"You get what you settle for."
That's how Louise put it to Thelma in the 1991 movie. It's a line that has stuck with me as I listen to Stanford students carp about everything from large classes to inaccessible professors to the lack of research opportunities.
As Stanford students, we often complain about our education. We blame the faculty, administration, sometimes even alumni. We listen when our classmates tell us that their professors aren't available during office hours or that they can't find a laboratory to do research in. We nod our heads in sympathy as other students talk about the lack of interaction with the faculty. We share their disappointment when they discover that the one class they hoped to take at Stanford has been canceled.
While I empathize with my peers, I have had a very different experience from many of them. I came to Stanford as a biology major but had not yet taken a single biology course here when I approached Professor Paul Berg, 1980 Nobel laureate in chemistry, about working in his lab. Paul was very receptive to my proposal, and I began lab work after a quarter of directed reading. Many people asked me how I had come upon such a research position, and the answer is simple--I had a strong belief in my ability and I pursued the opportunity.
While working for Paul, I realized how few undergraduates, especially in the sciences, had the chance to interact with top-level faculty. That year I approached Vice Provost Ramón Saldívar about a class I wanted to create. Last fall, I organized Science, Technology and Society 111: Nobel Perspectives on Ethics in Science, which featured Stanford Nobel laureates in an undergraduate seminar. I was surprised by the financial and academic support given by the administration and faculty, as well as the large student interest. I learned a valuable lesson: There are many people open to new ideas--students just need to make the effort.
A private university such as Stanford has abundant resources to offer. But many of us don't take full advantage of them. A friend of mine spent the summer writing and taking photographs in Egypt. Other undergraduates have studied homelessness in Atlanta, written about women in Vietnam and adapted a Jane Austen novel for the stage. All of this student-initiated research and activity has been sponsored by Undergraduate Research Opportunities, which grants thousands of dollars to students each year.
People criticize Stanford for not having classes in certain disciplines. For some students, these are legitimate concerns. I have a friend who talked to almost 30 professors about a lab position in cancer research and was still unsuccessful in her attempts.
There are also professors who neglect their students, and classes during which there is little chance for personal interaction. These are some of the negatives that come with attending an elite research university.
However, I urge my classmates not to sit back and accept the situation. Student action is often effective. It was largely due to their tireless work that Stanford developed four new ethnic study majors in Asian American Studies, Native American Studies, Chicano Studies and Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. Recently, students led a campaign that saved the Science, Technology and Society program from termination. Students have also pushed for getting special funding for the women's center and started a movement to emphasize the importance of teaching for faculty.
We should try applying the same activist approach to our personal academic situations. While our opinions are not always given the attention they deserve, we are making progress in creating the Stanford we want to see.
Ultimately, we will get from Stanford what we settle for. It seems to me that Louise knew what she was talking about.
Aly Remtulla is a junior from Calgary majoring in anthropology.
