Dry vs. Wet

The good Senator first wanted to build his college at the town of Mayfield but insisted that Mayfield become dry. When the citizens objected, he moved the site to the neighboring hamlet of Pale alto, which obligingly passed an anti-liquor law. By moving the local railroad station from Mayfield to Pale Alto, the former was easily reduced to a suburb of the latter. Pale Alto is still a dry town, and a group of bars do a wonderful business just across the town line.

A cornerstone of Stanford life is the honor code. This is similar tote Radcliffe plan, with no proctors at exams. The freshmen receive a very strong indoctrination into the spirit of the code, which is pictured to them as an essential part of Stanford life. The code is enforced by a student court, which has often expelled students for cheating. One attitude expressed is, "Usually I'd try to see what I can get away with, but they pull this honor business on you and you're stuck." Coupled with the Honor Code is the Fundamental Standard, which says, "Students are expected to show both within and without the university such respect for order, morality, personal honor, and the rights of others as is demanded of good citizens."

Patrons

Stanford has two patron saints, who are the university's prime benefactors. The first of these is, of course, Senator Stanford. He is regularly honored on Founder's Day, a Stanford holiday. The other is Herbert Hoover, the school's leading alumnus. Long a member of the Board of Trustees, he sponsored the Hoover Memorial Library of War, Revolution, and Peace, the university's land-mark.

Stanford was once considered a "rich mans" school, but like Harvard, it now has students from all income brackets. It rose to the demand of World War II's veterans by almost doubling its enrollment to 8000. The position of a student working his way through the college is considerably eased by a university policy of providing many money earning opportunities for students. There is no social stigma attached to such work, for the late president, Donald B. Tresidder, as well as many student leaders, followed that same route.

Republicanism

Politically, Stanford is traditionally Republican. It is hard to tell what the sentiments of the student body are because there are no political clubs, and partisan politicians are not allowed to speak on campus. This removes from Stanford life the stormy political controversies that are so prominent at Harvard.

Thus the whole picture of Stanford life creates a situation precisely opposite to that at Harvard. Harvard's variety and emphasis on individuality give way at Stanford to an atmosphere that is responsible for the "Stanford spirit," an atmosphere of what some would call unity and others conformity