In an inaugural event at Mars Wednesday night, Stanford football general manager Andrew Luck ’12 M.A. ’23 administered a turkey pardon in celebration of Big Game week, which is the week before Thanksgiving.
As he addressed a crowd of nearly 100 students on the Mars lawn, Luck emphasized his nostalgia for his time on the Stanford football team as its former quarterback. A well-known figure in Stanford Athletics history, Luck was selected as the first overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.
“For generations, Stanford football has faithfully executed two great American traditions: dedicating the week before Thanksgiving to dominating that school across the Bay and creating fun experiences that no other student body would ever, ever, ever think of, certainly not tonight,” Luck said.
Dash Beavers ’26, Odin Farkas ’26, Susanna Newsom ’26 and Erin Ye ’26, this year’s Mars Residential Assistants (RAs), designed the event after the presidential turkey pardon, parodying an annual White House tradition in which the nation’s leader spares a turkey from Thanksgiving tables. The practice officially began with George H.W. Bush in 1989 and has continued ever since.
Ye held Tom, a turkey on loan from Pastorino Farms of San Mateo, as Luck gave his pardoning speech.
Students cheered and joined Luck in chants of “beat Cal” as Tom basked under red floodlights and phone cameras.
“This is Stanford, the whimsy is Stanford,” attendee Mercer Weis ’26 said. “I didn’t know a turkey could get me to think that Stanford is going to win this game.”
For the turkey pardon organizers, Wednesday’s event was about bringing the fall quarter to a close with school pride.
“The event was more successful than we ever could’ve dreamed,” Newsom said. “The crowd was going wild, Andrew Luck was revving up the energy and the turkey was performing like he’d just been drafted first overall.”
Beavers took the time to reflect on the levity the event brought at the close of midterm season, on the precipice of finals. As students grow increasingly busy, Beavers said he hopes they can draw on moments like these as a source of community spirit.
“We have the ability to create the culture that we want to see on campus,” Beavers said. “And we want to see turkeys getting pardoned by Andrew Luck. If [this event] ramps up school spirit and people are more inclined to go to Big Game and participate in the wackier side of campus, I think everyone wins. I hope it becomes an annual tradition that I can come back to in 25 years and say I had a part in.”
Luck ended his speech by urging the audience to attend Saturday’s football game and show the robust support he hopes to see in the stands.
“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the students of Stanford for being here and cheering on the team,” Luck said. “We appreciate you guys. There is no greater school in the world and no greater home for the Stanford Axe.”