University of Stanford

Stanford offers a wide range of student organizations, including the Stanford Pre-Business Association and Stanford Solar Car Project, which designs, builds and races a solar car every two years. There are about 625 organized student groups at Stanford. The student newspaper is the Stanford Daily. The Associated Students of Stanford University is the representative government for Stanford students. There are about 44 recognized religious organizations. Stanford offers six cultural centers as well.

Traditions:

• Big Game is the annual football game against the University of California-Berkeley Golden Bears. It is preceded by Gaieties, a student-produced musical follies.
• Fountain hopping involves touring and partaking of Stanford’s main campus fountains.
• During Full Moon on the Quad, freshmen are kissed at midnight by seniors under the first full moon of the Autumn Quarter.
• The Wacky Walk occurs during the first minutes of graduation, when undergraduates forgo the traditional march and run into Stanford Stadium, often in costume.

Stanford is a residential teaching and research university. As of Autumn 2014, 6,503 undergraduates and 5,478 graduate students live in university-provided housing. Housing is guaranteed for four years for entering freshmen. Approximately 96 percent of all undergraduates registered and residing at the home campus live in on-campus housing.

The undergraduate housing system includes 80 diverse facilities. About 25 percent of students join one of the 16 fraternities or 14 sororities recognized on campus. Seven fraternities and three sororities offer housing.