Overheard at Stanford is a biweekly column written by Linden Hansen ’28. Hansen takes notable quotes she hears around campus and develops them further — whether they be insightful, astonishing or humorous! No matter what, they are guaranteed to represent the pulse of the student body.
“She could have some cool conversations with people.”
— A student at Coupa Café one sunny morning
My hometown friend visited this past weekend. She goes to college at a massive public university where she takes an elevator up to her dorm room and frats are more like small countries. Naturally, I felt some pressure to make sure she had a grand old time, especially at Stanford, the school that “hates fun.” We’ve all heard it, and I wanted to disprove that tired old mantra.
When she got here early Friday morning, I immediately swept her away to Casper Dining, but not before we stopped to speak with a friend, his grandma, another friend and another friend, who then joined us for our meal. After pulled-pork sliders and potato salad, we were off to math lecture, where more conversations ensued.
Finally, on the other side of matrix algebra, the Farm was our oyster.
When considering how to ensure that three days of jam-packed fun lay ahead of us, I wrote a comprehensive list of activities to do and places to visit. It had been building slowly in my Notes app, bulleted with care. A bike tour through campus, a trip to Trader Joe’s, a tour of Green Library, strawberry matcha at the campus bookstore, a KSig party and a West Lag pregame? All the classics. But then again, what is “fun?” Maybe the things I thought were fun were just alright. Maybe the real fun was hidden in plain sight, in the little things we shared over the weekend.
Yes, my friend’s eyes lit up every time we discovered an unturned stone — Maruwu Seicha, the shiny new matcha shop on University Avenue, for example. But they also shimmered when we traversed the simple paths I walk every day and met the people who’ve become constant characters in my life. I saw my world anew through her eyes: our campus is beautiful, it is huge and the 19-year-olds in my hall are, in fact, CEOs.
Which brings me, finally, to the people — a highlight of any trip to Stanford, if you ask me. People at this school want to get to know you — all of your ins and outs, not just your name, pronouns, hometown and major. There’s a reason those four words are a monotonous joke after the Gaieties anthem this fall: the go-to spiel is just not cutting it anymore. We, the students of Stanford, want fears, loves and biggest flops.
I won’t forget when we walked into a friend’s room in West Lag and saw a DJ setup fantastically assembled in the corner. Bea — my hometown friend and seasoned DJ herself— immediately ran over and, with a giggle, begged the DJ mixing for a turn. He was reluctant to permit foreign hands on his controller, but they struck up an exchange over their shared passion for music and dance. There, worlds collided: on one hand, my dear friend of many years, and on the other, a new acquaintance from the new chapter in my life.
In the end, compared to a Big Ten school, Stanford’s social scene is… interesting. Instead of massive speakers blowing hordes of dancers into oblivion and handles passing left and right, you just might get the chance to “have some cool conversations,” as the student I overheard outside Coupa Café put it. Rather than be concerned with what you’re doing, I feel it’s more about who you’re doing it with and how you appreciate it — a valuable notion that, if done right, ensures fun every time.