The Spirit of Stanford by Bryan and Tatum The spirit of Stanford is a truly unique and vital part of the university. Though Stanford's spirit cannot accurately be described only experienced, through a series of pictures, videos, and links, we will do our best to present the Stanford spirit to you. With the largest contiguous campus in the United States, there is plenty of beauty and California sun for students to enjoy. Although many students enjoy relaxation and leisure on the lawn of Stanford's Oval, others enjoy the weather while busying themselves with their studies.
Here students take a study break to toss around a frisbee across from Meyer library on a beautiful spring day. Nearly all of campus is active whether they like to go for a run around the dish, join a pickup basketball game, or toss a frisbee.
Most Stanford students own a bike, a trend that makes the Stanford active, easy to get around, and environmentally friendly.
While Stanford is certainly home to many extracurricular activities, as an academic institution an atmosphere of intellectual freedom and innovation thrives on campus. Students can take advantage of many opportunities to get involved from research during the year or over the summer to classes taught by worldclass faculty. Stanford students love to soak up the sun, while always keeping an eye on their studies. Students take advantage of the several grassy areas to study outside on any given beautiful day. Classes too are even hosted outside on particularly beautiful days.
Not only a universally recognized symbol of Stanford that appears in almost any visitor's photos, Memorial Church represents Stanford's religious community. Masses for several denominations are held daily and several times a day on Sunday. For many Stanford students, faith plays an integral part of their experience at this tremendous university. MemChu, as Memorial Church is often called, allows Stanford students to connect spiritually as well, with their faith and each other. While Stanford is home to over a hundred diverse student groups from Taiko, a cappella, and academic groups to drama companies, cultural clubs, and athletic clubs, one group known to particularly embody Stanford's spirit or at least its wilder side is the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band seen below performing Boston's Foreplay and Muse's Knights of Cydonia at UC Davis' annual battle of the bands.
The Stanford spirit is also well embodied by many of its tradition. One well practiced tradition among many students is known as fountain hopping. The concept is simple, yet surprisingly fun and incredibly useful on a warm day. Just find a fountain and hop in. Feel free to go for a swim, splash around, run around to make whirlpools, or just float there. Like much of the Stanford spirit, it's up to you to make it your own. Stanford's spirit is to diverse to be summed up in a single description and so there is no wrong way to do anything, just the Stanford way.
Other traditions help capture the spirit that Stanford has created throughout its current students and alumni, including the Circle of Death. Although the Circle of Death may be seen as a simple, crowded intersection to visitors, Stanford residents know it to hold more value. One oral tradition of this location is that many years ago the intersection was simply a four-way mess, with no guidance or protection for those who passed through. Some Stanford students organized a team of conductors who moved traffic and reduced bike accidents. Eventually, students petitioned for a median to be placed in the middle of the intersection. Placed at the southeast corner of the Main Quad, the Circle of Death is passage connecting Freshman classes, White Plaza, and many undergraduate houses together. It is, in a sense, a rite of passage to pass through the Circle. Like Stanford University itself, this intersection is a flowing whirlpool of diversity and culture. Every passerby must enter the circle with wide eyes and nerves of steel, just like Stanford students must do when they enter the University. Indeed, according to the story told above, Stanford students forever marked this spot with their eager leadership and outspokenness. These qualities also embody much of the Stanford spirit.