Stanford Facts: Campus Life
Stanford Housing
Stanford University is a residential teaching and research university. About 6,200 undergraduates and about 4,350 graduate students live on campus, allowing for a blending of academic and residential life. Undergraduate campus housing is guaranteed for four years for entering freshmen. Approximately 95 percent of all undergraduates registered at the home campus live in on-campus housing, with 5 percent residing at overseas campuses or the Bing Stanford in Washington Program.
The undergraduate housing system includes 78 very diverse residential facilities, including academic-focus, language and culture, and cross-cultural houses; student-managed row-type houses; apartments; suites; and traditional residence halls. Faculty or senior staff serve as live-in resident fellows in residences that house first-year students, in academic-focus houses and in some houses for upperclassmen. About 13 percent of students join one of the 17 fraternities or 11 sororities recognized on campus. Seven fraternities and three sororities offer housing. Stanford Dining provides more than 3 million meals annually to undergraduate students and conference guests.
Housing on campus for graduate students consists of university-owned apartments, residence halls and spaces in cooperative houses. Graduate students also live off campus in university-subsidized apartments. Overall, about 55 percent of graduate students live in university housing.
Student Organizations and Student Government
About 630 organized student groups are recognized at Stanford, covering a range of interests: academic, international, political, environmental, religious, ethnic, social, community service and recreational. Student publications include The Stanford Daily newspaper. The Associated Students of Stanford University is the representative government for Stanford students.
Lively Arts
Stanford offers many cultural programs open to the public, including Stanford Lively Arts, which sponsors music, dance and theater performances by world-famous artists. Lively Arts also offers master classes, extended residencies, workshops, lecture/demonstrations and group discussions, as well as community and student programs. Call (650) 725-ARTS (2787).
Religious Life
There are about 40 recognized religious organizations on the Stanford campus. In addition to a wide range of Christian groups, there are the Hillel Foundation and Chabad, the Islamic Society, Ismaili Student Association, the Baha’i Association, the Hindu Student Council, the ISKCON Student Assocation, the Unitarian Universalists, the Buddhist Community and the World Peace Buddhists. The Center for Inter-Religious Community, Learning and Experiences (CIRCLE) is located in Old Union. The university’s support of the Office for Religious Life presumes that faith and spiritual quest are consonant with the academy’s most vital pursuits of meaning and purpose. Call (650) 723-1762 or visit http://religiouslife.stanford.edu.
Public Service
The Haas Center for Public Service provides service opportunities, including summer and postgraduate fellowships; integration of service experience with classroom learning; community-based research; public service leadership training; community programs serving children and youth; and advising on national service options after graduation. The center supports nearly 20 staffed programs and many student organizations, and works with faculty who offer 75 service-learning courses and community-based research projects. Visit http://haas.stanford.edu or call (650) 723-0992.
More than 70 student organizations, special projects and school-based programs across campus provide undergraduates and graduate students with opportunities to serve. These range from law clinics, including the Community Law Clinic in East Palo Alto, to the Business School's Public Management Program; the Medical School’s Office of Community Health; Athletics’ Community Outreach program; and the School of Engineering’s Office of Engineering and Public Service. Stanford’s eight community centers and four ethnic theme houses offer outreach programs that provide educational services for underserved youth, language assistance and cultural events.
Campus Safety
The Stanford University Department of Public Safety is a multi-service agency providing law enforcement, security, safety, crime prevention and emergency services on the Stanford campus 24 hours a day. Public Safety employs sworn personnel holding the rank of deputy sheriff, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and chief, as well as non-sworn community service officers, special events personnel and support staff. The Stanford Safety and Security Almanac is provided to the campus community in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Crime Statistics Act. See http://police.stanford.edu for more information. Public Safety is located at 711 Serra Street, next to the Fire Station at the corner of Campus Drive and Serra Street. The business phone number is (650) 723-9633.
Getting Around
Biking is one the most popular forms of on-campus transportation, and Stanford provides more than 12,000 bicycle parking spaces to meet cyclists’ needs. Although freshmen may not bring cars to campus, the free Marguerite shuttle system provides connections to local transit, shopping and dining. Zipcar car sharing and Enterprise rentals are options. Call the Parking & Transportation Services at (650) 723-9362 or visit http://transportation.stanford.edu.
Stanford Traditions
Big Game
The annual football game against the University of California, Berkeley, Golden Bears is Big Game. It is preceded by Gaieties, a student-produced musical follies.
Full Moon on the Quad
Freshmen are kissed at midnight by seniors under the first full moon of Autumn Quarter.
