Claire Stanford
Claire Stanford
Recent Stories
Claire Stanford
When I arrived at Yale in that eons-ago fall of 2002, the word “facebook” referred only to an actual book with a blue cover that held the black-and-white photos of every member of the incoming class. I see that this book — officially titled Old Campus — is still offered every year, but I suspect that it is not the mainstay in freshmen dorm rooms that it was in my time.
First place non-fiction: 'The First Step'
Spain is a land of legends -- giant legends. It is a place where stories, both religious and secular, crop up, gain ground, and soon become a kind of reality of their own. It is a place of siestas and late nights, bullfights and sangria and flamenco...
Pub quizzes perplex Yale pupils
A degree from Yale University ostensibly signifies the best education money can buy. Spending four years at Yale is the first step to running multi-billion dollar companies and whole countries, to winning Nobels and Pulitzers and maybe even Oscars, to...
Movin' on up -- and home to the 'rents
A film recently spoke to me in a way movies these days rarely do. No, I'm not talking about "V for Vendetta" or "The Libertine" or any other pseudo-intellectual movies out right now during the post-Oscar dry spell. I'm not even talking about "She's the...
525,600 minutes until the final bell rings
On Saturday, March 18, when I take a nonstop JetBlue flight from Oakland to JFK, I will return to Yale from a break for the last time. I had this realization in class on Tuesday and spent the rest of the lecture controlling a minor panic attack.
Essentially, there is nothing funny about death. Essentially. Then again, you've never been dead in my family. Death in my family is sort of hilarious.
Here is a question with which even the greatest thinkers of our time would struggle in vain: What does it mean to be a Yale woman? For most boys I know, it means simply not being as attractive as the women at other schools (thanks, guys). For New York...
16K to show Yale his "ding ding dong"?
Like most Yalies, I found out that Gunther was coming to Yale through an offhanded comment in the YDN's lead story January 19 on the continuing AKS saga. Rather than voting on AKS's move to impeach YCC president Steven Syverud, "the main item on the...
Winter break proffers retirement temptation
For me, winter break was a welcome change from the pressures of maintaining a facade of youthfulness -- an opportunity to embrace the 80-year-old woman within, who I could feel just dying to burst free. My foray into the life of an octogenarian began...
Pre-Game doldrums: ire, MIT, Michelle Branch
I love everything about the Saturday of The Game. I love the tailgate, I love the halftime show, I love the Saybrook Strip. I love the feeling of coming back to a warm shower and a big dinner. I love curling up that night, tired and already a little...
Athlete-artists: The clash of two worlds
At the beginning of this year's football season, the team coaches divided their 116 players into groups by major so that the upperclassmen could advise new players regarding the classes they should take. But as 200-plus pound freshmen gravitated toward...