by Dee Ann Durbin

          Don't mess with Texas. After all, what other state
boasts Ann Richards, Ross Perot and J. R. Ewing? Where else
do bumper stickers read, "I wasn't born here, but I got here
as fast as I could!" And, frankly, what other continental state 
has a club promoting it on Stanford's campus?
          The Stanford Texas Club is a new organization devoted
to celebrating all things Texan. Apparently, even the Lone Star
State's 267,339 square miles can't contain the fierce pride of 
its residents.
          Grace Wang, a junior and founder of the club, decided to 
start the club last year with a fellow Texan, junior David 
Wolitz, who is now in Berlin. They planned a club as a way of
sharing enthusiasm for the second-largest state in the nation.
          "Texas has an aura that I wanted to tap into," said Wang,
a native of San Antonio. "It has stories, rich cultural history,
legends."
          Wang admitted that the aura is part mythology, steeped
in cowboys, the Alamo and rough frontiers. But building up that
myth is part of the fun, she said.
          "The Alamo, Texas Rangers, cattle drives, Pace 
commercials -- so many images come to mind when you think
of Texas," she said. "And whatever it is it works."
          The first meeting of the club drew 40 people -- some of
whom arrived with Texas flags, cowboy hats and boots in tow. 
Also included was at least one Texophile.
          "Why did I come?" asked junior Jennifer Yu. The club's 
lone representative from Massachusetts, Yu is a former 
roommate of Wang's. "I lived for a year in this room with a big
Texas flag on the ceiling."
          Wang was pleased with the turnout and with the 
diversity of the interested students.
          "Even seniors and grad students came," said Wang. "They
don't come to anything."
          Still, she said she hopes more students will join -- the
bigger the better, as any Texan knows.
          For, now, the group is planning a number of events, 
including an end-of-the-year barbecue blowout and a Dallas
Cowboys party on Nov. 12. Wang also hopes the group will 
sponsor a speaker from Texas and will help the Admissions
Office recruit new Texans.
          "New clubs are hard to start because your enthusiasm
always has to be high," Wang said. Luckily, her task has been
made easier by the club's members, who live up to Texas' 
reputation for enthusiasm and friendliness.
          "The idea that it's a friendly state is not just an idea,"
Wang said.
          Club member Anna Rowland, a sophomore, agreed.
          "You'll be driving down the street, and some complete 
stranger will wave to you," Rowland said.
          All the Texans at the meeting agreed that friendliness
was one of their state's greatest assets. Food was another.
          "Friendliness is the most important. Then food," said
Debbie Rowland, a junior.
          "Cal-Mex is just not Tex-Mex," Wang said. "I mean, 
chicken and scallop fajitas? What's that?"
          Before long, a discussion of food in a room full of Texans 
inevitably leads to the supremacy of the Texas barbecue.
          "The difference is the quality of the meat and the sauce,"
said Travis Bowie, a freshman who used to work at a Texas 
barbecue. "People wearing cowboy hats and cowboy boots also
make it a Texas barbecue." For good measure, Bowie sported a 
pair of black cowboy boots.
          Wang also sang the praises of Texas barbecue. Her 
favorite joint in high school was Rudy's, a shack near her 
school which served huge portions of meat on wax paper. On the
side were a few slices of bread.
          Besides food, Wang has noticed a few other major 
differences between Texas and California.
          "Parallel parking is a foreign concept to me," she said.
"We have big miles of parking in Texas, huge lots."
          On the positive side, she admitted that the weather in 
California is much better -- cooler and less humid -- and pay
is higher.
          Still, there is a longing for Texas in these club members'
hearts.
          "Texas gets a bad rap sometimes," said Rowland. "There
are lots of jokes, and people make fun of the language."
          For her, the club helps counter some of this.
          "Being far away, it's nice to know that there's people you 
have things in common with," she said.
          Thanks to Wang, the stars at night are big and bright, 
deep in the heart of ... Stanford.