in sports overall, speaks to a focus and a value on doing things at the front end and leading rather than following,” Baker said. “I think [Lifetime Cardinal’s] focus on how we use this platform to make a difference in the community, certainly helps to elevate the Stanford brand, but also helps to really make a difference for kids and community leaders”
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Our Cards fall: Women’s volleyball eliminated by the Cardinals in LouisvilleIn a fight for a place in the NCAA semifinals, Stanford faced Louisville in their hometown.
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On Saturday evening, No. 5 Stanford women’s volleyball lost to No. 4 Louisville at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky. for a spot in the semi-finals of the NCAA tournament.
Although Stanford took an early lead, decisive blocking proved to be the key for Louisville gaining momentum. Both teams felt the impact of service errors on their performance. Under the pressure of a live and roaring Louisville crowd, Stanford fought hard to catch up to Louisville in most sets.
During the first set, the Cardinal secured a steady lead. The team was consistent in their hitting and communication. Team veterans confidently led the team in scoring. Senior middle blocker Sami Francis and junior outside hitter Elia Rubin both anchored the team with controlled kills throughout the set. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Ipar Kurt also put up two big kills. By the end of the game, the three led for the team’s kills with 10, 14 and 13 respectively.
Louisville struggled with attack errors during the first set, which saw a lot of challenges to no touch callings, with both teams using at least one challenge. Towards the end of the game, Louisville started to push back against Stanford, but the Cardinal was victorious with a score of 25-22.
The second set started out neck in neck, but Louisville inched ahead. Once they caught their momentum, they confidently widened the gap. During a few rallies, Stanford was forced to move further back on the court to hit the ball. As the set progressed, they felt the pressure of Louisville’s blocking. The Cardinal ended the set with seven kills and seven attack errors compared to Louisville’s 17 kills and four attack errors. Stanford fell in the second set 14-25.
The two teams were fairly even during the third set, but Louisville managed to stay slightly ahead. Around 16 points, Stanford was able to tie the game and the two teams started fighting for every point, leading to some long and tough rallies for the teams during the middle of the set. Towards the end of the set, Louisville was able to snatch a two point lead back. Stanford fought to tie the score, leading to a tense and crucial exchange as the points moved closer to 25. Each team held game point multiple times, but after a tough fight, Stanford fell 26-28 in the third set.
In the fourth set, Louisville took an early lead, but Stanford worked to recover. Despite their effort to catch back up, the blocking by Louisville proved to be destructive for their rhythm. Stanford eventually lost the set 20-25. Louisville ultimately secured the game winning 3-1 sets, taking the regional title.
This game marks the end of a largely successful season for Stanford women’s volleyball, which won 25 games during the regular season. The team had five players selected for the AVCA All-Pacific Region Team. Senior setter Kami Miner was named the 2024 ACC Volleyball Setter of the Year. Multiple players made the All-ACC First Team, Second Team and ACC All-Freshman Team. Stanford was one of just three ACC schools to make it to the Elite Eight for the NCAA tournament.
A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the game was held at the KFC Yum! Center. The correct location was Freedom Hall. The Daily regrets this error.
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Former Nevada offensive lineman Tyson Ruffins commits to StanfordRuffins is expected to provide much needed help for Stanford, who has had one of the weakest offensive line units in the country.
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Former Nevada Wolfpack offensive lineman Tyson Ruffins committed to Stanford, he announced on Saturday night on X. With Ruffins, Stanford football secured its first transfer portal commitment of the offseason.
The 6-foot-2, 291-pound guard made nine starts for the Wolfpack in 2024, and was widely regarded as one of the best offensive lineman in the Mountain West conference. Ruffins will have three more years of eligibility.
Ruffins is expected to provide much needed help for Stanford, who has had one of the weakest offensive line units in the country since Troy Taylor arrived on the Farm. While Ruffins has played a majority of his college snaps at left guard, he is able to also play center or right guard.
Look for the Cardinal to fill the remainder of its mid-year portal additions with more offensive lineman and defensive backs, which were widely considered to be the weakest units on the team during the past season.
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Women’s soccer falls 1-0 to Wake Forest in NCAA SemifinalsStanford women's soccer fell 1-0 to Wake Forest in the NCAA tournament semifinals. Despite a strong effort, a late volley by Emily Morris in the 72nd minute ended the Cardinal's championship hopes.
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Stanford women’s soccer fell short 1-0 in a tightly contested match against Wake Forest last Friday, after it traveled to Cary, N.C., for the NCAA tournament semifinals.
The defensive battle occurred in below-freezing temperatures and remained a stalemate until the 72nd minute when Deacon forward Emily Morris hit a curling volley to grant Wake Forest the lone goal of the match.
“It was an evenly played match and could’ve gone either way,” said Stanford head coach Paul Ratcliffe. “It was a game of margins, and unfortunately, we came out on the wrong side.”
Throughout the scoreless first half, neither team held a significant advantage. Possession was evenly split, with Wake Forest holding a slim 4-3 advantage in shots taken. Stanford redshirt junior forward Andrea Kitahata nearly scored in the 30th minute, with her shot bouncing off the inside of the left post and coming just inches away from the boundary, before goal-line clearance by Wake’s Kristin Johnson.
The Deacons dominated the beginning of the second period, recording five unanswered shots before scoring on their sixth chance. The winning shot was lofted high across the middle, and despite senior goalkeeper Haley Craig getting two hands on the ball, the deflection wasn’t enough to stop its momentum into the goal area. While it did not find the back of the net due to a clearance by Cardinal junior defender Elise Evans, her efforts came just a hair late, and the play was counted as a score.
Stanford brought more intensity throughout the remaining 15 minutes of the match behind a strong showing from Kitahata, but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunities. Deacon goalkeeper Valentina Amaral stood tall, saving all three of Stanford’s late attempts on goal, including two by Kitahata.
Although Stanford ultimately fell short of another national championship berth, this season’s finish marks their third College Cup appearance in the last five seasons and their 12th overall.
“Coming to the College Cup is always a goal for us, and something we talk about from the first day of preseason,” Evans said. “With all the adversity we’ve had to go through this year — a whole conference transition, having to travel 1,000 more miles, injuries, being a young team — making it back this year is absolutely phenomenal.”
With a few prior injuries to starters, most notably All-American junior midfielder Jasmine Aikey, Stanford started four freshmen in the match against Wake Forest. However, Ratcliffe described their play as “exceptional” and noted that he was glad they were able to experience playing in such an important game.
Wake Forest advanced to the National Championship to face No. 2 North Carolina, after their 3-0 shutout victory against No. 1 Duke. North Carolina defeated Wake Forest to claim their 23rd national title.
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Q&A: President Jonathan Levin looks back on his first quarterUniversity President Jonathan Levin ’94 commented on the Trump administration, potential legal action against a Daily reporter and the creative writing program in a wide-ranging interview on the final day of fall quarter.
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In a Friday interview with The Daily marking the end of his first quarter as Stanford’s president, Jonathan Levin ’94 reflected on the major events that have driven campus conversations this year.
He commented on a contract agreement with the graduate workers union, free speech guidelines, the future of the creative writing program and potential legal action against a Daily reporter who covered last year’s occupation of Building 10.
As president-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office, Levin said it was “important for Stanford to work closely with every administration,” and expressed measured support for Trump appointees David Sacks ’94 and Stanford Medicine professor Jay Bhattacharaya MD ’97 Ph.D. ’00. While he did not commit to specific actions, Levin said the University was prepared to support international students who might face travel or visa restrictions.
An economist and former dean of the Graduate School of Business (GSB), Levin became Stanford’s 13th president on Aug. 1. His succession of interim president Richard Saller followed a tumultuous year of campus protests over the Israel-Gaza war that intensified scrutiny of university presidents across the country.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.
The Stanford Daily (TSD): Reflecting on your first quarter as university president, what have been the most significant highlights and challenges for you?
Jonathan Levin (JL): I started this year with a real sense of optimism, and also some uncertainty given all of the campus dynamics around the country last year. The first priority that Provost Martinez and I set for the year was to strengthen the culture of inquiry at Stanford and to foster constructive dialogue. I’m very happy about how that’s going.
We’ve had seminars, discussions and conferences on the election, the Middle East, COVID policy. There have been forums for discussion even on contentious topics. We announced the new ePluribus initiative, and I love that the faculty are volunteering to host discussions in the dorms — that’s part of the “Pizza, Politics and Polarization” series. I really believe that Stanford can be a model for how students approach each other with curiosity and with open minds.
We had two other main priorities for the year that we talked about in our first interview. The second is to advance Stanford’s leadership in AI and data-driven discovery. We opened the Stanford robotics center this quarter and it’s amazing to see the work that the faculty and the students from different departments are doing — everything from autonomous drones to household robots. We opened the new high-performance shared computing facility, and that’s one of the leading academic facilities for research computing, and there [are] incredible opportunities there.
The third priority we set was to help make Stanford work better for faculty, students and staff. We tasked John Etchemendy Ph.D. ’82, the former provost, Richard Saller, our former president and [vice president for university affairs] Megan Pierson to lead a simplification initiative to reduce frictions and help make it easier to get things done. Everyone at Stanford wants to see the administrative parts of the university, which play an essential role supporting research and teaching, be enabling forces for faculty and students.
The last thing I’ll say is, it’s been a joy to get out around campus and meet students, faculty, staff and alumni. Every day I walk on campus, and I’m reminded how extraordinary this place is. The range of talent and ideas at Stanford [is] extraordinary. The fact that we can give students and faculty such freedom to be ambitious and to accomplish great things, it’s inspiring.
TSD: Yes, I wanted to ask about those three goals you talked about. On the other hand, what about serving as president has been most challenging for you?
JL: Finding time to do everything. The number of people that I would like to spend time talking with and learning from exceeds the 24 hours in a day, seven days a week constraint. I have to work on that.
TSD: On that note, you’ve made a few visible appearances at student organizations, including the running club, Gaieties and kayaking club. What inspired those visits?
JL: Oh, spending time with students has been the most fun part of the quarter. The events that you mentioned — going running with [Stanford] Running Club around Campus Drive, Gaieties, having lunch with the Knight-Hennessy scholars [and] going a few weeks ago to the Arrillaga pool with the Stanford Kayak Club — I’m just so impressed with the students and the energy and creativity. That has been a real pleasure.
TSD: With the second Trump presidency just over a month away now, some universities, including Harvard, MIT, USC and Columbia, have advised international students to return to campus early, given potential travel bans or changes to immigration rules. Will Stanford take a similar step?
JL: Let me say a few things about the incoming administration and the future of the next couple of years. Where I would start is, universities play a very distinctive role in this country, and our relationship with the government is essential to that role. Universities are the home of new ideas and scientific research, and the federal government is by far the largest investor in supporting research universities, and that means supporting our faculty and our students.
Historically, every administration has supported that because they recognize it’s a source of strength for the country, that the U.S. is a global leader in science and technology, and we’re a beacon for talented people from around the world. That’s because of our universities. So it’s important for Stanford to work closely with every administration, and we’ll do that with the current administration.
In terms of the support for international students, we have students from everywhere in the world at Stanford. That’s one of the greatest strengths of the University. Of course, we respect and follow the immigration laws. And, because it is so core to the research and teaching mission, this is also an area where we talk to Congress. Stanford has had a very long standing position that when it comes to attracting talented students from all over the world, we hope the federal government will be there to issue student visas, to provide opportunities for students to work in this country after graduation. That has historically been a great strength of this country and part of the reason that the country has been so successful.
TSD: To follow up on that, do you have anything to say to international students who might be reading this interview over break and thinking about how to approach new policies right now?
JL: In the first Trump administration, there were travel restrictions placed on a number of countries, including some countries from which we have students. What you’ve seen in recent weeks is that some universities have encouraged students from those countries to make sure they get to campus early. At Stanford, our quarter starts the first week of January. So students will be on campus [before Trump’s inauguration]. The University will make every attempt to be thoughtful and supportive of all of our students, including, if it happens, students for [whom] they may have more frictions in getting travel permission or visas.
TSD: President-elect Trump has also named a few Stanford affiliates to his administration, including Stanford Medicine professor Jay Bhattacharya MD ’97 Ph.D. ’00, who has been critical of COVID lockdowns, as director of the [National Institutes of Health]. Given that you previously spoke at the health policy symposium that he organized, I’m curious to know your thoughts on his appointment to that role.
JL: My feeling is that when people have the opportunity to serve the country, that’s a high calling. I was honored in the last administration to serve on the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. I’m delighted that some of our faculty and alumni have already been asked to serve in important roles in the next administration, along with more than a dozen Stanford alumni in the next Congress.
Jay Bhattacharya has been nominated to be the director of the National Institutes of Health, which is the most important funder of biomedical research in the country, in fact in the world. I think he’ll do an exceptional job in that role.
TSD: Trump also named Stanford alumnus and venture capitalist David Sacks ’94, who was in your graduating class, as his AI and Crypto Czar. Do you have a perspective on his appointment?
JL: I’m glad to see a Stanford alum, especially one from my own graduating class, have a chance to serve, and also to have been asked to lead [the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology], which [I was] honored to have been part of.
TSD: Out of curiosity, did you know David Sacks at Stanford?
JL: We were in the same class. I probably met him at some point during the time. But we were not in close touch.
TSD: Do you have a response to the 26 press freedom organizations, Graduate Student Council and alumni who have criticized the University’s continued support for a criminal prosecution of Dilan Gohill ’27, the Daily reporter who was arrested in June while covering the occupation [of the president’s office]?
JL: I think Provost Martinez explained this with complete clarity last spring. The law provides very strong protections for reporters. That’s an important part of the freedom of the press in this country. And, it doesn’t provide a blanket protection for all behavior. In the case of our internal disciplinary process, it’ll be up to the faculty and the students involved in that process to make a determination.
In the case of the potential criminal charge, that’s not the University, that’s the Santa Clara District Attorney. They’ll make a determination as is appropriate.
TSD: Is it the University’s position that, when he entered the building, Dilan Gohill ’27 had a criminal intent that should be prosecuted?
JL: The University doesn’t have a position on that and isn’t involved in any way with the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office. That’s entirely the domain of Santa Clara County.
TSD: One of the major events of this quarter was the negotiation with the Graduate Workers Union. Were you satisfied with the outcome of the University’s negotiations and the new contract, which includes a wage increase?
JL: We started this fall having spent almost a year in negotiation with the new graduate student union. It’s a first contract, and those take time. But frankly, when the year started, I was concerned about how things were going. Happily, we did reach a resolution, and I think it’s a very fair contract. I think it’s going to establish a foundation for a productive, long-term relationship with the graduate union that’s based on trust and mutual respect. We’re going to do everything we can to make that happen.
TSD: At the start of the quarter, the University also introduced some new guidelines around campus speech. Do you believe those changes have strengthened free speech at Stanford or, alternatively, created a chilling effect?
JL: We’ve had several policy changes at Stanford that I think have been important. Last spring, the Faculty Senate voted to institute the new institutional statements policy, which I supported, which makes clear that when it comes to current events, the role of the University is to provide a forum for discussion and debate.
To start this year, we tried to clarify both the very strong protections for free speech on campus and the rules around protest and disruption. Those rules exist to protect the freedom of students, faculty and staff at Stanford to study and conduct the essential work of the University. I’ve been very pleased this quarter that Stanford students have respected the policies, and have also engaged in a lot of robust conversation, debate and discussion exactly of the kind that we want to see.
What’s most important — and this is the responsibility of everyone on the campus — is that we nurture a culture that’s fundamentally open-minded. Where different viewpoints spark a discussion or even a sharp disagreement, but where everyone walks away and learns something. That’s really what campuses are about, because it’s a foundation for learning and advancing knowledge.
TSD: California recently passed a bill opposing legacy and donor preferences in admissions at universities. The most recent statement from the University was that Stanford would “continue to review its admissions policies” before the legislation goes into effect next year. What policy changes are currently under consideration?
JL: We’re still in the process of reviewing the law and trying to identify, ‘What are the options under the law for the future?’ I will say, this is an important issue for the University because people have very diverging views on admissions policies, really on all admissions policies. So it’s something that needs really careful thought and consideration, and that’s what we’ll try to give it over the coming months before the next admission cycle.
TSD: How is the University planning to address concerns among students about the future of the creative writing program?
JL: The creative writing program at Stanford is a gem. We have had so many students over the years who have benefited from both the wonderful teaching in the program and from the opportunity to engage in something that’s purely creative and exercises a different part of their minds. A good number of students have used that program as a launching pad to go on to great careers as writers. I think it’s always going to be a great strength of Stanford to have a creative writing program like that, that offers opportunities for students.
There’s been some disagreement about the changes the department made to focus some of the lecturer positions on younger scholars. Certainly I’ve heard about that. I know the leadership in the [English] department and the humanities and sciences school has been trying to talk with students and alumni who care deeply about the program.
The fact that people care so much about that program and the teachers is a testament to how successful it’s been and the impact that it has on people’s experience at Stanford.
TSD: Going back to the conversation earlier about emerging technologies, are you at all concerned about the potential impacts of AI on students’ learning?
JL: I think AI is going to change education in very profound ways. Not necessarily this year, maybe not even in the next five years, but eventually. Because so much of education, both at the primary level and at universities, is about being able to process and synthesize information, to be able to articulate ideas. And then, of course, other areas like coding, mathematics and so forth.
These are just the basic AI models now, the first generation of models that already are pretty good at doing those things that we spend so much time teaching in schools.
Right now, everyone’s focused on the threats that that poses to assessment of work, to cheating, to authenticity of work — and that’s appropriate. We have to think about those things. But ultimately, what needs to happen is much more fundamental. It’s about, ‘How will we use these tools to rethink the way we teach, what people need to learn?’
That is a great opportunity for a place like Stanford, and for Stanford faculty and students to be at the forefront of thinking about how we can integrate these tools. No one would teach statistics or math and say, ‘You can’t use a calculator, you can’t use a computer to do the work.’ That’s integrated into the teaching. What can be done in those fields is vastly more than 40 years ago, and the same will be true of AI.
It’s just we’re at the very early days, so we’re at the beginning stages of figuring it out. To me, we have to deal with the near-term threats and challenges. But ultimately, this is an incredible opportunity for education, and it’s really one of the most exciting things that’s happened in education in years.
Can I ask myself one question?
TSD: Sure, go ahead.
JL: One thing I thought I should say something about is athletics.
Stanford has a really unique tradition in athletics. Not many schools compete with Harvard, Yale and MIT for academic excellence and compete on the playing field with Ohio State, UCLA and Texas — and we do at Stanford. It’s part of the fabric of the university, especially for Stanford alumni. The last time Stanford played in the Rose Bowl was the largest alumni gathering in the history of the University. I think everyone was very proud of this summer, when we had 59 students and alumni in the Paris Olympics,
We are now facing some very significant challenges, from the professionalization of college athletics, moving to the ACC and financial challenges. So what we have to do is chart a Stanford path in this new landscape. That means, first and foremost, ensuring that student athletes at Stanford are Stanford students first. That’s why they come to Stanford rather than go somewhere else. It also means ensuring that athletics is financially sustainable (we’re going to need the help of our alumni to make sure that happens) and ensuring that we’re competitive.
We do something at Stanford — we strive for excellence. That has been on my mind this quarter, and I look forward to working with everyone at Stanford to chart a successful course for our athletics program in the future.
TSD: Thank you. My last question is, do you have any specific plans in mind for next quarter or the rest of the year?
JL: I’m really excited for the rest of the year. This quarter, it was such a pleasure to get started in this role and get to work with Provost Martinez and everyone at Stanford, and to have the chance to meet so many people. When I look forward to the rest of the year, we have the priorities that we just talked about — I’m excited to take those forward. I’m excited to spend more time thinking about the next five or 10 years. I’m excited to meet even more students and faculty. Stanford’s a big place, and there’s a lot to learn. One quarter is a good start, but there are still so many people to meet and so much to learn in my first year. I can’t wait to come back in January and see what’s ahead.
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‘Moana 2’ drowns in money and fails to make wavesI saw “Moana 2” with my seven-year-old sister, who admittedly loved it, but at a fundamental level it feels like a cash-grab, writes Martinez Rosales.
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“Moana 2” grossed $389 million worldwide at the box office in its opening weekend, dethroning the $377-milion record of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.” Yet, it fails to capture the magic of the original.
A whole seven years after its release, “Moana” (2016) was the most streamed movie of the year in 2023 and an eventual sequel had been in the works since 2020. However this sequel was initially going to be in the form of a TV show. It wasn’t until February of 2024 that Disney announced “Moana 2,” a feature film that would come out nine months later. The film suffers from the hard pivot from show to movie — a big reason why it fails to live up to the original.
“Moana 2” reunites us with Moana as she gets a call from her ancestors to break a curse and reconnect the ocean. This is a huge task for the 100-minute runtime, and the film fails to fully develop the story.
The presented story feels like glimpses of what the TV show story originally was. The movie is just okay, and the glimpses show just how great the film could have been. A clear example comes in the form of Moana’s crew as she embarks on this journey. We are introduced to Moni (Hualālai Chung), Loto (Rose Matafeo) and Kele (David Fane), who are disappointingly one dimensional; their presence feels residual from the show and doesn’t add to the story.
Another example of the story’s lackluster quality is the antagonist of the film. While in the first film, Te Fiti is presented as an evil lava monster, by the end of the film we understand her complexity. “Moana 2” initially presents Awhimai Fraser’s Matangi as an antagonist, but we only learn about their backstory through a brief exposition drop; the film’s true antagonist, Nalo (Tofiga Fepulea’i), doesn’t have a speaking role until the post credits. The lack of motives and development in the villains make the film feel flat, contrasting drastically to that of the first film.
The runtime of “Moana” was 107 minutes, and while I doubt that another seven minutes would have saved “Moana 2” from feeling incomplete, the original proves that it’s possible to tell a compelling story in a short amount of time. Fundamentally, it fails because the story is too large. It’s true that the role of a sequel is to expand the world and the story, but the presented story feels as though Disney took the show’s story and pressed the fast forward option. I would even go as far to say that Moana herself almost feels like a viewer to the events unfolding than a true protagonist. In the midst of so many new characters the film struggles to draw focus to her. In group settings, she usually feels like a background character rather than the leader of the crew.
This is all without mentioning the songs. While Lin-Manuel Miranda (creator of the musical “Hamilton” and songwriter for Disney’s “Encanto” (2021)) wrote the songs for the first film, his absence in the second film is felt. The songs are okay, but they fail to be catchy or as sentimental as the ones in the first film.
What “Moana 2” continues to do well from the original is the animation. The different scenes where Moana interacts with her ancestors are powerful and are a beautiful testament to the craft. Dwayne Johnson’s Maui, while featured sparingly, is comedic, and we see how he has developed from the lessons he learned in the first film. Auliʻi Cravalho’s Moana does a phenomenal job with what she is given. Her voice performance truly makes you care for Moana’s journey in this film and what shines are the moments when Moana is with her sister, Simea (Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda). The film understands the important role their sisterly bond plays in the story, and these slow and thoughtful moments of siblingship are the soul of the film.
I saw “Moana 2” with my seven-year-old sister, who admittedly loved it, but at a fundamental level it feels like a cash-grab. Its success will most likely only have Disney continue pushing more sequels and less fully developed products. Recent films such as “The Wild Robot” (2024), “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”(2018) and “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish”(2023) have shown that animation can delve into complex stories that are entertaining for both children and adults. “Moana 2” even has story elements that feel complex, but ultimately the film waves off the complexity in search of trying to tell a complete story.
There is no doubt that Disney will continue to tell stories in the Moana universe, with a live-action “Moana” scheduled to have a 2026 release date. One can only hope that these movies feel less like a money grab and at least try to live up to the original.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
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Alumni condemn University’s conduct in case involving Daily reporterNearly a dozen Stanford alumni in journalism and law called on the University and the District Attorney’s office to not pursue further action against Dilan Gohill ’27, who was arrested while covering a pro-Palestinian student occupation in June.
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A group of alumni condemned the University’s conduct toward The Daily and its reporter, Dilan Gohill ’27, in a Monday open letter to University administrators. Gohill was arrested in June while covering pro-Palestinian protesters’ occupation of the president’s office in Building 10.
The 12-page letter — addressed to University President Jon Levin ’94 and Provost Jenny Martinez, and additionally sent to former President Richard Saller and Board of Trustees Chair Jerry Yang ’90 M.S. ’90 — argues that Gohill’s actions on June 5 were lawful and criticizes the University’s June 10 statement, which supported Gohill’s criminal prosecution.
“The polemical tone of the statement suggests that the University disregarded the available facts and the law sufficiently to justify its belief, instead jumping to a false legal conclusion to malign a freshman student as a demonstration of institutional callousness,” the alumni wrote.
The letter also alleges that a Stanford official — “reportedly” Martinez — directed law enforcement officers to arrest everyone in Building 10 upon arrival. Officers did so even with the knowledge of Gohill’s press credentials.
The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.
Gohill, alongside 12 protesters, was arrested on suspected felony charges of vandalism, burglary and conspiracy. The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office had not filed charges as of an arraignment in August but the case remains open.
The letter argues that Gohill did not commit any of the three felonies, citing, among other sources, Slack messages between Gohill and other Daily staffers from that morning.
The 11 signatories are high-profile Stanford alumni in journalism and law, including Friends of the Stanford Daily Foundation Board Chair Andrew P. Bridges ’76, former partner of Fenwick & West LLP; New York Times reporter Ryan Mac ’11; Online News Association founder Rich Jaroslovsky ’75; and Friends Vice Chair James D. Wascher ’75, a former federal administrative law judge.
These alumni are among many free press advocates — including a coalition of 26 free speech organizations — that have voiced public support for Gohill. On Wednesday, Bill Grueskin ’77, the former dean of academic affairs of the Columbia Journalism School and a former Wall Street Journal editor, also argued in an article that Gohill should not be criminally prosecuted.
“Six months on, it isn’t clear why the district attorney is still reviewing the case, and it’s even less clear why Stanford has taken such an aggressive posture toward a student journalist with less than a year’s experience,” Grueskin wrote.
Gohill, who is wrapping up the first quarter of his second year on campus, also calls on the University and the DA to not pursue further action against him.
“President Levin, Provost Martinez, and District Attorney Rosen are extremely close to setting a dangerous precedent where academic institutions can leverage their power and exploit student journalists’ academic status to silence their reporting,” Gohill said. “This is not about me or the events on June 5; this is about the freedom of student press — a fundamental pillar of our democracy.”
The University’s June 10 statement argues that the First Amendment does not protect a journalist’s right to “trespass in a locked private building.” But the Monday letter calls the statement’s discussion of the First Amendment “subject to debate” and argues that Gohill’s actions did not constitute trespassing, as he did not damage property or refuse a lawful order to leave.
Gohill has not been charged with trespass. “For good reason,” the letter states.
Alumni called upon the University to publicly withdraw its support of prosecuting Gohill and inform the DA’s office that it is not pursuing formal disciplinary action against Gohill. They also urged the University to issue a public apology to Gohill and The Daily, open a third-party investigation into University officials’ conduct in the case and request the DA’s office to close Gohill’s case.
Putting Gohill “under threat and leaving him in limbo amounted to unconscionable punishment-by-delay on the disciplinary front, and that form of punishment continues with respect to potential criminal prosecution,” they wrote.
The University previously expressed “serious concern” that Gohill acted at the direction of senior editors and suggested that The Daily provide its reporters and editors with stronger training.
In the letter, however, alumni lauded Daily reporters and editors for understanding their responsibilities and their rights as journalists, and concluded by condemning the University’s failure to fulfill its role as an educational institution.
“Nothing Stanford has done in this case suggests a mission to educate students, instead of controlling and punishing a student to thwart reporting,” they wrote.
Correction: A previous version of this article misstated Bill Grueskin as the current dean of academic affairs of the Columbia Journalism School. The Daily regrets this error.
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Letter to the Editor | On Daily coverage of People v. Hunter FraserThe Santa Clara County District Attorney committed a grave mistake by dismissing the case, writes the victim's attorney.
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Your article about the Santa Clara County District Attorney Office’s dismissal of the felony case entitled People v. Hunter Fraser is grossly misleading. The Santa Clara County District Attorney committed a grave mistake by dismissing the case. Moreover the District Attorney’s actions violated the California Constitution. Article 1 Section 28 of the California Constitution requires prosecutors to confer with victims and give reasonable notice regarding court proceedings. The prosecutors did not discuss their decision with the victim. They did not give the victim reasonable notice regarding the court appearance. No one from their office contacted me. I represent the victim. The victim and I found out after the fact.
Your article quotes Hunter Fraser as describing himself as a victim. He is not a victim. Hunter Fraser is a perpetrator with other victims. He is deserving of prosecution not a dismissal. What he did in this case was no accident. People who harm loved ones “by accident” make amends and take responsibility. Hunter Fraser instead aggressively attacked and belittled his victim — just like he has done to other women. For a matter this serious it is astounding that your reporter did not contact me.
Hunter Fraser’s case was two years in the works. A Santa Clara County Judge found after an extensive evidentiary hearing there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed to jury trial. The judge found Hunter Fraser battered his victim finding further that Hunter Fraser personally inflicted great bodily injury upon the victim because he broke her ribs. The Criminal Protective Order against Hunter Fraser obtained by the prosecution was dissolved by operation of law when the case was dismissed leaving the victim without legal protection. The dismissal of this case is outrageous. The Santa Clara District Attorney doing so without having the decency to confer with the victim in accord with his Constitutional duty is equally outrageous.
I have written a letter to District Attorney Rosen advising him of his violation of the State Constitution and what must be done to correct the wrongdoing of dismissing the case against Hunter Fraser. Hopefully the Santa Clara County District Attorney will now do the right thing.
Paula Canny, criminal justice attorney
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Men’s basketball defeats Cal to open ACC playStanford men’s basketball defeated Cal 89-81 Saturday night. Jaylen Blakes and Maxime Raynaud each scored 20 points, while former Cardinal Andrej Stojakovic led the Bears with 25 points.
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On Saturday, Stanford men’s basketball defeated its rival, California, 89-81, in a physical contest at Haas Pavilion.
The Cardinal controlled the game with sizable leads, weathering a late rally by the Golden Bears to secure the victory. Former Stanford guard Andrej Stojakovic, who now plays on the rival team, led all scorers with 25 points, but seniors Jaylen Blakes and Maxime Raynaud powered Stanford to the win with 20 points each.
Facing a hostile road crowd, the Cardinal set the tone early, opening with a 7-0 run. Raynaud sparked the scoring with a three-pointer, energizing his teammates and quieting the Cal fans with an emphatic gesture toward the stands.
Stanford maintained its advantage for much of the first half, extending the lead to as many as 11 points. However, Stojakovic’s dynamic play helped Cal claw back, tying the game at 29 with five minutes remaining. The Bears’ momentum was short-lived, as Blakes responded with back-to-back three-pointers and an assist on another score, restoring Stanford’s control.
The Cardinal ended the half on a high note, taking a commanding 16-point lead into the break after a last-minute jumper by Blakes. Stanford shot 48.9% from the field in the first half, including eight of 18 from beyond the arc, while converting all eight of its free-throw attempts. Cal struggled offensively, shooting just 37.5% and missing all six of its three-point tries.
The Bears improved their three-point shooting in the second half, but Stanford continued to dominate, pushing its lead to 20 points with five minutes remaining. Cal mounted a late 24-12 run to pull within six points, with Stojakovic contributing 11 points during the surge, but the deficit proved insurmountable.
Blakes and Raynaud delivered all-around performances in the ACC opener. Blakes added six assists, a steal, and two blocks to his 20 points, while Raynaud anchored the defense with five blocks. Junior Oziyah Sellers and sophomore Ryan Agarwal were also key contributors, scoring 16 and 11 points, respectively, while shooting 50% from three-point range.
Stanford will look to extend its winning streak to three games when it hosts Merrimack on Dec. 17.
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Are we sacrificing our youth for college admissions?Is sixth grade too early to be on LinkedIn? At what point have we gone too far in trying to get into a "good college?" Malcolm Carral Abreu reflects on this and other questions of passion versus a polished resume.
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On a recent scroll through my LinkedIn, I stumbled upon a profile of a sixth grader. Shocked, I clicked on it and went through it. I saw how they had more accolades than I had in my senior year of high school. This made me wonder: Should we be on LinkedIn or even thinking about the college admissions process at such an early age? While understanding higher education is important, starting this process in middle school feels excessive.
I can’t even recall what I was doing in the sixth grade. Yeah, there was the science fair and the award show, but I wasn’t posting about it on LinkedIn. I didn’t even know what LinkedIn was back then. Seeing people this young hustling to get ahead raises a serious question: why are we doing this? I think it’s because of a mix of cultural norms and societal pressures around success. It seems these days that success and visibility are closely tied. This means that if you haven’t yet posted it or if people don’t know, then you’re automatically unsuccessful.
Has the college admissions process become so demanding that we need to start preparing in middle school? Is the pressure so intense that it feels like you must cure cancer to get in? Is the competition too rigorous that we need to prepare at an early age? The sheer competitiveness of it all makes me reflect on my own application. Preparing and cultivating the document that would give me an admission letter was like squeezing water out of stone. The constant edits and meticulously curating lists of activities to showcase made the process quite the journey. Although it was a heavy task that many of my peers can recall as the worst time in high school, it didn’t require showcasing every childhood accomplishment to have a shot. I didn’t list when I volunteered at a summer camp when I was 12 or when I won the art award in seventh grade, but rather, I listed things that I thought genuinely mattered to me. Unfortunately, the culture behind college applications has become too hostile, making it even more elitist than ever. For example, the demand for college prep advisors has increased since the past. Many of the students I’ve encountered at Stanford seem to have had help in the college process in one way or another. College prep counselors are expensive and make it hard for those who can’t afford the luxury of having them to keep up.
Throughout my first quarter at Stanford, I’ve heard things that reinforce these ideas even more. I’ve overheard students talking about playing a sport they didn’t even enjoy to make it seem unique on their application or starting a “nonprofit” to make it seem like they cared about a cause. This shocked me as I realized the level at which some people would swoop to enter this institution. It makes me reflect on how I view them; it allows me to see what they strive for and what they are willing to do for what they want. While there are many examples of people who are genuinely passionate about their pursuits, it still confirms the sheer competitiveness and intense pressure to stand out. Circling back, are we sacrificing our youth for college admissions? The fierce anxiety surrounding the process seems to stem from a fear shared by parents and children: the fear that they’ll fall behind if they don’t do the absolute most. While preparing and planning for college is necessary, it shouldn’t come at the expense of childhood experiences. These experiences are crucial for individuality and development. Some students sacrifice time with their family or social bonding. Being locked away and consumed by the college admission process strips individuals away from spontaneity and even exploring hobbies for fun rather than for an activities list.
The never-ending chase for awards and accolades at such an early age feels excessive. Is the goal of life really to get into a prestigious university, or is it far more profound than that? Sometimes, we can lose sight of what truly matters and what we want. We shouldn’t sacrifice passion and authenticity for a college decision. This is not to say we shouldn’t strive for excellence, but a balance must be maintained. As with most things in life, too much can be harmful, just as too little can be. As a collective, we must find a middle ground where students can enjoy their youth while pursuing personal and academic achievements. Finding and fostering this balance is crucial for their well-being and creating genuine passion and authenticity, which should matter more than a well-packaged resume. The solution to all of this should start with a look at the definition of success. What it means to be “successful” should be defined internally rather than externally. Placing more on curiosity, personal growth, and creativity rather than entirely on achievements. Educational institutions can also put less pressure on students with standardized test scores or GPAs but look at students holistically, rewarding them on their unique journey.
Looking back at my experiences, I realize that the stress from my junior and senior years was immense and already too much to unpack. I remember returning from school, working on my college application, and forgetting to eat. Definitely not the healthiest period of my life, but I felt the need to do it as everyone around me was also so dedicated to this process. It makes me think of how much stress these younger students are carrying. It almost makes me want to tell them they’ll be alright, and I can’t help but question whether starting so young is the answer. Whether it’s the standardized system that creates this pressure or the students simply following the crowd behavior, we don’t know what it takes to get into a school like Stanford. Still, I am sure that it isn’t fair to ourselves to deprive ourselves of memories of youthful experiences that don’t revolve around the college admissions process.
The college admissions process has undoubtedly become a source of immense pressure, pushing students to sacrifice their youth in the race for perfection. While in this race, I think preserving the joy, creativity, and authenticity of childhood is equally essential. Success shouldn’t come at the expense of mental health or genuine passion. And as for a university whose motto is “Die Luft der Freiheit weht” (“the winds of freedom blow”), we should advocate for an admissions process that doesn’t target the elite or wealthy. We shouldn’t base admission on a polished resume or a unique activity but rather on uniqueness. We should seek for the winds to approach all who strive for it.
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‘Tis the cuffing season full of endless possibilitiesThis time of year is commonly referred to as "cuffing season," and at Stanford, the reasons for that seems to make a lot of sense.
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To the extent there was an “us,” it only lasted for a brief amount of time. Now, things will remain forever in the past — almost certainly to never cross paths again. There is something that has certainly persisted, however, and that would be what I learned from what we did have.
Because it took place during fall quarter, I would definitely say this “relationship” falls under the broad umbrella of cuffing season: a time when people are looking for something with someone to make it through those colder months. On the surface, it paints a rather lighthearted picture of getting temporarily attached to someone. On a deeper level, however, I think it represents something much bigger about what it means to be a Stanford student at this time of year.
Especially for frosh, fall quarter is when you can discover for the sake of discovering. To the point that it scares you sometimes, campus feels like this never-ending universe of possibilities for you to uncover on a daily basis. You’re away from home for perhaps the first time in your life, so you can’t help but dive head-first into the unknown. From taking “just for fun” classes to forming your own niche traditions with people you’ve just met, the possibilities just don’t stop. This certainly doesn’t stop in the world of romance.
A lot could fit into the incredibly broad “romantic” category during this even more incredibly possibilities-filled time at Stanford. For one person, this might be the first time ever where it’s possible for them to be true to themselves on how to love others and/or present themselves. For someone else, it could be getting to manifest the very standards and desires that prior experiences left them feeling like they would never deserve in the first place. For me, it took the form of remembering a past trauma in ways that sent me on this one-of-a-kind journey of change and self-discovery.
As much as cuffing season and its endless possibilities can bring you a joy that borders on euphoria, “reality” has a way of setting in come the winter holidays. Because Stanford is where you experience the possible, you end up encountering the challenges you maybe didn’t envision — or refused to accept.
Precisely because of Stanford being the place where you meet the people and create the experiences you never thought possible, you also end up countering the challenges you maybe didn’t envision — or refused to accept.
The closer we get to winter break at Stanford, the deeper that certain questions tend to set in, such as: Will things ever get serious between us? Can what we have last? Is this even good for me in the first place?
It can hit you like a truck sometimes. Thinking about navigating a potential long distance relationship (LDR), coming up with the words to have the conversation that ends things or even just approaching midterms and finals as you deal with all of this can be a lot. This is what I think makes the rather typical cuffing season experience — getting together and then breaking up — a special experience of sorts.
A cuffing season breakup sometimes happens due to a mutually fading desire to keep “things” going, or perhaps one person wanted something more “real” while the other didn’t want more. Either way, there is a tendency that some have to question whether or not it — something temporary — was actually worth having. Without question, I would say that it was worth it.
Just because something ended doesn’t mean it wasn’t worthwhile. You might have initiated things without careful thought on its long-term prospects, but that doesn’t mean you made a mistake. You might have been in a situation where a split was undoubtedly in your best interests, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve something that does go well. You might be at a point in life where an LDR would be untenable, or you might not know how to strongly voice your standards and desires just yet. The end of what you might have had during cuffing season isn’t the end of romance for you.
The silver lining to a cuffing season breakup is the path it could very well lead you on. From the way it all started, maybe you learned more about the green and red flags to keep an eye out for. From the way it ended, maybe you learned something on how to more effectively communicate your standards and desires. Regardless of what led you to where you are now, you have the next chapter to look toward. Much like your time at Stanford, your world of romance is full of endless possibilities.
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Person of interest in UnitedHealthcare CEO shooting worked as counselor for Stanford summer studies courseLuigi Mangione, a former Stanford summer studies counselor, was detained in connection with the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson following a massive manhunt.
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Luigi Mangione, whom police arrested and identified Monday as a “strong person of interest” in the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last Wednesday, was employed as a head counselor for Stanford’s pre-collegiate studies program between May and September of 2019, a University spokesperson confirmed to The Daily.
Thompson’s fatal shooting outside of a hotel in midtown Manhattan last week triggered a high-profile manhunt to identify his assailant based on surveillance footage. The murder also drew mocking and celebratory reactions from social media users, who have vented frustration with the American healthcare insurance industry.
“We believe we have a strong person of interest,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said, referring to Mangione at a press conference Monday.
Authorities said that Mangione, who was carrying fraudulent IDs and a firearm, was arrested on charges unrelated to the case. Police also said they recovered a document that expressed Mangione’s motivations and “ill will” toward corporations.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Mangione “designed lesson plans and taught artificial intelligence to gifted high school students” and “led a 7-member residential staff” during the summer studies program at Stanford. The program offers academic courses to high school students from around the world, both on the Stanford campus and online.
The Daily reviewed a Stanford Pre-College Studies spreadsheet from 2019 that listed Mangione as a Head Counselor living in the Kappa Alpha house.
Mangione shared photos from the summer of 2019 on Facebook and Instagram that showed him posing with fellow counselors at various campus locations, including Lake Lagunita. The Facebook album was captioned “KAotic summers only,” referring to the Kappa Alpha house. Both Facebook and Instagram deleted his profiles Monday.
A 26-year-old graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Mangione received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer and information science. He was born and raised in Maryland, graduated as valedictorian from the private all-boys school Gilman and appeared to belong to the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity chapter at UPenn.
The news of Mangione’s arrest sparked extensive online investigation of his past, with users locating his high school valedictorian speech and social media profiles.
Online commentators have noted that he wrote a positive review of the Unabomber’s manifesto on Goodreads and praised him as a “political revolutionary.” On X, Mangione followed various public figures, including Sam Harris, Joe Rogan and Stanford Medicine Professor Andrew Huberman, whom he retweeted in June.
The words “deny,” “depose” and “defend” were written on bullet shell casings found at the scene of the shooting. Investigators have linked these messages to denied insurance claims, a major theme in accusations of greed against insurance companies.
Thompson’s wife told NBC that her husband had previously received threats, possibly related to medical coverage.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
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Venture capitalist David Sacks ’94 named Trump’s ‘AI and crypto czar’President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Stanford alumnus and venture capitalist David Sacks as his “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar,” as Trump seeks to solidify his pro-crypto agenda.
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President-elect Donald Trump named Stanford alumnus and venture capitalist David Sacks ’94 his “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar” in a series of Thursday morning posts on his Truth Social platform.
“David will guide policy in the Administration in Artificial Intelligence and Cryptocurrency, two areas critical for the future of American competitiveness,” Trump wrote.
Sacks, who was born in South Africa, received his B.A. in economics from Stanford before becoming involved in the tech industry in 1999 with PayPal, where he rose to chief operating officer. He is a member of the so-called “PayPal mafia,” a group of the company’s early founders, including figures like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who went on to create other successful technology ventures.
Sacks was the founder and CEO of Yammer, an enterprise social networking service, and co-founded Craft Ventures, an early-stage venture fund, in 2017. Sacks also hosts a podcast, “All In,” where he has advocated against government tech regulation and supported Trump.
Earlier this year, Sacks hosted a sold-out fundraiser for Trump, as the then-Republican nominee, at his San Francisco residence on “Billionaires’ Row.” The event raised around $12 million, with tickets selling for $300,000 per person, including perks such as photos with Trump. Sacks was also a speaker at the 2024 Republican National Convention.
Vice president-elect J.D. Vance has also heaped heavy praise on Sacks, even naming him one of his “closest friends in the tech world.”
The Daily has reached out to Sacks for comment.
Sacks’ new role in the Trump administration indicates Trump’s commitment to his campaign pledge to be a “crypto president.” It also follows a surge in the price of Bitcoin this week, after the president-elect nominated crypto enthusiast Paul Atkins to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission — the cryptocurrency surpassed the $100,000 mark for the first time on Thursday.
Trump claimed credit for this landmark Bitcoin price, writing in a Thursday morning Truth Social post, “CONGRATULATIONS BITCOINERS!!! $100,000!!! YOU’RE WELCOME!!! Together, we will Make America Great Again!”
On Truth Social, Trump also elaborated on the job description for the inaugural “Crypto Czar” position. “[Sacks] will work on a legal framework so the Crypto industry has the clarity it has been asking for and can thrive in the U.S.,” Trump wrote.
In addition to the heavy focus on crypto, Trump noted that Sacks will lead the Presidential Council of Advisors for Science and Technology. However, the role appears primarily advisory, with Craft Ventures telling Bloomberg that Sacks would stay at the venture capital firm.
Sacks’ selection continues the trend of notable Silicon Valley individuals being chosen for high-ranking positions in the second Trump administration, including Musk and founder and CEO of Roivant Sciences Vivek Ramaswamy as co-leads for the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE). Stanford professor Jay Bhattacharya, a prominent critic of lockdown measures during COVID-19, was selected to lead the National Institute of Health (NIH).
Fellow Silicon Valley figures celebrated Sacks’ appointment on Thursday. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who dropped out of Stanford in 2005, posted on X on Thursday evening, “congrats to czar @DavidSacks!” to which Musk replied with a laughing emoji.
Sacks also received widespread support from the crypto industry, with Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith saying in a statement, “David Sacks’ unparalleled track record as an entrepreneur, investor, and innovator makes him uniquely suited to lead U.S. crypto policy at a pivotal moment in the industry’s evolution.”
Gemini chief legal officer Tyler Meade wrote on X, “At long last, a rational conversation about crypto can be had.”
The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.
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On cloud nine: A look at the freshmen on the women’s soccer teamWith a roster of majority freshmen, the women’s soccer class of 2028 has been impressively competitive. The secret to their success is their chemistry with each other — both on and off the field.
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The scoreboard read 0-0 as freshman forward Charlotte Kohler dribbled past defenders and launched the ball from outside the box into the back corner of the goal, securing a win against USF — and her first of many career goals for Stanford. When asked afterward what scoring that winning goal felt like, she replied, “I was just happy to celebrate with my teammates.”
This tight bond among the nine freshmen on the women’s soccer team has been a large contributor to their success this season. The team will play in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament on Friday against Wake Forest University after a resounding 4-0 win against UCSB on Nov. 15 and successive wins against UConn, Arkansas and Notre Dame. With several goal-scorers and starters, the class of 2028 has had a stellar college debut. The secret to their success is their chemistry with each other — both on and off the field.
“We spend a lot of time together off the field, and so building those connections together really lets us bring those connections onto the field,” explained freshman midfielder Mia Crisera.
Freshman defender Sophie Murdock agreed: “Some people will meet up for coffee and talk about how they can improve their connections on the field,” she elaborated, “I might reach out to another center back… and ask how we can help each other.”
Freshman forward Jaden Thomas described the ways the entire class maintains their bond: “We try to do something with just our class to stay connected and just check in with each other,” she said. Thomas explained that team-building activities could include going to a comedy show together, or getting ice cream, or having a class dinner at the house of Kohler, who is local.
Freshman defender Ella Emri noted that it takes time to build those relationships, but that pre-season really helped. “Right away, you’re living with the team… so you get really close with the girls,” she said, “you learn everything about them.” That friendship translates to more advanced play on the field, Emri explained.
Freshman goalkeeper Kaiya Jota added, “though we do have a lot of younger players, we were able to integrate ourselves really fast.”
The freshmen have found that having a large class comes with a special advantage: They all bring something different to the table. “Our class has every personality you could ever imagine,” said Thomas. Jota, Thomas, and freshmen defenders Lizzie Boamah and Samantha Smith describe themselves as energizers, while Emri describes herself as a calming presence. Kohler said she brings a quieter positive energy, and freshman Eleanor Klinger says she brings her creativity to the field.
“Sophie’s our social organizer,” Thomas said, and Crisera says she works to be supportive of her teammates.
“We all have just really come together and embraced all the different personalities,” Murdoch said. “I think it’s made us closer overall.”
Being on a younger team has also allowed the class to take more risks in their playing style. “I think it does give us a little bit more freedom to kind of be ourselves,” noted Klinger. At the same time, she said, “we have a bigger role on the team, [so] we have to take accountability for what we’re doing.”
For coach Paul Radcliffe, the decision to bring nine freshmen onto the team was multifaceted. The program was trying to rebuild the team, and the good talent pool allowed Radcliffe to do just that. “We need the influx of talents and feel really lucky that we’re able to attract nine fantastic student athletes to the Farm,” he said.
“[Having more freshmen] gives me more choices for player selection. We’ve had a lot of freshmen that have stepped in and started straight away because they’re so strong,” he explained. “That’s fantastic for the team, and we need them… We need a balance in the squad.”
Radcliffe is optimistic of the role this class will play in the coming years as well. “It helps if they get minutes as younger players, then when they get to their junior and senior years, they can really be even more impactful as leaders as well.”
In the future, Radcliffe is looking to continue recruiting a minimum of seven to nine new players each year. “I think the younger players always add great energy to the team,” he said. “They’re excited to be at Stanford that they’re learning so many new things, creating new relationships with the older players.”
When asked what he looks for in a recruit, he said definitively, “character is the number one thing.” That includes “work ethic, being a team player, caring about their teammates, and then the passion for soccer that they want to get better, and they want to excel in the future.”
Radcliffe is very satisfied with his recruiting decisions this year.
“I think they’ve added tremendous energy to our team and are really talented. So I’m excited for their futures at Stanford,” he said. “I think they’re going to really add a lot of value and really impact the team in a positive way.”
Fans of the Cardinal will be eagerly awaiting this talent and energy in Friday’s game.
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Deans dismiss student petition for meeting on creative writing programA student-led petition — which has over 150 signatures — to meet with creative writing faculty members about the decision to ‘cycle out’ lecturers has failed.
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A petition started by Sara Simoni ’26 for students to meet with members of the creative writing faculty to discuss their decision to “future fire” all of the Jones lecturers has been turned down by two deans Thursday.
Simoni said the purpose behind her petition to Humanities and Arts Senior Associate Dean Gabriella Safran, and Humanities and Sciences Dean Debra Satz was to gather all of the important department administrators — including the deans, Creative Writing Program Director Nicholas Jenkins, faculty members, lecturers and some students — in a general meeting, where they could talk about the state of the program. She said the meeting wasn’t meant to create change or reverse decisions, but rather, to hold a space where all voices could be heard in person.
According to creative writing lecturer Austin Smith, there had been a request for a town hall meeting a few months ago to air public concerns about the creative writing program, but that was denied. In a letter to the editor, Satz had written that “Town halls are not held because academic units make personnel decisions with which students or others may disagree.”
However, Simoni said her petition is different from that effort, and she communicated that in her petition and emails to the dean.
In a statement to The Daily, Safran wrote “Dean Satz and I have met with students and lecturers who have had questions and comments about the decision. The decision came out of a lengthy and careful process that aligns with our governance system.”
The dismissal from Safran felt disappointing, Simoni said. According to her, her petition used specific language to make it clear she wasn’t asking for a town hall.
“This is us trying to use the university systems and policies to try to create change that we think would be effective going forward,” Simoni said.
“I do honestly believe that there were a lot of good intentions behind the decision that people made,” Simoni said, but that she would like to hold a conversation to hear from all voices, and get in touch with faculty members who haven’t responded yet.
Since its launch on Nov. 20, there have been 150 verified signatures on the petition. Many signatories are current Stanford students and alumni who say that they are concerned about the status of the program and want an opportunity to be listened to. Steven Tagle ’07, an alumni of the program, said he signed the petition because he “wanted to sort of give back and do as much as [he] could to support the current Jones lecturers.”
“It seems like they’re not listening to the students’ concerns as much as trying to justify the decision that they’ve already made.” Tagle said.
The petition is completely student-led. Smith said his involvement was bridging Simoni with the faculty.
“I have let go of the outcome… I don’t need to be [in the meeting],” Smith said. “And it’s not about our jobs. It’s about the students feeling that they have a healthy program so they can make clear decisions about their academic path at Stanford.”
Kate Mattox ’26 said she wished there was more transparency, wanting the creative writing faculty to meet with students and explain their reasoning or release a plan about what’s going to happen to the program.
The creative writing program has been holding coffee chats with Jenkins as an opportunity for students to discuss the program with him. Kathaleen Mallard ’25 went to meet with Jenkins but said she thought that the chat “was a waste of time.”
Mallard wrote that she thought Jenkins tried to use the chat as a defense of the “entire English department” and that she thought he did not approach the coffee chats with an open mind. According to her, Jenkins “made it clear that students’ voices aren’t going to change the decision, and the Deans don’t fully agree with the decision, but the changes are out of their hands.”
Simoni said she also met with Jenkins for a coffee chat and thought that he has “done a great job of trying to be available in terms of meeting and discussing things.” However, she still wanted a meeting with more faculty members than just Jenkins present to talk about the decision that was made.
Mallard also met with Satz and Safran. According to her, Satz and Safran told her there were inconsistencies between what she knew and what actually happened, but did not clarify the inconsistencies. She wrote that she does think Satz and Safran are trying to listen to students because they wrote custom responses to people who wrote a letter to them. However, the lack of transparency has left her feeling sad and that the program is inaccessible to her.
“This is why we want to have a meeting with the other English Faculty so we can understand the decisions that were being made and have it not feel like a waste of time,” Mallard wrote.
The Daily reached out to Safran, Satz and Jenkins for a comment.
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Literary magazine Leland Quarterly opens doors to creative expression and student publicationThe student-run literary magazine provides a platform for emerging writers.
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Leland Quarterly, Stanford’s student-run literary and arts magazine, provides an outlet for students to publish and share their creative work. Each quarter, the magazine solicits submissions of poetry, prose and visual art from the student body to compile into a single glossy publication.
“Our number one priority is being able to showcase student art and writing. As a writer myself, I love it when people read my work, and I think we give students a chance to spotlight that, which is awesome,” said co-editor-in-chief Matt Hsu ’26. “We’re always hoping to expand and get more submissions, and just showcase as much student work as possible.”
The staff of the magazine meets weekly to review students’ submissions. For poems, editors read aloud the pieces to gain full effect of each work. They, then, pair the chosen writings with visual pieces.
Chase Klavon ’25, a contributing writer for the 2023-2024 year, described her experience of being published in the Leland Quarterly as fulfilling for her passions in English and writing. Klavon emphasized the importance of student publications like Leland Quarterly for providing a platform for emerging writers.
“It’s a great stepping stone to hopefully write for bigger publications in the future,” said Klavon. “To finally achieve something that I set my mind to meant a lot to me, and it’s kind of allowed me to, apply or submit to other publications off campus that I didn’t really have the confidence to do before. ”
After publishing each quarterly issue, Leland Quarterly holds events for contributing students to read their work aloud to an audience. The events are usually announced on their Instagram and are open to the public.
“[The readings] are a unique experience. It was a lot of fun, because as a writer, I write for my work to be read aloud,” Klavon said. “It was very fulfilling. It made me feel happy and inspired to continue writing and reading for an audience.”
Some students outside of the magazine note that it can sometimes be difficult entering the creative world, especially at such a tech-focused school like Stanford. Evelyn Burt ’28, a pre-med student, discussed the inspiration of seeing such an interesting collection of works from different students. She noted how it is impactful to hear such vulnerability from some of these stories.
“I think it’s a really beautiful collection of work…the artists and the poets are able to express topics ranging from relationships and family issues,” Burt said. “It’s something anyone can relate to.”
Leland Quarterly’s staff hopes that other students become inspired by the works they read from this magazine and hopefully feel inclined to pursue their own passions in the arts.
“All that matters is you just put your heart into [your work] and you do your best to polish it up and get it in the best shape it can be,” Hsu said. “As long as it’s genuine or an interesting piece of poetry or prose or even visual art that we like to engage with, that’s the main thing we’re looking for.”
Though it’s a small publication, Klavon said it’s a great opportunity to engage with student artists on campus.
“It’s a very accessible way to read what other students are saying, see what other students are creating, and get a feel for pieces of art that are kind of happening on campus,” Klavon said. Hsu urges any Stanford student to submit their creative work to the publication via the Leland Quarterly Instagram or through the publication’s inbox.
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Stanford football transfer portal tracker: Who’s coming and going?This article is a constantly updated tracker for all upcoming player movements in and out of the Stanford football team. Quarterbacks Ashton Daniels and Justin Lamson headline the list of Cardinal players planning to leave The Farm for greener pastures through the transfer portal.
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This article is a constantly updated tracker for all upcoming player movements in and out of the Stanford football team.
Wide receiver Elic Ayomanor → NFL Draft
Ayomanor was Stanford’s best player the past two seasons, tallying 125 receptions and 1844 receiving yards.
Senior cornerback Jaden Slocum →
Slocum was not a part of Stanford’s roster during the 2024 season, but played in 20 games during the previous three seasons.
Fifth-year cornerback Brandon Jones →
Jones was not on the roster during the previous two seasons. He played in two games during the 2021 season and two games during the 2022 season.
Senior wide receiver David Kasemervisz →
Kasemervisz mostly played on special teams during his 4-year career with the Cardinal. He appeared in 11 games for the Cardinal in 2024.
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Ahmari Borden →
Borden was ranked the No. 40 player in Florida by Rivals in the 2023 recruiting class. He did not record any stats as a member of Stanford the past two seasons.
Freshman wide receiver Chase Farrell → Northwestern
Farrell was ranked a 4-star recruit and the No. 6 wide receiver in California by ESPN in the 2024 recruiting high school recruiting class. He did not record any stats for the Cardinal this past year.
Senior safety Kale Lucas →
After his freshman season in 2019, Lucas served a two-year mission trip as a member of Latter-Day Saints church. He played in six games during the 2024 season, mostly on special teams.
Fifth-year safety Omari Porter→
Porter made two starts at safety during the 2023 season, and recorded 19 total tackles that year. He tallied 30 total tackles during his career on the Farm.
Sophomore wide receiver Jackson Harris →
The Berkeley native caught just six passes across a two-year span for the Cardinal.
Senior inside linebacker Gaethan Bernadel → NFL Draft
The FIU transfer brought immediate production to Stanford over the course of two years, tallying a combined 172 tackles during his time at Stanford. He also accumulated six tackles-for-loss during the 2024 season.
Senior cornerback Evan Jackson →
Jackson saw the field in 11 games during his senior season on the Farm.
Senior punter Connor Weselman →
Weselman was Stanford’s starting punter during most of the 2023 season before Aidan Flintoft took over starting duties. Weselman was also the holder on field goals during the 2024 campaign.
Sophomore cornerback Jshawn Frausto-Ramos→ Arizona
Frausto-Ramos made four starts at cornerback as a true freshman in 2023 and appeared in 21 games during the past two seasons.
Fifth-year offensive lineman Connor McLaughlin → University of South Florida
McLaughlin started at right tackle for Stanford in 2023 before being replaced by Bakleno early in the 2024 campaign.
Senior offensive lineman Austin Uke →
Uke played in 18 games during his Stanford career, flipping between the offensive and defensive lines.
Senior receiver Jayson Raines →
Raines played in 32 games during his four-year stint on the Farm, but did not tally any receiving stats during the 2024 season.
Fifth-year tight end Lukas Ungar →
Ungar appeared in 17 games across his five-year career with the Cardinal, tallying three receptions for 13 yards.
Junior running back Ryan Butler →
Butler tallied 104 yards over his two-year career on the Farm.
Sophomore offensive tackle Luke Baklenko → Oklahoma
Baklenko was the starting right tackle for the Cardinal for the majority of the 2024 campaign, playing in 11 games.
Junior quarterback Ashton Daniels → Auburn
Daniels was the starting quarterback for Stanford in 2023 and 2024. He passed for 1,700 yards and 669 rushing yards during the 2024 season. Daniels was the only quarterback recruit in Stanford’s 2022 recruiting class.
Redshirt junior quarterback Justin Lamson →
Lamson had 804 passing yards and 428 rushing yards during the past two seasons for the Cardinal. He also had eight rushing touchdowns during the Cardinal’s 2024 campaign. Lamson previously transferred to Stanford from Syracuse.
Nevada offensive lineman Tyson Ruffins
The six-foot-two, 291-pound guard made nine starts for the Wolfpack last season, and held other Power-four offers from Kansas and Cal when he entered the transfer portal.
Fresno State defensive back Julian Neal
The six-foot-two, 200-pound safety made four starts for the Bulldogs last season, tallying 35 tackles, two interceptions and five pass deflections.
Dartmouth defensive back Jordan Washington
Washington was a two-time All-Ivy selection for Dartmouth, and accumulated 30 tackles and 11 pass deflections last season.
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A Stanford student killed two people in a car accident. He sued their family for defamation.King Vanga lost a defamation lawsuit against the family of two victims he killed in a 2021 car accident. He previously sued them for letters and emails they wrote to Stanford, claiming they spread false information.
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On Nov. 19, Stanford student King Vanga lost a defamation lawsuit against a family member of two people he killed in a 2021 car accident.
The lawsuit claimed letters written by defendant Priscilla Juarez to Stanford — where Vanga was then an undergraduate — were defamatory. Juarez sent the letters after the accident, which resulted in the death of the defendant’s mother Pamela Juarez and father-in-law Jose Juarez.
According to Vanga’s LinkedIn account, he was originally a student at Stanford from 2019 to 2023.
In his complaint, Vanga stated Juarez’s letter falsely characterized him as a “murderer,” falsely accused him of violating Stanford’s Code of Conduct and falsely suggested he was intoxicated during the accident.
In the decision, the court reasoned that Juarez’s statements calling Vanga a murderer and saying he violated the University’s code of conduct were opinions which are protected free speech under the First Amendment. The court also decided her claims that Vanga was intoxicated were not defamatory because of police reports and news reports at the time she wrote the email.
On June 25, 2021, Vanga was involved in a car accident in Atwater, California, which resulted in the deaths of Jose and Pamela Juarez. Vanga was charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, resisting an executive officer, attempting to take a peace officer’s firearm and battery upon a peace officer. Vanga pleaded not guilty to these charges.
Vanga allegedly declined a breathalyzer test at the scene, according to the law enforcement officer who responded to the accident. Still, the officer claimed that Vanga was under the influence. According to the police report, the officer “detected a strong odor of alcoholic beverage emitting from [Vanga’s] breath and person and observed his eyes were red.”
The media stories that circulated in the subsequent days also stated Vanga had been under the influence of either drugs, alcohol or both, as per law enforcement reports quoted within the case.
This prompted Priscilla Juarez and multiple other family members to write emails and letters to Stanford. In her email, she wrote she hoped the University would “take proper action in dismissing this man as an active student of [the] morally prestigious institution.”
Priscilla Juarez’s attorney Kenneth White ’91 told The Daily that Priscilla Juarez never received a response from the University regarding her email. According to White, the University informed Vanga they were looking into the matter, but there was no evidence he was disciplined as a result. Vanga is listed as an undergraduate student in computer science and a graduate student in management science and engineering on the Stanford directory.
The Daily has reached out to the University for comment.
In December 2021, Vanga threatened to sue Atwater police and California Highway Patrol for alleged mistreatment and false accusation of a DUI. Vanga alleged he was punched, kicked and tased twice by responding officers. Meanwhile, blood samples from the night of the accident showed no presence of drugs or alcohol.
Priscilla Juarez learned of the blood analyses in March 2023. The criminal complaint was eventually amended from two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated to two counts of vehicular manslaughter. His criminal prosecution case has yet to take place.
The defamation lawsuit arose after Vanga was granted access to his Stanford student files in October 2022, where he viewed the letters Priscilla Juarez and other family members wrote to the school. In 2023, he filed the lawsuit against Priscilla Juarez, stating he would withdraw the lawsuit if she removed any online statements she had published referencing Vanga, which may refer to an X account seemingly run by members of the family vying for justice for Pamela and Jose Juarez. Additionally, the lawsuit stated he would withdraw it if Priscilla Juarez agreed not to make any future statements about Vanga and refrained from further encouraging his criminal prosecution, as per an article White wrote on the matter.
In response, White filed an anti-SLAPP motion. Anti-SLAPP motions — Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation — are motions to dismiss a lawsuit that violates a defendant’s right to free speech. Anti-SLAPP motions also entitle the defendant to attorney fee compensations if they win, to help prevent the use of lawsuits to intimidate people.
“There’s a trend where rich people think that the poor should only have as much free speech as they can afford,” White said. “And that to me, [that’s] what this case was about, and that’s why I’m glad we have a tool like the anti-SLAPP statute.”
The case was decided on Nov. 19, in favor of Priscilla Juarez.
The Daily has reached out to Vanga and his attorneys for comment.
Priscilla Juarez and White are now in the process of receiving compensation for their attorney fees. Vanga has also filed defamation lawsuits against other family members of the deceased in-laws, which have yet to be tried.
“Every case is a little different because every case is based on what that defendant said in their letter [to Stanford],” White said about the other lawsuits Vanga has filed. “But in my view, [Priscilla Juarez’s family members] should be very optimistic based on this result.”
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BloomBox uses design to improve STEAM education in off-grid communitiesSofie Roux ’26, founder of BloomBox Design Labs, shared how her sustainable education hub is transforming access to STEAM education in remote areas like Malawi, tripling college acceptance rates and inspiring global change.
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Sofie Roux ’26, the founder of BloomBox Design Labs, called for innovative solutions that use everyday objects to tackle global challenges during Monday’s class for the Very Impactful People (V.I.P.) course, URBANST 131.
Roux spoke about the creation of the BloomBox — a transportable, sustainable education hub to provide girls access to Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education around the world.
The BloomBox is an upcycled metal shipping container with a patented retractable solar roof system that provides students in even the most remote areas of the world with opportunities for learning. Roux, an architecture and material science major at Stanford, was first inspired to create the BloomBox to help her friend Faith Galero achieve her goals of becoming a digital animator.
At the time, Galero lived in Malawi, studying in classrooms that lacked electricity and running water. Roux wanted to build a solution that would give Galero access to the resources needed to achieve her educational goals. Roux first worked with teachers and carpenters to successfully design and build the first BloomBox in her hometown of Vancouver, Canada. After that, Roux and her team transported and set up the BloomBox in Malawi.
Beyond providing a classroom, BloomBox gives those facing systemic barriers a path to a better life. In Malawi, girls often face many barriers to accessing education. BloomBox provides an on-site, off-grid educational center that is mobile, sustainable and adaptable to a community’s needs.
The first BloomBox received attention from the governor of Malawi, who asked Roux and her team to scale the BloomBoxes to 70 schools across the country to support the education of 200,000 students. Roux and her team pitched BloomBox at a Stanford startup challenge and were able to install additional BloomBoxes. Roux also created an app called SuperBloom to provide educational content that is now connected to all of the BloomBoxes through satellite internet.
“If every girl in the world finished 12 years of quality education, lifetime earnings for women will increase by $15 to $30 trillion dollars,” Roux said during her talk. “If we can make high-quality education in STEAM fields universally accessible, the opportunities are limitless, and the whole world benefits.”
When asked about measuring BloomBox’s impact, Roux responded that the “main metric” is university entrance exam pass rates. Currently, she said, “Malawi has university entrance exams that have a 1% pass rate, which is crazy.”
However, at schools with BloomBoxes, college acceptance rates have tripled, she said.
“That’s a really big deal. And I think that it’s because students have the ability to go deep into what they’re learning,” Roux said.
The Stanford Social Entrepreneurial Students’ Association organizes the “V.I.P.” lecture and discussion series that featured Roux’s talk, and the Urban Studies Program sponsors the course.
Each week’s speaker gives a presentation on their pioneering ideas and practices for addressing important social and environmental needs in the United States and abroad, followed by a Q&A session. The topics examined in this quarter’s series focus on the creation of social and environmental organizations that address climate, education, health, foster youth, homelessness and racial inequities. This quarter’s speakers include John Roussel of Colorwave, Anshu Gupta of Goonj, Elizabeth Klodas of Step One Foods and Serita Cox of iFoster.
Professor Melanie Edwards, who teaches the course, remarked on the impact of Roux’s work.
“Roux exemplifies falling in love with a problem and channeling that passion to build a company to solve that problem,” Edwards said. “BloomBox offers the future today for young girls in remote Malawi. It’s preparing them, their families, communities and nation for a better life.”
Alex Liu ’26, a student in the “V.I.P” class who also attended the talk, expressed his admiration for Roux’s work.
“It’s really inspiring that people actually go outside of the country, go outside of their comfort zone to see how the other half lives, and how they then commit their lives to solving problems for them,” Liu said.
Nicholas Neoman ’26, another attendee, said, “Sofie is changing the world, and I can’t wait to watch her ingenious vision come to fruition.”
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Representative resigns from Undergraduate SenateMandla Msipa '26 cited anxiety, the sedentary nature of UGS and his inability to balance UGS with other commitments as reasons for his resignation, which will leave a vacancy within the body.
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Mandla Msipa ’26 announced he will resign from the Undergraduate Senate (UGS) effective Jan. 13. In his resignation letter, Msipa cited anxiety, the sedentary nature of UGS and his inability to balance UGS with all other commitments across Theater, Greek Life and being an RA as reasons for resignation.
In his time as a senator, Msipa spent much time working on undergraduate housing, particularly the pre-assignment and OAE housing progress which has seen a 200% increase in applications in the last few years in response to the “terrible, months-long anxieties caused by the housing draw”.
Despite these accomplishments, Msipa said he encountered many challenges in representing and interacting with his Greek Life constituents, that including the Inter-Fraternity Council and Inter-Sorority Council which both endorsed him in the past election. These challenges in representation and engaging with his own community led to his eventual resignation.
“I’ve hardly been able to see a single member of my fraternity. And that’s a challenge, you know, like there’s 15 senators, 8000 undergraduates […] and so it’s hard having people who represent every community,” Msipa said. “I don’t know. I felt like I wasn’t doing a really good job of representing any of them. And on top of that, I wasn’t spending time in those communities either, and that’s why I ran in the first place.”
Msipa also cited the bureaucratic nature of trying to make change in the UGS as one of his reasons for resigning
“Honestly, those [general meetings] are just to touch base with each other. A lot of our work comes in the form of sending emails to this department, getting rerouted to a secretary to schedule a Zoom meeting in two weeks,” Msipa said. “There’s a lot of back and forth in email chains, and it feels really sedentary. That feeling of staying in the same place while fighting as hard as you can. It’s been demoralizing.”
When asked if there are any things the UGS could’ve done to address the reason behind his resignation, Msipa said that the UGS is constrained by the constitutional framework itself. Despite the current UGS being one of the most productive cabinet in recent Stanford history, he said the senate still struggles with credibility and communication with both the student body and the Stanford administration.
Msipa also briefly addressed the Green Library initiatives, acknowledging the hard work Gordon Allen ’26 and Ivy Chen ’26 have done behind the scenes. He said that they have been working nonstop from their last senate term and half of their current senate term working on it.
He also urges students to get off of Fizz and support other students that are making things happen instead of complaining on Fizz.
“The University does not check Fizz. Johnathan Levin does not check Fizz.” Msipa said. “The students who get things done, and that’s everyone from undergrad RA is to student workers to unionize, are people who are able to put their phone down, go outside and talk to people and put out something they believe it, that’s something I’m going to continue to do, even while not being a senator. Fizz isn’t going to save Stanford.”
UGS Co-Chairs Allen and Chen also responded to Msipa’s resignation by recognizing his hard work and accomplishments within the senate.
“It takes stress and self awareness to be able to step back. […] It’s no small undertaking.” Allen said. “Being on the Senate is very demanding, it’s very taxing and oftentimes, I think a lot of the work that we do can’t be brought to the forefront.
“We truly do hope that he continues his activism and advocacy, even beyond the Senate. We were talking about offering a proper send off to honor his service, his contributions, because his work does not go unnoticed,” Chen said.
Allen also said that this resignation does not represent anything ill about Msipa as an individual or the senate as a whole.
In light of his resignation, Allen and Chen both said that changes will be made within UGS.
In regard to the comments on anxiety and stress of being a UGS senator, both Chen and Allen agreed with Msipa’s claims and said that they are constantly pushing for work-life balance within the Senate by logging working hours and also facilitating more efficient communication. Both of them admitted to sacrificing sleep and extracurriculars to work on UGS initiatives.
Msipa said he can pinpoint the exact moment he decided to run for a senate seat.
In a conversation with his friend, a lightning designer in Stanford SHAKES, Msipa realized the difficulty his friend had booking spaces and creating a safe culture for alcohol. Msipa said that was a “big issue” for him, and it drove him to want to “model these issues that would make Stanford a better place if they had institutional backing.”
At the end of his resignation letter, Msipa attached the poem, “Birches,” by Robert Frost. He said that this poem reminded him of the feeling of childhood and the reason that led him to Stanford in the first place.
“I’d like to get away from earth for a while,” a line from the poem reads. “And then come back to it and begin over.”
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I was reincarnated as an E. Coli bacterium. This is my story.The path to enlightenment is full of surprises. Dominic Borg has the scoop on one man's journey from proud condo owner to E. Coli.
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Editor’s Note: This article is purely satirical and fictitious. All attributions in this article are not genuine, and this story should be read in the context of pure entertainment only.
The change was sudden, so sudden I could barely perceive it. One minute I was alone, peacefully having a heroin-fueled aneurysm in my condo, and the next, I was a microscopic, barely sensible E. Coli bacterium, floating around in the lower intestinal tract of what I now believe was a sterile hybrid between a French Poodle and whatever the wrinkly one is.
I quickly interrogated my surroundings, and attempted to make conversation with my fellow paramecia. However, it quickly became apparent to me that I was in a world of wretchedness and flagellation and filth to which my previous life of debauchery and hedonism paled in comparison. We were, quite literally, swimming in shit, and there was no limit to the public indecency to which I was exposed by my brothers and sisters. All around me, individuals were engaged in asexual intercourse with no sense as to the standards of propriety or good reason, which I found extremely distasteful indeed.
The filth around me festered and multiplied, and I even found myself producing an offspring myself, one who, tragically, inherited all of my vices. I attempted to make conversation, but my doppelganger was more interested in playing with his own flagellum than pondering questions of spirituality, enlightenment, and redemption. I hated him, and our relationship quickly grew further strained when he would not let me see my own grandchild.
And when it finally came time for my apoptosis, neither my compatriots nor my offspring were there to comfort me. As I felt my cytoplasm leak through my membrane, I saw for the first time the truth of reincarnation, and the soul’s long struggle towards enlightenment. And as I faded from this mortal coil, I took the next painful step in my slow, fitful path toward nirvana.
***
I awoke to green pastures. Blue sky. Warmth. Heat. I was a cow! Grazing on a vast, lush, verdant field with my cow brethren. My hopes had been answered! I knew that the cow was considered sacred in many faiths, and that this would likely afford me a long life of study and contemplation. I was excited, and caught up in the beauty of the day.
Then the gate at the other end of the pasture opened, and a man in a cowboy hat walked through. He placed a loop of rope around one of the other cow’s necks and led it out of the gate and to a low, sinister building about a hundred feet away. Ten minutes later, the man in the hat walked out of the building; the other cow never did. That was when it hit me: I was a cow… in America. A cow. In. America.
All my thoughts of enlightenment and peace vanished. As I watched one of my brothers unload a stream of dung onto the long grass, only one thought streamed through my mind:
Shit.
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Presidential elections and laundry roomsAudrey Tomlin reflects on the election and the idea of normalcy in college amid national events.
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In the days leading up to the presidential election, I remember telling friends that I could not picture either candidate winning. In my mind, I could not draw an image beyond our current reality. I, and perhaps others too, existed in an in-between space. We were all holding our breath. I did not know if this signified my inability to escape the present or I simply had no history to base the national political future off of. Every four years, I am told that this will be the most consequential election of my life.
Election night, we hung a white sheet above my roommate’s bed and projected news coverage from her bookshelf and attempted to complete homework and ate candy. The night reminded me of a letter I read in American Girl Magazine in elementary school. In it, a girl my age wrote about her desire to become our country’s first female president. A year later, our teacher simplified the upcoming 2016 election for the class. That week, in fifth grade, I felt bad for the girl who had written the letter; she had been too late, I had thought.
This year, curled on the carpet between friends, attempting to finish my reading before the dorm room devolved to entropy, I could not picture the future, could not grasp it in my palms. Still, I thought that maybe, somewhere in this country of nine-to-fives and dinners spent by the television, a girl tucked between the crevices of a stained couch reading American Girl Magazine would find a sparkle of hope. I invited a friend to come join. “What is there to watch? She already lost hours ago,” he replied. At 10 p.m., we changed the screen to “Superbad.” Minutes later, Michael Cera began discussing pornography, and I left to sit in the laundry room.
In college, I have started sitting in the laundry room — to work, to debrief with friends, to think — even, and especially, when I am not actively washing my laundry. I find safety in the dichotomy between the constancy of the lost socks and empty tide pod bags in the corner and the perpetual churning and changing of washers and dryers. I think there must be some man made beauty in the machines, in the way they circle around like clocks, in the cycle and how it stops and a new stranger comes in and it begins again. That night, I did not think much. I sat and pressed the side of my head against the dryer, listening to it thump like a heartbeat.
The next morning, our “Why College?” professor instructed us to do nothing for 20 minutes. I sat in the middle of the oval, staring at people bike past. A young girl asked me if I was okay. I said I was. She said, “I hope you feel better soon.” It struck me: how odd it is to do nothing in this world of always something. In my mind, though, I was still in the laundry room, still watching the clothing circle through the dryer, still inhaling the plastic cleanliness of laundry detergent as my teacher droned on about doing nothing and its importance.
I saw a quote on a friend’s Instagram story that day: “It’s a privilege to not care about politics.” Beyond the irony of a quote on authentic political engagement spreading through the performative tokenism and self image construction of social media activism, I found resonance in the highlighting of different perspectives on public policy concern. I had the privilege of separating my life into distinct categories: the tangible and the intangible. In our dorm room, gathered around a white bed sheet pegged to the wall, eating Trader Joe’s peanut butter cups, the election was just as much a spectacle as it was a national event. When the event was no longer entertaining so much as it was depressing, we could turn on “Superbad” instead. When Michael Cera began making sex jokes, I could escape to the laundry room; I could watch the clothing churn.
In class, after doing nothing for 20 minutes, we analyzed the world not on personal terms, but on critical, intellectual terms. We debated as though we were in a high school debate tournament. Even now, as I write this, I have the privilege of thinking first and feeling second, of attempting to produce a coherent string of words and not just a jumble of emotional terror. I have the privilege of considering current events from an academic perspective: what about the numbers, the data, what do “the experts” have to say? In this four walled world filled with palm trees and red tiling, one can almost forget all that lies outside.
A day later, in a class on feminist backlash, our professor advised us to get IUDs and stock up on Plan B. We discussed Josseli Barnica, who died of sepsis in Texas after being told that the hospital could not intervene in her miscarriage without risking prosecution, and Amber Thurman, who died from an easily curable infection under a Georgia abortion ban because doctors were fearful to perform a D&C. Barnica left behind a one year old daughter, Thurman, a six year old son. I watched as the walls to our palm tree world broke down, as the luxury of intellectualizing evaporated. I was no longer in the laundry room listening to the machines cycle on. The statement bridged the intangible with the tangible; suddenly, the abstract felt concrete. Politics was no longer men with monotone voices and impossibly symmetrical women droning on from a white bed sheet. It was here, now: in our classroom, in my body.
Had it not been for that bridge, for the collapsing of the walls of our world into all that lies beyond, for blending of the line between my body and the policies that police it, I might have used the laundry room as a metaphor. “We have endured an election,” I might have written, “but there is always laundry to do, but there is always another stained T-shirt to wash, but there is always a pile of lost socks in the corner. The machine keeps cycling, keeps churning, cleansing, tossing, keeps wringing its contents dry.” The machine keeps cycling, but not for three mismatched, abandoned socks and a stained T-shirt in the corner. The machine keeps cycling but not for a woman lying in a hospital room in Georgia, blood pressure sinking, organs giving out, waiting for her fever to climb high enough, for her bleeding to grow grave enough to justify operation. “Promise me you’ll take care of my son,” she told her mother, before entering the room.
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Breaking Ground brings the fire in this year’s Hot and Cold showcaseBreaking Ground, the fall dance showcase hosted by non-audition hip-hop group Common Origins, brought together ensembles from a plethora of different styles to share the stage.
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For a show that sells out within minutes of the ticket link going live, Breaking Ground never fails to deliver. This year, the dance showcase, hosted by Common Origins (CO), featured 16 unique groups hailing from swing to salsa.
Though the show’s theme was Hot and Cold (the first act being Hot and the second Cold), the audience’s reception of performances was anything but frigid; after each group finished their set, they’d walk offstage to thunderous applause and energetic cheers from the crowd. The show was emceed by two CO alums, Caro De Sa ’24 and Anna Mistele ’24, who made many funny quips about the theme and their differences in time in the group, as Caro had been a choreographer while Anna joined for only a quarter.
Legacy, Stanford’s only competition hip-hop dance team, kicked off the show with an energetic performance, setting the scene for all the wonderful acts to come. Their dancers moved their bodies in sync, accentuated by their simple white monochrome costumes. The group pulled out colored ribbons throughout the number to signify shifts in numbers, making the changes in music and choreography feel less abrupt.
Traction Modern Dance Company was next to perform, and like Legacy, they opted for simple costumes, choosing a warm orange tank top to go with black pants. The flowiness of their clothing accentuated the fluidity of their movements, and as someone less acquainted with modern dance, I was drawn to the way that it incorporated elements of ballet and contemporary in a new setting.
Jennifer Levine ‘28, a member of Traction and the only frosh in the group, spoke about the dynamic between members in this small, close-knit community. The group is focused on modern dance, but there is inspiration drawn from ballet and several other styles of dance. Levine has been dancing since she was five, so dance has always been a big part of her life. Coming into college, she was looking for a space that “upheld these ideas of community, creativity and a nonverbal way to reach people.”
Los Salseros were sure to turn up the heat as their representing duo commanded the stage in a beautiful display of technical ability and passion for the art. It was also one of the members’ last quarters performing with the group, and their passion was evident in each step.
Mua Lac Hong and Stanford Chang Le Dance both delighted the audience with their colorful fans, but their performances themselves were far from similar. MLH members opened and closed their fans to the beat of energetic Vietnamese pop songs, using the props to accentuate eye-catching formations, including forming a heart for the end of their set.
Meanwhile, Stanford Chang Le Dance, specializing in classical and folk Chinese dance, created ripples with theirs to add another touch of elegance to their choreography. The ensemble fell away to the floor and gracefully fluttered their fans, highlighting a dancer who completed multiple pirouettes with ease.
Bhangra brought the energy levels up with their energetic set and colorful attire complete with the Stanford “S” on the back. Their choreography was packed full of energy with high jumps to the beat and lots of movement across the stage, and their energy while performing was truly remarkable.
During intermission dancers from different groups invited audience members on stage to dance free-style with them — a classic Stanford dance showcase tradition. Their energy was electric as members on the sidelines cheered on dancers in the center stage and hyped them up, and friends gently pulled each other to share the stage.
Meanwhile, Swingtime delighted audiences with their synchronized movements, spins and lifts to the song “Rocket 95” by Alien Fashion Show. I was amazed by their technical precision and the joy that was on their faces. Even when there were minor slip ups (like the bowler hats that went flying mid flips), the performers continued on in a true display of showmanship.
Hip-hop group DV8 brought the energy with impeccable costumes and fast-paced, sharp choreography that stunned audiences as performers transitioned incredibly well on and off stage in a variety of ways. The MCs announcing their name was met with an uproar from the crowd in anticipation of their set, and they did not fail to deliver.
Brianna Freeman ‘25, a member of DV8, touched on how DV8 has been a constant throughout her time here, as she joined during her frosh fall. She emphasized how the group is a space of feminine empowerment and an outlet from the stresses of school to just have fun and dance. On DV8’s culture, she said that the focus is on creating an amazing experience for the audience but “we work hard but never let stress infiltrate the culture during practice.”
All in all, “we’re just there to have fun,” she said.
Indian classical dance group Noopur and Pilipinx Cultural Arts group Kayumanggi both excelled at using subtle percussion to accentuate their dancing, Kayu with the bamboo poles they used to keep time with the song and move expertly between the performers’ feet and Noopur with the bell-covered bangles around their ankles.
Common Origins closed the first act with an electric set full of energy as their all-member opener to their set was full of fire. From creating the show’s first-ever promotional video to coming up with the theme, their passion for making this show come to life was evident. Their second act, while filled with less upbeat songs in accordance with the “cold” theme, delivered well-rehearsed choreography accompanied with emotion and powerful stage presence, though certainly, no coldness towards the audience detected.
All in all, the show was not only a display of technical ability but also of the dance community, whether that was the dancers performing onstage or their friends watching in the audience, cheering their name as they came onstage or performed a particularly technical move. Breaking Ground remains one of my favorite showcases for this very reason — the audience and performers are so closely interlinked and share such passion with each other it’s admirable.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
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Daily Crossword #004 (Dec. 6, 2024)Click to play this week's 15x15 full-size crossword. The Daily produces mini crosswords twice a week and a full-size crossword biweekly.
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Daily Diminutive #017 (Dec. 5, 2024)Click to play today's 5x5 mini crossword. The Daily produces mini crosswords twice a week and a full-size crossword biweekly.
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Social media is replacing our politicians with caricaturesThe political incentives of short-term content online have turned our once-great political discussions into caricatures of themselves, with politicians prioritizing unserious engagement over policy discussion.
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Imagine that it’s the year 1858. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas are vying for the Presidency. Their now famous Lincoln-Douglas debates were three hours long and amassed crowds of up to 15,000 people. By the thousands, Americans gathered in harsh weather to listen to the lengthy discourses on the issues that pervaded their country.
Flash forward to the current era, and the recent 2024 presidential election shows just how much times have changed. Presidential debates consist of shorter, alternating questions between candidates. An even starker contrast to presidential campaigns of old is where campaigning takes place: online, separate from the “real world.”
Social media has become a new ground for political campaigns — by no means an insignificant one. Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign spent $180 million on digital advertising across Meta and Google alone. With over half of Americans getting their news from social media, this is a legitimate strategy. However, studies have found an almost negligible impact of social media on voting patterns and political behavior.
Even if political ads on social media don’t affect voter behavior, there is evidence that they do have some effect in strengthening our opinions of what we post. For example, someone who posts in support of one candidate will have increased assurance in their belief because of the inevitable stream of “likes” from dozens if not hundreds of people validating their ideas, which is positive engagement at a scale not replicable in ordinary life. Thus, social media becomes an incubation tank, in which our thoughts become more extreme and less in touch with the outside world.
This incubation tank of opinions is thus used to reinforce a new value social media has deemed important to politicians: entertainment value, or where trending images of our preferred candidates satisfy our dopamine-fried brains. When we see concerning behavior like then-candidate Donald Trump dancing for 40 minutes at his rally, we see humor instead of cause for alarm. By reposting such videos, we legitimize this humor and reduce our politicians to mere entertainment.
At times, it seemed like candidates wanted this — catering to short-form videos that pervade social media and allow things to go viral. In an attempt to “prove” that Harris lied about working a summer job at McDonalds, Trump posed as a McDonald’s worker — handing out frys “on him” to drive-through customers. If he intended to draw social media attention, he certainly succeeded. Users flooded feeds with posts of the stint. At its peak, it even inspired the “Trump working at McDonalds” Halloween costumes which supporters proudly donned and no doubt posted — reinforcing this entertainment frenzy.
Harris also took advantage of social media. In July, her X account launched a neon green banner with “kamala hq” written on it in all lowercase, clearly a reference to the trending Charlie xcx album “brat” and the “brat summer” trend it inspired. Charlie xcx herself responded, tweeting “kamala IS brat.” Of course, this drove users across platforms to create content of them displaying “kamala” signs in the brat-ian style.
In a similar attempt to capitalize on what is currently trending for social media attention, Harris invited Megan Thee Stallion to open for her Atlanta campaign rally in July. She transformed the rally into a shocking and easily trend-able affair, donning a crop top and announcing her slogan “Hotties for Harris” before dancing to songs titled “Body” and “Savage.”
Some criticized Harris for including Megan Thee Stallion. My friend confided in me that she wasn’t voting, despite disliking Trump, because Harris was “an embarrassment” — referencing the performance. Still, though Harris may have missed this time, her decision to use social media in her campaigns and our perceptiveness to it reflects a shift in the way we view political figures.
In replacing long, nuanced policy arguments with the humorous, accessible online presence of Harris and Trump, we begin to see politicians as personalities: unserious agents for our short-term entertainment. When I undoubtedly seemed shocked at my friend for dressing up as the aforementioned “Trump at McDonalds,” she laughed, showed me videos of other people’s costumes and explained that it was funny. This sentiment isn’t rare: I’ve heard many people endorse Trump because he’s at least “entertaining.”
These perspectives and the recent 2024 election campaigns illuminate how social media has created a type of “unreality” that prioritizes that politicians be “funny” before they be policymakers and leaders. The political landscape then becomes almost dystopian in its skewed values and endorsement of the absurd over the reasonable. I am reminded of The Atlantic’s We Are Already Living in the Metaverse, in which Megan Garber explains that “we’ve become so accustomed to [social media’s] heightened atmosphere that the plain old real version of things starts to seem dull by comparison.”
For us, politicians being “real” by prioritizing policy and engaging with voters offline has become boring, so instead they appear on our Instagram feeds according to the latest trends. It’s obvious why we no longer stand in the fog at three-hour long debates — politics has become a game where we watch the avatars of our politicians play a source of fast and cheap entertainment for the masses.
This transformation of politics into a spectacle poses serious consequences. When we reduce politicians to caricatures, we undermine the seriousness of their responsibilities. We are left with leaders who prioritize trends over truth, and virality over vision. This shift doesn’t just entertain us — it distracts us from the policies and debates that truly shape our future.
It’s time to log off, step out of the echo chambers of social media, and re-engage with politics as citizens — not spectators — before the caricatures fully replace the leaders we need.
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Art, access and regional identity: Inclusivity in LA and SF art institutionsFrom the Getty Museum’s bilingual programs in Los Angeles to the evolving art scene in San Francisco, California’s major art hubs exhibit challenges and opportunities with public outreach and inclusion.
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San Francisco and Los Angeles serve as the two biggest centers of the art scene in California. From the spiraling and iconic reach of the Hollywood Hills to the colorfully painted pink and blue San Francisco blocks at North Beach where Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo found their tumultuous artistic passion — I couldn’t help but reflect and compare how art institutions in each have facilitated dialogues while wandering through the streets of these two cities.
When comparing the institutional influences of art institutions in these two regions, central pillars include the Getty Museum in LA and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, marked by the Legion of Honor and the De Young Museum. Both reside on hills, commanding views that mirror their lofty cultural ambitions. Both play a significant role in revealing the cultural narrative of their regions, as well.
To me, one of an art institution’s responsibilities — apart from, of course, the conservation and preservation of artifacts — lies in accessibility: making art approachable and engaging for diverse audiences. The Getty exemplifies this commitment beautifully. As I wandered its rotating exhibitions, I was struck by the bilingual presentation of wall texts and introductions: English and Spanish were given equal prominence, a rarity in many museums where translations often appear in smaller fonts or secondary spaces.
However, this inclusivity fades in the gallery rooms housing its permanent collection, where works by European masters like Monet and Degas are displayed without bilingual wall texts. This inconsistency stands out sharply against the otherwise commendable accessibility efforts.
Yet, even beyond its galleries, the Getty’s public programs are impressively accessible. During my visit, I attended a lecture by curators of a new exhibition, “Lumen: The Art and Science of Light.” The talk targeted audiences with varying levels of familiarity with art and was structured to welcome even those with no prior exposure to the field. The curators spoke about Greek philosophers without assuming that the audience had previous knowledge of, say, who Aristotle was. This reflects the museum’s ethos of fostering a dialogue that extends beyond its walls.
This ethos of accessibility is also evident in the Getty’s impact on peripheral art institutions. Initiatives like the PST Art Collective (PST) mobilize a collective dialogue across Southern California, engaging both commercial and non-commercial art spaces. Through the PST, the Getty has provided grants for research and planning to more than 45 cultural organizations, both public and private, across Southern California. From Jeffrey Deitch’s “Post Human” show to San Diego Museum of Art’s exhibition on art and science in the Islamic world, PST Art (and the Getty by proxy) weaves a regional narrative that resonates far beyond LA city limits.
As I frolicked through LA streets with pamphlets from galleries in my tote, I couldn’t help but think how such an initiative would be a hit in the Bay Area, where UI/UX designers and VR enthusiasts could also explore intersections between technology and art. Yet, San Francisco’s art scene faces challenges that complicate such undertakings.
In recent years, the Bay Area has seen the closure of prominent galleries like Gagosian and Pace’s Palo Alto location, and institutions like the San Francisco Art Institute, with its 150-year legacy, have shuttered, permanently closing in July 2022.
These losses have fueled concerns about the Bay Area’s diminishing stature as an international arts destination. Yet, there are bright spots from an institutional perspective. San Francisco museums continue to host remarkable exhibitions, such as the Mary Cassatt shows and thematic explorations at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), with the recent stellar exhibitions like “Get in the Game: Sports, Art, Culture.”
Still, my visits to San Francisco museums reveal certain opportunities for growth. I noticed a lack of multilingual wall texts at the Legion of Honor and SFMOMA, where families often moved through the galleries with children explaining the art to their elders. This reversed the dynamic I observed at the Getty, where Hispanic parents guided their children through exhibits in Spanish.
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco, despite its focus on Asian cultures, lacks wall texts in Asian languages and significant outreach efforts tailored to the city’s substantial Asian population.
If art institutions are to serve as bridges between communities, they ought to reflect the ethnic and linguistic diversity of their cities. For San Francisco museums, this means fostering dialogues with the city’s broader population. While they excel in preserving and presenting art, there is room to learn from the Getty’s approach to engaging communities.
Initiatives like SFMOMA’s recent exhibition on sports in SF and the Tamara de Lempicka exhibition’s connections with the drag world and LGBTQ+ community are promising examples of such growing dialogues that SF institutions have been working on, hosting nuanced exchanges with non-queer communities.
Both Los Angeles and San Francisco have the potential to lead in art’s accessibility, yet each city needs to navigate its own set of challenges and opportunities. A commitment to inclusivity — linguistically, culturally and thematically — should allow these institutions to bridge divides and empower all voices within the community. In the end, the vitality of a city’s art scene is shaped not solely by the artworks it houses but also, and quite importantly, by the dialogues it creates and the echoes left in the hearts and minds of the public.
Editor’s Note: This article is a review and includes subjective thoughts, opinions and critiques.
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In Good Company: ‘Divine Feminine’In the second installment of her column "In Good Company," Les Ortega writes on the photography series she worked on this quarter and the inspiration behind it.
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In her column, “In Good Company,” Les explores the most intricate aspects of our personal relationships: romantic, familial and platonic. In her latest installment, she writes on the photography series she worked on this quarter and the inspiration behind it.
Content warning: This article contains references to sexual harassment.
i.
I remember the first time I got catcalled. I was wearing a strappy green tank top with rhinestones all over it. My long hair was wavy after being in a braid all night and I couldn’t stop playing with it. My mom let me wear her pink chapstick. I felt so pretty.
I was leaning on the open window in my stepdad’s car, partly to take in the fresh air but mostly because I wanted to show the world how pretty I looked. Suddenly, I got wolf-whistled at by two men that looked to be in their forties. They had fully grown out beards and mustaches, their beards having strands of white hairs in them. One of them bit his lip, winked at me, and then blew me a kiss as the car started moving again. I frowned, pulling my tank top up to my collarbone and rolling up the window. I was quiet the rest of the way home.
That was the first time I remember getting catcalled.
I was six.
ii.
I get the same icky feeling getting catcalled now at twenty-one that I did back at six years old. I grew up in New York City, so I should be used to it. My leg shouldn’t be shaking so fast as I’m sitting in COHO writing this. I shouldn’t keep licking my lips, feeling them dry up as soon as the moisture on them goes away. And my heart most certainly should not be beating this fast. Still, it does.
Every time I go into SF for the summer to see my partner or my friends, whether a man is walking, biking or driving, I get catcalled. I tell my partner about it immediately; he gives me a hug and a forehead kiss, apologizing for how disgusting some men are. I feel safe in his arms, despite him being part of the same species that causes me to fear walking at night.
Despite still being afraid when I’m alone, I don’t let the fear deter me from wearing what I want and doing my makeup the way I want. Feeling pretty. Feeling sexy now, at twenty-one years old.
iii.
Our current political climate serves not only to make me more afraid, but to make me angry. Who the fuck said it was okay to see women as theirs for the taking? Who the fuck were those forty-year-old men to think it was okay to catcall a little girl? Who the fuck do men think they are that it’s okay to touch me while coming out of a nightclub?
I feel sexy. And I do it for me. Not for anyone else.
This anger and passion led me to create my photographic piece: “Divine Feminine.”
I took Intro to Photography this quarter with Professor Jamil, a class in which I expressed my feelings in the best way I know how: through my art.
iv.
“Divine Feminine” is a photo series exploring the intersecting themes of sensuality and sexuality. As a photographer, I wanted to show my skills in still photographs of people and make you feel the emotions through the photo. In this photo series, I define sensuality as how you feel about yourself, how sexy and sensual you can be, while sexuality refers more to a physical viewpoint of how other people perceive your body.
In these especially turbulent times where the government wants to control women’s bodies, I felt this was an essential intersecting theme to explore. In each of these photographs, I told the model to portray different expressions on her face depending on the phase of the shoot. For the sexuality portion of the shoot, I instructed her to pose her body in the way she would while trying to seduce someone, looking either at the camera or away from it. I wanted to capture her raw expressions. For the sensuality portion of it, I let her pose and make her face as she wished. As part of the sensuality piece, I also took pictures of her getting ready for and unready after the shoot. I edited the colors in these photographs to highlight the red in things like the model’s clothing, makeup and even the props she used.
When having a photoshoot with this model, I asked her how she felt after the sessions, to which she responded with things like, “This is a really good self-love project” after seeing the results of her session. This project aimed to make people feel more in tune with their sensuality and comfortable in their skin.
It took me a really long time to take back the word “sexy,” to have confidence. I had to fake it till I made it. You say it enough times and it eventually becomes true. Say it in the mirror. Say it out loud. You’re sexy, for yourself, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
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Stanford SupplyHer raises awareness to overcome malaria worldwideStudents wrote postcards to their elected officials encouraging funding for malaria treatment and prevention initiatives in White Plaza last Monday.
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After taking an introductory course in global health last winter, Yashaswi Bista ’27, member of Stanford SupplyHer, was empowered to take action against malaria — a deadly yet easily preventable and curable disease that can be treated with insecticides and other methods.
In 2022, the World Health Organization reported an estimated 249 million cases of malaria worldwide and 608,000 deaths, marking an increase since pre-pandemic levels. Malaria disproportionately affects refugees, pregnant women and children, who are most susceptible to dying from the disease, according to the United to Beat Malaria website.
Stanford SupplyHer, which brings together students with a passion for art to support women’s health, hosted an event in partnership with United to Beat Malaria to encourage funding for malaria prevention, treatment and research initiatives while tabling at White Plaza last Monday.
“SupplyHer is committed to promoting health equity across all spheres, whether in terms of service or advocacy for those in need,” said Iris Wang ’25, president of SupplyHer. “Knowing that malaria is especially dangerous to pregnant individuals and children makes advocacy for malaria funding and research essential for our mission.”
Although tremendous progress has been made to eliminate malaria over the past century, nearly half of the globe’s population still lives in areas at risk of malaria transmission. In recent years, efforts to eradicate malaria from endemic regions of the developing world, particularly high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa, have stalled.
Bista was “inspired to advocate for this pressing issue” due to the effects of climate change on malaria. Climate change is expected to exacerbate the number of cases of malaria as increases in temperature, humidity and rainfall have magnified the number of malaria-carrying mosquitoes at higher altitudes.
“We in the U.S. need to be aware of the impact of global warming on malaria because less developed countries in other parts of the world are disproportionately impacted by our emissions,” Bista said.
Last year, the U.S. experienced its first local outbreaks of malaria since 2003. Infectious disease experts have warned that climate change will spread malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases to areas of the world that were previously deemed malaria-free.
This summer, after discovering the work of United to Beat Malaria, a global grassroots campaign of the UN Foundation, Bista met with her congressional representatives to advocate for malaria treatment and research.
Prior to the creation of a new federal budget for the year, “advocacy is especially important,” Bista said.
For Bista, it’s important “to know the issues that you are trying to advocate for really well, and know how your advocacy is going to work.” She also prioritizes working “with organizations that are legitimate” and “knowing what your work is going towards.”
Prompted by the SupplyHer tabling event, members of the Stanford community wrote to their elected officials in Congress, including U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Laphonza Butler and U.S. Representative Anna G. Eshoo, to support continued funding for global malaria programs, such as the President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.
“It’s easy for people to feel like they are powerless with issues as big as malaria — a disease that has been claiming hundreds of thousands of lives every year for centuries — and yet for most of us here in the U.S., it is not something we think about day-to-day. But any person can give input to their decision makers on issues as big as these,” wrote Maegan Cross, Senior Associate of Grassroots Advocacy at United to Beat Malaria. “By sending messages to your elected officials in support of global health funding, you are making sure your voice is heard and your priorities are considered.”
While tabling, Bista encouraged students to visit the United to Beat Malaria website, sign online petitions and reach out directly to their members of Congress regarding the importance of funding for malaria research and treatment.
“From the time I stopped at the table and conversed with Yashaswi about this topic, I became familiar with her passion, care and determination for this cause. She not only helped me to understand the urgency of this issue, but also motivated me to support the cause and do further work to promote it,” said Guillermo Molina ’27.
Bista encouraged other students to become involved in initiatives on campus to spread awareness of malaria and other global health issues.
“Global health is important to me because there are so many health inequities around the world and health itself is important to live a fulfilling life,” Bista said. “Because there are so many health inequities around the world, I want to raise awareness and help people live fulfilling lives.”
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Unconventional Cardinal: A transfer student’s journey from child marriage to Stanford’s campusFrom her experiences as a Jehovah’s Witness to a child bride and single mom, transfer student Carla Galaise ’27 now hopes to study anthropology to make a difference in her communities.
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On the night of the northern lights this past May, Carla Galaise ’27 sat down on her piano bench and braced herself. Earlier in the year, she had already received acceptance letters from two colleges in the New England area, both close to home. Now, she had one more letter to open: Stanford’s.
“I just threw my name in the hat,” Galaise said about her application to Stanford. When she got the letter, she expected to see a rejection and was prepared to move forward and commit to one of the two other colleges she had already been accepted to.
But then Galaise opened the letter.
“It was magical. I started crying, screaming and swearing,” Galaise said. Her son, Eli, ran in after hearing her and asked her “‘What happened? What’s wrong with you? What did you do?’”
Overcome with emotion, Galaise turned towards her 10-year-old son.
“Eli,” she said. “I’ve broken the cycle.”
A child bride at 17 and single mom in her thirties, Galaise joined the 2024 transfer class as the cohort’s oldest member and the only undergraduate residing in graduate family housing where she lives with Eli, who currently attends Escondido Elementary School.
Galaise’s journey began in a small town in rural Connecticut, where she grew up as a Jehovah’s Witness (JW). Galaise grew up with the same eight kids. Her childhood revolved around the church and she was largely isolated from the outside world.
“With the Witnesses,” Galaise said, “I was never allowed to get baptized because I asked too many questions.” Galaise recalls backlash for asking questions about things like the dinosaurs. “Witness culture is very conformist,” she said. “You don’t ask questions.”
In the outside world, Galaise would observe how her teachers interacted with her mother. JW elders often pulled her out of class because of the class content. She felt like an observer while in school, but had wanted to belong to the “educational world.”
Growing up, Galaise dreamed of becoming a clarinettist or going to college. To that end, she snuck out to take her SATs — the one and only time she snuck out during high school. But, according to Galaise, the arc of her life was long predetermined by the community’s elders.
At 17, Galaise said she was groomed to marry a high-standing ministerial servant six years older than her. Galaise’s first husband, however, was soon shunned from the community, and Galaise, having never been baptized, was cast out as well. Her first husband took a job at a grocery store in Vermont and brought Galaise with him. Before reaching adulthood, Galaise found herself 200 miles away from everything she’d ever known.
“He was abusive from the start,” Galaise said. They eventually divorced, but Galaise continued struggling to find a foothold. “I bounced from abusive relationship to abusive relationship. I ended up having a child with a different guy. I ended up in a domestic violence shelter, homeless, trying to get away from him.”
Soon, Galaise became a single mother. She began attending the Community College of Vermont, taking online courses and working a full-time job during the day.
Galaise felt “accepted” for the first time in community college, but she still faced a challenging schedule. After getting off from work everyday, Galaise would pick Eli up from daycare and rush home. She had two hours for dinner and quality time with him before she had to put him to bed. Galaise received minimal support from family during this period. Her mother was still a Witness and her siblings, she said, had “handled their upbringings in different ways.”
A few years later, when Galaise’s mother moved to Pennsylvania, Galaise and her son moved back to Connecticut. There, she transferred to Northwestern Community College, a college she’d driven past numerous times as a child, but had always seemed “out of reach” to her.
At Northwestern, Galaise served as the elected chair of the state’s Board of Regents Student Advisory Committee, representing 40,000 students. Galaise further immersed herself in her community as a peer mentor, helping new students transition to the college environment.
Off campus, Galaise interned for a semester with Connecticut State Representatives Robyn A. Porter and Andre Baker Jr. at the State Capitol, where her story contributed to Connecticut’s bill that banned child marriage. During her internship, Galaise also spent time with various House Democrat legislative aids and committee clerks.
By the time Galaise left Northwestern, she had left an immense impact on the lives of fellow students, wrote Mike Rooke, the President of Northwestern Community College.
“Her drive and commitment to first her son and then herself, are striking, and exemplify the resilience of the community college student. Her willingness to give back to benefit other students is remarkable,” Rooke wrote to The Daily.
On top of a full ride from Stanford, Galaise was also awarded the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship.
Galaise said she has thought a lot about her acceptance into Stanford, especially since she didn’t feel like she ever belonged to one group.
“Now that I’m here, I think I’m seeing that that’s why Stanford picked me: I’m not afraid to be in any part of a group. And I’m eternally grateful that Stanford believes in me,” Galaise said.
Galaise was previously living in unsafe housing, struggling for food and advocating for the bare minimum. Now, she looks forward to the upcoming years at Stanford where she won’t have to worry about her basic needs being met.
“I can go to any of the dining halls and have coffee and food. I am so excited to be in a place where I can prioritize my health, which is something I’ve never ever been able to do and it’s extraordinary,” Galaise said.
Terrence Cheng, the chancellor of the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU), wrote that at Stanford, Galaise will find new doors to open.
“Academically, personally and professionally, she is going to meet people and have experiences that are going to catapult her to even greater heights,” Cheng wrote to The Daily.
Although Galaise started at Stanford with anthropology in mind, she is now opening up to new directions and interests, ranging from social psychology to political science. Her interests have largely been inspired by her three current classes she’s been taking: PSYCH 30N: “The Science of Diverse Communities,” PSYC 54N: “Genes, Memes, and Behavior” and RELIGST 19Q: “Does Religion Divide Us.”
Claude Steele, a professor of psychology who teaches PSYCH 30N, wrote Galaise is “both curious about classmates’ experiences and background and able to bring to perspectives that otherwise wouldn’t be part of the discussion.”
Similarly, David Tomz ’28, a classmate in Galaise’s PSYC 54N class, wrote that “while most of the students could reflect on how their parents treated them growing up, Carla, being a mother, shared the other point of view.”
“I thought this was super interesting and something I would never hear from the typical undergraduate,” Tomz wrote to The Daily.
Scott Hall, a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, who teaches PSYC 54N said, Galaise contributed to the class’ discussion by drawing on her own life experiences, especially in the class debate on nature vs. nurture.
Classmate Aurelia Leowinata ’28 also recalled Galaise’s insights into early behavior intervention for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) with Eli and how the different cultures from the communities they lived in changed his perspective.
Likewise, in RELIGST 19Q, another of Galaise’s IntroSems this quarter, classmates noted that they look forward to her questions. Gabriella Zannis ’28 described how Galaise openly shares her life experiences with religion, which add invaluable insights to class discussions.
Lara Franciulli ’25 noted Galaise’s insights on “whether tailoring laws around religion to more moderate perspectives would truly be fair and impartial to everyone.”
Galaise said she was looking forward to her future at Stanford.
“Whatever my future is, there’s no way I could imagine it three years ago. I could never imagine being here and everything that’s happened in between,” Galaise said. “I want to publish a book that I’ve been working on for a long time; I want to run for office one day; I want to gain the knowledge I need to make a difference in this world.”
Galaise’s excitement not only comes from herself and her school communities. Above all, it comes from Eli. Galaise recalled a conversation with her son while she was on the fence about her current courses in human biology. “I was at the dinner table with Eli and he’s like, ‘Mom, you came here to learn more and it’s for knowledge. So what do you wanna learn about?’ And he just said it so simply,” she said.
Her son’s sage advice is helping her make the decision every undergraduate sophomore must make: what to declare as her major.
“A human biology degree is probably more lucrative than anthropology or anything I decide to choose, but it’s not about that. I just want to make enough to survive. It’s about the knowledge,” Galaise said.
Galaise believes there’s no place like Stanford for her pursuit of knowledge.
“The education here is mind-blowing, just what’s at our fingertips,” she said. “I meet so many students who have so much pressure from their families, and on the one hand, it helps me appreciate in a way that I have the freedom to do whatever the heck I want to. Now actually at Stanford, I need to make the most out of this.”
A previous version of this article misstated that Scott Hall was a professor of psychology and teaches PSYCH 54N. Hall is a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and teaches PSYC 54N. The Daily regrets these errors.
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Trump is not the one to save democracy. We are.During a second Trump term, the work to help save democracy relies upon college students taking it up on themselves to vote and leave nothing to chance.
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Not to be cynical, but President-elect Donald Trump’s latest bureaucratic picks are as expected: extreme loyalists, several of whom have sexual assault allegations on their record. Though he confidently asserted that he is “the one saving democracy,” Trump’s nominees indicate otherwise.
As a nonpartisan reference, the Organization of American States’ Inter-American Democratic Charter — which the U.S. is a signatory and major proponent of — can be considered. Established with the intention of strengthening democracy in 2001, it constitutes a strong standard of comparison.
Article 1 asserts that governments must protect citizens’ right to democracy. Yet, Trump’s Secretary of State pick, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, vehemently opposed a bill proposing to expand national voting rights.
Article 2 upholds that democracy is solidified by citizens’ permanent political participation. But Stephen Miller, who has been chosen to forerun homeland security efforts, seems to disagree. He pushed for states to verify voters’ citizenship, even though such tactics constitute a form of voter intimidation.
Article 3 attests that pluralistic elements, such as the existence of competing political interests, must be sustained. On the contrary, Kash Patel — chosen by Trump to oversee the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) — previously threatened to fire any officials who didn’t support Trump.
Article 4 notes the importance of “responsible public administration” by governments. Conversely, Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services pick, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., actively spreads vaccine misinformation.
Article 5 urges that campaign financing is transparent. Billionaire Elon Musk, a Department of Government Efficiency co-chair, initially covered up his Republican campaign contributions with the intention of avoiding public scrutiny over the association.
The list goes on and on and on. Democracy’s future is certainly looking bleak, and the “MAGA king” himself isn’t helping. Trump’s demands for the “termination” of the Constitution, his incitement of violence at the Capitol and his felon status are concerning, to say the least. Despite the threat to democracy he poses, Trump was victorious after election day. On that night, a crowd of Stanford students applauded when Vice President Kamala Harris won California. Several expressed disappointment and even fear at Trump’s success.
As a first-time voter, I was hit by a mix of emotions: excitement at the achievement of finally voting and terror over the consequences the results posed for me.
Yet, I interacted with many Stanford students who didn’t vote or weren’t even registered to vote. When I asked about why, several asserted that it wouldn’t make a difference in the election. Blue states would stay blue and red states would stay red, and one vote wouldn’t make a difference — so they said. Some spoke of mail-in ballot struggles. Others remarked disinterestedly that politics just “aren’t for them.”
On a national level, members of Gen Z have described election night as a “political hangover,” with voting rights being a form of exploitation by interest groups rather than a privilege. Democracy may be at stake, but many college students remain unconvinced or perhaps cynical — like me — at the prospect of a public-serving government.
Studies have shown that adults who complete college and post-graduate degrees are more consistently liberal. But with so many college students not voting for a myriad of reasons, this liberal shift may not be reflected in the election results. The deep irony of democracy being blockaded by low turnout — itself partially caused by students not exercising their constitutional right — is saddening. Rather than admonishing students who choose to not vote, I believe that these voices should be elevated.
No matter which political party is in rule, the rationales stated for not voting continue to persist. This in itself is the destruction of democracy, especially among a group that could have made a substantial difference in the elections.
We must then speak up about these barriers to the youth vote — whether they be mail-in ballot problems, pluralistic exploitations or cynical takes. I’ll start: I attempted to submit my online voter registration over the course of several weeks, though my state website continually redirected me. I ultimately needed to send in a physical registration form. Even small issues such as this can discourage students from voting. On top of this, my ballot was sent to my home address in Colorado.
Similarly, several of my friends who live out-of-state did not receive their ballots in California, confused as to where they had been sent. If not for my amazing mother, who was travelling to California and dropped off my ballot, my vote would not have been received in time. In a country where so many barriers to voting exist, it is important for us students to speak up and share our experiences.
While we may be entering a phase of anti-democracy, the American public — and especially college students — has already been experiencing such a system. Unfortunately, Trump has signified intentions to eliminate the Department of Education and defund schools with vaccine mandates, alongside a number of other potentially detrimental policies. These changes could disrupt the nation’s entire school system, ultimately exacerbating the anti-democratic attitudes that college students today experience.
When our so-called “democratic” government officials inevitably fail us, it will be us — college students — who will have to self-advocate. The agencies meant to help us will be defunded, and in a nation where money is power, we will have no voice. In addition to sharing our opinions and engaging in protests, we must vote — even if we have doubts on the effectiveness of our individual votes or encounter burdensome protocols.
We must take democracy into our own hands in order to save it. Heading into 2028, speak up and vote. Until then, let the cynicism rain. We’re going to need it.
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Stanford’s Living Room: On Call CafeOne-year after the opening of On Call Cafe, Stanford's student run late-night coffee shop, The Daily spoke with the cafe's leadership about their growth and the community they've cultivated.
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On-Call Cafe, Stanford’s student run late-night coffee shop, celebrated their one year anniversary this November. The Daily spoke with the leadership team about the cafe’s growth over the last year and the community it has cultivated on campus.
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Palo Alto startup harnesses generative AI for drug discoveryBiostate AI is using AI to build a "Library of Alexandria" for drug data. The company's founders say their tool will help accelerate the discovery of life-saving medicine.
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Drug discovery is a long and high-risk process, with the development and approval process for each new drug costing up to $2 billion on average. Biostate AI, a start-up based in Palo Alto and Houston, is seeking to revolutionize this process with the launch of a new data-sharing platform for researchers.
Founded by Ashwin Gopinath and David Zhang in Texas, Biostate AI aims to use artificial intelligence (AI) to predict how certain drugs will affect human health. The company is currently developing AI models to predict a living organism’s health outcomes based on its DNA, RNA and protein biomarkers. The data-sharing platform, Omics Web, is the first step in this direction, according to CEO Zhang.
Omics Web, an online repository of biological data, is designed to be user-friendly by allowing users to filter data by various metadata tags such as organism, drug, organ and date.
“Omics Web is like a library with lots and lots of books in it, and we’re constantly adding in more books [or] additional biological experiments that we do and data that we collect,” Zhang said. “But inside there are also librarians, which happen to be AI, who will read all the books and tell you what the highlights are.”
He said the “AI librarian” within the database is an important tool for researchers since it can otherwise be extremely hard to comprehend the complexities of the experimental data that Omics Web contains.
The company uses the Omics Web database to “smarten” their AI machines and models to predict human health outcomes, Zhang said. Researchers, professors and graduate students are highly encouraged to share their data with the platform and start new collaborations.
“I think the future of Omics Web is that we’re basically building the great library of Alexandria, except for biological books,” he added.
Omics Web contains data from biological experiments that Biostate AI has run themselves along with experiments that the company has run for other researchers. According to CTO Gopinath, one of Biostate AI’s main goals is to make research accessible by cutting the cost of RNA sequencing.
For example, Biostate AI does much of its research through RNA sequencing and has found ways to reduce the cost of the process to $40. By keeping costs low, Gopinath said the company aims to extract more data for themselves and those who work with them.
Biostate AI “is cheaper than going with somebody else,” Gopinath said. “If you go with us, you’ll be able to do five to ten times more experiments, which means five to ten times more data, which means you have five to ten times more probability of getting more insights.”
The data Biostate AI finds for others is then uploaded to Omics Web, if the researcher that they are working with allows it.
Despite the promises of Omics Web advertised by Biostate AI, some researchers — such as pediatrics and computer science professor Gill Bejerano — remain skeptical.
“When a researcher like me looks at a resource like that, we would say, ‘Dude, I got 10, 15 resources like this vying for my attention,’” Bejerano said. “‘Why should I even spend… a month or two trying to figure this out?’”
Bejerano said that sharing research data through platforms like Omics Web can be difficult, especially when similar government-owned or other company platforms exist. However, these alternative data-sharing platforms are not without their faults. While government platforms are more accessible and affordable, they take a long time to access and sometimes are unorganized.
According to Bejerano, Omics Web could potentially set itself apart from other available platforms based on its cost and its ability to effectively “curate” biological data for researchers to easily utilize.
The most promising aspect of tools like Omics Web is their ability to open up new possibilities for researchers, Bejerano said, comparing the platform to looking at menus at different restaurants.
“As a researcher, you try to read as many menus as you can, because the menus allow you to imagine which questions you could be asking,” he said. “And then you go and say, ‘You know what? If I go to that restaurant and I buy these items from them, I can ask that question that nobody’s asked before me, maybe I’ll make a cool discovery.’”
In the future, Biostate AI hopes to use information from Omics Web to help pharmaceutical companies eliminate drugs that the AI accurately predicts are unsafe, which, Gopinath said, can save billions of dollars and help drugs reach patients in a more rapid manner.
“If we have better healthcare [and are] providing the right drugs to the right people at the right time, we can get everybody up to near the 90 years that people can naturally, biologically live to,” Zhang said.
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Students meet their (Marriage Pact) match at On CallWouldn't it be a shame to waste all of Stanford’s romantic potential? The Daily caught up with five Marriage Pact couples getting to know each other at "Marriage Pact x On Call."
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Picture this: overwhelmed by p-sets and Week 9 midterms, two gorgeous, brilliant Stanford students have no time for love. It’s a devastating conundrum — and an unacceptable one. Wouldn’t it be a shame to waste all of Stanford’s romantic potential?
So these students turn to the Marriage Pact, a 50-question quiz that identifies compatible couples and facilitates a promise: should both individuals find themselves single in the future, they will wed their beloved backup option. Shortly after, a fateful email appears.
“Dear [Name], your optimal Stanford Marriage Pact is…”
The soulmates schedule lunch at Arrillaga. Turns out their 100% compatibility isn’t an algorithmic illusion. There’s chemistry — the irresistible kind. Forgoing the pact, they date, graduate and start their lives in Silicon Valley, where they raise two kids and a cybertruck.
It’s the stuff of romance novels…or one dreamily improbable outcome of the Marriage Pact.
Created by Stanford students in 2017, the Pact has assigned 268,000 matches at 100 universities. Each question is on a 1-7 sliding scale, where participants offer opinions on the provocative (“I generally take control during sex”) to the political (“I always vote”). The Pact then “feed[s] your likes, loves, and pickiest non-negotiables to our matching algorithm.” The algorithm produces — if not an eternal soulmate — an efficient plan of love.
This year’s Stanford Marriage Pact garnered 5,386 responses. As signups poured in and the algorithm worked its magic, sporadic emails revealed the major and initials of one’s then-best match—fueling on-campus hype and speculation.
Last Tuesday, final match announcements disrupted the pre-break sluggishness of Week 9, “[unleashing] a wave of chaos romance,” as a Pact email wrote.
To celebrate the match release, On Call Café hosted “Marriage Pact x On Call” through Week 10. Every night, the first 25 matched couples to attend On Call received free drinks.
At On Call, The Daily spoke to multiple pairs of Marriage Pact lovebirds about their burgeoning “romances.” The following conversations have been edited for length and clarity.
1. Divya Venkat Sridhar ’28 & Colin Weis ’28
Sridhar: Honestly, it felt like a community thing. Everyone was doing it. I was like, “it’s nice to meet people who are not usually in [my] circle.” That’s what I was looking for — somebody with similar interests to some extent, but not necessarily someone I’ve met before.
Weis: Same for me. I felt like I could partake in the tradition.
2. Imam Monnoo ’28 & Jaelen Oh ’28
Oh: All my friends were doing it.
Monnoo: I live on West Campus, so it’s hard to meet people from East Campus — or meet people in general. I just wanted to see who I would get matched with in the area.
3. Hailey Ramzan ’27 & Hakeem Shindy ’27
Ramzan: I just thought it would be fun! I know a lot of people that made new friends [from Marriage Pact]. Last year my Marriage Pact never accepted my follower [request]…I was like, “Oh, I’ll try it again this year.”
Shindy: [I participated] just for funsies.
Ramzan: For sillies!
Shindy: Yeah. It’s exciting to see who this algorithm thinks you’re compatible with to be a friend.…or more.
4. Sophia Bonanno ’28 & Santana Romero ’28
Romero: I wasn’t expecting anything serious [from] it.
Bonanno: Yeah, same. I just wanted to do it for the vibe.
5. Sidh Shroff ’28 & Leo Melton ’28
Melton: I was like, why not? I mean, I could get a relationship, a friend, whatever.
Shroff: It could be super good. You never know.
1. Sridhar & Weis
Sridhar: It was interesting. I liked the little teasers they gave us. People were talking about it a lot — [it] added to this sort of buzz about it.
Weis: It was a fun time.
2. Monnoo & Oh
Oh: I actually missed the [email with my match’s initials] because I [filled out the Pact] a little late. [Another email said] she was an English major, and I’m really involved in English stuff. That was pretty cool to see.
Monnoo: I had a different [set of] initials. I had H.C. first, and then [it] did not turn out to be H.C. I didn’t really care. It was fun to see the updates come in. I know everyone around me was kind of going crazy, and they were looking [their matches] up on the Stanford Directory. I wanted it to be a surprise.
3. Ramzan & Shindy
Ramzan: I honestly forgot I filled it out. I’ve had the most busy, insane, stressful week of my life. I just got the email, and I was like, “Oh, cool.”
Shindy: When they gave me a little bit of information, I was curious. But before then, I was just getting my butt kicked in class.
Ramzan: Damn.
4. Bonanno & Romero
Romero: I think some people were really hyperfixated on figuring out who their initials were, who the major was. I understand that, because it’s a really fun tradition. But for me, I don’t know. It was low stress. I just knew it’d be a fun way to make a friend.
Bonanno: I wasn’t that invested.
5. Shroff & Melton
Shroff: Hella stalking. I was stalking Instagram.
Melton: There was the GitHub that showed initials and names that matched up. I was looking [at] that, like, “Oh, maybe I can figure out who it [is].” It was kind of fun. It added a bit of drama.
1. Sridhar & Weis
Sridhar: To be really honest with you, I don’t remember a lot of what was on there. Some of the questions were quite odd, but [I] just tried to be honest about it. A lot of people were not taking it too seriously. I don’t think I was either.
Weis: I had a fun time filling it out. I filled it out with some friends and I got a good laugh out of it.
2. Monnoo & Oh
Oh: I have a girlfriend.
[laughter]
3. Ramzan & Shindy
Shindy: To clear things up, we’ve spoken like twice [before matching]. But Hailey’s cool. I’d like to think I’m cool.
Ramzan: Yeah, Hakeem’s so cool. Go Marriage Pact! I’m very glad I got him, and not someone that was not sweet [or] fun. Some of the matches are actually insane. It’s like, “How…um…”
Shindy: It’s hard to see the vision sometimes. I presented myself as honestly as I could. There were some questions that made me a little uncomfortable. For those I just put 4, because that was [the middle of the sliding scale]. I don’t know if they need to know all that.
4. Bonanno & Romero
Romero: We get along so well. And we have friends in common —
Bonanno: Yeah.
Romero: —which I feel like is a testament.
5. Shroff & Melton
Melton: I was pretty honest on the marriage pact. It didn’t go into that much detail, so I was pleasantly surprised. We have a lot of common interests…I think we clicked really well.
Schroff: Yeah. I don’t know [what] the algorithm is, but it’s doing a good job.
1. Sridhar & Weis
Sridhar: Definitely when it’s so orchestrated. Like, I’m sure if I met [Weis] under normal circumstances, it’d be fine and everything. But I’m like, “Ah, it’s the Marriage Pact…” Look, it’s okay. It’s not like I’m dying.
Weis: That’s good.
2. Monnoo & Oh
Oh: We haven’t really had a chance to talk. It’s a friendly thing.
3. Ramzan & Shindy
Ramzan: If you go into it having this expectation like “Oh my God, this is the love of my life,” then maybe. I think it’s just a cool way to meet new people.
Shindy: To add onto what Hailey’s saying, it’s when there’s different ideas of expectations — when one person is doing it just for fun, and the other isn’t — that’s when it can get awkward.
4. Bonanno & Romero
Romero: We both went into it with very low stakes, low commitment. I think it’s been really fun.
5. Shroff & Melton
Shroff: It’s fun. Get out; get to know people. You never know what comes out of it.
Melton: At first, I was like, “I don’t know what to say.” But I feel like the event at On-Call gave me a good reason to start a conversation.
———
So was this year’s Stanford Marriage Pact successful? Only time will tell. As the Pact itself stated, “an algorithm is not the hand of god.” While a questionnaire can help discern compatibility, it can’t accommodate every student’s ideal vision of romance.
But who knows? The Daily will check back in a decade or two. Maybe by then, a few of these Cardinal couples will be living out a picket-fence dream.
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Men’s basketball snaps two-game skid with win over WolverinesStanford men’s basketball defeated Utah Valley State 77-63, led by Jaylen Blakes’ 18 points and Maxime Raynaud’s 17 rebounds.
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Stanford men’s basketball returned to winning ways Tuesday night, defeating Utah Valley State 77-63 at Maples Pavilion. The Cardinal displayed improved shooting and defensive intensity after a two-game losing streak, led by senior forward Maxime Raynaud’s dominant double-double — his 8th of the season.
The game also showcased fresh contributions from newcomers, with freshmen forwards Evan Stinson and Tallis Toure logging significant minutes early. Stinson, who has just recently recovered from an injury that initially had him slated for a redshirt season, checked into the game six minutes after tipoff, following a string of turnovers by Stanford.
“I think [Stinson] is going to be a good player moving forward,” said head coach Kyle Smith. “I put him in a tough spot as he hasn’t practiced that much, but he played well.”
Within the first minute of his debut, Stinson scored his first career points, sinking a corner three-pointer. He followed up with a steal and a defensive rebound, energizing the Cardinal. Stanford capitalized, with redshirt sophomore Ryan Agarwal’s three-pointer giving the team its first lead after nearly 10 minutes.
Stanford built momentum with key plays from its veterans. Junior forward Chisom Okpara delivered a block-and-score sequence, graduate guard Jaylen Blakes drove baseline for a reverse layup, and junior guard Oziyah Sellers converted a fast-break dunk off a steal. Utah Valley State struggled to respond, committing multiple shot-clock violations.
The first half closed with a highlight-reel alley-oop. Blakes lofted the ball to Raynaud, who slammed it home, sending the Maples crowd into a frenzy. At halftime, Stanford led 38-26, buoyed by a solid bench effort that outscored Utah Valley State’s reserves 8-0.
“The motivation was pretty obvious,” said Blakes. “Coming off two losses didn’t sit well with us. There’s motivation every game as we always have something to prove, but especially coming off two games that we felt that we should have won.”
The Cardinal extended its lead in the second half, with Raynaud dominating the boards and notching 17 rebounds to complement his 10 points. Though Stanford briefly allowed the Wolverines to close within 10 points, Okpara and Sellers steadied the team with defensive stops and transition scoring.
The night’s final exclamation point came when Raynaud, facing full-court pressure, lobbed a perfect pass to Stinson, who completed an alley-oop dunk. Raynaud celebrated his third assist, the most he has managed in a game since the season opener against Denver.
“I thought Maxime played his best defensive game,” Smith said. “He guarded well and kept his man off the glass, so I was really proud of Maxime for playing that way.”
Stanford’s rotation also saw contributions from Toure and sophomore guard Derin Saran, who each logged minutes late in the game. The victory snapped a two-game skid and provided a confidence boost heading into Saturday’s rivalry matchup against Cal.
Blakes downplayed the significance of the Cal game as he stressed the need to continue picking up wins.
“Every ACC game is going to be a challenge,” Blakes said. “It’s a rivalry game, but we are just trying to get a win.
Stanford will travel to Haas Pavilion to face the Golden Bears on Saturday, with tipoff set for 1 p.m.
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Stanford misinformation expert admits to ChatGPT ‘hallucinations’ in court statementCommunication professor Jeff Hancock said he overlooked “hallucinated citations” in a court declaration he crafted with assistance from ChatGPT.
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Communication Professor Jeff Hancock admitted to overlooking “hallucinated citations” in a court declaration he crafted with assistance from ChatGPT.
For the declaration, Hancock surveyed scholarly literature on the risks of deepfake technology in spreading misinformation using GPT-4o, but failed to factcheck the citations generated by the artificial intelligence (AI) agent, he wrote in a filing to the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota last Wednesday.
“I did not intend to mislead the Court or counsel,” he wrote. “I express my sincere regret for any confusion this may have caused. That said, I stand firmly behind all of the substantive points in the declaration.”
Hancock, an expert on technology and misinformation, filed the original expert declaration on November 1 for a Minnesota court case regarding the state’s 2023 ban on the use of deepfakes to influence an election. While plaintiffs argued that the ban is an unconstitutional limit on free speech, Hancock submitted an expert declaration on behalf of defendant Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison claiming that deepfakes amplify misinformation and undermine trust in democratic institutions. The plaintiffs’ attorneys then accused Hancock of using AI to craft the court declaration, claiming the statement contained citations to two articles that did not exist.
In his latest filing, which detailed how he researched and drafted the declaration, Hancock wrote that he used GPT-4o and Google Scholar to create a citation list for his statement. He did not notice when the AI agent generated two “hallucinated citations” and also introduced an error in a list of authors for an existing study.
“I use tools like GPT-4o to enhance the quality and efficiency of my workflow, including search, analysis, formatting and drafting,” he wrote.
The error occurred when he asked GPT-4o to write a short paragraph based on bullet points he had written. According to Hancock, he included “[cite]” as a placeholder to remind himself to add the correct citations. But when he fed the writing into GPT-4o, the AI model generated manufactured citations at each placeholder instead.
Hancock was compensated at the government rate of $600 per hour for his declaration, which he made under penalty of perjury that everything he stated in the document was “true and correct.”
The Daily has reached out to Hancock for comment.
Hancock currently teaches COMM 1: “Introduction to Communication” and COMM 324: “Language and Technology.” Last spring, he taught COMM 224: “Truth, Trust, and Technology.”
On Tuesday, COMM 1 met in Sapp Teaching and Learning Center for its usual class session, but Hancock taught over Zoom. Several students in COMM 1 told the Daily that the class just started learning about citations.
While Tuesday’s class topic was on the importance of citing diverse scholars to broaden representation in the field of communications, one student in the course, who requested to remain anonymous due to fear of academic repercussions, said they found it “ironic” that Hancock lectured on the use of citations after admitting to have used fabricated AI-generated citations.
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Behind the nationwide rise of book bansStanford experts dive into the recent increase in incidents of book banning and what it means for teachers, librarians, students and freedom of speech.
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Challenges and bans to books in public libraries and schools in the U.S. have steeply increased since 2022. What is behind this increase? And what do Stanford faculty have to say about it?
Although book banning has always existed and occurred in the country, there has been an unprecedented rise in bans in the last three years, and even more so in the last year. During the 2023-24 academic year, Poets, Essayists, Novelists (PEN) America recorded around 10,000 bans on books — a three-fold increase from the previous year. The books targeted are usually those containing themes of race, LGBTQ+ identity and sexual assault, including books like “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison, “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood and “Gender Queer: A Memoir” by Maia Kobabe. PEN found that between July to December 2023, more than 4,300 books were removed from schools across 23 states; however, the true number could be higher as many removals go unreported, the organization reported.
Jennifer Wolf, senior lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Education who researches book bans in K-12 schools, said that the recent sharp rise in bans is largely a result of the pandemic. Due to at-home learning, parents had a greater insight into their children’s education. As they increasingly saw what their children were learning, they often disapproved. Banning books is a convenient, easy and direct way for parents to have an influence, Wolf said, as they know it is likely that their voices will be heard at small school board or parent-teacher association meetings.
“Parents were now sitting behind or next to their kids while they were in school, and they were like…is this what you’re teaching in school? Are these the books that you’re assigning?” Wolf said. Parental concerns like these may stem from surprise at the difference between their education and their child’s, she noted.
Cassie Wright, advanced lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric and an expert on education and linguistics, said there is “definitely an increase in challenges” to books but not necessarily concrete bans. A ban, she said, implies top-down state enforcement, while a challenge usually related to bottom-up civic engagement. Understanding the difference between the two is important, she said.
The rise in challenges to books is being mainly driven by right wing parental rights movements through conservative groups like Moms for Liberty and Utah Parents United. The state with the greatest number of challenges is Florida, where 3,135 books were removed across 11 school districts in one 2023 semester. There have also been notable book ban increases in Texas, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Southern California. Moreover, efforts to challenge books have become increasingly organized and politicized.
The rise in challenges to books has posed a number of problems for teachers, librarians and students, and has sparked concerns of free speech violations. Many opponents of book bans, including parents, students, library organizations, booksellers and authors argue that book bans violate the First Amendment. Wolf agreed, noting that books are a form of speech, and removing them impacts our access to free speech.
Wolf said that schools are particularly complicated. Although they protect freedom of speech, there are also “guardrails” in place around the kind of speech that can occur to keep the learning environment safe for children, she noted.
“Are these books being removed as a form of censorship to make things safer and more educative for students, or are they being removed in a way that makes things less safe and less educative for students?” Wolf said.
She also said the increase prevents teachers from making decisions, thereby undermining their profession.
“Schools should be a place where taxpayers are represented and we draw on the expertise that teachers and administrators have,” Wolf said.
Kelly Roll, operations manager for Cubberley Education Library, organizes a display of banned books every year in Green Library to raise awareness about book bans and which specific books are being banned. She said students are “protected here in California and certainly in an academic library” but that across the country, “librarians are under stress, they’re under pressure.” Amanda Jones, who authored the book “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America,” for example, received death threats as a result of her work fighting book bans, Roll said.
Book bans also may have harmful impacts on students’ personal development and self-esteem.
“I believe that [young readers] need to see themselves reflected in what they read … they also need to read about people who are not like themselves in order to understand those people’s point of view,” said Wolf, who’s academic expertise also includes adolescent development.
Roll said that books offer “companionship” to minority groups such as LGBTQ+ students. Adolescents’ “main task of development is identity formation” and banning books which represent their identities may disrupt that, Roll said.
Wright teaches the PWR course, “Ban that Book! Rhetorics of Free Speech and Censorship.” Her inspiration for the course was “seeing the way that book bans have been weaponized by the left and the right” and “rising concerns with freedom of speech.” Wright agreed with Wolf that the pandemic drove more book bans as it opened more opportunities for parents to directly get involved in their childrens’ education. She also noted the Miller Test — the primary legal test for determining whether an expression constitutes obscenity. She acknowledged that there are books that the test would “deem as obscene” and therefore it would be in “good faith” to remove them in the interest of age appropriateness.
“Between social media and partisanship and polarization … there’s so much overreaction. I’d like to think that time will make it better,” Wright said.
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