Student body

More information Race and ethnicity, Total ...

Undergraduate demographics as of Fall 2020
Race and ethnicity^[247]	Total
White	29%	29
Asian	25%	25
Hispanic	17%	17
Non-resident Foreign nationals	11%	11
Other^{[lower-alpha 1]}	10%	10
Black	7%	7
Native American	1%	1
Economic diversity
Low-income^{[lower-alpha 2]}	18%	18
Affluent^{[lower-alpha 3]}	82%	82

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Stanford enrolled 6,996 undergraduate and 10,253 graduate students in the 2019–2020 school year. Women made up 50.4% of undergraduates and 41.5% of graduate students.^[154] In the same academic year, the freshman retention rate was 99%. Stanford awarded 1,819 undergraduate degrees, 2,393 master's degrees, 770 doctoral degrees, and 3270 professional degrees in the 2018–2019 school year.^[154] The four-year graduation rate for the class of 2017 cohort was 72.9%, and the six-year rate was 94.4%.^[154] The relatively low four-year graduation rate is a function of the university's coterminal degree (or "coterm") program, which allows students to earn a master's degree as a 1-to-2-year extension of their undergraduate program.^[248] In 2010, 15% of undergraduates were first-generation students.^[249]

Dormitories and student housing

By 2013, 89% of undergraduate students lived in on-campus university housing. First-year undergraduates are required to live on campus, and all undergraduates are guaranteed housing for all four undergraduate years.^[154]^[250] Undergraduates live in 80 different houses, including dormitories, co-ops, row houses, and fraternities and sororities.^[251] At Manzanita Park, 118 mobile homes were installed as "temporary" housing from 1969 to 1991, but have become the site of newer dorms Castano, Kimball, Lantana, and the Humanities House, completed in 2015.^[252]^[253] Most student residences are just outside the campus core, within ten minutes (on foot or bike) of most classrooms and libraries. Some are reserved for freshmen, sophomores, or upper-class students and some are open to all four classes. Most residences are co-ed; seven are all-male fraternities, three are all-female sororities, and there is also one all-female non-sorority house, Roth House. In most residences, men and women live on the same floor, but some have single-gender floors.^[254]

Several residences are considered "theme" houses; predating the current classification system are Columbae (Social Change Through Nonviolence, since 1970),^[255] and Synergy (Exploring Alternatives, since 1972).^[256] The Academic, Language, and Culture Houses include EAST (Education and Society Themed House), Hammarskjöld (International Themed House), Haus Mitteleuropa (Central European Themed House), La Casa Italiana (Italian Language and Culture), La Maison Française (French Language and Culture House), Slavianskii Dom (Slavic/East European Themed House), Storey (Human Biology Themed House), and Yost (Spanish Language and Culture). Cross-Cultural Themed Houses include Casa Zapata (Chicano/Latino Theme in Stern Hall), Muwekma-tah-ruk (American Indian/Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian Themed House), Okada (Asian-American Themed House in Wilbur Hall), and Ujamaa (Black/African-American Themed House in Lagunita Court). Focus Houses include Freshman-Sophomore College (Academic Focus), Branner Hall (Community Service), Kimball (Arts & Performing Arts), Crothers (Global Citizenship), and Toyon (Sophomore Priority).^[251] Co-ops or "Self-Ops" are another housing option.

Thumb — Many students use bicycles to get around the large campus

These houses feature cooperative living, where residents and eating associates each contribute work to keep the house running, such as cooking meals or cleaning shared spaces. These houses have unique themes around which their community is centered. Many co-ops are hubs of music, art and philosophy. The co-ops on campus are 576 Alvarado Row (formerly Chi Theta Chi), Columbae, Enchanted Broccoli Forest (EBF), Hammarskjöld, Kairos, Terra (the unofficial LGBT house),^[257] and Synergy.^[258] Phi Sigma, at 1018 Campus Drive was formerly Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, but in 1973 became a Self-Op.^[259] By 2015, 55 percent of the graduate student population lived on campus.^[260] Stanford also subsidizes off-campus apartments in nearby Palo Alto, Menlo Park, and Mountain View for graduate students who are guaranteed on-campus housing but are unable to live on campus due to a lack of space.^[261]

Athletics

Thumb — The Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band rallies football fans with arrangements of "All Right Now" and other contemporary music

In 2016, Stanford had sixteen male varsity sports and twenty female varsity sports,^[262] nineteen club sports,^[263] and about 27 intramural sports.^[264] The Stanford Tree is the Stanford Band's mascot and the unofficial mascot of Stanford University. Stanford's team name is the "Cardinal", referring to the vivid Stanford Cardinal Red color (not the common songbird as at several other schools); the university does not have an official mascot. The Tree has been called one of America's most bizarre and controversial college mascots;^[265] it regularly appears at the top of Internet "worst mascot" lists,^[266]^[267]^[268]^[269] but has also appeared on at least one list of top mascots.^[270] The Tree is a member of the Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band (LSJUMB) and appears at football games, basketball games, and other events where the band performs.^[271]

In 1930, following a unanimous vote by the executive committee for the Associated Students, the athletic department adopted a new mascot (Indian). The Indian symbol and name were dropped by President Richard Lyman in 1972, after objections from Native American students and a vote by the student senate.^[272] Stanford is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference in most sports, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in several other sports, and the America East Conference in field hockey with the participation in the inter-collegiate NCAA's Division I FBS.^[273] The two official colors of the university are Stanford Cardinal Red and Palo Alto Green.^[274]

From 1930 until 1972, Stanford's sports teams had been known as the Indians and during the period from 1951 to 1972, Prince Lightfoot (portrayed by Timm Williams, a member of the Yurok tribe) was the official mascot. But in 1972, Native American students and staff members successfully lobbied University President Richard Lyman to abolish the "Indian" name along with what they had come to perceive as an offensive and demeaning mascot. Stanford's teams reverted unofficially to the name "Cardinal", the color that had represented the school before 1930.^[275]

From 1972 until 1981, Stanford’s official nickname was the Cardinal, but, during this time, there was debate among students and administrators concerning what the mascot and team name should be. A 1972 student referendum on the issue was in favor of restoring the Indian, while a second 1975 referendum was against. The 1975 vote included new suggestions, many alluding to the industry of the school's founder, tycoon Leland Stanford: the Robber Barons, the Sequoias, the Trees, the Cardinals, the Railroaders, the Spikes, and the Huns. Its traditional sports rival is the University of California, Berkeley. The winner of the annual "Big Game" between the Cal and Cardinal football teams gains custody of the Stanford Axe.^[276]

As of May 23, 2024, Stanford has won 136 NCAA team championships, more than any other school. Stanford has won at least one NCAA team championship each academic year for 48 consecutive years, from 1976–77 through to 2023–24.^[277] As of January 1, 2022, Stanford athletes have also won 529 NCAA individual championships. No other Division I school is within 100 of Stanford's total.^[278] Stanford have won 25 consecutive NACDA Directors' Cups, from 1994–1995 through to 2018–19, awarded annually to the most successful overall college sports program in the nation.^[277] 177 Stanford-affiliated athletes have won a total of 296 Summer Olympic medals (150 gold, 79 silver, 67 bronze), including 26 medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 27 medals at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.^[277] In the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, Stanford-affiliated athletes won 26 medals, more than any other university.^[279]

Traditions

"Hail, Stanford, Hail!" is the Stanford hymn sometimes sung at ceremonies or adapted by the various university singing groups. It was written in 1892 by mechanical engineering professor Albert W. Smith and his wife, Mary Roberts Smith (in 1896 she earned the first Stanford doctorate in economics and later became associate professor of sociology), but was not officially adopted until after a performance on campus in March 1902 by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.^[280]^[281]
Big Game: The central football rivalry between Stanford and UC Berkeley. First played in 1892, and for a time played by the universities' rugby teams, it is one of the oldest college rivalries in the United States.
The Stanford Axe: A trophy earned by the winner of Big Game, exchanged only as necessary. The axe originated in 1899 when Stanford yell leader Billy Erb wielded a lumberman's axe to inspire the team. Stanford lost, and the Axe was stolen by Berkeley students following the game. In 1930, Stanford students staged an elaborate heist to recover the Axe. In 1933, the schools agreed to exchange it as a prize for winning Big Game. As of 2021, a restaurant centrally located on Stanford's campus is named "The Axe and Palm" in reference to the Axe.^[282]
Big Game Gaieties: In the week ahead of Big Game, a 90-minute original musical (written, composed, produced, and performed by the students of Ram's Head Theatrical Society) is performed in Memorial Auditorium.^[283]
Full Moon on the Quad: An annual event at Main Quad, where students gather to kiss one another starting at midnight. Typically organized by the junior class cabinet, the festivities include live entertainment, such as music and dance performances.^[284]
The Stanford Marriage Pact: An annual matchmaking event where thousands of students complete a questionnaire about their values and are subsequently matched with the best person for them to make a "marriage pact" with.^[285]^[286]^[287]^[288]
Fountain Hopping: At any time of year, students tour Stanford's main campus fountains to dip their feet or swim in some of the university's 25 fountains.^[284]^[289]^[290]
Mausoleum Party: An annual Halloween party at the Stanford Mausoleum, the final resting place of Leland Stanford Jr. and his parents. A 20-year tradition, the Mausoleum party was on hiatus from 2002 to 2005 due to a lack of funding, but was revived in 2006.^[284]^[291] In 2008, it was hosted in Old Union rather than at the actual Mausoleum, because rain prohibited generators from being rented.^[292] In 2009, after fundraising efforts by the Junior Class Presidents and the ASSU Executive, the event was able to return to the Mausoleum despite facing budget cuts earlier in the year.^[293]
Wacky Walk: At commencement, graduates forgo a more traditional entrance and instead stride into Stanford Stadium in a large procession wearing wacky costumes.^[290]^[294]
Steam Tunneling: Stanford has a network of underground brick-lined tunnels that conduct central heating to more than 200 buildings via steam pipes. Students sometimes navigate the corridors, rooms, and locked gates, carrying flashlights and water bottles.^[295] Stanford Magazine named steam tunneling one of the "101 things you must do" before graduating from the Farm in 2000.^[296]
Band Run: An annual festivity at the beginning of the school year, where the band picks up freshmen from dorms across campus while stopping to perform at each location, culminating in a finale performance at Main Quad.^[284]
Viennese Ball: A formal ball with waltzes that was initially started in the 1970s by students returning from the now-closed (since 1987) Stanford in Vienna overseas program. It is now open to all students.^[297]
The long-unofficial motto of Stanford, selected by President Jordan, is "Die Luft der Freiheit weht."^[298] Translated from the German language, this quotation from Ulrich von Hutten means, "The wind of freedom blows." The motto was controversial during World War I, when anything in German was suspect; at that time the university disavowed that this motto was official.^[1] It was made official by way of incorporation into an official seal by the board of trustees in December 2002.^[299]
Degree of Uncommon Man/Uncommon Woman: Stanford does not award honorary degrees,^[300]^[301] but in 1953 the "degree of Uncommon Man/Uncommon Woman" was created by Stanford Associates, part of the Stanford alumni organization, to recognize alumni who give rare and extraordinary service to the university. It is awarded not at prescribed intervals, but instead only when the president of the university deems it appropriate to recognize extraordinary service. Recipients include Herbert Hoover, Bill Hewlett, Dave Packard, Lucile Packard, and John Gardner.^[302]
Former campus traditions include the Big Game bonfire on Lake Lagunita (a seasonal lake usually dry in the fall), which was formally ended in 1997 because of the presence of endangered salamanders in the lake bed.^[303]

Religious life

Students and staff at Stanford are of many different religions. The Stanford Office for Religious Life's mission is "to guide, nurture and enhance spiritual, religious and ethical life within the Stanford University community" by promoting enriching dialogue, meaningful ritual, and enduring friendships among people of all religious backgrounds. It is headed by a dean with the assistance of a senior associate dean and an associate dean. Stanford Memorial Church, in the center of campus, has a Sunday University Public Worship service (UPW) usually in the "Protestant Ecumenical Christian" tradition where the Memorial Church Choir sings and a sermon is preached usually by one of the Stanford deans for Religious Life. UPW sometimes has multifaith services. In addition, the church is used by the Catholic community and the other Christian denominations at Stanford. Weddings happen most Saturdays and the university has allowed blessings of same-gender relationships and legal weddings.^[304]

In addition to the church, the Office for Religious Life has a Center for Inter-Religious Community, Learning, and Experiences (CIRCLE) on the third floor of Old Union. It offers a common room, an interfaith sanctuary, a seminar room, a student lounge area, and a reading room, as well as offices housing a number of Stanford Associated Religions (SAR) member groups and the Senior Associate Dean and Associate Dean for Religious Life. Most though not all religious student groups belong to SAR. The SAR directory includes organizations that serve atheist, Bahá’í, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim, Jewish, and Sikh groups, though these groups vary year by year.^[305] The Windhover Contemplation Center was dedicated in October 2014, and was intended to provide spiritual sanctuary for students and staff in the midst of their course and work schedules; the center displays the "Windhover" paintings by Nathan Oliveira, the late Stanford professor and artist.^[306] Some religions have a larger and more formal presence on campus in addition to the student groups; these include the Catholic and Hillel communities at Stanford.^[307]^[308]

Greek life

Fraternities and sororities have been active on the Stanford campus since 1891 when the university first opened. In 1944, University President Donald Tresidder banned all Stanford sororities due to extreme competition.^[309] However, following Title IX, the Board of Trustees lifted the 33-year ban on sororities in 1977.^[310] Students are not permitted to join a fraternity or sorority until spring quarter of their freshman year.^[311] Stanford has thirty-one Greek organizations, including fourteen sororities and sixteen fraternities. Nine of the Greek organizations were housed (eight in University-owned houses and one, Sigma Chi, in their own house, although the land is owned by the university).^[312] Five chapters were members of the African American Fraternal and Sororal Association, eleven chapters were members of the Interfraternity Council, seven chapters belonged to the Intersorority Council, and six chapters belonged to the Multicultural Greek Council.^[313]

Stanford is home to two unhoused historically National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC or "Divine Nine") sororities (Alpha Kappa Alpha, and Delta Sigma Theta) and two unhoused NPHC fraternities (Alpha Phi Alpha and Kappa Alpha Psi). These fraternities and sororities operate under the African American Fraternal Sororal Association (AAFSA) at Stanford.^[314]
Seven historically National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) sororities, four of which are unhoused (Alpha Phi, Alpha Epsilon Phi, Chi Omega, and Kappa Kappa Gamma) and three of which are housed (Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Pi Beta Phi) call Stanford home. These sororities operate under the Stanford Inter-sorority Council (ISC).^[315]
Eleven historically National Interfraternity Conference (NIC) fraternities are also represented at Stanford, including five unhoused fraternities (Alpha Epsilon Pi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and Kappa Alpha Order), and four housed fraternities (Sigma Phi Epsilon, Kappa Sigma, Phi Kappa Psi, and Sigma Nu). These fraternities operate under the Stanford Inter-fraternity Council (IFC).^[316]
There are also four unhoused Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) sororities on campus (alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Lambda Theta Nu, Sigma Psi Zeta, and Sigma Theta Psi), as well as two unhoused MGC fraternities (Gamma Zeta Alpha and Lambda Phi Epsilon). Lambda Phi Epsilon is recognized by the National Interfraternity Conference (NIC).^[317]

Student groups

Stanford has more than 600 student organizations.^[318] Groups are often, though not always, partially funded by the university via allocations directed by the student government organization, the ASSU. These funds include "special fees," which are decided by a Spring Quarter vote by the student body. Groups span athletics and recreation, careers/pre-professional, community service, ethnic/cultural, fraternities and sororities, health and counseling, media and publications, the arts, political and social awareness, and religious and philosophical organizations. In contrast to many other selective universities, Stanford policy mandates that all recognized student clubs be "broadly open" for all interested students to join.^[319]^[320]^[321]^[322]

The Stanford Daily is a student-run daily newspaper and has been published since the university was founded in 1892.^[323] The student-run radio station, KZSU Stanford 90.1 FM, features freeform music programming, sports commentary, and news segments; it started in 1947 as an AM radio station.^[324] The Stanford Review is a conservative student newspaper founded in 1987.^[325] The Fountain Hopper (FoHo) is a financially independent, anonymous student-run campus rag publication, notable for having broken the Brock Turner story.^[326] Stanford hosts numerous environmental and sustainability-oriented student groups, including Students for a Sustainable Stanford, Students for Environmental and Racial Justice, and Stanford Energy Club.^[327] Stanford is a member of the Ivy Plus Sustainability Consortium, through which it has committed to best-practice sharing and the ongoing exchange of campus sustainability solutions along with other member institutions.^[328]

Stanford is also home to a large number of pre-professional student organizations, organized around missions from startup incubation to paid consulting. The Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students (BASES) is one of the largest professional organizations in Silicon Valley, with over 5,000 members.^[329] Its goal is to support the next generation of entrepreneurs.^[330] StartX is a non-profit startup accelerator for student and faculty-led startups.^[331] It is staffed primarily by students.^[332] Stanford Women In Business (SWIB) is an on-campus business organization, aimed at helping Stanford women find paths to success in the generally male-dominated technology industry.^[333] Stanford Marketing is a student group that provides students hands-on training through research and strategy consulting projects with Fortune 500 clients, as well as workshops led by people from industry and professors in the Stanford Graduate School of Business.^[334]^[335] Stanford Finance provides mentoring and internships for students who want to enter a career in finance. Stanford Pre Business Association is intended to build connections among industry, alumni, and student communities.^[336]

Stanford is also home to several academic groups focused on government and politics, including Stanford in Government and Stanford Women in Politics. The Stanford Society for Latin American Politics is Stanford's first student organization focused on the region's political, economic, and social developments, working to increase the representation and study of Latin America on campus. Former guest speakers include José Mujica and Gustavo Petro.^[337] Other groups include:

The Stanford Axe Committee is the official guardian of the Stanford Axe and the rest of the time assists the Stanford Band as a supplementary spirit group. It has existed since 1982.^[338]
Stanford American Indian Organization (SAIO) which hosts the annual Stanford Powwow started in 1971. This is the largest student-run event on campus and the largest student-run powwow in the country.^[339]^[340]
The Stanford Improvisors (SImps for short) teach and perform improvisational theatre on campus and in the surrounding community.^[341] In 2014 the group finished second in the Golden Gate Regional College Improv tournament,^[342] and they have since been invited twice to perform at the annual San Francisco Improv Festival.^[343]
Asha for Education is a national student group founded in 1991. It focuses mainly on education in India and supporting nonprofit organizations that work mainly in the education sector. Asha's Stanford chapter organizes events like Holi as well as lectures by prominent leaders from India on the university campus.^[344]^[345]^[346]

Safety

Stanford's Department of Public Safety is responsible for law enforcement and safety on the main campus. Its deputy sheriffs are peace officers by arrangement with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office.^[347] The department is also responsible for publishing an annual crime report covering the previous three years as required by the Clery Act.^[348] Fire protection has been provided by contract with the Palo Alto Fire Department since 1976.^[349] Murder is rare on the campus, although a few cases have been notorious, including the 1974 murder of Arlis Perry in Stanford Memorial Church, which was not solved until 2018.^[350] Also infamous was Theodore Streleski's murder of his faculty advisor in 1978.^[351]

Campus sexual misconduct

In 2014, Stanford was the tenth highest in the nation in "total of reports of rape" on their main campus, with 26 reports of rape.^[352] In Stanford's 2015 Campus Climate Survey, 4.7 percent of female undergraduates reported experiencing sexual assault as defined by the university, and 32.9 percent reported experiencing sexual misconduct.^[353] According to the survey, 85% of perpetrators of misconduct were Stanford students and 80% were men.^[353] Perpetrators of sexual misconduct were frequently aided by alcohol or drugs, according to the survey: "Nearly three-fourths of the students whose responses were categorized as sexual assault indicated that the act was accomplished by a person or persons taking advantage of them when they were drunk or high, according to the survey. Close to 70 percent of students who reported an experience of sexual misconduct involving nonconsensual penetration and/or oral sex indicated the same."^[353]

Associated Students of Stanford and student and alumni activists with the anti-rape group Stand with Leah criticized the survey methodology for downgrading incidents involving alcohol if students did not check two separate boxes indicating they were both intoxicated and incapacity while sexually assaulted.^[353] Reporting on the Brock Turner rape case, a reporter from The Washington Post analyzed campus rape reports submitted by universities to the U.S. Department of Education, and found that Stanford was one of the top ten universities in campus rapes in 2014, with 26 reported that year, but when analyzed by rapes per 1000 students, Stanford was not among the top ten.^[352]

People v. Turner

On the night of January 17–18, 2015, 22-year-old Chanel Miller, who was visiting the campus to attend a party at the Kappa Alpha fraternity, was sexually assaulted by Brock Turner, a nineteen-year-old freshman student-athlete from Ohio. Two Stanford graduate students witnessed the attack and intervened; when Turner attempted to flee the two held him down on the ground until police arrived.^[354] Stanford immediately referred the case to prosecutors and offered Miller counseling, and within two weeks had barred Turner from campus after conducting an investigation.^[355] Turner was convicted on three felony charges in March 2016 and in June 2016 he received a jail sentence of six months and was declared a sex offender, requiring him to register as such for the rest of his life; prosecutors had sought a six-year prison sentence out of the maximum 14 years that was possible.^[356] The case and the relatively lenient sentence drew nationwide attention.^[357] Two years later, the judge in the case, Stanford graduate Aaron Persky, was recalled by the voters.^[358]^[359]

Joe Lonsdale

In February 2015, Elise Clougherty filed a sexual assault and harassment lawsuit against venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale.^[360]^[361] Lonsdale and Clougherty entered into a relationship in the spring of 2012 when she was a junior and he was her mentor in a Stanford entrepreneurship course.^[361] By the spring of 2013 Clougherty had broken off the relationship and filed charges at Stanford that Lonsdale had broken the Stanford policy against consensual relationships between students and faculty and that he had sexually assaulted and harassed her, which resulted in Lonsdale being banned from Stanford for 10 years.^[361] Lonsdale challenged Stanford's finding that he had sexually assaulted and harassed her and Stanford rescinded that finding and the campus ban in the fall of 2015.^[362] Clougherty withdrew her suit that fall as well.^[363]