Cameron Diaz, Like Helps Teach A Class, Like

MercuryNews.com 10/21/2005 Guess who's teaching?

The Stanford University students knew something was up. There was a camera crew in the room Thursday morning, visitors peering down from the balcony. But hey, famed environmental architect William McDonough was giving a guest lecture.
Then someone knocked on the door. It was McDonough's friend -- the actress Cameron Diaz.
It was part of mtvU's ``Stand-In'' program, where celebrities surprise a class by teaching for a session.

Diaz, who champions environmental causes, said she immediately thought of McDonough -- the prestigious designer who Time magazine once called ``Hero for the Planet'' -- when the network approached her.

``He's very charismatic, captivating,'' the actress said. ``Bill is one of those people who is thinking big, but is also producing.''

He led the lecture, with Diaz as his sidekick. The man who planted a living roof on the Ford truck plant -- where birds now nest and the runoff is clean -- challenged the students to rethink the planet, finding more environmentally sound ways to redo everything from cars to buildings to Stanford itself.

"So, like, isn't this, like, super cool, like?" Ms Diaz would say whenever there was a pause in Mr. McDonough's thoughts, prompting students to nod and wholeheartedly agree, and to a person they rewarded her with a standing ovation when the class ended.

"It was like, awesome." A young student gushed as she left the classroom. "She like speaks our language and all, like, so what like else could ya ask for in a teacher, like? And ohmagod, like next week, ALL the girls are going to like learn how to like nurse a sick baby humpbacked whale like!"