Silicon Valley and Stanford

I sit at my computer looking out at Stanford's foothills, which have lately been a target of controversy. Tucked away beneath the ground is the Linear Accelerator, while the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences lies hidden by trees. Stanford is the center of Silicon Valley, whose entrepreneurial sparkplugs line Sand Hill Road, off to the right. The cows have gone, and people have used the foothills to walk their pooches. Now the Carnegie Foundation wants to build there, and the university has restricted admission to the foothills. Dog owners are barking and snarling. Since I detest people who think that the university is a place to walk pooches, I defended the plan. Buildings hidden by trees would add to the landscape, in addition to serving the university's mission. I have changed my mind. I will explain why.

Jaqui White has come to Stanford to help prepare our big 2001 conference. It is a delight to have her here. We drove around the campus as far as the extension of Sandhill Road to El Camino Real, a necessary project which neighboring Menlo Park fought. I supported the extension, having in mind an avenue with some of the grace of Palm Drive. What a disillusionment! It is like an ugly freeway, with the lanes separated by a concrete barrier. The much touted new housing for faculty and staff is a dreary monstrosity.

When I came to Stanford nearly sixty years ago, Stanford was known as "The Farm." Cows grazed in the meadows where the Stanford Shopping Center now stands. South of the campus there were miles of almond groves where people went for pleasant drives when the trees were crowned with blossoms. Now all that is Silicon Valley. Although yesterday was Sunday, wild herds of expensive cars careened along Sandhill Road, reminding me of the popular novel satirizing Silicon Valley, The Monk and the Riddle by Randy Komisar.

Unless the university can do a better job, keep the foothills free of buildings. Otherwise they will go to the dogs, even without dogs!

Ronald Hilton - 10/16/00