Stanford Student Enterprises

Presents

Stanford Memories

the 2011–12 Stanford Unofficial Guide

 

Table of Contents

i– Preface
1– Introduction: History
2– In and Around Campus
3– Bare Necessities  AND Housing—Home Life
4– Transportation
5– Academics
6– Cardinal Culture by TUSB (Kristi Bohl & Andrea Acosta)
7– Breaking the Bubble by TUSB (Megan McGraw & George Malkin)
8– Cardinal Community by TUSB (Carlo Pasco & Sebastain Gould)
9– Conclusion
10– Business Listings
11– Dining Listings
12– Business Coupons
13– Dining Coupons

 

Letter from the Associated Students of Stanford University President and Vice President

Hi Stanford,

Welcome home! Whether today is your first time on campus or your last new school year, Stanford is an amazing place to be. We’re home to some of the world’s best thinkers, activists, engineers, public servants, entrepreneurs, researchers and student leaders; you could easily spend years just hearing the amazing thoughts and life stories from your fellow Stanford students and teachers.

In this amazing place, it is easy to find one thing that you enjoy and stick to it. However, we want to encourage you to explore—hang out in the Oval, try out for a dance troupe, walk down University Avenue, take Social Dance 1, check out Berkeley, or join a student group. Explore all that Stanford and the Bay Area have to offer.

Inside this Unofficial Guide to Stanford you’ll find out about great restaurants in the area, amazing deals, the rich history and traditions of Stanford University, and more. We hope that this Guide helps you find out more about your new home and all of the wonderful opportunities available to you! Good luck and we hope that you have a new school year full of fun, exploration and hilarity!

Sincerely,

Michael Cruz        &       Stewart Macgregor-Dennis

ASSU President            Vice President

 

Introduction

If you’re a frequent wearer of gear with the Stanford official seal on it, you might sometimes be met with confused stares from people less familiar with our school. “Stanford is a junior university? I thought it was a regular university.” Chances are that if you go to Stanford, you already know how to respond to this question. Nonetheless, it probably couldn’t hurt to know a little more about the Stanfords and what they were thinking when they decided to start a university.

As the Story Goes

It was 1884 when 15 year-old Leland Jr., son of Leland and Jane Stanford, fell ill with typhoid. The night of the boy’s death Leland Senior dreamed that his ghostly son came to him. When he awoke, Stanford said to his wife, “The children of California shall be our children.” The couple spent several weeks deliberating upon how to make this dream a reality, and ultimately decided to memorialize their son by founding Leland Stanford Junior University.

Leland Stanford Sr. was a wealthy man who had made his fortune in the railroad business, and then had gone on to be governor of California as well as a U.S. senator. He and his wife had previously purchased 650 acres of land to begin the Palo Alto Stock Farm. After Leland Junior’s death they sought to build their university on the land, and after receiving advice from the president of Harvard University they donated five million dollars and 8,000-acres of additional land to the university’s endowment. “The Farm” nickname came to be as it was an expansion of Stanford’s farm. Although Stanford has left its agricultural influences behind, “The Farm” nickname still exists today.

After six years of construction, Stanford University opened in 1891 with 559 students and 15 faculty members. From its outset, the school defied convention. It was co-educational at a time when most universities were all male, and it was non-denominational when most were associated with a religious organization. Avowedly practical, the school demonstrated its commitment to producing “cultured and useful citizens” when most universities concerned themselves only with the former trait. The same amount of opportunity is available to students today, as they continually forge Stanford tradition in the spirit of innovation, creativity, and character. After 119 years, Stanford University’s graduates have founded Hewlett-Packard, Yahoo!, Cisco Systems, Google, and Nike, just to name a few.

Almost a French Fry

After the first-ever Big Game win over Cal in 1892, the color Cardinal was picked as the primary color of the Stanford’s athletic teams and the official mascot. The Stanford Tree is the unofficial mascot and a member of the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB). After a politically incorrect Indian mascot was removed in 1972, new mascots, including the Robber Barons, the Railroaders, and the Huns, were considered. The Robber Barons won the popular vote but the university’s administration refused to implement the vote. During a halftime show in 1975, the LSJUMB introduced three new mascots including the Steaming Manhole, the French Fry, and the Tree. The Tree had the largest following and grew to be the unofficial mascot of Stanford University resembling the El Palo Alto redwood tree on the Stanford seal. The selection of the student Tree in the early days was merely given to the band manager’s girlfriend but has since become a much more competitive selection process. “Tree Week” narrows down the Tree candidate pool as they perform extreme, reckless, and often dangerous stunts in attempt to win the approval of the Tree selection committee. The university has felt the need to limit some activities due to performances that have included firearms, explosions, and near-death situations. Once the new Tree is chosen, he or she must create a unique costume and defend Stanford against our unfortunate rivals at Cal. The journey and duel is not an easy one, but Stanford’s beloved mascot will always trump Cal’s Oski the Bear.

 

Stanford Directory Staff

The Unofficial Guide is written by Stanford Students for Stanford Students.

Sales Production/Editorial Board

• Neveen Mahmoud, Chief Executive Officer, SSE
• Chase Johnson, Vice President of Advertising
• Matan Orgel, Senior Account Executive, Manager of Sales
• Frederik Groce, Senior Account Executive, Manager of New Client Sales
• Catherine Hsieh, Business Manager
• Toby Newman, Graphic Designer
• Bill Freeman, Layout Manager

Special Thanks to

The Unofficial Stanford Blog (Kristi Bohl, Andrea Acosta, Megan McGraw, George Malkin, Carlo Pasco and Sebastin Gould), who updated the content for the Cardinal Culture, Breaking the Bubble and My Community sections. Toby Newman created the housing section and updated all the other sections. Toby Newman and Phillip Ho created the theme for the guide.

Sales Team

• Mariana Barraza
• Chris Hancock
• Sarah Staatz

Photography

• Toby Newman

Production Notes

The Unofficial Guide was written and revised throughout the spring and summer of 2011. The content comes from original sources and any reproduced material is used with the source’s permission. The opinions expressed in the Unofficial Guide are not representative of the opinions held by the Stanford Directory, Stanford University, Stanford Student Enterprises or the Associated Students of Stanford University. Copyright, 2011 Stanford Student Enterprises.