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Content provided by TUSB—Carlo Pasco, Sebastain Gould

The great commonality for any Stanford student is community. And it’s no wonder;there are A LOT of communities. There are student groups, theater troupes, sports

teams, ethnic groups, dormitories, email lists, organizations, and just about anything elseyou can think of on campus. So how do you, presumably a freshman if you’ve read thisfar, find a community that suits you? Fear not, I, as a member of several communities

and even more email lists, have put together a comprehensive guide-within-a-guide tothe community at Stanford.

Get Involved in Your Freshmen Dorm

As a freshman, you’ll be living with other freshmen, whether you like it or not. Fromall-freshmen dorms in Stern and Wilbur, to the juggernaut that is Roble, to the tight-knitcommunities that comprise ethnic-themed dorms, there will be other bright-eyed,bushy-tailed first years with you.

No matter your living situation, I highly recommend getting to know your fellow fresh-men. Better yet, form a study group with other people in the same classes as you, or atleast with similar interests in classes; more often than not, these people will end up be-ing your friends. Stanford is tricky like that. This is not to say that all freshmen love theirhousemates, and this is certainly not so say that not loving your freshman dorm is a badthing. Everyone I’ve asked in my all-frosh dorm, though, had a great freshman experi-ence.

Cardinal Community

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This form of community, the one that you have the least control over, oftentimes be-comes the one to which you make the closest ties. Everything from eating dinner together,to having the proverbial 2am philosophical talks together, to arriving 4 hours early to thefirst football game of the year together, this experience is one that you will not want totake for granted.

Explore your interests

I like writing. I specifically like comedy writing. So naturally, I’m pre-med and major-ing in Human Biology. Seriously though, the community you want to be in might not bethe community you are currently placed in. I know that there are few people within mymajor who talk openly about writing. So I joined communities that were more writing-centered, The Unofficial Stanford Blog being one of them. Use communities to exploreyour interests, be it writing, social advocacy, or juggling. There, you’ll find a group of like-minded people who probably share your same passions.

Explore your Disinterests

Try something you never thought you would try; you’re only in college once. My fresh-man year, I joined Dil Se, Stanford’s Hindi Film Dance (Bollywood) team. Before a work-shop early in my freshman year, I had not seen one Bollywood movie. I was also not adancer. I was also in no way South Asian. However, the experiences I had on that teamtaught me a whole other culture, another perspective through which to view life. And if I had not reached out to a community that I had never even heard of before, I would have

been a worse-off person.So do this. Get involved in a community. Whether it be a student group, religious group,

dorm study group, or even a random lunch table, find a group of people with similar in-terests (there are a lot of groups), and try it out for a few weeks. You’ll be glad you did.

Events

If events were chocolate, Stanford would be a huge chocolate factory (note: John Hen-

nessy would be like Willy Wonka, as played by Johnny Depp). There are an inconceiv-

able number of events of varying types happening at any one time all over campus, in-cluding speakers, performances, lectures, screenings, conferences, exhibits, readings, and

much more.

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Deborah’s Palm

(650) 473-0664

Deborah's Palm is a non-profit community center located in downtown Palo Alto,providing counseling, community resources, classes, activities, and a mentoring

program. Please go to our website at www.deborahspalm.org for current updates on

our classes and activities.

(650) 473-0664

555 Lytton Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301



Unfortunately, there’s not one ultimate resource to easily keep tabs on all events; there

are, however, a few different resources to help you out. A word to the wise: don’t try and

attend every single event you find interesting (unless you find very few things interest-

ing). Having a social life is important too.

Stanford Events Calendar: events.stanford.edu. Comprehensive calendar of most

events; accessible from the University homepage.

Student Events Calendar: studentevents.stanford.edu . Editable by students, it is a

place to post less formal or more social events of interest to students, such as

musical acts playing on campus, game nights, small on-campus performances,

etc. The Student Events Calendar is also embedded on The Unofficial Stanford

Blog.

Fountainhop: fountainhop.com. A much more visually pleasing events calendar

that shows you where the event is on a large Google Map.Various listservs: The bigger the listserv, the more likely someone will try to

advertise an event on it.


Cantor Arts Center

Visual Arts

Stanford houses amazing collections of art both indoors and out. Enjoy both stim-ulating and eccentric exhibits at the Cantor Arts Center and the student Art Gallery

enjoy, or try picnicking under the sun amongst the outdoor exhibits on campus.

Cantor Arts Center

Website: http://ccva.stanford.edu ; museum.stanford.edu

When the Museum opened its doors in 1894, it was one of the largest in the United

States. Destroyed and renovated twice by earthquakes, the Cantor Arts Center has

now become a premier Bay Area art institution. Admission is free, and the collections,

both permanent and changing, are breathtaking. Make sure to spend time in the Mu-

seum’s Rodin exhibit, including the Sculpture Garden, featuring a spectacular re-

casting of The Gates of Hell. While there, enjoy an organic meal at the Cool Café.

Outdoor Art

Beautiful sculptures color the Stanford campus where you least expect them. Pick

up a map with a self-guided tour at the Cantor Arts Center. In addition to visitingthe more well-known pieces of art, like the Rodin Sculpture Garden and the Mau-

soleum, make sure to take some time to check out Goldworthy’s ‘Stone River’, a stone-

crafted wave that emerges from the earth, as well as the Papa New Guinea Sculpture

Garden and the Cactus Garden.



Clubs and Organizations: An Overview

With over 600 University recognized student groups on campus, every single person

here can find a place to belong plus ten places you want to belong but can’t find the time

to fit into your schedule. The trick is to find your own niche and be willing to give some

things up. If you visit mygroups.stanford.edu/search, you will find a list of all of the or-ganizations and clubs here on campus, complete with contact information and de-

scription.

If for some reason you can’t find the club you want, you can easily start your own (but

seriously, look to see if it exists, because there are already 600 clubs). Simply visit Stu-

dent Activities and Leadership (SAL) (formerly called the OSA) at Old Union Room 206,

and you will find kind advisers who can guide you through the registration application.

You can also go here if you need help with major event planning. The SAL website,

sal.stanford.edu, provides all of the information you will need, too. The OSA has a rep-

utation for being hard to work with—or rather fun-killing—but experiences vary.

Another useful resource is My Activities Fair (myactivitiesfair.com). It is very new and

has thus not really had an impact, but it looks like it will provide a much better way of

finding student groups on campus.

And of course, you should definitely attend the Activities Fair at the beginning of the

year. It takes place in White Plaza almost immediately after the start of classes, and is

always a fertile breeding ground for froshies. You will be bubbling with enthusiasm overall of the groups trying to showcase their programs to you, but it will be worth it. You

will also be overwhelmed, but you are always encouraged to try things out and see what

you like and what you don’t. Clubs will not be upset if you join and then decide to quit—

in fact, they expect many people to do so.

We cannot even begin to touch on all of the clubs and groups Stanford has to offer. To

make your life a little easier, however, we have tried to divide this section into group-

ings based around different interests to get you started. Good luck!

Activism and Service

The Haas Center for Public Service: haas.stanford.edu. The Haas Center has an enor-

mous array of resources to help you engage in community service or learn more about

service at Stanford. Definitely worth a visit.




There are also a number of student groups based around public service and fighting

for causes in the community. Here are a few (of many):

STAND: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition: stand.stanford.edu. Originally formed

in response to the crisis in Darfur, STAND fights against genocide. At the end of

last year, the Board of Trustees approved (and the New York Times reported on)

a resolution written by the student group regarding conflict minerals in the

Democratic Republic of Congo.

Students Taking on Poverty (STOP): stop.stanford.edu. STOP hosts an annual food

stamps challenge in which students experience one day with a food budget

equivalent to that of being on food stamps.

Stanford GRID: grid.stanford.edu. Stanford’s chapter of GRID alternatives tries to

provide energy-efficiency to low-income areas and conducts projects such as

installing solar panels on homes in East Palo Alto.FaceAIDS: faceaids.org. Now a national organization with over 200 chapters in the

United States, FaceAIDS started at Stanford in 2005. The group works to raise

student awareness about and interest in fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic in

Africa.

East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring (EPATT): One of many volunteer tutoring

programs at Stanford, EPATT brings kids to campus for an after-school program

of athletics and learning. Stanford students work one on one with these kids and

help them with their schoolwork.Stanford Outdoor Outreach Program (SOOP): SOOP combines community

service with the great outdoors: Stanford students lead hiking and backpacking

trips for kids from East Palo Alto and other areas who have not gotten a chance

to explore nature.

Habla: Students who have an interest in teaching English and getting to know

people in the Stanford community they might not otherwise ever meet can join

Habla, a program in which Stanford students work with janitors on campus who

want to learn English.

Arts

General

Student Arts: studentarts.stanford.edu . The official student arts website on

campus. Visit this site for event information and up-to-date news and reviews.

Arts Guide: artsguide.stanford.edu . This site features a multi-media guide with

information on all art groups at Stanford.Lively Arts: livelyarts.stanford.edu . Stanford Lively Arts brings the best in

performing arts to campus, including performances by internationally renowned

artists and exceptional emerging talent from around the world. They offer

performances in classical and world music, dance, and theater, all at a 50%

discount to Stanford students. They also offer educational and outreach




programs including open rehearsals, master classes, pre- and post-performance

discussions, and extended residencies with music, dance, and drama

departments.

Dancedance.stanford.edu

Stanford’s Dance Division provides students with opportunities to explore the histor-

ical, sociological and cultural aspects of dance, as well as to take classes focused on tech-

nique and style. Whether you’re a beginner or an old timer, don’t miss out on Richard

Powers’ social dance classes that will prep you for the annual Jammix, Ragtime Ball, Vi-

ennese Ball, and Big Dance. In addition, some dance groups, like Los Salseros de Stan-

ford and Stanford Ballroom Dance Team, offer free dance workshops throughout the year.

Drama

Drama Department: drama.stanford.edu

You can take a class, try out for a production, or if you like working behind the scenes,

sign-up to work stage crew. The drama department produces a full season of theater




throughout the academic year on campus, open to students and the public. Beginning

classes such as Drama 103 and Drama 20 or 120A are great for actors of any skill level.

Student Performance Groups (the main ones)

Ram’s Head Theatrical Society: rams-head.stanford.edu . They put on Gaieties,

Winter One-Acts, and a spring musical.Robber Barons Sketch Comedy: robberbaronscomedy.com. Stanford’s sketch

comedy group that puts on a free, entirely original show every quarter.

Stanford Improvisers: simps.stanford.edu. Besides performing, SImps also act as

TAs for Drama 103: Beginning Improvising, which might just be the best class at

Stanford.

StanShakes: shakespeare.stanford.edu. I’ve never heard of this Shakespeare

character, but apparently he wrote a bunch of stuff. StanShakes performs two of

his plays—often utilizing creative outdoor spaces—each school year.

Stanford Theater Activist Mobilization Project (STAMP). Socially-conscious

theater.

Music

Stanford Music: music.stanford.edu is an umbrella organization including the Sym-

phony Orchestra, Symphonic Chorus, Chamber Chorale, University Singers, Choral Ac-

tivities, Wind Ensemble (Symphonic Band), Stanford Jazz Orchestra, Stanford Taiko,

Stanford Afro-Latin Jazz Ensemble, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet (University En-

semble-in-Residence).

Start your own band: find some friends, set up some practice times, and go. A few co-

ops and Kimball have music rooms; or, you can just about play anywhere you find the

space and respect (-ish) your neighbors. The CoHo and EBF Happy Hour are usually

available gigs depending on the type of music you play.




Athletics

Whether you’re on the field or in the stands, Stanford is known for its athletic prowess

and school spirit. Here’s how to get involved…

Players With top-of-the-line facilities, NCAA championship legacies, and Stanford’s 17 straight

U.S. Sports Academy Directors’ Cup titles (out of 18), it is no wonder Stanford attracts

top athletes from around the country each year. Regardless of whether you’re playing at

the top of your game, or just playing your game, Stanford is ideally suited to an athletic

lifestyle. Stanford’s varsity teams generally aren’t very accessible to non-recruited athletes,

although some teams have more space for them than others (in some years Crew has re-

lied on walk-ons to build a roster, and then gone on to win national championships).

Alternatively, club teams are a great option for those who still want to play at a very com-petitive level. Unfortunately, the Athletic Department does not have club teams for sports

that already have a varsity team. The upside: club sports tend to be a bit more unique.

Also, if the University doesn’t officially recognize a club (for example, girl’s soccer), usu-

ally the club exists anyways as a VSO (volunteer student organization, i.e. a student or-

ganization). For those just looking to have a good time with friends, Intramurals are sea-

sonal, low-key, and pressure-free, and you can always grab some friends and just play

a pick-up game.

Fans

If being on the field isn’t your thing, there’s always room in the stands. Depending on

the sport (and the season—if the team is not doing well, Stanford students have a ten-

dency to think hard about the opportunity costs of attending games), there are differ-

ent options for fans:

For most sports, admission for students is free. The only sports in which this rule does-

n’t apply are Football, Basketball, Soccer, Women’s Volleyball, and Baseball.

Men’s basketball fans can join 6th Man Club, which includes a 6th Man t-shirt to wear

to games, entrance to all Stanford Men’s Basketball home games, insider emails and game




recaps, special ticket offers, and free food. Plus, when the team is good, 6th Man mem-

bers have been known to camp out the night before games and cleverly heckle oppo-nents from the student section.

Women’s basketball fans have the Brickyard Club (similar perks to above, minus the

heckling), and women’s volleyball fans have the Block Party (similar perks, plus even

more heckling). For access to all games in all sports, you can get an All Axe-cess Pass;

if you just want to go to one, you can usually purchase a ticket at the door.

Cultural & Community Centers

All community centers are good community centers, though you may find that someare more suited your needs. The best way to find where you are most at ease is to visit

them. Many community centers have special programs just for freshmen, so you can use

this as a chance to get acclimated to both the center and school. Besides the free print-

ing that many of them offer (yeah, you heard us right), they also offer a wide range of

resources and support, from sponsoring tutors, hosting events that focus on life on cam-

pus and beyond, to providing a place to chill between classes. And for those of you who

feel that you suffer from white-male syndrome (i.e. feel center-less), have no fear. Com-

munity Centers have the tendency to embrace all that walk through the door, regard-less of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion or whatever.

Asian American Activities Center (A3C): http://a3c.stanford.edu

Black Community Services Center (BCSC): http://BCSC.stanford.edu

El Centro Chicano: http://elcentro.stanford.edu

Center for Latin American Studies: http://las.stanford.edu




Native American Cultural Center: http://nacc.stanford.edu

American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Program (AIANNHP):nacc.stanford.edu

Women’s Community Center: womenscntr.stanford.edu

LGBT Community Center: http://lgbt.stanford.edu

Greek Life

http://www.stanford.edu/dept/OSA/greek/

On any other college campus, Greek life can be a very contentious and divisive issue

among students on campus. But when has Stanford ever been like anywhere else? Here,

Greek life takes a variety of forms, from the traditional Animal House inspired craziness

at some of the more raucous frats to the more intellectually savvy places (*ahem* Phi

Psi). And one must not forget the large number of multicultural and AAFSA Fraterni-ties and Sororities here as well. Stanford even has co-ed business and community serv-

ice focused frats as well. But of all this is to say that as much as Greek life is alive and

kicking on campus, don’t feel like your social goes down the drain if you don’t join one.

If it’s not for you, trust me, you can find plenty of things to do to keep you busy.

Student Government

Associated Students of Stanford University

(ASSU)

assu.stanford.edu

The ASSU, like most student governments, is a fairly powerless institution. But if you

want any say in your representation, you should know a little about the ASSU. ASSU is

primarily responsible for student group finances and appropriations: they control over

one million dollars in funding and are able to provide student groups special funding

when necessary. See a free student group show on campus? You and every other student

are paying a few cents for it, via the ASSU. Not bad, considering many groups (fromsketch comedy to a capella to all kinds of dancing and singing groups) hold these free

shows.

The ASSU also hosts big campus events, such as Mausoleum Party on Halloween, and

tries to improve the school. Campus-wide elections are held every spring, but be

warned: like all politics, the ASSU has to deal with a huge and uncompromising bu-

reaucratic institution, dichotomous interests, and a lot of frustrated constituents.

Business Opportunities for Students

About Stanford Student Enterprises

Stanford Student Enterprises is a young organization with three core missions: 1) pro-

viding students a professional experience; 2) providing relevant services to students on

campus; and 3) contributing to the financial viability of the ASSU. Every time you trans-

act with SSE in mind, for example by visiting our Stanford Store in Tresidder Union or




using your Unofficial Guide, you are helping to support the 600+ groups on campus.

Thank you for your contribution.

If you are interested in a professional experience, making some money, and/or giving

back to the campus stop by our office to learn more about ways to get involved in SSE.

Here are just a few: Advertising

SSE Advertising produces the Stanford Unofficial Guide (the book you are reading

now), the Stanford Map, the Stanford Flyering Service, and the Stanford Directory. These

projects are funded by the advertisements SSE sells in them. SSE also sells advertising

on websites that have a Stanford specific audience. These websites are SUpost.com,

tusb.stanford.edu and stanfordreview.org.

Why you should get involved: SSE advertising allows student employees to gain first-hand advertising experience. The majority of our sales and product development is done

by students. We work with nearly 500 businesses to help them communicate their mes-

sage to the Stanford market. We do both print and online advertising and are always look-

ing to hire students who want to learn about advertising and make an impact on our

business. If you would like to find out more information, send an email to

[email protected] .

Capital Group

If you are interested in a job in banking or finance, Capital Group is an exciting place

to start your career. The Capital Group offers an array of banking services to student

groups and also manages over $13M in assets. In addition, CapGroup offers the premier

e-commerce solution for student groups seeking an online payment system.

Why you should get involved: CapGroup’s employees are extremely pro-

fessional and tight as a group—being a CGer is like being on a superstar

sports team! Paid Banking Associate positions are available.

Stanford Store

Simply put, the Stanford Store is the best place to get Stanford merchandise on cam-

pus. It provides hip new items at prices less than the bookstore.

Why you should get involved: Besides outfitting Stanford students and visitors, the

Store also provides a great opportunity to be part of a team that runs a full retail out-

let—from payments processing to branding. Paid Sales Associate positions are available.

SSE Development

Want to try your hand at starting a business on campus? Come join the SSE develop-

ment team where we partner with you by providing resources like capital and teammates

to create businesses to serve the Stanford community.

Why you should get involved: Hands down, the best first experience to being an en-

trepreneur—our advice, network, and teammates will most certainly increase your

chance of success.




SSE Business Internship Program

The Business Intern Program is the premier introduction to SSE for freshmen at Stan-

ford. A year-long internship program, participants help drive innovation in all of SSE’s

divisions. Participants go to team meetings and run their own projects. Along the way,

they learn from each other and the SSE upperclassmen. All efforts are celebrated at pro-gram social events, including company retreats.

The Business Internship Program is extremely competitive, but remember no prior busi-

ness experience is required. We are looking for talented members who will take all the

resources the BIP program offers and learn to grow into more senior roles at SSE.

Jobs

Many students have one or more part-time jobs while also being a student. If you are

looking for a job on campus, the best place to check out first is the Career Development

Center or their website. Other job opportunities can be found on mailing lists, in spe-

cific departments or institutions on campus, or with a given professor. Ask a faculty mem-

ber—worst comes to worst, they fire you and you don’t take their class.

Career Development Center (CDC)

cdc.stanford.edu. It’s their job to help you get a job.

Media and PublicationsThe Unofficial Stanford Blog: tusb.stanford.edu. Stanford’s open-content blog on

campus life, culture, and anything else you want to write about. Unrelated to the

Unofficial Guide, but we’ve teamed up to help write what you are reading right

now.

Stanford Chaparral: stanfordchaparral.com; Humor magazine. Weird, fratty

humor. A lot of drinking.

The Claw Magazine: theclawmagazine.com; Quarterly magazine of in-depth

pieces on arts and culture and related high-falutin things.

Stanford Daily: stanforddaily.com; Stanford’s daily newspaper.

The Dualist: stanford.edu/group/dualist ; Undergraduate journal of philosophy.

Does this magazine exist?

Stanford Flipside: stanfordflipside.com; weekly satire and puzzles.

Stanford Journal of International Relations: www.stanford.edu/group/sjir; Serious

things happening far away.

Leland Quarterly: lelandquarterly.com; Undergraduate literary magazine andrelated high-falutin things.

The Stanford Progressive: progressive.stanford.edu; The campus heavily-liberal-

leaning magazine of national politics. (At Stanford, moderate is equivalent to

moderately liberal).

The Stanford Review: stanfordreview.org; The campus conservative-leaning

magazine of national politics and local happenings.




Unofficial Guide to Stanford: Unofficial.stanford.edu; What you are reading right

now. Meta.

KZSU Radio Station: kzsu.stanford.edu; Located in the catacombs of MemAud,

KZSU is Stanford’s student radio station. You can have your own show on which

you can play music you like and talk about things that are important to you,

such as puppies and froyo.

SCBN-TV: www.stanford.edu/group/SCBN-TV ; Most Stanford students don’t watch

a lot of TV, but we do have our own TV station that produces its own shows.

Stanford Film Society: http://stanford.edu/group/sfs . Features film-making

workshops for beginners and advanced filmmakers and hosts the annual

Stanford Student Film Festival every spring.

Religious Life

The Office for Religious Life:

http://religiouslife.stanford.edu

The Dean, Senior Associate Dean, and Associate Dean for Religious Life provide lead-

ership, services and programming in matters of religion, spirituality and ethics. It is their

responsibility to support all religious traditions represented at Stanford. While each of

the three participates in and leads worship and study in his/her own religious commu-

nity, they also operate as a multifaith team to work with all students, faculty and staff of

the University, regardless of their religious background (or lack thereof). The Office forReligious Life oversees and supports Stanford Associated Religions (SAR): forty differ-

ent religious organizations invited to offer their spiritual services to the campus. In ad-

dition to SAR, there are also several religious groups on campus which affiliate solely

through the Office of Student Activities (OSA).

For a complete listing of religious groups on campus, along with their contact infor-

mation and description, visit http://www.stanford.edu/group/religiouslife/

aboutSAR.html.


Newman: The Catholic Community at Stanford

Stanford has wonderful opportunities for the academic community to pray, study,

play and serve. The Catholic Community is the largest religious group at Stanford

and offers virtually everything your home parish offers and perhaps more. Join us to

pray at Mass, the Rosary, Adoration, Benediction and more. Attend a weekend retreat

or enjoy one on campus.

Learn more about the faith and then put it into action by joining us to serve in the

great community service opportunities available. Visit with one of the priests, or lay

leaders on the staff and find friends who share the most precious aspect of your life.

catholic.stanford.edu



112 8—C ARDINAL COMMUNITY

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