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T Stanford Daily The

MONDAY April 16, 2012

An Independent Publication
www.stanforddaily.com

Volume 241 Issue 39

New Execs win with 87 percent

Zimbroff-Wagstaff win following tumultuous race
By BILLY GALLAGHER and BRENDAN OBYRNE Robbie Zimbroff 12 and William Wagstaff 12, two co-term students, won the race for ASSU Executive with 87 percent of the vote, announced elections commissioner Adam Adler 13 at a Saturday evening elections results party at the CoHo. Zimbroff will serve as the President and Wagstaff as Vice President for the 2012-2013 school year. Zimbroff-Wagstaff beat out incumbent Vice President Stewart MacGregor-Dennis 13 and Druthi Ghanta 14, along with Open Source Candidates, the annual Chaparral humor magazine joke slate. After the Open Source Candidates slate was eliminated from the race with only 289 votes, MacGregorDennis & Druthi fell with only 466 votes. Zimbroff-Wagstaff won with 2,998 votes, earning 87 percent of the total vote for Executive. Hopefully this wasnt about two people, it was about a lot more people who have shared ideas and want to continue to build on a shared vision for the coming year, Zimbroff said after the results were announced. The win for Zimbroff-Wagstaff

MADELINE SIDES/The Stanford Daily

Robbie Zimbroff 12 and William Wagstaff 12 celebrated after the results of the ASSU Election were announced in the CoHo Saturday. The two co-terms were elected to the Executive for 2012-2013.

Please see EXEC, page 5

STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Incoming senators hope to reverse student apathy

By JULIA ENTHOVEN
STAFF WRITER

SPEAKERS & EVENTS

New ASSU reps face uphill battle due to lack of experience

The undergraduate student body elected 13 freshmen and two sophomores to the ASSU Undergraduate Senate, election commissioner Adam Adler 13 announced Saturday at a results party held at the CoHo Saturday. None of the 15 senators have previously held ASSU office besides serving on Frosh Council, making it the first year in at least a decade in which neither the Senate nor the Executive will have any members with previous experience in an elected ASSU position, according to the Elections Commissions archives. With only 18 students in the Senate race, only three candidates were not elected, including one who was not actively campaigning. Im really excited to try and change the image of the ASSU because I know a lot of people

view it in a negative light, Anna Brezhneva 15 said of her new position. Brezhneva could not name any ASSU initiative that was implemented this year, which she said was evidence of the lack of communication between the current Senate and the student body. When asked what their first initiative would be upon taking office, several senators, including Brezhneva, Jack Weller 15 and Garima Sharma 15, said that their priority would be lowering the standard of proof for sexual assault proceedings as worded in the ASSU Constitution. As The Daily previously reported, the current burden outlined in the ASSU Constitution requiring evidence beyond a reasonable doubt violates the preponderance of evidence standard dictated by federal law. Judicial Affairs, however, has been using a lower standard of proof in accordance with federal guidelines for a year. According to current sen-

Youth activists come together at AMENDS

International delegates include Arab Spring participants
By NATASHA WEASER
DESK EDITOR

Please see SENATE, page 10

UNIVERSITY

One third of frosh apply for SoCo

By JOSEE SMITH
STAFF WRITER SERENITY NGUYEN/ The Stanford Daily

MADELINE SIDES/The Stanford Daily

The four-day AMENDS conference brought together 36 youth activists from 17 countries. The delegates presented their international work to their peers and attended talks by speakers on global issues.

Thirty-six youth activists from 17 countries, including many who helped organize parts of the Arab Spring, gathered on campus last week for the inaugural American Middle Eastern Network for Dialogue at Stanford (AMENDS) conference. Speakers at the conference included Moulay Hicham Ben Abdallah M.A. 97, a Moroccan prince and consulting professor at Stanford; Kavita Ramdas, former president and CEO of the Global Fund for Women and current executive director for the program on social entrepreneurship at the Stanford Center for Democracy, Development and the Rule of Law (CDDRL); and Jeremy Weinstein, former director of development and democracy on the National Security Council and a current associate professor of political science and senior fellow at the Freeman Spogli Institute. The delegates had a full schedule last week, including attending workshops, networking sessions, talks by prominent members of the

Please see AMENDS, page 5

SoCo and Arts Intensive results to be posted April 30

SPEAKERS & EVENTS

curriculum, West added in an email to The Daily. We dont place any pre-determined limit on the number of off-campus seminars, he said. Whats most important is providing students with a range of compelling seminars spanning the disciplines. While seminars involving travel especially abroad, but also to destinations in the United States tended to receive a higher number of applications, many on-campus seminars received the same number of applications as off-campus seminars, West said. He added that the Sophomore College staff members are always looking to improve the program, from developing new seminars to improving the overall experience for students. This year, we are working

Low turnout results in three pending GSC seats

By ILEANA NAJARRO
STAFF WRITER

Sophomore College received over 1,000 applications from over 500 students or slightly under a third of the freshman class by the April 9 deadline, according to Lee West, associate director of Stanford Introductory Studies. Sophomore College is a three-week residential summer program during which incoming second-year undergraduates participate in seminars of 12 to 14 students and engage in intense academic exploration, forming a community of scholars with peers, upperclass assistants and professors, according to the Sophomore College website. This year, eight seminars will be held partially or fully offcampus. All on-campus seminars include field trips as a part of their

Graduate student voters decrease by 30 percent

Results for three seats on the Graduate Student Council (GSC) are still pending in an election that saw a nearly 30 percent decrease in voter turnout. 1,047 graduate students voted in this springs ASSU election, down from last years 1,477. Due to a twelve-way tie in the medicine district, a seven-way tie in the education district and a twoway tie in the natural science district, the names of the students who will be filling these spots have yet to be announced. The top vote-getters in the medicine and education district each received one vote, while both of the candidates still in the running for the natural science seat received two votes. ASSU elections commissioner

Please see SOCO, page 5

Adam Adler 13 said he plans contact each of the two candidates running for the natural science district to ask which one wants the position. He added that he will also meet with the current GSC to decide on a policy to employ for the remaining ties. There is no fixed policy, said Nikhil Rajendra, assistant elections commissioner for graduate students. We must meet with the current GSC to settle on one policy to use. Until a policy regarding ties had been applied, the elections commission will not tell the current GSC the names of the candidates still in the running for contested districts. Despite the overall decrease in voter turnout, Rajendra pointed out that the three districts with the highest votes had a significant improvement in voter turnout when compared with last year. Current GSC member Sjoerd de Ridder, who was re-elected as a council member for the earth sci-

ence district, won the most at-large votes overall with 227, followed closely by fellow incumbent AnneLaure Cuvilliez with 219 at-large votes. Ridder and Cuvilliez were elected last year with 332 and 410 votes, respectively. Im honored to receive so much popular support, but Im disappointed that the voter turnout was lower than last year, Ridder said. Ridder added that for GSC elections, campaigning is not as prominent as seen at the undergraduate level because its much less politics. He attributed the low graduate student turnout to lack of advertising. We dont really campaign all that much, Ridder said. We mostly just write a strong statement on the website, and we try to advertise the elections among grad students. I think maybe we did not ad-

Please see GSC, page 5

Index Features/3 Opinions/4 Sports/6 Classifieds/9

Recycle Me

2 N Monday, April 16, 2012

The Stanford Daily

ASSU election results

Executive
First Round Results

Zimbroff-Wagstaff Open Source Candidates MacGregor-Dennis & Druthi

The field for ASSU Executive began strong but quickly became a twohorse race after several slates dropped out. Zimbroff-Wagstaff succesfully leveraged their endorsements, and MacGregor-Dennis campaign suffered from a late-breaking controversy surrounding his scraping of student email addresses and paying for Facebook subscribers. Earning 80 percent of the total vote in the first round, ZimbroffWagstaff took control in one of the most one-sided elections in recent ASSU history. The Incredibles took sophomore class president, Foster the Juniors took the junior race and The Senior Experience will serve as president for the class of 2013.

Graduate advising
Graduate school advising ballot question
Please express your opinion about the following: I have a healthy advisor-advisee relationship, and I feel well-mentored, encouraged, motivated and intellectually supported by my primary academic and/or research advisor.

Not applicable Strongly disagree

Dis som agree e of t he tim

Neutral

(no resp
e

onse )

Strongly agree

Agree some of the time

Senate
Elected Senators

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

# of Votes

1199 1149 1126 1106 1075 1023 1023 997 996 982 979 978 953 785 751

Candidates

Garima Sharma 15 Nancy Pham 14 Lauren Miller 15 Brandon Hightower 15 Branden Crouch 14 Ismael Menjivar 15

The key to this race was the historically low number of candidates: only 18 for 15 spots. This low number of candidates, combined with low voter turnout, made for a very predictable Senate election. SOCC, the powerful endorsing group, went 12 for 12, and endorsing groups were largely successful in electing the majority of their chosen candidates.

Senator Palpatine, the historic write-in candidate for the ASSU Senate elections, fared poorly this year compared to previous ones. This was likely due to an email sent out under the candidates name that attacked MacGregor-Dennis on both his ASSU record and personality, an action many students viewed negatively. Palpatine received over 400 votes as a write-in in 2011.

Undergraduate Senate Elections

1200

Votes Received

Shahab Fadavi 15 Jack Weller 15 Daniela Olivos 15 Kimberly Bacon 15 Christos Haveles 15 Janhavi Vartak 15 Ashley Harris 15 Viraj Bindra 15 Anna Brezhneva 15

900 600 300 Not Elected Elected 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Endorsing Group
SOCC FLIP Stanford Democrats Queer Coalition JSA Womens Coalition GAIA

Success Rate 100% 100% 100% 100% 88% 88% 50%

(Candidates Elected/ Candidates Endorsed) (12/12) (9/9) (4/4) (6/6) (8/9) (8/9) (2/4)

Endorsements Received

Each point represents one senate candidate

Voter turnout
2011 2012

Voter Turnout

Voter turnout was the lowest in at least five years and the percent of students who voted dropped across all class years. Elections commissioner Adam Adler 13 attributed the low enthusiasm in part to campaign controversies. Voter turnout was also likely hurt by the lack of a contentious ballot initiative (2011 had the highly debated ROTC referendum). In addition, a small field of senators and only two serious slates running for Executive likely dampened voter interest this year.

1400 1200 1000

Votes Cast

-19.4% -22.6% -2.2% -18.7%

Undergraduate
Voted (49.7%) Did not vote (50.3%)

Graduate
Voted (8.1%) Did not vote (91.1%)

800 600 400 200 0 Freshman Sophomore Junior

Senior

Special fees
Undergraduate special fees results were similar to previous years, with all groups receiving funds this year except for The Stanford Chaparral and The Leland Quarterly. Both publications will likely receive funding from the ASSU Publications Board next year. This marks the second consecutive year that The Chaparral has failed to gain 50 percent of student support. However, the humor magazine has a large alumni base and received funding from the ASSU Publications Board last year to continue operating. The magazine also fields an Executive slate each year. Listed at right are the groups that received the lowest and highest percent of voter approval on the ballot.
* denotes joint special fees. Only undergraduate votes reflected.

Bottom 10 Special Fees

Group %Yes Amount Requested Group

Top 10 Special Fees

%Yes Amount Requested

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Stanford Chaparral Humor Magazine The Leland Quarterly Stanford Harmonics Stanford Dil Se (Hindi Film Dance) Stanford Banghra Stanford Students in Entertainments Los Salseros de Stanford Basmati Raas Stanford Axe Committee Muslim Students Awareness Network

40.50 48.00 54.04 59.38 61.27 61.48 63.02 63.29 63.49 63.74

$21,950 $12,240 $32,350 $29,550 $19,610 $9,020 $11,630 $20,100 $38,400 $39,971

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

The Bridge Peer Counseling Center Cardinal Free Clinics* Sexual Health Peer Resource Center Stanford Project on Hunger (SPOON) Stanford Club Sports* Stanford Flipside Alternative Spring Break LSJUMB Speakers Bureau* Stanford Solar Car Project

89.24 88.26 86.52 84.73 83.18 82.48 82.23 81.20 80.83 80.61

$9,310 $31,200 $20,250 $6,953 $209,493 $12,400 $84,760 $84.350 $187,462 $55,398

Graphics by Lorena Rincon-Cruz Written by Brendan OByrne Data courtesy of the ASSU Elections Commision

The Stanford Daily

Monday, April 16, 2012 N 3

FEATURES

the irish jig

ByERIKAALVEROKOSKI
DESK EDITOR

Courtesy of Jason Chuang

tepping into the Hacienda Commons on a Tuesday a little after 7 p.m., I was greeted by the sight of two separate groups of dancers bouncing gracefully up and down in time to a drum, as if on springs. Surveying both groups that made up this Stanford Ceili practice session, I quickly determined that I should join the group learning individual steps rather than the one in the larger set. Starting with the basics, along with my fellow beginners, we first learned the basic sevens, a step that involved rocking back and forth in the 6/8 time of the Irish jig music that was playing. The glassy, wood floor was perfect for spins and quick shuffles, though my socks seemed too eager to slide on the surface, and I nearly fell a few times. Slowly throughout the evening we participated in dances with more and more people, progressing from individual steps to a three-person Galway Reel for Three and all the way to sets involving up to 16 people. By the end of the night, my calves were burning, but the dance continued as the boundless energy of the group members carried them through the 9 p.m. ending time. The music is so entrancing and lively, said Anna Polishchuk 15, a fellow beginner. Who wouldnt want to dance it? Danya Volkov 11, now a thirdyear graduate student in mechanical engineering, founded Stanford Ceili in the summer of 2010. As an undergraduate, Volkov was an active member of the social dance community on campus. She first witnessed a ceili performance at a Friday Night Waltz, a weekly event taught by Stanford dance professor Richard Powers 70. There was a group of people doing Irish dance in the center of the floor, Volkov said. Irish dance is something I had always wanted to do when I was a child. This group of dancers had come from the Berkeley area, where they met to dance at centers such as the Starry Plough, a pub in South

Stanford Ceili brings Irish dancing to social dance community

Courtesy of Jason Chuang

Stanford Ceili dances a set at a campus performance. Ceilis core performing group consists of 15 dancers.
Berkeley. While Volkov was interested in joining, she had no means of traveling as an undergrad without a car. As a teaching assistant, Volkov had access to the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford (d.school) building, and she decided to use this access to bring the ceili group to Stanford. Since the two main instructors lived closer to Stanford than to Berkeley, the new location proved convenient for them, as well. Soon, the Berkeley group was migrating to Palo Alto to satisfy its ceili fix, moving its main dance site to the Stanford campus. It was kind of a new building, so no one was using it over the summer, Volkov said of the d.school. We had this giant atrium. Five to eight people [would come] every week, mostly me and [the teachers] and whoever else we could get to come, and now its grown. Ceili takes typical Irish dance steps and combines them into an interactive form, transforming the steps into a social dance. My first three-person Galway Reel for Three involved taking hands with two others while performing the individual front, back and sideways sevens, though the figure-eight Hey pattern presented some difficulties. After graduating to a larger group, we wound our ways around one another, crisscrossing and swinging partners along with other group members. One particularly dizzying move was called Aroundthe-House, in which partners leaped and spun one another simultaneously, pivoting around the group until we arrived back at our original spot. Its a little different than what Id done before, with figures and a more social aspect, said Mairi Litherland, financial officer of the group and a third-year graduate student, who had grown up performing Irish step dancing. But the steps are essentially the same, Litherland added. The group teaches new dances the first three Tuesdays of each month, while the last Tuesday is an all-dance session.While the Tuesday night class is open to any curious passersby, the core performance group consists of about 15 regulars. The group often performs at social dance events such as Jammix, Fall Ball, the Bon Bon Ball and the Viennese Ball. While several dancers are members of the social dance community, Stanford Ceili also attracts Irish step dancers not involved in social dance and individuals who may

not feel comfortable with couples dancing. Ceili is very closely related to the following forms: contra, square, English country and Scottish country, wrote Bob Carragher, dance teacher and group organizer, in an email to The Daily. Basically, you have groups of people dancing together in patterns where the distinction between lead and follow is not so strong or important. While beginners like me slid our way through the steps with socks or tennis shoes, the more experienced sported ghillies, soft black slippers with a zig-zagging pattern across the top. Though dancers bounced their way across the floor with loose and supple legs, their arms remained stiffly bound to their sides. Supposedly, as legend has it, the origins of this practice can be traced back to the days of British occupation of Ireland, when soldiers would parade the streets of a community and monitor the inhabitants activities through the windows of their houses. You would only see their upper body straight, Volkov said. You couldnt see feet moving because there would be tables in the way, so if they were dancing, they would just keep their body straight, and then you wouldnt know there was actually a party going on. Though the steps may be the same as the ones used for more formal Irish step dancing, ceili is the social peoples dance. Stanford Ceili tries to keep with this tradition. At the Tuesday session, it was common practice during a set for the end dancers of two lines to high-five with their spare hands when the lines met, establishing a spirit of camaraderie that increased as more people joined the fray. The more people you have there, the more energy you have and the less tired people get, said Kunal Sahasrabuddhe, a third-year graduate student who joined Stanford Ceili last June. For the group, you always want to have fresh blood coming in, more people learning. Contact Erika Alvero Koski at erikaa1 @stanford.edu.

NOTES FROM ABROAD

have been in Cape Town for only a week, but I have already begun to fall in love with the city. Even the commercialized beauty of the scenic beaches and expansive Table Mountain is more awe-inspiring than it looks in the tourist brochures. Yet for me, the most beautiful part of Cape Town is its rich culture. During the apartheid era South Africans were divided into 18 different ethnic categories, and each of these ethnic groups has its own story to tell about the time period. Our tour guide demonstrated this phenomenon when she passionately described how her family was evicted from its District 6 home for being colored. Her nostalgia for her home was apparent as she recalled the displacement that many families experienced. The District 6 museum itself contains pictures of her family and friends, a testimony to her past suffering and a documentation of this era in history. Our tour guide also took us to Bo Caap, a predominantly Muslim community. All the houses were painted in bright, pastel colors, apparently imitating the Malaysian style and perfectly reflecting the vibrancy of the tight-knit neighborhood. I was amazed by the cohesiveness of the community but dismayed to find out that this was one of the few communities to remain that

way. Our orientation at the University of Cape Town showed us a completely different world, one that from the periphery at least seems comparable to the Stanford bubble. I was most struck by the diversity and elegant dress of the students. I have often been warned not to enter this country with the expectation of changing the world, a mentality that causes resentment among the locals. Yet, after seeing people on the streets and driving by the poorer townships, I cannot help but be struck by the inequalities here and hope to have some small impact. While I have thoroughly enjoyed exploring the city, I am most looking forward to working with Clothing Bank, a service organization that helps teach women to run small businesses. Our program coordinator advised us not to eat lunch in front of people at the service organization because some of them may not know when their next meal will be. It was then that the incongruity of the program struck me we hope to help the marginalized communities while we have comfortable accommodations and complain about limited Internet bandwidth. The struggle of identity and our role here is one we will all have to grapple with throughout this quarter. Ultimately though, these questions may become what drives us to act.
Shilpa Sethuraman

M.J MA/ The Stanford Daily

4 N Monday, April 16, 2012

OPINIONS
E DITORIAL

The Stanford Daily

Reflections on the ASSU elections

Established 1892 Board of Directors Margaret Rawson President and Editor in Chief Anna Schuessler Chief Operating Officer Sam Svoboda Vice President of Advertising Theodore L. Glasser Michael Londgren Robert Michitarian Nate Adams Tenzin Seldon Rich Jaroslovsky

AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER
Managing Editors Brendan OByrne Deputy Editor Kurt Chirbas & Billy Gallagher Managing Editors of News Jack Blanchat Managing Editor of Sports Marwa Farag Managing Editor of Features Sasha Arijanto Managing Editor of Intermission Mehmet Inonu Managing Editor of Photography Amanda Ach Columns Editor Willa Brock Head Copy Editor Serenity Nguyen Head Graphics Editor Alex Alifimoff Web and Multimedia Editor Nate Adams Multimedia Director MollyVorwerck & Zach Zimmerman Staff Development

The Stanford Daily

Incorporated 1973 Tonights Desk Editors Alice Phillips News Editor Erika Alvero Koski Features Editor Joseph Beyda Sports Editor Nick Salazar Photo Editor Shane Savitsky Copy Editor

fter 48 hours of polling, the ASSU Elections Commission announced the results of the 2012 ASSU election. Voters selected an ASSU Executive slate, 15 Undergraduate Senators, Graduate Student Council (GSC) representatives, and a class president slate for each undergraduate class, in addition to approving the vast majority of Special Fees requests. Robbie Zimbroff 12 and William Wagstaff 12 won the ASSU Executive, garnering an impressive 79.7 percent of the vote in the first round. As this Board endorsed the Zimbroff-Wagstaff slate last week, we are excited for their upcoming tenure and wish them the best of luck. However, their victory comes on the heels of one of the most poisonous and vitriolic weeks in recent campus history. In the wee hours of Wednesday morning, a student posted an image to Facebook purporting to show that current ASSU Vice President Stewart MacGregor-Dennis 13 running for ASSU President on a slate with Druthi Ghanta 14 used outsourced labor from oDesk.com. The image quickly went viral, and throughout Wednesday other students produced additional items criticizing MacGregor-Dennis. These ranged from relatively harmless if a bit trite memes on Facebook to a tasteless Twitter account mocking MacGregor-Dennis entrepreneurial zeal. Many of the anonymous comments on The Unofficial Stanford Blog and Stanford Daily were similarly distasteful. Thursday saw two anonymous emails reach the student body, one sharply critical of MacGregor-Dennis from Senator Palpatine, and another, sent from justice@stanford.edu, labelling the Palpatine email as libelous [sic] and purporting to unmask Palpatine. Many students expressed dismay at the callousness of their classmates: Deepa Kannappan, a former ASSU senator, wrote I am incredibly disappointed in the Stanford community right now.This is a STUDENT GOVERNMENT election. Yet despite the drama, student turnout in the elections was at least at a five-year low. Among undergraduates, only 63 percent voted, compared to over 75 percent last year. Graduate student turnout was particularly dismal: Participation dropped nearly 30 percent from last year to just 13 percent, and more freshmen submitted ballots than the entire graduate student population combined. The Editorial Board finds this

past week profoundly worrying. While we heartily encourage open discussion and criticism of candidates for elected office such is necessary for a healthy democratic system the crassness that has been on full display on Facebook this week is completely inappropriate. Normally genial students, when protected from face-to-face contact by online media, demonstrated their capability for cruelty. The anonymous emails were particularly caustic, with Palpatine suggesting that MacGregor-Dennis suffered from anxiety disorder and Justice threatening a civil suit and abusing resident computer consultant network tools to attempt to identify Palpatine. Indeed, six weeks ago, we published an editorial about the threat of online flippancy, and these incidents are yet another example of the dangers of the depersonalization of online media. In the future, we urge particular caution with regards to anonymous online rhetoric, as anyone can post ad hominem attacks and otherwise rude content without fear of reproach. Yet we are also concerned by the declining student interest in ASSU elections.We worry that the large drop in turnout indicates the presence of a large contingent of the student population that feels alienated by the ASSU leadership and its initiatives. This is not entirely surprising; this years ASSU spent a great deal of time on internal reforms, and earlier in the year the ASSU Executive received widespread criticism for the incorporation of the entrepreneurshiporiented E2.0 within the ASSU. Whether fair or not, in both cases many students felt that the ASSU was focusing on issues not relevant to them. Alienated students thus found an easy target for their disillusionment after the initial oDesk.com claims surfaced Wednesday morning. The Editorial Board urges the student body to make this upcoming week a week of healing after the divisive and acidic rhetoric of the past week. Ultimately, each of us candidates and voters alike are also classmates, dormmates, and friends. Acrimonious online rhetoric in search of some validating likes from similarly minded friends does not change the fact that our online speech has the power to wound our peers and the Stanford atmosphere at large. And for those who are disillusioned with the state of the ASSU: Apathetically abstaining from participating in elections as voters and candidates only ensures that the status quo will live on.

Contacting The Daily: Section editors can be reached at (650) 721-5815 from 7 p.m. to 12 a.m. The Advertising Department can be reached at (650) 721-5803, and the Classified Advertising Department can be reached at (650) 721-5801 during normal business hours. Send letters to the editor to eic@stanforddaily.com, op-eds to editorial@stanforddaily.com and photos or videos to multimedia@stanforddaily.com. Op-eds are capped at 700 words and letters are capped at 500 words.

I DO CHOOSE TO RUN

All-time low

he campus commentariat has spilled more than enough ink on SMD-gate, so Im not going to burden you with yet another column lambasting Mr. MacGregor-Dennis bizarre online antics, condemning the mysterious Senator Palpatine for his ignominious descent from the Olympian heights of brilliant nonpartisan humor to the inglorious muck of conventional politics or furiously speculating as to the identity of the ironically named Justice. Instead, Id like to take a step back and take a look at the broader political landscape illuminated by last weeks colorful fireworks show. With our gaze fixated on the spectacular explosions and scintillating gossip emitted by what somehow managed to be simultaneously the least competitive and most bitter electoral campaign in recent memory, I think we may be overlooking a more important but less visible story: the story of the deep malaise that has gradually infiltrated politics on this campus. Lets start by looking at the data. Voter turnout was abysmal this year across the board. Among the electorate as a whole, turnout was an astonishing 20 percent lower than in 2011. It would be tempting to attribute last years numbers to the high turnout sparked by the controversial ROTC referendum, but that would be a mistake: voter turnout was even higher in 2010 and 2009, and Elections Commissioner Adam Adler reports that turnout this week was the lowest it has been in at least five years. Only 18 serious candidates ran in the Senate race this year, down from 38 in 2011, 33 in 2010, 37 in 2009, 39 in 2008 and 50 in 2007. This all-time low number of candidates had it

good: since not a single current senator chose to seek reelection, they werent forced to confront any powerful Gao-esque incumbents, and since the current Senate seems to want to resign two weeks early, theyll get to enter the corridors of power nicely ahead of schedule. Meanwhile, the only incumbent in this years race current ASSU Vice-President Stewart MacGregor-Dennis was buried under a colossal avalanche of protest votes, barely garnering more support than the Chappie joke slate and losing in a landslide of unprecedented proportions to ASSU outsiders Robbie Zimbroff and William Wagstaff. No ASSU Executive Race in history has ever seen a result so lopsided, at least since the Elections Commission started keeping electronic records 13 years ago. Even in the famous 1999 Executive race, in which Mike Levin and John Mills ran entirely unopposed, more students (25 percent) voted for none of the above than chose Macgregor-Dennis last week. Collectively, the numbers suggest a dismal reality. The Stanford student body is more displeased than it has ever been with its representatives in student government. Even worse, however, it seems we dont really care enough to do anything about it, either by exercising our prerogative as voters or by running for office ourselves; even the angry voters are voting less. And worst of all, a growing number of Stanford students seem to have lost faith in the system altogether, preferring to consign our democracy to the historical dustbin of failed states and useless experiments in representative politics. Given the dysfunctional Weimar Republic the ASSU occasionally

Miles Unterreiner

The Stanford student body is more displeased than it has ever been with its representatives in student government.
appears to have become, I cant really blame them. Some voters, as former Executive candidate James Mwaura pointed out in an eloquent op-ed, see a student government hopelessly dominated by the influence of special interest groups like SOCC. Those who dont interact with the ASSU on a regular basis see no reason for its existence, while those who do bemoan its byzantine structure and bureaucratic waste. In short, ASSU politics are rather like real-world politics. And that similarity alone should send a ray of hope bursting through the clouds of the gathering storm. Democratic politics is an ugly, messy, bitter sort of business, even in paradise. But the real question we should be asking is: whats the alternative? We could continue the down-

Please see UNTERREINER, page 5

THE YOUNG ADULT SECTION

Unsigned editorials in the space above represent the views of the editorial board of The Stanford Daily and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Daily staff. The editorial board consists of five Stanford students led by a chairman and uninvolved in other sections of the paper. Any signed columns in the editorial space represent the views of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the entire editorial board. To contact the editorial board chair, e-mail editorial@stanforddaily.com. To submit an oped, limited to 700 words, e-mail opinions@stanforddaily.com. To submit a letter to the editor, limited to 500 words, e-mail eic@stanforddaily.com. All are published at the discretion of the editor.

Real is ethereal
solved! Unexplained ambiguity effectively avoided. But when I stepped into the situation again a few weeks later, the threatening feeling I had received before came back. And there are other ways that this personal connection is growing unexpectedly intrusive. Finally, in this seemingly absurd contest between raw instinct and rationale, I realized that my head hadnt been leading me correctly. Now, I get it: I get that Im not going to get it. And now I can respond appropriately. Much of the problem is my habit of clinging to that aforementioned big head that analyzes visible data and makes convenient conclusions. This is the head that got me into this school, that forms the words I speak and write, that makes me resistant to others advice and spiteful of others criticism and believes in a religion of coherency. And for all of that, its way more problematic and selfdeceptive than I usually admit. Ive noticed that the bad logic I employ on myself tends to supports wisdom that unravels in retrospect. This must be why that recent episode hit me so hard: it was jarring to see my head so obviously opposing something I so palpably felt. Its rare to see that happening in real time. On a daily basis, we may think we live in a sensible world of facts we can figure. But, really, none of that means anything without the emotions with which we color it. Often, these things are inexpressible, and were fooled into thinking theyre less real. But the rea-

O P-E D
Chi Theta Chi and the mission of the University

hen the alarm went out over the Stanford co-op alumni networks that the administration had decided to forcibly take over Chi Theta Chi, I wondered what in the world was going on. Had Chi Theta Chi gone rogue? Had the administration gone rogue? On the face of it, for Stanford University to take possession of its alumnis $3.5 million property against their will is an extreme act. Chi Theta Chis freedom meant a lot to me as a grad student they were a domestic haven in the summers thanks to their independent democratic governance, while ResEd would forcibly shut down my main community, Synergy House. I decided to do an independent investigation. The administrations takeover letter claimed that Chi Theta Chi (XOX) was a health and safety hazard. The Countys inspection records show, however,

that in 2012 the XOX kitchen was as safe or safer than 61 percent of University-owned kitchens. The Fire Marshals inspections of XOX from 2002-2009 were unremarkable. The Nov. 2009 inspection said only 1. Remove chair blocking exit door in living room. 2. Review evacuation signage, does each sleeping unit have signage posted? 3. Balance of facility in good order. But five months later, the Countys new inspector reported 18 deficiencies. The June 2010 reinspection and February 2011 inspection showed little response from the house to the deficiencies. Something was clearly amiss for this 10-month period. XOX was not the only one, however, to show lack of response. During this time, the Housing Office submitted the inspection reports to XOXs management without criticism, let alone any threat regarding the lease. The administration expressed no special concerns until the Feb. 8, 2012 takover letter. By

Please see OP-ED, page 5

hese days, our gut gets a pretty bad rap. Our culture equates personal validity with good communication, making anything inexplicable look highly suspicious. That vibe we get sometimes is born in a moment that flees before our minds can capture it, so we employ our best tools to retrieve it: are you being too sensitive? Are you being overemotional? Why? Where does that come from? And ultimately, how might you be wrong? There must be a legitimate source of our split-second sensations, right? And if we cant consider all of the options with a great, intellectual discussion, clearly it doesnt mean anything. And so we wave a feeling away, on to the next topic of the day. Perhaps Ive become overly deft at this emotional sleight of hand; a couple of recent, fleeting experiences in the past month have shown me how much so. Ill describe it to you, but it will have to sound vague: I was standing before someone, outside, on a beautifully sunny day . . . and felt unusually trapped. I remember being reassured there were bystanders around . . . just in case. There wasnt much breeze and some students were dancing together around the corner. But during the encounter, I felt an acutely strong discomfort. It was pretty unfamiliar, and I was definitely entertaining all of the potential, visible causes behind it, before deciding I was imagining everything. And as soon as I started walking away, I forgot about it entirely. Problem

Nina Chung

We may think we live in a sensible world of facts we can figure. But none of that means anything without the emotions with which we color it.
son why poetry, music and landscapes are beautiful to us is because they court the ethereal. They address the existence of something bigger that we know, instinctively, exists. Remember the sunset, which happens every single night and constantly debuts in sappy movies and ballad music. And yet, its one of the most indescribably personal things any of us might ever experience, making it

Please see CHUNG, page 5

The Stanford Daily

Monday, April 16, 2012 N 5

ranging campus endorsements, including SOCC, FLIP, QueerCo, JSA, The Stanford Review and The Editorial Board of The Stanford Daily. The election saw a decrease in voter turnout, possibly attributed to student apathy regarding the ASSU, or the lack of a hotbutton issue, such as last years ROTC referendum. Adler said this was also due to the MacGregor-Dennis controversy and subsequent emails. Weve known weve been up to that challenge since we got into this, Zimbroff said in response to the news that voter turnout was the lowest in at least five years. Zimbroff added that his goal will be to see a significant increase in voter turnout by this time next year. I think its sad, Zimbroff said about the anonymous, campus-wide email attacking MacGregor-Dennis and the events leading up to the election. You wouldnt want this to happen to you or any of your friends. It got too big for what the ASSU is, Wagstaff added about the controversy. Both newly elected candidates said they personally reached out to MacGregor-Dennis before results were announced. All we can do at this point is serve the student body as faithfully as we can, Zimbroff said of the shadow looming over the election. As for plans now that they have been elected, Wagstaff said the pair will take a quick respite following the hectic campaign. Get some sleep. Do some homework, he said of his plans for the coming week. Contact Billy Gallagher at wmg2014@stanford.edu and Brendan OByrne at bobyrne@stanford.edu. Elliot Stoller 13 and Khaled Alshawi 13 founded AMENDS last year after a chance meeting. We met at Coupa Caf in February 2011 through a mutual friend and knew right after that that we had the same interests and passions, Alshawi said. Our talk went from two minutes to two hours. With everything happening with the Arab Spring at the time, [we talked about] the lack of Middle Eastern resources at Stanford and were inspired to do something at Stanford to connect and empower leaders, Stoller said. Stoller added that on the same day, he coincidentally had a meeting with Larry Diamond 73 M.A. 78 Ph.D. 80, director of CDDRL, and decided to mention the ideas he had discussed with Alshawi. Diamond advised Stoller to write up a proposal. It just blew up after that, Alshawi said. A year later, the pair reflected on the process and pressure of establishing the first AMENDS conference, describing it as laborious but rewarding. We had to make sure we could deliver on our ideas, and we are just blown away by the quality of the delegates and the passion they have to seek change and grow their initiatives, Stoller said. After recruiting Stanford students to join the AMENDS team, the next step was to find delegates. The team did so by creating partnerships with nonprofits and universities to identify youth leaders. They also posted open applications, which were advertised through social networks like Facebook. Overall, the conference received 300 applications from 20 countries for 40 available delegate positions. Eighty potential delegates were selected for Skype interviews to determine the final set. We wanted as diverse of a group as possible, Stoller said. But the most important criterion was how passionate they were, and how well they could articulate their initiatives and ideas. After securing the delegates, it wasnt too hard to get speakers who were eager to come speak to them and meet them, Alshawi said. Stoller and Alshawi gave credit to the AMENDS team members for their incredible hard work and how they all stepped up to pull the conference together. The pair said they have made plans to ensure that the conference continues to run and develop in the future, including bringing on Meredith Wheeler 14 as a co-president. Wheeler is a member of The Daily Editorial Board. We stressed from the very beginning that we wanted this to be a thing that would organically develop at Stanford, Stoller said. We feel like we have set up the right institutions for that to happen. Contact Natasha Weaser at nweaser@stanford.edu.

EXEC

NEWS BRIEFS

Continued from front page

came just days after a firestorm of controversy hit the MacGregor-Dennis & Druthi campaign. On Wednesday, a number of campus publications, including The Daily, as well as several students on Facebook broke the story that MacGregor-Dennis had been paying, among other things, for a social media manager to improve his Internet presence, leading to fake Twitter and Facebook followers. MacGregor-Dennis, Ghanta and current ASSU Exec Michael Cruz 12 responded to the controversy through a variety of mediums. MacGregor-Dennis never addressed charges that he had paid someone to scrape student email address from Mygroups. This was one of the most brutal and painful experiences of my life and I am hugely grateful for everyone who sent me personal messages of support and everyone who spoke out when things crossed the line, MacGregor-Dennis said after the results were announced. But mostly what I care about is Stanford being a better place. I wish the absolute best of luck to Robbie and Will and I will be doing whatever I can to support them. MacGregor-Dennis said he hopes to still make an impact on Stanford with his remaining year at the University, citing his pride in his ability to bounce back. This was an incredibly hard time for me personally, he added. I think I will learn a huge amount from the experience. Zimbroff and Wagstaff benefitted from numerous, wide-

Lightning strikes SLAC

By THE DAILY NEWS STAFF A lighting bolt struck the main power feed to the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at about 11 p.m. Thursday night. The line, which is located in a remote area of the Santa Cruz Mountains only accessible by helicopter, was repaired by approximately 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to a PG&E spokesperson. The damage to the main electrical transmission line shut down the linear accelerator, rendering Friday a lightning day for the 1,600 SLAC employees who stayed home due to the outage. SLAC planned to bring its systems back online slowly as a precaution following the shutdown. The SLAC campus went on auxiliary power following the strike and only brought essential personnel on site Friday. SLAC media manager Andy Freeberg told Palo Alto Online that no danger resulted from the strike or shutdown. The electrical transmission line that was damaged can carry between 4,000 and 34,000 volts of electricity, according to a PG&E spokesperson. A lightning bolt can carry one billion volts. Three fire alarms were activat-

ed as a result of the lightning strike to the power line, prompting the Palo Alto Fire Department to respond. The same storm spawned roughly 700 lightning strikes around the Bay Area overnight on Thursday into Friday.
Alice Phillips

Details of draft agreement between Facebook and Menlo Park released

By THE DAILY NEWS STAFF Facebook released a draft of terms last Friday for an agreement that would allow the social media giant to house up to 6,600 employees on its Menlo Park campus. The draft, including stipulations for Facebook to make annual payments to Menlo Park, will be discussed by the Menlo Park City Council at its 7 p.m. Tuesday meeting. The drafts release follows 10 weeks of negotiations between Facebook and Menlo Park city officials. The Menlo Park Community Development Department has submitted a staff report recommending that the City Council aplowing that success, we used that show as a blueprint, but it will generate a new show: totally different cast, musical numbers and script. Catsalis added that in choosing seminar participants from the applicants, she and Jimenez are looking for students who are willing to try something new and jump into creating a theatrical product. We want to find students who might like to design costumes or sets from scratch, singers and actors who would like to bring a character to life, instrumentalists who would like to get to know the music of Mozart from the inside out, by arranging for our ensem-

prove the terms. According to terms outlined in the draft of the agreement, Facebook would pay Menlo Park $800,000 per year for five years, $900,000 per year for the subsequent five years and $1 million per year for years 11 to 15. Per the agreement the first 10 years of the payment plan would be locked in, but payments in year 11 onward could be reduced if Facebook reduces the number of employees housed on the campus. Facebook will also make a separate $1.1 million dollar payment to Menlo Park for the city to use for capital improvement projects. Other terms of the development agreement include Facebook creating a community fund, creating a high school internship program, sponsoring job-training programs, working to help close the Bay Trail Gap and participating in Caltrans Adopt-a-Highway program for five years. The company would also be required to encourage its employees to spend money at Menlo Park businesses, maintain and improve nearby levees, attempt to attain LEED gold rating for every building on the campus and adhere to a vehicle cap of 15,000 per day, with no more than 2,600 each in the morning and evening commuting hours.
Alice Phillips

SOCO

Continued from front page

with the two Sophomore College Assistants selected by faculty for each course to create more opportunities for students to share with each other what they are doing in their seminars, something students have told us in program evaluations that they would like to see increased, West said. Stanford Arts Intensive also takes place during the three weeks in September before the start of fall quarter. Data on Arts Intensive applications, which were also due April 9, is not yet available. Arts Intensive offers students the opportunity to study intensively with Stanford arts faculty and small groups of other Stanford students passionate about art, according to the website. Marie-Louise Catsalis, a conductor, vocal coach and keyboard accompanist at Stanford, will be leading an Arts Intensive seminar, An Operatic Play: Mozarts 7 Deadly Sins, along with vocal coach Nova Jimenez. Mozart is one of the most loved composers of all time, Catsalis wrote in an email to The Daily. There is no better way into the world of opera than through his repertoire. We will take that as a starting point in creating our own musical play, she added. Stanford Opera Workshop created Mozarts 7 Deadly Sins in winter 2011. Fol-

AMENDS

Continued from front page

Stanford community and a screening of A Whisper to a Roar, a new documentary produced by Larry Diamond and Ben Moses and presented by the Moulay Hicham Foundation. They also gave presentations on their work to their fellow delegates. The presentations will also be available to the public on the Stanford University YouTube channel. One of the delegates at the conference was Selma Maarouf, an Amnesty International member and Moroccan activist supporting the countrys prodemocracy February 20 movement. I wanted [to come to AMENDS] to share the story of my movement in Morocco because most people dont know much about it compared to the other revolutions in the region, she said. Maarouf described the conference as eye-opening. The discussions were amazing and very rich, she said. I also liked how the talks emphasized how different countries in the region should work together and see the bright side in order to bring positive change. Another delegate was Abdullah Al-Fakharany from Egypt, who founded the civilian journalist news network Rassd News Network (RNN). RNNs Arabiclanguage Facebook group currently has over 1.5 million subscribers. I wanted to be with people who did not think in the same way, so that I can understand a different point of view and remove any stereotypes I had, AlFakharany said. I believe in the strength of youth, so it was inspiring to listen to the delegates and discuss their initiatives, he added. It was the amazing to put my touch into their ideas and have them respond to mine. Stanford alumni and students were also represented in the delegate pool. Fadi Quran 10, a PalestinianAmerican student and nonviolent youth activist for the Palestinian territories, recently arrested in the West Bank during a protest, returned to campus for the conference. Qurans work focuses not only on nonviolent resistance, but also on alternative energy in the region. I want to emphasize the necessity of alternative energy in the region and how it needs to be integrated with the cultures and how people live, he said. Quran said he sees the diversity of the delegates represented as one of the key strengths of the conference. I think right now it is very important for youth from the Middle East to establish relations with countries in the region, he said. This is necessary to prevent going back to the [dictatorships] that existed.

ble, Catsalis said. In short, she continued, we want students who will not be shy to unleash their creativity: one of the most interesting applications I have read so far comes from a student who plays flute and sings, but preferably would like to do both in this production. That is the sort of enthusiasm we are looking for. Decisions about Sophomore College and Arts Intensive will be released April 30 after 5 p.m. on the Stanford September Studies websites for the respective programs. Contact Josee Smith at jsmith11 @stanford.edu.

OP-ED

Continued from page 4

this time, however, XOX had already corrected the problems on its own. The Feb. 6, 2012 Fire Marshals inspection showed XOX had reduced its deficiency count by 2/3, and was as safe or safer than Narnia, Slavianskii Dom, Synergy, Sigma Chi, Kappa Alpha, and Enchanted Broccoli Forest. The February statement from Vice Provost Boardman that recurring health and fire code violations demanded university response also begs the question why did administrators permit students to live in this allegedly hazardous situation for two years before taking action? To summarize, the evidence shows that Chi Theta Chi had a lapse in management for the good part of a year, from which it self-corrected. The evidence also shows that the administration had wild swings in behavior over this two-year period from business as usual to hostile takeover. This has all the hallmarks of some kind of internal problem and reaction between parties within the administration. The students, management, and alumni board of Chi Theta Chi have demonstrated every willingness and effort to learn from the experience to create more even management going forward. For the administration to persist in its takeover plan, against the will of the residents and alumni, would imply that it believes democratic management cannot work, that only bureaucratic force can work, and that the students and alumni of Chi Theta Chi are incapable of learning, contrary (obviously) to the opinion of the Admissions Office and contrary to the education-

GSC

Continued from front page

vertise as strongly as previous years, he added, but it is hard to reach graduate students. Rajendra said that he also sees very minimal campaigning done for the GSC election. Ive seen students maybe just hand out a few flyers and maybe emailing their friends, but the campaigning is still minimal, Rajendra said. This year, the graduate ballot included a survey question asking students to agree or disagree on a spectrum with the following statement: I have a healthy advisor-advisee relationship, and I feel well-mentored, encouraged, motivated and intellectually supported by my primary academic and/or research advisor. Strongly agree or agree some of the time received the highest responses, with 266 and 279 votes respectively. Only 79 students said they strongly disagree. Other incoming council members include Tiffany Abdullahi, elected to the business district seat; Ateeq Suria, elected to the second engineering district seat; Adrienne Johnson, elected to the humanities seat; Roshan Shankar, elected to the social science seat; and Camille Fletcher, a write-in candidate who has accepted her position as a council member for the law school district. David Hsu, Nipun Sarin, Hrishi Goel, Puja Deverakonda and Saad Bhamla will also serve on the GSC based on at-large votes. Contact Ileana Najarro at inajarro@stanford.edu

al mission of the University. If Residential Education is to mean anything, it should see Chi Theta Chis cooperative and independent ownership as an essential asset. Just down the block is one of the great schools of management in the nation. ResEd should steer the formidable management-education resources of the Graduate School of Business (GSB) toward supporting Chi Theta Chis independent democratic management experience. This would be a win-win-win solution: a win for the administration which wants to reduce any and all risk, a win for the students and alumni who would retain their liberty and property and would learn cutting-edge management methods for small nonprofits, and a win for Residential Education which would see a new opportunity for engagement between GSB faculty and students. How much better a lesson this would be than the one currently being taught: that the administration can forcibly take away alumni property and students and alumni have no recourse. Moreover, GSB expertise on organizational behavior could examine the administration/XOX relationship as a system, shed enlightenment on how this crisis emerged in the first place and assist in creating a healthy relationship going forward. The Administration should demonstrate its own capability for learning and self-correction. It should announce without delay its renewal of Chi Theta Chis lease based on a plan to ensure consistent management from Chi Theta Chi and from itself in the future a plan based on education, not the forcible control of student life.
LEE ALTENBERG Biological Sciences Ph. D. 85

UNTERREINER CHUNG
Continued from page 4
ward spiral of apathy, underperformance, cynicism and dismissal until the ASSU eventually performs so poorly that is becomes, for all intents and purposes, defunct. We could throw democracy out altogether, resigned to the sad fact that we are unfit to rule ourselves. History suggests that both options have serious consequences. Or we could do what successful democratic polities have always done: work to fix our problems through slow, incremental, unpleasant, contentious reform. Thats my vote. Whats yours? Send Miles your vote anytime at milesu1@stanford.edu.

Continued from page 4

one of the most universal things in the world. These things, like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness are the fuel of cynics and skeptics exactly because they are most powerful. Ive found that rejecting these intensely internal sources of information can be dangerous, when our head is perhaps the least trustworthy source. Truth springs elsewhere, and we should run after it. Feel strongly about this column? Email Nina! She has ears to hear (and eyes to read) at ninamc @stanford.edu.

6 N Monday, April 16, 2012

SPORTS
By JOSEPH BEYDA
DESK EDITOR

The Stanford Daily

DUCKS DOMINATE
ing its midway point. The Cardinal (22-9, 5-7 Pac-12) struggled mightily against Duck starters Alex Keudell and Jake Reed, as Oregon has now gone nearly a month since it lost with either righty on the mound. It took another strong pitching effort from sophomore righthander A.J. Vanegas on Sunday for the Cardinal to salvage a game. With Stanfords bats falling eerily silent after such a strong start to the season, the squad was far from satisfied with its performance. Weve just got to start playing a little more consistent baseball, said junior reliever Sahil Bloom. We cant be on a roller coaster. We cant score 19 against Cal [last Monday] and then come out and do this. Luck was clearly not on Stanfords side in the Friday the 13th opener. After junior righthander Mark Appel struck out the first two batters of the game and nearly got sophomore rightfielder Aaron Jones on a called strike three an early sign that indicated that the strike zone would fluctuate all night Jones reached second on an error by junior third baseman Stephen Piscotty. Jones came around to score on the next at-bat, and the Cardinal was down 1-0 early. In the bottom of the second, junior catcher Eric Smith launched a shot to right field, but with the wind blowing in and to left, it bounced off the wall for a double and the Cardinal could not bring him home. Freshman designated hitter Alex Blandino doubled off the left field fences in the fifth and was stranded as well, while Piscotty also flew out to deep right twice in the early going. Stanford finally got on the board when the Ducks made an error of their own. Sophomore rightfielder Austin Wilson ended up at second on a fielding error in center and was knocked in by a Piscotty double that was just the fourth hit given up by Keudell. Neither team was able to do much offensively, with both aces going nine innings and Appel throwing an immense 149 pitches and compiling 13 strikeouts. Appels a great pitcher, but hes an even better guy, Bloom said. Its fun getting to watch him do that week in and week out. A strange top of the 10th with Piscotty on the mound sealed the opener for the Ducks. First, Wilson dropped a leadoff fly ball and put sophomore designated hitter Kyle Garlick at second. After Garlick was bunted over and another hitter walked, Piscotty grabbed a poor Oregon safety squeeze but overthrew first, making it 2-1 and putting runners on second and third. Piscotty then threw a wild pitch to the next batter, scoring a run, but Smith made matters worse with an overthrow to third base, letting the Ducks tacked on their third unearned run of the inning and their fourth of the evening. Stanford almost rallied from the 4-1 deficit, loading the bases with one out and the top of the order at the plate. Wilson struck out, and Piscotty singled to make it 4-2, but sophomore first baseman Brian Ragira lined out to end both the opener and his 13-game hitting streak. Piscotty fell to 2-1 in his experimental role as a reliever, while Keudell improved to 5-3 as the Oregon ace. Both teams bats got off to a slow start on Saturday, with redshirt junior lefthander Brett Mooneyham striking out seven Ore-

Just when it looked like the Stanford baseball team was rolling again, the squad hit another rut. The wheels didnt quite fall off this weekend against No. 16 Oregon, which couldnt complete the sweep Sunday afternoon after taking the first two contests of the three-game set. But after the No. 6 Cardinal was held to just six runs on the weekend at Sunken Diamond, the squad now finds itself in a three-way tie for seventh in the Pac-12 with conference play approach-

IAN GARCIA-DOTY/The Stanford Daily

Sophomore Brett-Michael Doran came into Sundays game at second base after two innings and had an instant impact, driving in two of Stanfords runs and coming home for the other Cardinal tallies in a 4-2 win over Oregon. The Sunday victory prevented an Oregon sweep.

Please see BASEBALL, page 9

FOOTBALL

Defense on top at Spring Game

QB SITUATION STILL UNCERTAIN
By JACK BLANCHAT
MANAGING EDITOR

On a bright, warm Saturday in San Francisco, Andrew Luck patrolled the Stanford sideline wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, jeans and dark sunglasses, overlooking the proceedings that many hoped would determine who would succeed him as the Cardinals starting quarterback. While Luck wandered back and forth between the sideline and a small metal bench, the 2012 version of the Stanford football team that had hoped to leave the city with a clear idea of whom its next starting quarterback would be instead returned to the Farm with more questions than answers about the future. In the annual Cardinal-White Spring Game at Kezar Stadium, the race between Josh Nunes and Brett Nottingham to replace Andrew Luck was slated to be the main attraction, but instead the Stanford defense, dressed in its away whites, stole the show and pulled off a 3729 victory over the offense. While Nunes spent the day playing with the first-team offense and Nottingham with the second string, head coach David Shaw said after the game that the two were still neck-and-neck at the conclusion of spring practice. That competitions still even, Shaw said. I dont know what the numbers say, I dont care what the numbers say from today. That position was not played well enough for us today to win a football game. In the face of strong defensive pressure that recorded eight sacks on the day, neither Nunes nor Nottingham distinguished himself from the competition, as brief moments of brilliance from each quarterback were often offset by long stretches of inconsistency. I thought our two top quarterbacks, at times, played really well, Shaw continued, offering some tempered praise for the redshirt junior and the sophomore. Josh made some nice throws that were

dropped and missed a couple of checks and reads that we cant miss, and Brett Nottingham, same thing, he missed some things as well. Nunes, who went 11-of-29 passing for 167 yards and two touchdowns, and Nottingham, who went 12-of-19 for 118 yards with a fumble and an interception, both echoed their coachs assessment. For me, not a whole bunch I did correct today, Nottingham said. A whole lot of stuff to clean up. I felt like, as an offense, that the wide receivers stepped up today and make some nice plays, but I still think it was tough for our offense to get into a rhythm today. I feel like I left a lot of plays out on the field, Nunes added. While neither was overjoyed with his performance, the two quarterbacks both managed to pepper their performances with the occasional exceptional pass. Nottinghams best throw came on his first drive of the game, where he connected on a 22-yard backshoulder completion to sophomore wide receiver Keanu Nelson to edge the Cardinal offense to the goal line. Nunes masterpiece was a wobbly 45-yard touchdown pass to freshman wide receiver Ty Montgomery, who made a tremendous leaping catch between two defenders and came down upright in the end zone. Montgomery finished the day with six catches for 87 yards and two touchdowns. That was one heck of a catch, Nunes said afterward, downplaying his role in the touchdown connection. Maybe a questionable decision [to throw the ball], but its great that weve got guys who can go up and make plays like that. And while the Stanford offense looked somewhat out of sync for the entirety of Saturdays game the Cardinal was playing without its top three running backs the defense registered a dominant performance and took advantage of the games bizarre, almost inexplicable scoring system (the defense was awarded points for stopping the offense or forcing turnovers) to give the White team the victory. Our defensive pressure was

Please see FOOTBALL, page 7

The Stanford Daily

Jacob

Jaffe
Stat on the Back

pril is the time of the year when nearly every sport has something major going on. College basketball has its championship, playoffs begin in the NBA and NHL, the MLB season gets underway and the NFL has its draft. The Masters brought golf back to the limelight, and European soccer is reaching its pinnacle with leagues and tournaments coming down to the wire. If there was ever a time to forget about college football, it would be now. Except you cant forget about college football. Ever. And just to make extra sure that college football doesnt leave your mind three months after the season ends, we have a divine invention known as the spring game. Stanford, realizing that it suddenly has a good (and more importantly, profitable) football team, has taken full advantage of its spring game, making tweaks year after year to what is and always will be simply a scrimmage. The big move, of course, was taking the game off-campus, which changed the game from a scrimmage we have every year that, if youre really bored and have nothing better to do, maybe kinda sorta drop by if you happen to be in the neighborhood and see some guys on the team play to The Cardinal and White Spring Game at Historic Kezar Stadium in San Francisco. Pretending the game is important was bold, pretending Stanford is really connected to San Francisco is bolder and pretending that its worth expansive media coverage (ESPN covered it last year) is just downright impressive. The fact is that its a scrimmage. Its a scrimmage where absolutely nothing is at stake, where the scoring system and format are completely arbitrary and ridiculous, where incoming freshmen dont play, where outgoing seniors dont play, where many players with minor injuries dont play and where the team is still almost five months away from participating in a meaningful game. Logic states that there is nothing to possibly read into about this game. But I read into it. I, like so many fans and media members around the country, put way too much stock into this little exercise. Last year, despite being in Los Angeles calling Stanfords baseball game at USC on the radio, I still found myself glued to my computer screen, watching Andrew Luck dissect his own defense. I was convinced that he could beat any defense and that we wouldnt miss our graduating receivers. I was convinced that the holes in our secondary would be our only issues. I was convinced that wed be one of the best teams in the country. And all it took was a silly scrimmage in April that I didnt even go to! This year, I was actually able to attend the game, and my convictions are just as strong, albeit not as positive. I came in expecting to see a team that missed Luck and was still searching for its starting quarterback. I came in expecting to see a dominant linebacker corps that would be the best group on the field by far. I came in expecting to see some fun plays that would get me excited for Stanford football. Well, I was somewhat right. The linebackers were overpowering, getting touch-sacks (no one was allowed to hit the quarterbacks) so often that I honestly wondered if they were ever told to back off just to give the offense a chance to run from time to time. The quarterback competition still looks very much up in the air, but none of the choices looked nearly as promising as Id hoped. As for the excitement . . . well, that was a little lacking. There were a couple nice plays (Ty Montgomerys first touchdown catch and Jordan Richards interception come to mind), but I found myself employing more facepalms than rounds of applause. The offense had more drops than any roller coaster Ive ever been on, and the rest of the plays seemed to be either a sack or a bad pass. Its hard to read too much into the running backs considering Stepfan Taylor, Anthony Wilkerson and Tyler Gaffney werent playing, Jeremy Stewart is gone and Barry J. Sanders hasnt joined the team yet, but no one particularly stood out. The defense certainly deserved to win, but its hard to tell if thats due more to the stingy defense or the mediocre offense. Has the defense really improved from the squad that struggled against the better teams Stanford played last year? Its hard to know, but the biggest dif-

Offense ails at Spring Game

NO MATCH, AGAIN
CARD SWEPT BY UCLA, USC FOR SECOND TIME
By DASH DAVIDSON
STAFF WRITER

Monday, April 16, 2012 N 7

The No. 11 Stanford mens tennis team suffered two tough losses over the weekend at the hands of the Pac-12 powerhouses from Southern California: No. 1 USC and No. 6 UCLA. The Cardinal (14-7, 4-2 Pac-12) was roundly defeated in both matches, 7-0 in front of a packed crowd at USCs Marks Stadium on Saturday and 6-1 in front of the Bruin faithful on Sunday. These losses were the second time in two months that the L.A. schools have dismantled the Cardinal, with identical 6-1, 7-0 scores when the teams played at the beginning of March at the Farm as well a testament to the strength of the two Los Angeles teams. USC has now shut out Stanford twice this season, a very rare event in the storied history of Stanford tennis. In recent years, the Trojans have developed into a member of the collegiate tennis elite. For four years, the Trojans have dominated their competition, winning three straight NCAA team championships. Their top player, senior Steve Johnson, the reigning NCAA singles champion, took that mantle from Stanford senior Bradley Klahn, who won the title in 2010. This year has been much of the same for USC, which is undefeated on the season at 240 after defeating Stanford. Dating back to last season, the Trojans are riding a 44-match winning streak, a particularly impressive feat in todays collegiate tennis climate of aggressive international recruiting and overall parity. Just like in the squads March 3 meeting at the Farm, Saturdays match against USC got off to a bad start and only became progressively worse for the Cardinal. The Trojans swept the three doubles matches, with their top pairing of Johnson and Roberto Quiroz upsetting Stanfords stalwart tandem of seniors Klahn and Ryan Thacher. Leading 1-0, USC took that momentum into the singles play where, at times, the Cardinal squad simply looked overmatched. Only sophomore Daniel Ho, playing out of the No. 6 spot, managed to win a set against a Trojan opponent, but he fell in the third-set tiebreaker 10-7, long after the outcome of the match had been determined. It was definitely tough playing USC, Ho said. They are a very good team, and we gave it our best. We just have to get better before we play them again. Its never a great atmosphere after a loss like that, he added. There was definitely

KOR VANG/The Stanford Daily

Senior Bradley Klahn was the only Stanford player to win a match this weekend, beating Clay Thompson 6-4, 6-4 at the No. 1 spot on Sunday. By that point, however, the Cardinal had already dropped each of its five other singles matches, as well as the three doubles sets, to the Bruins.
some anger, too, given our history with them. The match on Sunday against UCLA did not go much better for head coach John Whitlingers squad. The Bruins jumped out of the gate just like the Trojans and won all three doubles matches, giving them the first point of the match and the momentum that goes along with it. Singles play was nearly as lopsided on Sunday as on Saturday, with Klahn the only one able to muster any sets off of a Bruins opponent; Klahn won out of his No. 1 position while the rest of his teammates fell in straight sets. Stanford next plays at home against Pacific on Wednesday before ending the regular season on Friday at Cal. Next week, the playoffs begin, starting on April 25 with the opening round of the Pac-12 Championships in Ojai, Calif. Contact Dash Davidson at dashd@stanford. edu.

Continued from page 6

FOOTBALL|Nunes leads first team, for now

JOHN TODD/Courtesy of Stanfordphoto.com

Sophomore Brett Nottingham, above, is still locked in a battle with junior Josh Nunes for the quarterback position next season. Nottingham was Heisman runner-up Andrew Lucks backup last year, but Nunes got the starting nod with the first team at Saturdays annual Cardinal-White Spring Game. Head Coach David Shaw maintains that the quarterback battle will continue until a few weeks before the start of the season.
very impressive, Shaw said. Our front seven is about as deep as you will find in the conference. When everybody is healthy and everybody is rolling, you might want to compare them to most teams in the nation with [linebackers] Chase Thomas and Trent Murphy on the edge. The defense racked up points early and often by forcing the Stanford offense to stall time and time again, taking a 17-15 halftime lead into a 35-15 affair at one point in the contest. While the offense did manage to battle back the defense had to bat down a Nunes pass in the end zone on the last play of the game to secure the victory the guys in white were clearly the superior force, even without star linebacker Shayne Skov, who was still unable to play after a knee injury last season. Although the defense was the more dominant half of the team in the Spring Game, junior defensive tackle Terrence Stephens said the Cardinal offense, particularly the quarterbacks, had little to hang its head about. A lot of guys will feel like, at the end of the day, that they leave a lot of plays on the field, but thats how youre supposed to feel, Stephens said. Shaw, for his part, added that the Nunes-Nottingham competition would continue well into the fall. Were kind of past the point of learning about them; were to the point of seeing whos going to win the competition, Shaw said. We think we know them pretty well, its just whose going to perform better over time. Well just take this evidence we got from spring and apply that to the first couple weeks of training camp and see where we are. For now, the 2012 Stanford football team will close up shop until summer training camp begins on Aug. 6, and all eyes will return to Luck and the other departing seniors, who await the NFL Draft on April 26. Contact Jack Blanchat at blanchat @stanford.edu.

Please see JAFFE, page 9

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Monday, April 16, 2012 N 9

seasons.Yes, Luck is gone, but so are several other cornerstones of the team. Still, there is a heck of a lot of talent on this squad, and Stanford can absolutely be one of the better teams in the Pac-12 in 2012. Unfortunately, well have to wait several more months to see just how good the Cardinal will be. Jacob Jaffe didnt pay nearly enough attention to The Dailys delegation at the Spring Game, which looked in tip-top shape for next years Ink Bowl. Submit your projected depth charts at jwjaffe@stanford.edu and follow him on Twitter @Jacob_Jaffe.

JAFFE

Continued from page 7

ference between January and April was clearly the loss of Luck. That will clearly be the big story of the offseason, and its up to Stanford to make sure that isnt the big story of the whole season as well. Even with the lackluster performance on Saturday, my expectations for Stanford football havent really changed. The Cardinal will definitely experience a drop-off from the success of the past couple

BASEBALL
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gon batters in the first three innings alone. But a hit batsman, two walks one of them with the bases loaded and a passed ball fueled a 2-0 charge by the Ducks in the top of the third. That lead was extended in the next frame, when a two-out walk and a bunt for an infield single were followed by Ryon Healys second home run of the year, making it 5-0 Oregon. Mooneyham got out of the fourth but his mediocre outing ended there, as his eight punchouts were coupled with four walks. Meanwhile, Stanford stayed stagnant at the plate, as the Cardinal had a baserunner in each of the first six frames but couldnt manage to get two men on base in any of those innings, coming up with only two hits to that point. They have a really good mix, Bloom said of Oregons top two starters, Keudell and Reed (4-2). They throw their fastballs for

strikes, but more so than that, theyre really good at just getting that secondary pitch over. The Cardinal couldnt get a run off Reed in the series clincher for the Ducks, though Bloom threw an impressive 4.2 shutout innings after earning his first win of the season at Cal last Monday. I felt comfortable out there, he said. I had the defense behind me, which is always great. We have a special defensive team. Stanford finally complemented its defensive play with some hitting on Sunday, but that offense didnt come in its usual form. Instead, sophomore Brett Michael Doran came into the game after shortstop Lonnie Kauppila injured himself in the second, taking over mid-at-bat and recording his first hit of the season, a two-run single. Doran would get on the basepaths twice more on walks and came around to score both times, accounting for all of the Cardinals runs in the 4-2 win. Sophomore righty A.J. Vanegas made another Sunday start and got the win, going 5.2 innings

and allowing just five hits. He did allow two runs one on a groundout after a wild pitch and another on an error by Wilson in right but Stanfords slight lead would hold, with freshman closer David Schmidt getting his third save of the year with 3.1 innings of scoreless work. The win was crucial for the Cardinal, especially with another top-25 team in Arizona State coming to town next weekend. As disappointing as Stanfords early conference play has been the squad is hitting just .232 against Pac-12 opponents Bloom says theres no room for anxiety going forward. I dont think you can ever really get concerned because all it takes is just one game to turn it around, he said. Once we come out and get a little more consistent, come playoff time, well be just fine. Stanford will first host San Jose State on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m., hoping to improve its perfect 7-0 record in midweek matchups. Contact Joseph Beyda at jbeyda @stanford.edu.

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SENATE

Continued from front page

ators, this could result in the accused suing the University for breach of the students contract with the ASSU because the ASSU Constitution gives the accused more rights than the process currently used by Judicial Affairs. Such a change would require a constitutional amendment approved by a student vote representing at least 15 percent of the student body. At their meeting last week, current senators voted against moving forward with such a referendum for fear that it would fail. Several of the newly elected senators have identified elevating ASSU transparency and increasing ASSU accessibility as key points to address for the new Senate. I think one thing that I was slightly disappointed with in this years Senate was the issue of transparency, said Viraj Bindra 15. [This] very clich issue that every senator promises and that every senator does not follow through on was really prevalent last year. All 12 Senate candidates endorsed by the Students of Color Coalition (SOCC) were elected this year, compared to 12 of 15 endorsed candidates last year. SOCC is a coalition of six groups: the Asian American Students Association (AASA), the Black Student Union (BSU), Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztln (MEChA), the Muslim Student Awareness Network (MSAN), the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO). I do think that a SOCC endorsement is a major advantage in this race, Bindra said of the challenges he faced while running for Senate without a SOCC endorsement. It almost guarantee[s] a number of votes . . . Going into the campaigning process, I knew that I needed to work a lot harder. Bindra said that he adopted a more personal campaign to contrast with what he characterized as the more indirect strategies of SOCC candidates. While Bindra said he went to most of the freshman dorms and spoke with students personally, he ranked 14th in number of votes, barely making the cutoff.

SOCC helped me stay on top of it, said Ismael Menjivar 15 of the umbrella group. They are really strong at helping with campaigning. They got me out there.

I think one thing that I was slightly disappointed with in this years Senate was the issue of transparency.
VIRAJ BINDRA, freshman, senator-elect
A lot of people look at the endorsement groups when casting their vote because even if they havent met you individually, they know that you represent those groups, said Garima Sharma 15, who was endorsed by SOCC, the Womens Coalition, the Queer Coalition and four other student organizations. Sharma received more votes than any other candidate and 50 more votes than the next closest. I was surprised at how big of a role endorsements seems to play, said Albert Tomasso 14, one of the three unsuccessful Senate candidates, to The Daily directly after election results were announced at the CoHo. Tomasso ran on a platform of bringing joy to the Senate and did not receive endorsements. Looking at the last year, joy would have been a useful ingredient in the Senate but its not the only thing that could bring good change to Stanford, Tomasso said. Contact Julia Enthoven at jjejje @stanford.edu.