Stanford Report, November 3, 2004

Cardinal Chronicle / weekly campus column

BY MICHAEL PEÑA

Arden thomas may be working on her Ph.D. in drama, but her frenzy in Memorial Hall yesterday was anything but theatrical. All day she handed out snacks, scripts and home numbers for registered Democrats in Ohio and Florida to volunteers dropping by to blitz the swing states with cell phone pleas to vote for Sen. John Kerry. Meanwhile, moms with toddlers in tow waited an hour to cast their vote at Florence Moore Hall's polling place, while Graduate School of Business students ran to laptops between classes for a quick online update. Election Day excitement even filled the air at the Bechtel International Center, where most students and staff weren't eligible to vote. When a volunteer from Los Altos said he was still unsure whether to vote for Kerry or President Bush, colleagues howled in German and Japanese. "I would love to vote," said Marga castaldini, the center's meeting room scheduler. "I wish I could, but I can't."

Visiting Professor bill woo, former editor of the St. Louis Post Dispatch, has had no problem finding big stories for students to cover in his public-issues reporting class—in 2002, it was post-Sept. 11 news coverage. Last year, the gubernatorial recall kept the class busy. This year, a ballot full of major measures and races seemed to bury local politics. So the class produced a four-page voter guide with in-depth profiles of the 12 candidates who vied for East Palo Alto City Council seats. Woo credits the students for their intrepid interviews and thanked Karin Cotterman at the Haas Center for Public Service for pointing him to Oakland's Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, which provided a $2,000 grant for the guide. Jamie Schmuman, a graduate student in the class, was especially proud that one-third of the 1,500 guides were in Spanish, the primary language of many East Palo Alto residents. "I think it looks really professional," Schuman said. "We've gotten a lot of positive response."

Stanford Dining has partnered with the Islamic Society of Stanford University to provide dinner to Muslim students and staff after their daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan (Oct. 15-Nov. 12). The after-sunset meal, or iftar, was paid with money raised by ISSU. It's the first year that Tresidder's Union Square is hosting the buffet, usually until about 8 p.m., after evening prayers. ISSU members say non-Muslims also are welcome at the table, too. "It's been a great success," said Melissa Steinbeck, marketing manager for Stanford Dining. "Everyone's been really pleased."