It is a common expectation that college can, and will, challenge your previously held beliefs. These four years promise a plethora of experiences to help either re-evaluate or re-affirm your viewpoints.
Thus, in the spirit of transformation, below are a few of the paradigm shifts I encountered upon entering Stanford, with respect to a few supposed rules and maxims:
Stop Signs
A red octagonal signboard perched atop a steel pole — this was what I had previously regarded as the pinnacle of recognizable design. The sign – distinctive in color and shape, displaying in all-capital letters “STOP,” — is something I assumed to be universally discernible, though at Stanford, this symbol seems completely foreign.
In my first weeks, I was confounded by bikers who sped past intersections with little regard to these plaintive signs.
Regardless, the campus police seem to share my misunderstanding. Therefore, it seems advisable to interpret these ambiguous letters as “stop,” at least until it their true elusive meaning becomes more popularly known.
No Free Lunch
Entering college, having internalized the saying “there is no such thing as a free lunch,” I was amazed by countless complimentary meals present at nearly every afternoon and evening event. The promise of free food subheads most event promotions, and leftovers from across campus seem to make their way into dorm lobbies constantly.
Although some may argue that these meals are paid for by time, I don’t think of participation as payment, but as another free perk. Whether I’m enjoying gratuitous food with free entertainment, free networking, free advice or free learning, attending a free food event is easily a double-win.
Takeout Food
Prior to my college dining experiences, I had assumed all-you-can-eat granted you exactly that: all the food you could eat. It seems that students here take a rather liberal interpretation of this definition, and perhaps it would be more fitting to clarify it as: all the food you can eat — tonight and tomorrow morning.
I watch takeout being whisked from Lagunita Dining — a practice I may or may not partake in — with varying degrees of discretion. I assume that people are not consuming fruit-and-cereal-only meals in Lag’s outdoor seating, but are instead scavenging for tomorrow morning’s breakfast.
Clarification: I have, once, lunched with someone who only ate a bunch of bananas, so this generalization clearly doesn’t apply to all dining hall fruit hoarders.
Traffic Directions
In the spirit of diversity and inclusiveness, it is considerate that Stanford has presumably adopted both left-side and right-side traffic flows for student bikers.
Whether this is effective at rush hours along the narrow, unlined paths behind the main quad — well, that is another consideration entirely.
Contact Irene Han at irenehan ‘at’ stanford.edu.