Stanford University - Quad Yearbook (Palo Alto, CA)

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STANFORD QUAD 2 As a mere matter of convenience, the Club will be like an oasis in Sahara to many visiting alumni. I do not wish to minimize the hospi- tality of the campus. Fraternities and club houses are always open to their graduates. lfncina Hall can house a lumdred whe11 the occasion requires, and lincina men are the most willing hosts l have ever met. lint that is only one side of the question. The graduate would rather go into quarters where he ca11 feel he has a. real interest a11d where he can dema.nd rather than merely receive. There is a certain independence about Stanford men. and l have known many to return to San Francisco for hotel aceonnnodations when they knew they were welcome to the hospitality of the campus, and when they really wished to stay at the University for a, longer time. T might use a stronger word, but it will suffice to say that the hotels of Palo Alto are inadequate. To furnish good lodgings where a visiting Stanford man can stay as long as he likes, and 11ear the University, is by no 'means the least of the many purposes of the Union. It will also afford a place of amusement. There will be pool and billiard tables and other games at which pleasant hours of social inter- course may be spent. A contest of brain or brawn is a great factor in fostering friendly relations between the different elements of a conununity. The Club will also be a suitable place for banquets, and after its completion the Law Association and other similar bodies will not find it necessary to go to San Francisco or San Jose for their annual dinners and other functions where a well-served meal is a feature. Stanford University is fortunate in being located away from a large city, but it has suffered from the lack of a good banquet place, which can only be had in a well-appointed club or in a city where the patronage will justify its maintenance. The Stanford Union will be the solution of the difficult question-where shall we have our annual dinner? So much for the purpose of the Union. The progress of the Union is of interest and importance. The officers, H. C. Hoover, President, C. D. Marx, Vice-l.'resident5 A. E. Roth, Recording Secretary, R. W. Barrett, Permanent Secretary, and E. D. Adams, Geo. E. Crothcrs, R. IQ. Wilbur, C. K. Field, G. A. Ditz and J. E. Shelton, have worked faithfully for over a year. The net result has bee11 the arousing of a special interest in the Union in the majority of Stanford men, and the securing of pledges from alumni, ex-students, faculty and under- graduates for about thirty-nine thousand dollars, all of which is to be paid within two years from tl1e date of subscription. The rule has l7C0l1 a payment down, and the balance within that time or when needed. The first pledges were from local alumni and members of the faculty. The co-operation of the Stanford professors and instructors is indeed commendable. They have shown a desire to meet the alumni more than half way in bringing about closer relations between the University, working, and its finished product. Faculty members have worked for it, talked for it, and have given liberally to the fund. They 10 -

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ISY R W BARREH1, 04 THE STANFORD UNION IIE launching of every important enterprise can be traced to one man, who is almost invariably of tl1e same general. type-a man of initiative and action. Ile is busy always with matters large and small, but still with time and energy to concentrate all his faculties on one undertaking u11til it is launched and in shape for others to carry, and then he is off on another project. Of such a type is H. C. Hoover, Stanford '95, and it was he who, after having been away from Stanford for nearly fifteen years, campus and saw the pressing need of a Club House. He also saw that one could be had, a11d he did not stop with merely seeing the need. Others had talked of such a thing but they had only talked. lt was for Hoover to start things going on February 20, 1909, by selecting temporary officers for the Union and drawing his cheek for one thousand dollars and placing that amount at their disposal to cover initial expenses and to form a nucleus for the required fund, which was estimated at fifty thousand dollars. He and some of his associates further backed up his donation with a pledge of te11 thousand dollars more, to be paid when donations from other sources should warrant. Mr. Hoover has traveled the world quite extensively, but whether he got his inspiration in China, Australia, New Zealand or London, the cause is a good one and appeals to all true Stanford men. Let us believe with a firm trust that it was inspired by the Stanford Spirit burned into the hearts of those true men of the pioneer days, and which increased with world contact, making the Stanford Union not' only possible, but real. 'l'he purpose of the Stanford Union is to establish on the campus a common meeting place for all men connected with the University, past, present and future, where classes are not known, and where faculty, student and graduate meet as men to men, all interested in a common cause. There is at present no absolutely neutral ground, and this the Union will supply. At the Club House social relations will be engen- dered, which are only possible where men meet on a eonnnon ground, and faculty and students will be brought into a better understanding and a closer sympathy with one another, Friction is most often the result of the failure of men to see each other 's points of view. These can only be seen by close acquaintance. 'llhere have been jars among the students and between the faculty and students, and it is hoped that the Club House will prove a potent factor in preventing their recurrence. returned to the 9

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will have a substantial interest in the Union, and it is the hope of the a.lunmi that members of the faculty will make such use of the club as will give visiting a.lumni an opportunity to renew acquaintances and form new ones, as the personnel of the teaching force shall change. A most remarkable demonstration of Stanford Spirit and loyalty to the cause was had at a Student Assembly on Friday, the 25th day of February, 1910, when a mass meeting was held for the purpose of arousing interest among the undergraduates. Some of those in charge of raising the fund had felt that the stude11ts, who would be directly benefited, had been indifferent to the Club House scheme. A rally was arranged and this feeling was immediately dispelled, giving place to one of loudest praise for the men who are now on the campus. The Assembly was well worked up with a purpose of bringing squarely before the men of the University the purpose of the Union a11d its needs. The Student Body had been for the most part neglected in soliciting subscriptions and its attitude was something of an unknown quantity up to this time. Addresses were made by Professor C. D. Marx, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Union, by A. E. Roth, a member of the Board, and by J. E. Shelton, President of the Associated Students. The speakers outlined the plans, purposes and hopes of the Union, and urged the co-operation of the H1611 at the University. The subscriptions were then commenced and a cleverly arranged plan of class competition was put into effect. The spirit of rivalry between classes, as well as of loyalty to a University project, stimulated contri- butions and a magnificent showing was made. The Associated Students donated one thousand dollars and private subscription added to this made a total of fourteen- thousand, nine hundred dollars. The Juniors headed the list with three thousand, six hundred dollars subscribed, the Sophomores were next, with three thousand, two hundred a11d fifty, while the Freshmen subscribed an even three thousand, and the Seniors twe11ty-nine hundred. The Hold-overs gave the greatest amount per capita, their total pledges amounting to eleven hundred and fifty dollars. Those who read this- should not come to the conclusion that more money is not needed. Over ten thousand dollars is yet to be subscribed, and there should be a margin in subscriptions running over the fifty- thousand mark, rather than a deficiency. Stanford men will pay every cent pledged, but a surplus can be used with good effect in furnishing the Club House. There are many alumni who will yet contribute who are just now getting an idea as to what the Union is, and what it will do for the University. ' Stanford men, before this time, have not been able to do any big thing for the University and themselves, as a body. This is due to the fact that there are not many graduates and that they are very widely scattered. But they all look forward to the time when they will return to the campus for a visit to their Alma Mater. They and the faculty and the students now at the University can make these visits mean much more by rallying to the support of the Stanford Unio11 and carrying it. , ll STAN FORD OUAD -