Symbolic Systems Program affiliates have chosen the percent sign (“%”) as the Symbol of the Year for 2012, in a first-ever, pilot vote designed to test whether such a vote should become an annual tradition. The percent sign was nominated by program alumnus Louis Eisenberg (Class of 2003).
The citation reads: “From continued protests about ‘the 99%’ and ‘the 1%’, to Mitt Romney’s ‘47%’ remark, to the ‘fiscal cliff’ debate, the percent sign appeared throughout 2012 on banners and in headlines. Its presence was a constant reminder that income/wealth distribution and tax brackets had become the main focus of U.S. politics.” [cont.]
Symbolic Systems Program, Stanford