In this video, Cardinal men’s volleyball standout BRAD LAWSON offers his rendition of the Stanford Hymn. Lawson and the defending national champion team take on Brigham Young University tonight at Maples Pavilion and Saturday night in Burnham Pavilion. Both games start at 7:30 p.m. 
Archive for January, 2011
Men’s volleyball’s Brad Lawson sings ‘Hail, Stanford, Hail’
Discover why it’s so much fun to kill the undead
If you like zombies, don’t miss the Jan. 28 screening of the 2009 movie Zombieland in Cubberley Auditorium at 7 p.m. The free event is sponsored by Residential Education and Robinson House. Tickets, available at the Residential Education Office, are required.
There will be a special pre-show lecture by Stephen Watt, professor of English, theater and drama and associate dean for undergraduate education at Indiana University-Bloomington. His talk is delightfully titled, “The History of Zombieland: Or, Why It’s So Much Fun to Kill the Undead.”
The day before the screening, lucky residents of Robinson House will be treated to a screening of I Walked with a Zombie, a 1943 horror classic directed by Jacques Tourneur that is considered one of the best zombie movies of all time.
Watt will lead Robinson residents in a discussion of Tourneur’s work, the way the filmmaker borrowed from 19th-century narrative conventions about vampires and the film’s significance in the zombie film genre. Watt’s interest in zombies is tied to a new book he is writing about the 1890s, when Bram Stoker wrote and published Dracula, according to ROD TAYLOR, lecturer in the Program in Writing and Rhetoric and resident fellow at Robinson House. Watt’s visit and the film screenings are supported by the Charles F. Riddell Fund.
Taylor hopes the Zombieland screening will help students think “critically about the relationship among film, culture and social values.”
He adds, “And it’s just a good zombie film.”
In pictures: Judith Jamison’s master class
On Monday, Jan. 10, JUDITH JAMISON, artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, brought her wisdom and her dance moves to Stanford. University photographer Linda Cicero captured the scene during a master class, which Jamison taught with Matthew Rushing, below, rehearsal director for the legendary dance company. 
Castro urges Stanford parents to talk to their kids about alcohol
Ralph Castro
Parents can have more impact on their college-age children’s drinking habits than they might think.
That’s the message RALPH CASTRO, associate director of health promotion services at Vaden Health Center and assistant dean of student life, is imparting to Stanford parents in the current issue of the quarterly Stanford Parents’ Newsletter.
Parents’ Weekend is scheduled for next month, and Castro hopes to use the opportunity to reiterate his message to some of the more than 3,000 family members expected to visit.
Castro says research suggests that alcohol consumption may be the single most important area where parents should shed their concerns about over-involvement in their students’ lives and engage openly and honestly with their children.
Castro bases his advice on research done for a consortium of about 20 universities that includes Stanford. The research was done by the company that manages the online AlcoholEdu program required of all Stanford freshmen before their arrival on campus.
“The research asked whether parent involvement could affect outcomes with alcohol,” Castro said. “In a nutshell, the answer is yes. Kids who have talked to their parents about alcohol have fewer problems.”
He explained, “Just having a conversation appears to be enough to affect alcohol use. But if I could give advice, I would recommend that parents clearly define their expectations and say what they consider appropriate and inappropriate behavior. Past research has shown, for instance, that nondrinkers—when asked why they don’t drink—will say: ‘Because my parents don’t want me to.’”
Read the full article from the Parents’ Newsletter.
Graduate student’s composition brings together the mystical and the ‘Earth Bound’
During winter break, VAIBHAV TRIPATHI, a doctoral student in electrical engineering, sent us a composite image he created from photos he took of the total lunar eclipse that occurred late night Dec. 20 and early morning Dec. 21. The result is a stunning image consisting of five photos.
“The sky was partly cloudy and after the total eclipse, it became mostly cloudy, not allowing me any photo of the moon either in the total eclipsed state or coming out of the eclipse,” Tripathi, who also earned his master’s degree at Stanford, explains on his photography blog.
“When I planned for the images of the eclipsing moon, I wanted to find something on the earth to match with the mystical (not so in the modern age) phenomenon. Since the weather was not cooperative, I didn’t want to go too far and decided upon shooting from my university’s Oval. The lit church in the night provided the ‘Earth Bound’ structure. I walked couple of hundred yards from the church before taking the base picture at the same zoom as the moon so that the perspective remains the same throughout the composite image.”
Read more about Tripathi and view his work as a photographer at his online gallery. His work also will be featured in the Stanford Art Spaces exhibit from Jan. 28 through March 17.
Pundits reflect on Andrew Luck’s decision to stay
Andrew Luck
A brief statement was released Thursday morning from the Athletics Department saying that star quarterback ANDREW LUCK, who is a junior, has decided to stay at Stanford for his senior year rather than declare early for the 2011 NFL Draft.
Luck was projected to be the number one pick in the NFL Draft, with potential earnings well into the millions. So his decision attracted considerable attention among media outlets.
“I am committed to earning my degree in architectural design from Stanford University and am on track to accomplish this at the completion of the spring quarter of 2012,” he said Thursday. He was not available for further comment, although his father, Oliver, talked to sports journalists on his behalf.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to quantify,” Oliver Luck, who is athletic director at West Virginia University, told the New York Times. “It’s easy to quantify the dollar amount, it’s harder to quantify the value of experience and completing a cycle, so to speak, with your cohorts and classmates.”
Within hours of the announcement, thousands of news outlets were weighing in, many supporting and some second-guessing his decision. The Washington Post even conducted a poll: “Is Andrew Luck making the right decision by staying at Stanford?” it asked. The overwhelming majority voted yes.
Some sports pundits and talk radio hailed the announcement as one that rectifies a tainted college football season. Luck, many said, represents the essence of the true scholar-athlete, reminding us what college athletics are supposed to be.
“After a season of sleaze and slime, we can all feel good about ourselves today,” wrote Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com. “Great kid. Great decision.”
But Oliver Luck told the Times he doesn’t think his son has “any desire to be the poster boy” for the good things in college sports. “I don’t think he’s doing this for anyone but himself. He knows himself best.”
He added, “I don’t think he’s trying to make any kind of cultural statement.”
The New York Times ended its story this way: “But Luck certainly made a statement Thursday, one that resonated strongly in college football and the N.F.L.”
New Resilience Project helps students put ‘failure’ in perspective
Adina Glickman
Students who suffer disappointments that they choose to label “failures” are the target audience for the new Resilience Project, which features prominent alumni and campus faculty and administrators talking about their life experiences. Access is limited to those with a SUNet ID.
The project is the brainchild of ADINA GLICKMAN, associate director for academic support at the Center for Teaching and Learning. Glickman worked with staff from Undergraduate Advising and Research, the Career Development Center and Judicial Affairs to create the project.
During Mid-Year Convocation this week, the group rolled out the first phase of the project on its new website. Featured are written and recorded interviews that feature alumni and campus community members talking about disappointments they have experienced, ranging from bad grades to job rejections. They explain how they learned from the disappointments, persevered and moved on.
“The objective is to show students that failure is not the bitter pill of achievement. It has real value,” said Glickman.
Many Stanford students arrive on campus never having experienced less than an A, according to KOREN BAKKEGARD, associate dean of Undergraduate Advising and Research, who helped with the project.
“At best, students respond to a disappointing grade or rejection as a challenge to do better,” she said. “At worst, they may abandon a field of work or study or become risk-averse in exploring areas that might further tarnish their GPAs. We want to help students know that it’s safe — even necessary — to fail on the way to success.”
Among those featured are SANDRA DAY O’CONNOR, former U.S. Supreme Court justice; STEPHEN BREYER, current U.S. Supreme Court justice; Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education HARRY ELAM; Vice Provost for Student Affairs GREG BOARDMAN; Dean of Freshmen and Undergraduate Advising and Research JULIE LYTHCOTT-HAIMS; TIM WESTERGREN, founder of Pandora Internet Radio; English Professor TOBIAS WOLFF; and chemistry Professor Emeritus CARL DJERASSI.
The group also plans to create a printed booklet for distribution. Future phases of the project will include more faculty, alumni and administrator videos. Students also will be invited to submit their stories to the project.
The Resilience Project was inspired by a similar initiative at Harvard called the Success/Failure Project.
SLAC welcomes new communications director
FARNAZ KHADEM has joined the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory as its new director of communications. Khadem brings to the lab more than a decade of experience directing scientific communications efforts, primarily in the life sciences. She will lead development of SLAC communications strategy for both internal needs and external audiences, from the Department of Energy to the science-curious public.
Khadem joins SLAC from Life Technologies Corporation, a manufacturer of instrument systems used in genetics studies, where she served as senior director of corporate communications and public relations for four years. Before that, she led communications, media relations and public relations efforts in the life sciences at the University of California-Irvine and the World Anti-Doping Agency. She has lived and traveled abroad extensively during posts with the U.S. Foreign Service Diplomatic Corps in Israel, Italy and Washington, D.C. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Northwestern University.
“SLAC has a well-earned reputation as a scientific center of excellence, and I’m excited to be a part of the important work being done here every day,” Khadem said.
Read the full announcement on the SLAC Today website.
—Shawne Workman
Rally for the Cardinal Football team today at Maples
Stanford football fans are encouraged to come out and meet the team in front of Maples Pavilion this afternoon at approximately 4:45. The Cardinal routed the Virginia Tech Hokies 40-12 in the Discover Orange Bowl Monday night.
Fans cheer on the Cardinal during Monday's game
What happened 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago?
Welcome to 2011. Every year brings with it anniversaries to celebrate—or not. Here is a sampling of what happened at Stanford 100, 75, 50 and 25 years ago, according to A Chronology of Stanford University and Its Founders, published by the Stanford Historical Society and written by Karen Bartholomew, Claude Brinegar and Roxanne Nilan.
1911
• In January, letter grades are introduced on report cards.
• Theodore Roosevelt tours campus in the springtime with President David Starr Jordan and Professor John Casper Branner.
• In October, Herbert Hoover is elected to the Board of Trustees, the second alumnus to serve.
Hank Luisetti
1936
• In January, the famous football “Vow Boys” beat Southern Methodist University 7-0 in the Rose Bowl.
• The trustees, faced with a declining endowment of about $30 million, successfully petition the Santa Clara Superior Court in February for permission to shift part of the endowment to corporate stocks and real estate.
• In December in Madison Square Garden, Hank Luisetti revolutionizes the game of basketball with his running one-handed jump shot as Stanford beats Long Island University.
1961
• In March, several campus fraternities defy their national organizations and admit students who are black or Jewish.
• In April, President J. E. Wallace Sterling launches the three-year, $100 million fundraising drive called Plan of Action for a Challenging Era, or PACE campaign.
• By a vote of 2,044 to 951, students veto an April proposal to integrate the sexes into one football rooting section.
• In November, physicist Robert Hofstadter wins a Nobel Prize in physics for research on the structure of atomic nuclei.
1986
• In February, freshman Debi Thomas wins the women’s U.S. Figure Skating Championship, then follows up by winning the world title in March in Geneva, Switzerland.
• In May, Lucile and David Packard pledge $70 million to finance construction of a new children’s hospital.
• In November, Athletic Director Andy Geiger bans the Band from playing at the UCLA game after the group spelled out a four-letter word and dropped pants during a half-time show.
• During a November trip to Japan, President Donald Kennedy announces two cooperative programs with Kyoto University.
Visit the Stanford Historical Society website.
