A Word From The Editor

Scott Rasmussen: The new Editor in Chief

What can be said in response to the terrorist acts of September 11? Words seem to be inadequate replacements for conveying the breadth of emotions and the gravity of the situation that we have experienced in the past month. No speech, prayer, investigation, regulation, or military response will bring back those who died, yet these are nonetheless the duty of the living. Abraham Lincoln said at Gettysburg, "It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us."

What is the great task remaining before us? The answer is different for each of us. President Bush outlined his great task in his September 20 address to a joint session of Congress: "I will not yield; I will not rest; I will not relent in waging this struggle for freedom and security for the American people."

Americans have the great task to support our President, and to perform with diligence our own "little" tasks. Many of us responded to September 11 by giving blood or by writing a check. We also have duties that are less extraordinary but still essential: working hard and then spending our money, for example. By continuing our daily business, we deny terrorists their great aims: to take American lives, and to disrupt our way of living.

The Hoover Institution's daily business is to provide world-class scholarship to advise our nation's leaders. Its expertise in national security, diplomacy, and in the Middle East is sorely needed at times like these, and Hoover has risen to the challenge. Dave Myszewski reports on Hoover's recent national security conference, one that will surely be repeated in the months ahead.

The Stanford Review's daily business is to provide hard-hitting campus reporting, and we will continue that in this volume. The terrorist events and their aftermath have saturated the national media, and we do not intend to sensationalize the tragedy by dwelling on each breaking story.

At the same time, we will do our part by reporting on the recent events as they affect Stanford. Alex Robbins immediately responded to September 11 with an online special report, informing our readers of the Stanford community's response to the events and connecting you to helpful resources for counseling, volunteering, news, and getting into contact with loved ones. We are printing a student petition supporting a war against terrorismÑwhich I encourage you to signÑto ensure that this viewpoint is heard amidst campus pacifist rallies. Columnist Alec Rawls wisely points out that at times like these, America must defend liberty.

Many other events affected Stanford while the students were away this summer, however, and we would be remiss to exclude them in our coverage. The Stanford Administration launched a recent study of faculty diversity, and Henry Towsner investigates the policies, statistics, and people behind it. Bry Martin examines Stanford's rise to number five in the annual U.S. News and World Report rankings, and astutely questions whether the U.S. News methodology or significant changes in our school were the real cause behind it. One important thing to note: Stanford has been ranked 1st in the academic reputation category for the last six years. Stanford Society of Women Engineers is one example of Stanford's ongoing academic excellence: President Elita Cheung describes the SWE programs and services that led to back-to-back national championships.

We also begin this year by welcoming Stanford's new freshmen, transfers, and graduate students. Many of them joined our staff, but not before they attended the University's politically correct orientation programs, as Justin Diener reports. Watch for the new staff in this issue in News Briefs, Smoke Signals, and the Back Page, and look forward to hearing more from them in the weeks to come.

September 11 leaves us with many questions and with many emotions. But it also leaves each of us with many "little" tasks in the weeks ahead. The Stanford Review will do its part, and I encourage each of you to do yours, as we support our President in the great task remaining before our nation.

Page last modified on Thursday, 02-Mar-2006 00:04:52 MST.