Poetic Advice for Graduates
U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky, MA '65, PhD '67, will give the commencement address this June. A former Stegner fellow in Stanford's creative writing program and author of The Figured Wheel: New and Collected Poems, 1966-1996, Pinsky was appointed poet laureate in 1997. He is well-known for his populist streak and has focused on developing the Favorite Poem Project, an audio-video archive of 1,000 ordinary Americans reading their favorite poems aloud. Pinsky "will eloquently speak to our hearts and minds and give us a unique perspective on the realities we have and have yet to experience," the senior class presidents said in announcing his selection.
Adding Up the Reasons Girls Avoid Math
What's behind the gender gap in mathematics? One explanation is that when girls get high grades in English, they sometimes lose confidence in their quantitative abilities. If they are all-around good students, girls tend not to think of themselves as skilled in fields involving math and are less likely than boys to say they hope to major in science or engineering. The finding comes from a recent Stanford study of students at six Bay Area high schools, conducted by sociology professor Cecilia Ridgeway and Shelley Correll, a doctoral candidate in sociology.
A First: Firing Photons One by One
Applied physicists at Stanford have invented the first device that produces light one photon at a time. Normal light sources generate photons at random intervals. But the "single-photon turnstile device" -- developed by a research team headed by Yoshihisa Yamamoto, professor of applied physics and electrical engineering -- makes photons one by one at a regular interval. The discovery might lead to new methods of computation and encryption that could be put into mainstream computer and telecommunications devices -- making it faster and safer to send secret information.
For Two Campus Centers, Full-Time Directors
For the first time, Stanford's Women's Center and the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Community Center (LGBCC) both will have full-time directors. Expanding the directorships from half-time posts will bring the top positions at the two centers into line with staffing in the ethnic community centers on campus. The move comes after LGBCC director Gwendolyn Dean left last November for a full-time job leading Cornell University's center for lesbian, gay and bisexual students. Fabienne McPhail will stay on as head of the Women's Center. Nana Howton will serve as interim director of the LGBCC until a full-time replacement is hired.
Stanford's Oldest Frat Shut Down
After two serious alcohol-related incidents, administrators have shut down the Phi Delta Theta house. The fraternity—Stanford's oldest—lost its right to operate for five years after a student was injured falling out of a window in October. The fraternity had been on probation since April 1998 when a student was injured in a fight. Dean of Students Marc Wais approved the penalty, which was recommended by the Greek Judicial Board.
For the Class of 2003, Slightly Easier Odds
Getting into Stanford this year was just a little bit easier than last. Acceptance letters went out March 31 to 2,205 students; combined with the 483 admitted in the early decision round, that means 15 percent of the 17,917 who applied got in. A year ago, a record-low 13 percent of applicants received the nod. More than half of those admitted to the Class of 2003 have straight "A" records and more than two-thirds scored 700 or higher out of a possible 800 on both the verbal and math portions of the SAT. Fifty percent are members of minority groups, and 36 percent are from California. Students have until May 1 to decide if they will make the Farm their home.
Layoffs at the Medical Center
Workers at Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital are bracing for layoffs after the merged UCSF-Stanford Health Care announced a $10.7 million loss during the first quarter of this fiscal year. Officials plan to reduce the workforce by 800 during the next few months and by another 1,200 before the end of the year. Layoffs, which will not affect doctors, will be spread over the Stanford campus and the two hospitals at UCSF. Since the deficit was announced in February, outside consultants have advised administrators on how to bring their staff-patient ratios into line with those at other teaching hospitals. The two health-care systems merged in 1997.
Arrest in a Phone Harassment Case
Over the last four years, more than 400 Stanford women have been the victims of lewd, harassing phone calls. The perpetrator: a man who called himself "Oscar." On March 29, Stanford police arrested Simon Posada, 28, of San Mateo and charged him with 17 counts of electronic eavesdropping and two counts of felony terroristic threats. Police believe that the more than 400 phone-harassment reports they have on record are just 10 to 15 percent of the total number of calls Posada made since 1995. He apparently culled information from students' web pages and kept it on computer disks at his apartment, police say. The suspect has no Stanford affiliation.
