MORE TRIVIA ABOUT STANFORD

There is nothing special about the March issue of Stanford.  However, being an alumni magazine, I thought some of the articles and ads were worthy of sharing, albeit still pretty boring, save for, perhaps, the final ads.

One item, had to do with the Stanford Seal, which, apparently, was recently adjusted, I think.  In 1891 President David Starr Jordan convinced the faculty to unofficially adopt this temporary seal of an el palo alto redwood tree, from which came the name Palo Alto, the village outside of the campus.  The motto Die Luft der Freiheit weht, a German translation of the Latin videtis illam spirare libertatis auru, which means "the wind of freedom blows," was instead used, which messed things up, because this German term meant "the air of freedom blows."

However, to the left is the original seal, adopted in 1908.  The motto was Semper Virens, Latin for always flourishing.  1885 is the year of founding as Leland Stanford Junior University.  

In any case, Pentaglottis sempervirens  is a European bright blue flower.  I doubt if any of this flower variety is grown on the campus, as I've never seen a blue flower there.

For no particular reason, the original, with its typo, began to be formally used from 1920-2002.  When I was first driven past the entrance on Palm Drive, I saw this version and suddenly worried that, perhaps, I was about to enter a junior college.

Finally, in 2002, The Board of Trustees adopted this impaired version as the official University seal, letting it be known that the motto itself remains unofficial.  Now you know something that very few of 220,000 graduates from 158 countries do.

Significantly shifting gears to something more technical, President Marc Tessier-Lavigne promotes sustainable solutions as a major initiative for the institution.  Stanford scholars are all over the map as leaders in climate change and renewable energy.  When the campus in 2021 operates its latest solar facility, they will produce as much electricity as the campus uses.  It will be zero waste in 2030.

So did I get my enthusiasm in Planet Earth and Humanity from Stanford?  Nah.  Much of this field is new to this campus, and very few of its staff participated much in global green when I was active as a leader for sustainability, hydrogen and the Blue Revolution.  While I have now been retired for almost 20 years, I still attend various gatherings around the world, and the only one where Stanford took a leading role was the energy summit in Qatar, where, I might add, they paid my way to attend.  Look to the right column, and the posting that attracted the most readers to this site, ever, has been THE WONDER OF QATAR.  Here is my Huffington Post reportage:

   Can Qatar Lead the World Towards Sustainability?

Heard of Lili "Champ" Thompson?  She's a 2017 grad and is the only female with the Harlem Globetrotters.  She was drafted by the Globetrotters in 2018.

Finally, the racy ending from the Classified Personals section, two ads:

• LOS ANGELES based, slender divorcee. (Phd, Ivy-educated executive in "the arts") seeks articulate, accomplished, genteleman 60-s-70's (LA-Bay Area) for romance, travel, fun and adventure.  Important that he lives his life with integrity, kindness and an appreciation of the arts.  Reply in confidence:  sandy@therighttimeconsultants.com  212 627 0121.
• SF BAY-area successful Male surgeon, retired, early 70's, fit, seeks active, confident woman, late 50's-60's, for potential long-term relationship.  Prefer intellectually curious, enjoys travel, the outdoors, attractive and financially and physically fit. bio & photo to: (same as above contacts)

You would think something like STANFORD magazine would be infused with probity, rectitude, righteousness and virtue.

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