Stanford University - Fun Facts and Hard Acts to Follow

Although almost everyone interested in higher education is familiar with Stanford's reputation as one of the foremost universities in the world, these "fun facts" and hard acts to follow may still surprise you.

1. Many famous celebrities have attended classes at The Farm, as it is affectionately called. Here's a list of some of the most well-known alumni:

• Former presidents Herbert Hoover and John F. Kennedy (who later dropped out of their MBA program).
• Actors Reese Witherspoon (who has been on a leave since 1996), Sigourney Weaver and Ted Danson (who later transferred to Carnegie Mellon University).
• Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
• Entrepreneurs Phil Knight (co-founder of Nike), Doris Fisher (co-founder of The Gap), Steve Ballmer (former CEO of Microsoft) and Reed Hastings (co-founder of Netflix).
• Writers John Steinbeck (who attended intermittently) and Tobias Wolff.
• Broadcast journalists Ted Koppel (of Nightline fame) and Rachel Maddow.
• Athletes John Elway and Tiger Woods (who only attended for two years), and 
• Astronaut Sally Ride, the first woman to enter space.

(http://www.businessinsider.com/famous-stanford-students-2011-6?op=1)

2. There are more than 25 fountains at Stanford. Although originally created for their aesthetic beauty, they are now more well-known for the student tradition of "fountain hopping" around campus. According to stanfordpedia (yes, that is a real website), "it typically takes place during Admit Weekend, during Orientation, after finals, on a nice sunny day, or just out of spontaneity." (http://stanfordpedia.wikidot.com/fountain-hopping)

3. The Stanford Shopping Center, an upscale, outdoor shopping center (that houses such major department stores as Nordstroms, Neiman-Marcus, Bloomingdales and Macy's), is actually part of the Stanford campus and has a fascinating history. 

When Stanford University faced a financial bind after a drop in enrollment during World War II and a boom in matriculation afterwards, it needed a way to generate revenue. This task was made more difficult by the fact that university officials were not allowed to sell any of the original 8,800 acres endowed by its founders, Leland and Jane Stanford. Fortunately, the Vice President for Business Affairs at Stanford found a way to comply with this regulation and still generate some much needed income for the university -- by leasing space to a commercial real estate company. Thus, the concept of The Stanford Shopping Center was born, and "excavators broke ground in 1954 on what was once Leland Stanford's vineyard." ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Shopping_Center)

Interestingly, the Stanford Shopping Center today is also known for being dog-friendly, since well-behaved dogs are welcome around the mall as well as inside many of the stores. Imagine finding yourself shopping for cosmetics next to Fido the next time you visit Macy's! (It actually happened to me.) (http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/travel/uscities/guides/w/FOLDERca/wonlineca6178585st.shtml)

4. The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) bills itself as the "World's Largest Rock and Roll Band" and has become infamous all over the U.S. for its irreverent sense of humor, cutting-edge musical arrangements and bad fashion sense. This wasn't always the case though. Once upon a time (actually for the first 70 years after the university was founded), LSJUMB actually behaved like most other college bands, marching in straight lines, playing traditional marches and wearing impeccable uniforms. 

All that changed, however, after the school's beloved band director was dismissed during a reorganization of the music department in the 1960s. The Stanford marching band reacted by going on strike and refused to go onto the field for the first two football games under its new director, graduate student Arthur Barnes. In an attempt to salvage what was left of the season, Barnes made an offer to his students: if they would start playing at football games again, the band could be a student-run organization.

Of course, the group readily accepted their new leader's offer. Yet, things didn't turn out quite as neatly as the university expected due to the influence that the counterculture revolution of the 1960s had on the newly reorganized band. Over the next decade, the students opted to trade in their prim military-style uniforms for white fishing hats and gaudy red blazers; they decided to scatter rather than march onto the field; and, to make matters even worse, they chose to play rock 'n roll music - a well-known threat to musical respectability - rather than traditional band marches at their football games! (http://lsjumb.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/drupal-7.4/history)

The band's reputation for hijinks still continues today, although not only during football games. The LSJMB now plays for all types of sporting events, including rugby, water polo, sailing and even chess. They've been know to show up in a classroom or in one of the fountains (I mentioned earlier) and will eagerly play at a wedding, bar mitzvah or funeral when invited. As you can see, they're anything but your typical halftime show! (http://lsjumb.stanford.edu/cgi-bin/drupal-7.4/about)

5. I'll end this essay with a note about how Stanford students end their academic years at this renowned institution. They do what's called the Wacky Walk, a relatively new tradition that takes place during the first minutes of their graduation ceremony. Instead of participating in the traditional entrance march , Stanford students parade or even run all together into the stadium. Some carry placards thanking their respective parents; many dress in original costumes of their choosing; while still others join forces with fellow students to enact toga party themes or assemble group formations, such as a giant soccer ball or caterpillar. Feel free to take a look at this wacky, organized campus chaos on Stanford's official video: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIivxBIRq78)

Well, there you have it -- fun facts about and hard acts to follow at Stanford, a prestigious university with impressive alums and students that like to show their school spirit in many creative and nontraditional ways.