A power outage left students floundering on the main Stanford campus this Sunday. With phones, laptops and game consoles dying just one day before the fall quarter started, students had no option but to look away from their screens for the first time.

“I was astonished by what I saw outside my dorm room window. The spectacular scenery of vibrant palm trees set against towering mountains is breathtaking,” remarked freshman Misar Sor. “If only I could take a photo so I could set it as my phone background. Then I could see its magnificence whenever I wanted.”

Rather than being distracted by online entertainment, many people took time to learn truths about themselves. “You start to notice little things here and there,” introspected sophomore Paurtran Fourmer. “For example, the skin on my palms is lighter than the skin on the back of my hand. I would have never observed that before because my phone usually blocks my palm from view.”

As this is the second power outage on campus in three months, it has raised many questions surrounding systemic environmental issues. Professor of Earth System Science Marcella Hudson explained, “this outage has made people aware that the forests and oceans are in fact real and all around us, not just inspiration for VR real estate development. With more now cognizant of the environment’s existence, we may have a shot at preserving human life on Earth up to 2025.”

Editor’s Note: This article is purely satirical and fictitious. All attributions in this article are not genuine, and this story should be read in the context of pure entertainment only.