stanford college tour

• Student Life
• News & Announcements
• Application Requirements
• Tours and Programs
• Cost of Attendance
• Admission Volunteers

Gateways for...

Plan your visit to stanford.

Discover Stanford University in person by exploring the campus! We've gathered resources to help you maximize your visit. Below, you'll find details on reaching and navigating campus, lodging and dining options and visitor information!

Getting to Stanford

San Francisco International (SFO) is approximately 25 miles north and San Jose International (SJC) approximately 20 miles south of Stanford. Both airports offer public transport, shuttle, and hire car options that will get you here. Oakland International (OAK) is also an option but is further from campus and can be more difficult to travel to/from using public transport and shuttles. See info about airport shuttles .

Public Transportation

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) provides limited transit service on the San Francisco Peninsula and throughout the East Bay. BART services do not extend past the Millbrae station. Riders can connect to BART via Caltrain and bus connections at the following stations:

• Millbrae – served by Caltrain
• Fremont – served by the Line U East Bay Express
• Union City – served by the Dumbarton Express

Caltrain connects San Francisco and San Jose (including both airports) with a stop in Palo Alto. Visitors using Caltrain should get off at the Palo Alto station and take the Marguerite shuttle to campus.

See the Stanford Transportation website for more information about getting to campus using public transit.

From Highway 101 North & South - Exit onto Embarcadero Road and travel west, following the signs directing you to Stanford University. About three miles after exiting the freeway, Embarcadero Road becomes Galvez Street as you cross El Camino Real. Stay in the left lane and continue past the stadium. The Track House Parking Lot and Stanford Visitor Center will be on your left.

From Highway 280 North & South - Exit onto Sand Hill Road and follow the signs for Stanford University. Heading east, drive approximately three miles to the Stanford Shopping Center. Turn right onto Arboretum Road (Nordstrom is on your right). Stay on Arboretum until it ends, then turn right onto Galvez Street. The Track House Parking Lot and Stanford Visitor Center will be on your left.

Getting Around Campus

General parking

• Paid parking is available in the Track House Lot , located next to the Stanford Visitor Center .
• Please remember to lock your vehicle and do not leave valuables inside.

Marguerite Shuttle

• Marguerite is Stanford's free shuttle service and is open to the public – no ID required. All buses are wheelchair-accessible and have bike racks. See the live shuttle map .

Bike rentals

• Another favorite way of getting around campus is by bicycle. Bicycles are available for rent at the campus bike shop at Tresidder Union .

Navigating campus

• Stanford campus searchable map
• Parking and transportation map

Lodging Options

The Stanford campus and surrounding areas offer a wide range of lodging options. Stanford does not reserve hotel blocks and all pricing and reservations are handled separately through the hotels and not by the university.

Lodging options near campus

Dining Options

Here is a list of dining options on or near the Stanford University campus. Remember to check with establishments to confirm operating status and hours.

• Campus eateries map
• Cafe and retail food locations on campus
• Dining options at the Stanford Shopping Center
• Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce restaurants and cafes list
• Palo Alto Online's Best of 2022 restaurants
• Palo Alto Online's Best of 2022 food and drink

Visitor and Area Information

Helpful information for your visit including history, facts, news, and weather for Stanford and the surrounding areas.

Stanford information

• Stanford visitor information
• Stanford weather
• Stanford facts
• Stanford history
• About Stanford
• Stanford News
• Stanford Daily
• Stanford Magazine
• Stanford Shopping Center

Bay Area information

• Visit California: Spotlight on Silicon Valley
• Palo Alto Online
• San Francisco Chronicle
• The Mercury News (Silicon Valley)

Stanford University's Land Acknowledgment Statement

Stanford sits on the ancestral land of the Muwekma Ohlone Tribe. This land was and continues to be of great importance to the Ohlone people. Consistent with our values of community and inclusion, we have a responsibility to acknowledge, honor, and make visible the University’s relationship to Native peoples.

Learn more about the University's relationship to Native peoples

• Ways to Support Your Student
• Plan Your Visit
• Financial Aid
• Stanford Parents' Page
• Admission Forums, Student Programs, and Special Events
• Virtual Campus Visits
• Discover Stanford
• Stanford Preview and Viewbook
• Join the Mailing List
• University Policies

Engage with Us

Stanford complies with the Jeanne Clery Act and publishes crime statistics for the most recent three-year period. View the full report .

• Stanford Home
• Maps & Directions
• Search Stanford
• Emergency Info
• Terms of Use
• Non-Discrimination
• Accessibility

© Stanford University . Stanford , California 94305 .

Lost and found items

Please note, found items that were turned in during Family Weekend will be held until two weeks after the event. To inquire if your lost item was turned in and coordinate pickup, please email  [email protected] .

Self-Guided Tours

Explore the Stanford campus in person with self-guided tours and limited docent-led tours, and online with virtual experiences. Links with an arrow indicate an external site.

Please note that the limited docent-led tours may have strict capacity limits and/or other entry criteria. Hours and access to some areas may be limited.

Self-Guided Tour Map - Stanford Campus

Shows Visitor Center, self-guided tour route, points of interest with descriptions, and photo locations. Also includes additional options not shown on the indicated route, such as the Arts District, Athletics District, and Campus Residences.

Self-Guided Tour of Stanford Gardens

Welcome to Stanford! Those who work and study on this beautiful campus are fortunate to enjoy a variety of diverse gardens with an ever-changing palette of colors, scents, and animal visitors. If you love gardens and trees, Stanford is an excellent place to experience them.

Stanford Public Art Tours on Stanford Mobile

Explore Stanford's expansive public art collection on campus or virtually with the newest mobile feature, Public Art Tours.

Stanford Arts District and Other Arts Facilities

The vibrant Arts District now marks the entrance to campus on either side of Palm Drive. World class museums, a premier concert hall, and expansive academic space dedicated to Art & Art History have joined other existing campus venues to create a thriving home for the arts at Stanford.

Stanford Athletics District

Self-guided tour of the Stanford Athletics District fields and facilities.

Huang Engineering Center Innovations Tour

These touchstone artifacts scattered throughout the Huang Engineering Center illustrate the kinds of world-changing innovations that have emerged from the School of Engineering.

Curious objects around Stanford campus

Witness to more than 130 years of history, the Stanford campus is full of interesting – and in some cases, mysterious – items, dispersed throughout the grounds. With abundant help from the Stanford community, Stanford News highlights a few.

Please note: some objects and locations may not be publicly accessible

Architecture at Stanford

LBRE offers two self-guided tours that highlight architecture and landscape across campus. Each tour should take about 60-120 minutes depending on the number of stops and your personal interest. The tour can be completed in half the time on a bike and can be split into shorter segments as well.

Arch. & Landscape at Stanford 1990-2005 and Architecture at Stanford 2000-2020 

Each self-guided tour is available as a printable 11x17 pdf or via mobile app.

Stanford and the 1906 Earthquake Self-Guided Walking Tour

Amidst the physical destruction to the Stanford campus from the 1906 earthquake rose the resolve of the young university to rebuild. Though far from the total “Destruction of Great Stanford University” that was reported in the newspapers of the day, Stanford's buildings did suffer tremendous damage. While most buildings of the inner Quad survived, Memorial Church was almost completed destroyed as were the newly built Library and Gymnasium. See the online Quake '06 Centennial Walking Tour , or download the pdf map below.

Trees of Stanford

These maps enable one to visit and get acquainted with particular trees and learn their names. A major step on the path to familiarity is learning a name; thus armed, the explorer can look up information and talk to others about discoveries.

Memorial Church

Stone carvings, mosaics, and stained glass make Stanford Memorial Church the University’s architectural crown jewel. It was one of the earliest, and is still among the most prominent, interdenominational churches in the West.

Memorial Church will be open to families for self-guided tours on Friday, February 23, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, February 24, 2024, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Limited Docent-Led Tour A limited docent-led tour will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis on Friday, February 23, 2024, at 11:00 a.m.

Denning House

Denning House is the convening space for Knight-Hennessy Scholars at Stanford University. Denning House is an award-winning, gorgeous timber-framed facility overlooking Lake Lagunita on the Stanford campus. 

Limited Docent-Led Tours Friday, February 23, 11:00 - 11:30 a.m. and 1:00 - 1:30 p.m.: Limited to 15 participants per session on a first-come, first-served basis. Arrive on time; latecomers will not be admitted. Meet at 580 Lomita Drive for the guided tour.

The d.school (Hasso Plattner Institute of Design) wants to co-design our tour with you! We want to know what you want to know. Come by for an interactive prototype of our new tours program, rebooted since the pandemic shut it down. We'll run you through a bit of history, our new programs, and show you what we love about the school - would love to see you there.

Limited Docent-Led Tours Saturday, February 24, 1:00 p.m. - 1:45 p.m. and 2 p.m. - 2:45 p.m. The d.school is located in Building 550 on Panama Mall . Please enter through either of the doors marked with red stars on this map and join us in the Atrium. Our capacity is 45 people per tour. The first 45 people to check in will get a sticker. Please arrive around 5 minutes early.

Visit the Arts

Experience the creativity and imagination of the arts at Stanford. See information about self-guided arts tours, limited student and docent-led tours and more. 

David Rumsey Map Center at Green Library

The David Rumsey Map Center, opened in April 2016, combines world-class collections of historic and rare maps and atlases with modern digital cartographic technologies. Tour the Center with a curator and view the historic architecture of the Bing Wing of Green Library.

Limited Docent-Led Tour A limited docent-led tour will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis on Friday, February 23, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Tour capacity: 30 people. Meet at the Bing Wing entrance of Green Library by 11 am, entrance facing Memorial Church ( Green Library, 459 Lasuen Mall )

SVA: Silicon Valley Archives/Hohbach Hall at Green Library

The Silicon Valley Archives/Hohbach Hall at Green Library are the world’s greatest repository of materials related to the history and development of Silicon Valley. Even in a place where so much attention is focused on the future, it is important to value the past. Also included will be a tour of the newly opened Hohbach Hall.

Limited Docent-Led Tour A limited docent-led tour will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis on Friday, February 23, 2024, at 11:35 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Tour capacity: 30 people. Meet at the Bing Wing entrance of Green Library by 11 am, entrance facing Memorial Church ( Green Library, 459 Lasuen Mall )

Campus Walks

Enjoy the campus and its surrounding area with a number of themed walks or trails on the Community Engagement website.

Stanford Dish

See gorgeous views of campus and the bay on this 3.5-mile trail. No pets or animals allowed within the Dish Area except trained service animals. The Dish is a special area to both Stanford and the surrounding communities, and it serves many purposes. The Dish itself is a radio telescope that is still in use. Other research and teaching programs also use the dish area. 

Hours during Family Weekend: 6:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. See the Dish website for current status. You can also walk the dish virtually with this self-guided virtual field trip .

Please note that on Sunday, February 25 the dish trail will be closed from 6:30 a.m - 12:00 p.m. for the  annual Stanford Dish Run . The Dish Run is open to all but registration is required , and the cost to participate for general public is $35, students $30.

O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm

The O'Donohue Family Stanford Educational Farm is Stanford's living laboratory for hands-on learning in sustainable agriculture. If you would like to experience the farm, we encourage you to visit during our general operating hours on Mondays through Fridays from 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays from 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. 

Hoover Tower

Hoover Tower is the historic home of the Library & Archives and the Lou Henry Hoover Observation Deck and Carillon. Visitors can view portions of the collection in the ground floor exhibition galleries and see the historic Belgian carillon on the 14th floor observation deck, which also offers panoramic views of the surrounding area. The central floors of the tower contain offices and purpose built stacks which hold part of the Library & Archives collections, but are closed to the public.

Self-guided tours are available on Friday, February 23, 2024 and Satuday, February 24, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. No reservations required.

Stanford Libraries

Stanford Libraries are home to many interesting collections and exhibits. Please note that access during the weekend may be limited, see the Stanford Libraries page for more information. You can also visit virtually and explore the vast collection of online exhibits and resources. 

Stanford Visitor Center

Meet with staff at the Stanford Visitor Center. The Visitor Center will be open from Tuesday, February 20 through Friday, February 23 from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The staff will be available to help provide information on how to tour the campus on your own, whether navigating via our self-guided tour map or any of the many resources available under the  "Explore Campus" tab  on the Stanford visitor website at:  visit.stanford.edu/explore-campus .

The Oval and Palm Drive

The Oval and Palm Drive mark the gateway to the University. The Oval serves as a relaxing spot for students, faculty, and community members to have picnics, play volleyball, and enjoy the California weather. Palm Drive, lined with roughly 150 Canary Island palm trees, leads to University Avenue and downtown Palo Alto.

Stanford Bookstore

Purchase some Stanford gear while on campus. Visit the  bookstore website  for open hours and more information.

Arizona Cactus Garden

The garden, also known as the Cactus Garden, was designed for Jane and Leland Stanford by landscape architect Rudolf Ulrich between 1881 and 1883. During the early years of the university, the Cactus Garden became the meeting place for many courting Stanford students.  Visit this iconic campus destination.

Main Quad & Memorial Court

Frederick Law Olmsted planned and designed the Quad in Richardson Romanesque and Mission Revival architectural style. The Quad holds Stanford’s 12 original classrooms from its opening in 1891. Today it houses the School of Humanities & Sciences and is home to many Stanford traditions, such as Senior Dinner on the Quad for graduating seniors. Memorial Court is the main entrance to the Main Quad from Palm drive and features several sculptures by Auguste Rodin.

Lake Lagunita

Lake Lagunita is still a beautiful pace to go for a run, walk or just enjoy the view. 

Stanford Family Mausoleum and Angel of Grief

Visit the Stanford Mausoleum Area  to see the Stanford Family Mausoleum; the Stanford Family statue; the Angel of Grief.

Terman Fountain

Visit a new fountain on campus. This is a popular location for students to wade and relax in while on campus.

Meyer Green

Stanford's newest open space features curving walkways and gentle grassy slopes surrounded by groves of eucalyptus and cedar. Read about the opening of Meyer Green.

Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden

This garden contains 40 wood and stone carvings of people, animals, and magical beings that illustrate creation stories and cultural traditions. Ten artists from the inland Sepik River area created the sculptures on-site during a five-month visit in 1994. Visit this iconic campus destination.

Garden Tour

Discover the location of each garden on campus, including descriptions of the history, features, and notable plants.

Virtual Campus Walk

Follow the path for a virtual self-guided walking tour featuring photos and information about many sites of central campus.

Student-narrated 360° tour

Take a 360° guided video tour of the Stanford University campus.

University Archaeology Collections

The Stanford University Archaeology Collections (SUAC) is Stanford's home for hands-on artifact study. SUAC presents original, rotating exhibits of artifacts and photographs from our cultural heritage collections, spanning disciplines, periods, and global cultures.

See  SUAC's Events Page  for details about exhibits currently on view at the Archaeology Center. See the  Archaeology Center's Events Page  for information about talks, conferences, and other events held there. 

Cultivating Community Through Campus Planning

A virtual tour of the past, present, and future of Stanford architecture, landscape, and planning. Discover popular and unseen parts of the campus and the thought processes and values behind their evolution.

School of Humanities and Sciences Virtual Tour

The School of Humanities and Sciences, encompassing 23 departments and 25 interdisciplinary programs, is the foundation of a liberal arts education at Stanford. This virtual video tour will give you a taste of our beautiful spaces and offerings.

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve

Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve (JRBP) is located near Stanford University's campus in the eastern foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Experience this beautiful preserve virtually and learn how the field station provides undergraduate educational experiences and plays an active role in educating the general public. Please note: Jasper Ridge is not open to the public during Family Weekend.

• Right Sidebar
• Left Sidebar
• Being a Tour Guide
• Two Sidebars
• No Sidebars

The VIS team is made up of 3 full-time employees and 70–90 Tour Guides, 6–10 of which serve as student manager paraprofessionals.

Description

Tour Guides work as a part of the Office of Undergraduate Admission to present their Stanford experiences to prospective students and other visiting guests.

We offer undergraduate tour programs ranging from general campus tours to specialty tours (Engineering, Humanities and Arts, Athletics). In addition to giving tours, Guides are responsible for staffing the Visitor Center by completing administrative office tasks, participating in online/virtual programs, leading student panels and discussion groups, communicating with newly admitted students, and answering visitor questions both in person and over the phone.

We’re looking for people who are enthusiastic about sharing their experience as a Stanford student with others and acting as the face of Stanford University for prospective students and general visitors from all over the world. This job requires individuals who can communicate effectively and courteously while practicing discretion and professional judgment in dealing with the public.

All Tour Guides must meet the follow expectations:

Greet and interact with visitors in a friendly, respectful, and helpful manner

Display excellent communication skills and deal calmly with unpredictable situations

Assess visitors’ needs and provide accurate information, directions, and support to meet these needs

Deliver genuine yet appropriate responses to visitor inquiries

Be enthusiastic about Stanford's past, present, and future

Be a team player: friendly, punctual, tactful, and patient

Attend required trainings and staff meetings

Get To Know Current Guides

Tour Guides are more than people who can spout facts and stories to large groups of people while walking backwards.

As the faces of Stanford for the thousands that visit campus every year, we seek to represent the Stanford student body as authentically and comprehensively as we can by having Guides who can showcase diverse identities. We are dedicated athletes, strong women, hard-working engineers, first-generation pioneers, wacky musicians, proud members of the Latinx, Black, Asian, Muslim, international, and queer communities, and more. We want to make it possible for every prospective student who walks through the Visitor Center doors to see a bit of themselves in one of our Guides, to connect with and be inspired by the representation of Stanford we create.

To continue to strengthen and broaden our community and the knowledge and identities we represent, we need you. We asked a few of our Student Guides to speak about what being a Tour Guide means to them. Take a look below!

Wassup, y'all, the name's Ahmad. I'm a Senior majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE). Not gonna lie, there are two things I had to do when I first got to Stanford: study abroad (I'm going to Santiago this spring quarter) and be a tour guide. I would say I'm a charismatic, gregarious, and loquacious person who loves to meet people, and being a tour guide is a fun way to be myself. Imagine getting paid to walk around campus, meet people, and talk about your interests, all while having a good time. For example, I've met people from China, Australia, Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Japan, and many more. So to finish up, for me, it was a no-brainer to apply, and you should consider applying if you have any interest in getting paid to have fun.

Allan Lopez

Hi there! I’m Allan, and I’m a Senior from Los Angeles studying English. Back in high school, I knew nothing about Stanford and only applied because my dad wanted me to try and stay in California. Getting in was incredible but also a bit nerve-racking because I had no idea how I was going to fit in at a school I thought was just for coding. Luckily, I took a tour during Admit Weekend and my guide, Juju, swept away those misconceptions and got me excited to be a Stanford student. Now I get to do the same thing and help other FLI students learn how awesome Stanford is and how insane the opportunities are here compared to back home. I get to tell them that you can do research with Nobel laureates, look through John Steinbeck’s handwritten manuscripts, and take a trip to Lake Tahoe for free. Talking about Stanford has ended up being one of my favorite things to do here, so if that sounds fun to you, apply to be a tour guide today!

Anastazja Krostenko

Hey! I’m Anastazja and I, like many of you, was a bit of a know-it-all in high school. It’s embarrassing, I know, but I’ll admit it. And don’t lie, I bet lots of you were too. I applied to be a tour guide because I wanted to be a know-it-all about Stanford.

I was shocked to find that’s not the job at all. Visitors don’t come to campus asking how many trees there are along Palm Drive or when and where the robotics club meets. They want to know if you like your major. If you get homesick. If you have a good relationship with your roommate. If Stanford has lived up to your expectations, or let you down, or changed your perception of the world.

Being a tour guide keeps me grateful. Every time I give a tour, I am reminded of how grateful I am to walk through Main Quad to get to class, to be surrounded by such innovative research, and to have such unique opportunities. I get paid to tell people about my favorite classes and how cool my friends are.

And … sometimes I get to be a know-it-all. Tour guiding is the most rewarding job on campus, hands-down.

Jasmine de Lourdes Rodriguez

Hi y'all! My name is Jasmine, and I'm from just outside of Dallas, TX. I graduated from Stanford last year with a degree in Management Science & Engineering and am currently pursuing a co-terminal master's degree in Computer Science. Throughout my time at Stanford, I've been a part of numerous dance groups, pre-professional organizations, and identity-based communities. When I was touring colleges in high school, while it was interesting to learn about topics like academics, extracurriculars, and dining, I always found it difficult to actually imagine myself at a college at the end of a tour. However, when I toured Stanford, I felt Stanford would not just be a school I would be attending for the next 4 years, but actually a place where I could confidently call my home away from home. This is why I wanted to become a tour guide. While people come to Stanford to learn about our incredibly enriching academic scene, diverse extracurriculars, and extensive programming, I want people to walk away from a tour not just feeling like this is a place where they will learn and grow, but a place where they will truly be able to call home.

Josie Barton

Have you ever heard that the act of smiling (even a fake smile) can actually make you happier? The idea is that smiling triggers a certain facial muscle that can essentially trick your brain into thinking you’re happy. I often think about being a Stanford tour guide in a similar sense. I know that doesn’t sound very promising but hear me out: school is hard. And as much as we love school most of the time, we all have those classes that feel too long, that homework we don’t want to do, and those days when we wish we could just go home. But the thing I love about being a tour guide is that even on those hard days, I have to get up, put a smile on my face, and tell groups of hopeful young students everything I love about Stanford. I share with them all the amazing opportunities that Stanford offers in and outside the classroom and about all the friends I’ve met who make school feel like summer camp. It may not always feel authentic in the moment, but ten times out of ten, I leave the Visitor's Center way happier. I get to remember why I chose Stanford and why so many young people dream of coming to this place that I call home. So even (and especially) on those days when the last thing I feel is appreciative, I end up feeling really happy about where I am. That’s why becoming a tour guide was the best decision I’ve made at Stanford. Being a tour guide means telling others, and often reminding yourself, why you love this school. Being a tour guide means laughing a lot, smiling a lot, and fake smiling just a little. But the end result is always happy. AND we get paid to do it.

Katie Kearney

Hi Everyone! I’m Katie. I’m a Senior majoring in bioengineering and minoring in computer science. I’m originally from Austin, TX. When I came to Stanford it was my first time moving away from home and living so far away from my parents and my brothers. I was nervous about finding communities I fit in with and just adapting to college life. I took a tour on move in day, though, and heard about all of the different opportunities, both academic and not, here at Stanford and I immediately realized that this is a place everyone can be happy and grow. That’s a huge part of why I became a tour guide - to share my excitement and love for Stanford with prospective students and to make sure they know that anyone and everyone is welcome here. Additionally, the tour guide community has become one of the most supportive and fun groups I’ve been a part of during my time here and I couldn’t imagine Stanford without it!

What’s up! My name is Peter, and I am a Senior from Los Angeles studying Computer Science on the Human-Computer Interaction track. While I have only been a tour guide for a few months now, my time at VIS has completely enhanced my Stanford experience. Through tour guiding, I’ve met some amazing people, as I get the opportunity to spend time with some extremely fun, positive, and kind people at VIS. This new community has become an extremely strong part of my daily life at Stanford. I’ve also had the opportunity to continue spreading my excitement and love for Stanford that began watching Andrew Luck years ago and has continued throughout my life. It has been super fun to reflect on the good times I’ve had here by telling stories of my experience at Stanford. Guiding has also given me a new appreciation for Stanford, as I’ve been able to learn so much more about the school's different departments, programs, people, and opportunities. If you enjoy making new friends and spreading positivity through campus, then you should definitely join me and apply to be a Tour Guide!

More about us

Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Aenean imperdiet lobortis libero. Vestibulum ante ipsum primis in faucibus orci luctus et ultrices posuere cubilia Curae; Aenean vitae tortor ligula, quis laoreet ante. Phasellus in turpis ac elit consectetur viverra. Praesent nec massa vitae dui facilisis venenatis et at nisi.

Related Links

• Particularly relevant
• Related and really quite interesting
• Useful in certain circumstances
• Purely tangential information

Connect with us

• Maps & Directions
• Search Stanford
• Terms of Use
• Emergency Info

© Stanford University .  Stanford , California 94305 . Copyright Complaints     Trademark Notice

Come see our campus

Main navigation.

Located west of Stanford’s historic Main Quad and the Oval, the Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center — in the southeast section of the quad — is the School of Engineering hub and home of the Dean’s Office.

Known for its distinctive octagonal rotunda, the Huang Center celebrates Stanford’s central role in the rise of Silicon Valley. Explore more of the Engineering Quad below.

The Science & Engineering Quad

Jen-Hsun Huang Engineering Center   Jerry Yang and Akiko Yamazaki Environment and Energy Building (Y2E2) James and Anna Marie Spilker Engineering and Applied Sciences Building Shriram Center for Bioengineering & Chemical Engineering The William F. Durand Building Mechanical Engineering Research Labs Peterson Engineering Building Gates Computer Science Building William R. Hewlett Teaching Center David Packard Electrical Engineering Building

Art in our quad

In 2021, the Engineering Quad welcomed an installation of 12 stone spheres made of materials sourced from eight different countries. Watch the video to learn more.

Dine in our quad

From premium coffees to grab-and-go sandwiches, there’s plenty to consume in the Engineering Quad.

Coupa Cafe Forbes Family Cafe Bytes Cafe

Getting around

Stanford Engineering is located at 475 Via Ortega, Stanford, CA 94305-4121

> Searchable campus map >  Walking times map   >  Stanford Bikeways map >  Marguerite system map   >  More helpful campus maps

Parking at Stanford Engineering

Stanford Transportation has implemented a virtual permit system. Commuters, residents, and departments can purchase virtual parking permits, enter license plate information for vehicles they plan to park on campus and link those vehicles to their permit. If you're a visitor, you can use ParkMobile in visitor parking areas.

Campus Tours for Organized Groups

• Memorial Church
• White Plaza

Reservations

Additional information.

• Admission Forums, Student Programs, and Special Events
• Stanford Preview and Viewbook
• Join the Mailing List
• University Policies

Engage with Us

Stanford complies with the Jeanne Clery Act and publishes crime statistics for the most recent three-year period. View the full report .

• Stanford Home
• Maps & Directions
• Search Stanford
• Emergency Info
• Terms of Use
• Non-Discrimination
• Accessibility

© Stanford University . Stanford , California 94305 .

Welcome to the Anderson Collection Stanford University's free museum of modern and contemporary American art

Open Wed - Sun

11 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Advance reservations not required. Click here for group visits.

Grand Opening: - - days!

• Exhibitions & Programs
• Get Involved
• Tours and Group Visits

Experience the Anderson Collection at Stanford University through one of our free Public Tours.

Public tours.

Public tours are offered every Saturday and Sunday. 12:30pm and 2:30pm  – Tours by Museum Docents

Spotlight Tours

Spotlight Tours are offered on Thursdays at 12:00pm and 12:30pm

Join a 15-minute docent led tour exploring one object in the Anderson Collection. Ask at the visitor services desk where you can find the tour!

For information on Cantor Arts Center public tours, please click here .

Museum Tour Guidelines

• Please confirm all tours with our Visitor Services staff when you check in at the information desk. Tours may be subject to change or cancellation.
• Public tours do not require registration.
• All Public Tours are between 45 minutes and one hour long, free of charge, and meet at the top of the staircase unless otherwise noted.
• If you have more than 10 visitors in your group, please register for a Private Docent Tour or a Self-Guided Group Tour. Please see below for more information about scheduling Private and Self-Guided Group Tours.

Private Tours

School group tours (k-12).

The Anderson Collection welcomes all grade levels to enhance their classroom curriculum by exploring the museum’s collection and special exhibitions.

We are currently offering in-person private docent tours for school groups. You can also schedule a self-guided group tour for up to 20 students. Schools can also schedule a Virtual Guided Visit.

Please use this form to request your School Group (K-12) tour or visit.

Private Docent Tours

Tour the Anderson Collection with a highly trained docent or Stanford student guide. If you have special interests, please let us know when you schedule your tour.

Schedule a private docent tour by filling out this form .

Self-guided Group Tours

Self-guided group tours allow you to lead your group of up to 20 visitors through the museum at your own pace. Whether you are a family, school, professional, or social group, access your own curiosity to experience the Anderson Collection independently.

Schedule a self-guided group tour by filling out this form .

Stanford Class Tours

Stanford faculty and instructors are invited to bring their classes to the Anderson Collection for tours and special class sessions, both virtually and in-person.

Schedule a self-guided Stanford class group tour by filling out this form.

Virtual Guided Visits

Book a virtual guided visit and enjoy the museum from wherever you are..

We are happy to offer your group a virtual guided visit conducted via Zoom. The virtual guided visit may include a general tour of the museum and major highlights of the collection, and last up to 45 minutes. We offer virtual guided visits for schools and community groups.

Virtual Guided Visit Hours

Mon-Fri 10am – 4pm PDT No virtual guided visits on weekends

Special Requests

If you have any special requests regarding your virtual guided visit, please let us know and we will try to accommodate them. Please complete and submit the form below to request a virtual guided visit of the museum.

Request Anderson Virtual Guided Visit

Request Process

We ask that you submit your virtual guided visit request at least four weeks in advance of your desired date. You will receive an email confirming that your date and time are available, and that your virtual guided visit has been scheduled.  Please feel free to email us with any questions or concerns you may have: [email protected]

• Accessibility & Guidelines
• Our Visitor Guidelines
• Directions & Parking

Search Stanford:

Other ways to search: Map Profiles

Explore Stanford

Main Content

A societal mission.

Stanford was founded almost 150 years ago on a bedrock of societal purpose. Our mission is to contribute to the world by educating students for lives of leadership and contribution with integrity; advancing fundamental knowledge and cultivating creativity; leading in pioneering research for effective clinical therapies; and accelerating solutions and amplifying their impact.

Campus News

Jonathan levin named stanford president.

Jonathan Levin, a distinguished economist and Stanford alumnus who has led the Stanford Graduate School of Business as dean for the last eight years, has been appointed the next president of Stanford University, the Board of Trustees has announced.

Read the full story

Preparing students to make meaningful contributions to society as engaged citizens and leaders in a complex world

Undergraduate Education

Rich learning experiences that provide a broad liberal arts foundation and deep subject-area expertise

Graduate Education

Unsurpassed opportunities to participate in the advancement of entire fields of knowledge

Graduate education

Driving impact

Continuing adult education, executive and professional programs, and programs for K-12 students

Lifelong Learning

Seven schools in which to pursue your passions

• Humanities & Sciences
• Engineering
• Sustainability

Profile of Hawa Racine Thiam

“Before coming to Stanford, I was thinking in terms of understanding. Now I feel that I can start thinking in terms of creating.”

Hawa Racine Thiam

Assistant Professor of Bioengineering

Driving discoveries vital to our world, our health, and our intellectual life

Upcoming Events

Health care.

Advancing human health through innovative research, education, and care

Stanford Medicine

Leading a worldwide revolution in precision health through biomedical research, education, and clinical enterprises

Stanford Health Care

Leveraging expertise and advanced technology  to deliver unparalleled care for each patient’s unique needs

Stanford Children’s Health

The only health care network in the Bay Area – and one of the few in the country – exclusively dedicated to pediatric and obstetric care

Profile of Meet Nadia Hemmat

“Getting into Stanford was just such an amazing shock. But once I got here and became so involved, got to meet all these wonderful people, I feel like I fit right in — and like I belonged here the whole time.”

Meet Nadia Hemmat

Class of 2023

Campus Life

Building a vibrant community of creative and accomplished people from around the world

Student Life

A residential campus with diverse housing, exceptional dining, and over 600 student organizations

Student Affairs

Arts & Culture

A rich tradition of fostering creativity and a vibrant arts district on campus

Stanford Arts

Recreation & Wellness

State-of-the-art facilities and fitness programs to encourage movement and play

Providing student-athletes the opportunity to achieve excellence both in competition and in the classroom

Home of Champions

Stanford’s 135 NCAA championships are the most for any university, a product of an unrivaled culture of excellence and continued support from the campus community

National Championships

Olympic Excellence

The Cardinal has produced at least one medalist in every Olympics in which the U.S. has competed since 1912, totaling 296 medals from 177 medalists

Multidimensional Impact

Stanford student-athletes have achieved local, national, and global impact through community involvement and advocacy

Athlete Stories

Offering extraordinary freedom to explore, to collaborate, and to challenge yourself

Explore the possibilities of a Stanford education as you map out your college journey.

We look for distinctive students who exhibit an abundance of energy and curiosity in their classes, activities, projects, research, and lives.

Stanford meets the full financial need of every admitted undergrad who qualifies for assistance.

More than two-thirds of undergrads receive some form of financial assistance. Generally, tuition is covered for families with incomes below $150,000.

• Research & Learn

Table of Contents

The judge duncan shoutdown: what stanford students think.

Stanford Law School’s Federalist Society invited Stuart Kyle Duncan, a judge for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, to Stanford Law School to give a talk on Stanford’s campus titled, “The Fifth Circuit in Conversation with the Supreme Court: Covid, Guns, and Twitter.” The talk was scheduled for March 9, 2023. 

The talk was met with backlash from the moment it was announced due to Duncan’s stances on LGBT issues. More than 70 students emailed with requests to either cancel the event or to move it online, with one email claiming Duncan has “proudly threatened healthcare and basic rights for marginalized communities.” Students also posted flyers around campus expressing further criticism of the event, with messages like, “You should be ashamed,” and claims that Duncan had fought to “deny same-sex couples the right to marry” and to “deny reproductive healthcare.”

On the morning of March 9, Stanford’s Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Tirien Steinbach sent an email to the Stanford Law community, echoing many of the criticisms and adding that while the event should go on given Stanford’s free speech policies, it would be a “significant hit” to students’ sense of belonging.

As the event was about to begin, protesters gathered in the student law lounge and prevented Federalist Society student members from entering, saying they were creating a “safe space” for LGBT students. In the meantime, nearly 100 protesters began booing students who entered the room where Duncan’s event was to take place, and nearly 70 protesters entered the room with signs.

As Judge Duncan began his remarks, dozens of Stanford law students heckled him, preventing him from proceeding. After trying to speak for about 10 minutes, Duncan angrily responded to the protesters and asked for assistance from administrators — who had been present but had taken no steps to stop the disruption. 

Steinbach then stepped to the podium to address the crowd reading from remarks she had prepared. She insisted that she wanted Judge Duncan to complete his remarks, but repeatedly praised the hecklers and rebuked Duncan, claiming that his work “has caused harm” to “many people here.” “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” Steinbach asked, implying that Duncan’s speech was too harmful to allow.

After repeated failed attempts to proceed with the event, the Federalist Society organizers decided to move on to the question and answer session. The atmosphere did not improve. The protesters and Steinbach continued to heckle Duncan, preventing him from responding. After a few questions the event ended with federal marshals escorting Duncan out for his safety.

In the days that followed, Stanford issued Duncan a formal apology and Stanford Dean Jenny Martinez wrote the Stanford Law alumni emphasizing the importance of free speech and decrying the events of March 9. Stanford Law placed Steinbach on leave and she later resigned for her participation in the event disruption.

The shoutdown and its aftermath took the media by storm, causing many to wonder about the state of free speech at one of our nation’s most elite colleges. We decided to find out for ourselves by surveying Stanford students about the incident, its aftermath, and their attitudes toward speech and protest. As many of our nation's colleges and universities lose faith in the value of free speech, we believe a deep-dive into this incident can ultimately shed light on broader trends facing academia and help us turn them around.

Key Findings

This report describes the results of a survey of 531 Stanford University undergraduate and graduate students administered by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse from April 26 to July 26, 2023, with an overall margin of error of +/- 4%.

The report also includes an analysis of responses from 284 Stanford students separately surveyed for FIRE’s 2024 College Free Speech Rankings. This included 78 Stanford students surveyed before Judge Duncan’s visit to campus and 206 surveyed after Judge Duncan’s visit. The margin of error for the whole sample of 284 Stanford students is +/- 6%.

All analyses are weighted by school demographic characteristics after data collection to reduce discrepancies between the population vs. sample characteristics.

Key findings include:

• Stanford students’ feelings about Judge Duncan’s visit to campus were mixed. When asked if Stanford’s administration was wrong to apologize to Judge Duncan, about two-thirds (65%) said this describes their feelings at least “slightly well,” and more than half of students (54%) also said they feel this way when asked if the administration should have canceled Judge Duncan’s speech.
• Three-fifths of Stanford students (60%) said that someone who has stated that “same-sex marriage is unconstitutional” — a position Judge Duncan has taken — should not be allowed to give a speech on campus.
• Conservative Stanford students felt more comfortable discussing Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford than their liberal or moderate counterparts. Liberal students also felt more comfortable expressing their views on the topic than moderates did.
• Conservative Stanford students surveyed  before Judge Duncan’s visit to campus felt more comfortable discussing a controversial political topic on campus, in the classroom, and on social media, compared to conservative students surveyed  after Judge Duncan’s visit. This was also the case when it came to disagreeing with one’s professors.
• Conservative Stanford students surveyed after Judge Duncan’s visit to campus also self-censored more often and were more worried about damaging their reputations because of someone misunderstanding something they have said or done. The frequency of self-censorship among liberal Stanford students did not change after Judge Duncan’s visit and the level of concern about damaging their reputation declined.
• Compared to liberal Stanford students, conservative and moderate Stanford students were more concerned about being “actively discriminated against” by students or faculty because of their political beliefs.
• Three-quarters of Stanford students said that shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus is acceptable, about three-fifths said that blocking other students from attending a campus speech is acceptable, and more than a third said that using physical violence to stop a campus speech is acceptable.

The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to defending and sustaining the individual rights of all Americans to free speech and free thought. These rights include freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process, legal equality, religious liberty, and sanctity of conscience — the most essential qualities of liberty. FIRE also recognizes that colleges and universities play a vital role in preserving free thought within a free society. To this end, we place a special emphasis on defending the rights of students and faculty members on our nation’s campuses.

For more information, visit thefire.org or @thefireorg on X.

About College Pulse

College Pulse is a survey research and analytics company dedicated to understanding the attitudes, preferences, and behaviors of today’s college students. College Pulse delivers custom data-driven marketing and research solutions, utilizing its unique American College Student Panel™ that includes over 750,000 college students and recent alumni from more than 1,500 two- and four-year colleges and universities in all 50 states. 

For more information, visit collegepulse.com or @CollegeInsights on X.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Sean Stevens and Nathan Honeycutt for questionnaire design, data analysis, and authoring this report; to Andrea Lan for graphics and data visualization; and to FIRE’s Campus Rights Advocacy, Communications, and Research departments for their help reviewing the report.

Greg Lukianoff

President and CEO, FIRE 

Suggested Citation

Stevens, S.T. & Honeycutt, N. (2024). The Judge Duncan Shoutdown: What Stanford Students Think.  The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. Available online: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/judge-duncan-shoutdown-what-stanford-students-think

This report describes the results of a survey administered by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and College Pulse from April 26 to July 26, 2023, that asked 531 Stanford students about Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford. 413 of these students were undergraduates and 90 were graduate students. The status of the remaining 28 students was unknown. The overall margin of error for this survey was +/- 4%. 

This report also includes an analysis of survey responses from 284 Stanford students surveyed for FIRE’s 2024 College Free Speech Rankings via the College Pulse mobile app and web portal from January 17, 2023 to June 10, 2023. This sample includes 78 Stanford students surveyed before Judge Duncan’s visit to campus and 206 who were surveyed after Judge Duncan’s visit. The margin of error for the whole sample of 284 Stanford students is +/- 6%.

Stanford Students Report Mixed Feelings About Judge Duncan’s Visit

When asked how they feel about Judge Duncan’s visit to campus, Stanford students’ answers were mixed. For instance, when asked if Stanford’s administration was wrong to apologize to Judge Duncan, about two-thirds of Stanford students (65%) said this describes their feelings at least “slightly well.” This includes almost a quarter (23%) who said it describes their feelings “very well” or “completely.” 

A notable portion of students also said the administration should have canceled Judge Duncan’s speech. More than half of Stanford students (54%) said this describes their feelings at least “slightly well,” including 16% who said this describes their feelings “very well” or “completely.” 

At the same time, when asked if Stanford failed to uphold its commitment to free speech during Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford, about three-quarters of Stanford students (74%) said this describes their feelings at least “slightly well,” and almost a quarter (24%) said this describes their feelings “very well” or “completely.” And, when asked if Stanford’s administration was correct to suspend Dean Steinbach, 60% said this describes their feelings “slightly well,” and 16% said this describes their feelings “very well” or “completely.” 

Some gender and racial differences are evident. Female students and nonwhite students were less likely to report feelings that indicated support for freedom of speech when it came to Judge Duncan’s visit to campus, compared to their male and white counterparts, respectively.

Partisan differences in feelings about Judge Duncan’s visit among Stanford students are stronger than the gender and racial differences. As reflected below, liberal students at Stanford reported very different feelings about Judge Duncan’s visit to campus and its aftermath than did moderate and conservative students. Majorities of moderate and conservative students felt that Stanford should not have canceled Judge Duncan’s speech, that the talk should not be moved off-campus, that Stanford was not wrong to apologize to Judge Duncan, and that Stanford should have punished the students who disrupted the event. In contrast, a majority of liberals felt the opposite way about each of the above aspects of Judge Duncan’s visit. At the same time, a majority of liberal students — like their moderate and conservative counterparts — said they feel Stanford was correct to suspend Dean Steinbach and that it failed to uphold its commitment to free speech during Judge Duncan’s visit to campus.

How Comfortable Were Stanford Students Expressing Their Views on Judge Duncan’s Visit?

We asked Stanford students how comfortable or uncomfortable they feel expressing their views on Judge Duncan’s visit to campus in different settings. As with their feelings about Judge Duncan’s visit, student comfort levels were mixed when it came to in-class discussions and conversations with their peers outside of the classroom. Students however, were not very comfortable expressing their views on social media.

Specifically, slightly more than half of Stanford students (51%) said they feel “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing their views on Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford during an in-class discussion. Half said the same about expressing their views during a discussion with other students in a common campus space. In contrast, a little less than a third of students (29%) felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing their views on a social media account tied to their name.

Male Stanford students felt more comfortable than female students expressing their views to other students in a common campus space: 55% of males felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable doing so, while 46% of female students felt the same. Gender differences in expressing one’s views on Judge Duncan’s visit to campus during an in-class discussion or on social media were negligible.  

In terms of racial differences, more white than nonwhite Stanford students reported feeling comfortable expressing their views during an in-class discussion (58% and 45%, respectively). Racial differences in expressing one’s views on Judge Duncan’s visit to campus to other students in a common campus space or on social media are negligible.  

Once again, partisan differences emerged and are stronger than gender and racial differences. Conservative Stanford students felt more comfortable discussing Judge Duncan’s visit to campus than their liberal or moderate counterparts. Liberal students also felt more comfortable expressing their views than did moderates.

Specifically, almost two-thirds of conservative Stanford students (63%) felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing their views about Judge Duncan’s visit to campus during an in-class discussion, and more than half (56%) felt this way about expressing their views to their peers outside the classroom. Among liberal Stanford students, about half of them felt this way about expressing their views in each setting (49% and 49%). Fewer moderate Stanford students felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing their views on Judge Duncan’s visit to campus during an in-class discussion (42%) or to their peers in a common campus space outside of the classroom (45%).

This finding is unexpected. Survey data collected by FIRE and other organizations over the past decade have consistently found that conservative students report less comfort expressing their views on campus than do their liberal counterparts. [1] Yet, after the Judge Duncan incident, conservative Stanford students were the  most  comfortable discussing the incident in the classroom and outside of it.

What is the State of Free Speech at Stanford?

Following the questions specifically about Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford, we asked some more general questions about freedom of speech on campus. These questions include a handful also asked in FIRE’s annual College Free Speech Rankings survey on administrative support and the acceptability of using illiberal forms of protest to stop a campus speech. They also include questions on whether or not controversial speakers that we have not yet asked about should be allowed on campus.

How Do Stanford Students Perceive the Administration's Stance on Freedom of Speech?

Stanford’s stance on freedom of speech is nebulous, at least according to students surveyed after the Judge Duncan incident.

When asked how clear it is that their college administration protects free speech on campus, fewer than 1 in 10 Stanford students (6%) said it is “extremely” clear, about another quarter (23%) said it is “very” clear, and about 1 in 5 students said it is “not very” or “not at all” clear. When asked how likely their college administration would be to defend a speaker’s rights during a controversy, about a third of Stanford students said it is “very” or “extremely” likely that it would. At the same time, a quarter said it is “not very” or “not at all” likely.

This confusion among Stanford students about the administration’s stance on freedom of speech and whether it would defend a speaker during a controversy is understandable. During the controversy leading up to the Judge Duncan appearance, an administrator informed the students that Stanford would not cancel the event despite requests to do so. When students then disrupted the event that same administrator admonished Judge Duncan for his legal opinions and proclaimed she was proud of the students’ actions. A different administrator then criticized the first administrator’s behavior during the shoutdown and issued Judge Duncan a formal apology. Stanford then placed the first administrator on administrative leave, and she ultimately left her position at Stanford.

Gender and racial differences on the clarity of the administration’s stance on free speech are negligible, but there are noticeable partisan differences. Almost a third of liberal students (31%) said it is “very” or “extremely” clear Stanford’s administration protects free speech on campus, and just more than half (51%) said it is “somewhat” clear. Just 18% of liberal students said the administration’s stance is “not very” or “not at all” clear. Results among moderate students are similar: A quarter said that Stanford’s stance is “very” or “extremely” clear, and another 59% said it is “somewhat” clear. Conservative students had a different opinion. About a quarter of them said that Stanford’s stance is “very” or “extremely” clear, but only 37% said it is “somewhat” clear, and 40% said it is “not very” or “not at all” clear.

Gender and racial differences in the administration’s likelihood of defending speech during a controversy are also negligible, however, partisan differences are again noticeable. Almost two-fifths of liberal students (37%) said it was “very” or “extremely” likely Stanford’s administration would defend a speaker’s rights during a controversy, compared to 13% of moderate students and 17% of conservative students. And almost half of conservative students (47%) said it is “not very” or “not at all” likely that Stanford’s administration would do this, compared to a fifth of liberal students and a quarter of moderate students. 

How Acceptable Do Students Consider Illiberal Protest at Stanford?

Shouting down a speaker, blocking entry to an event, preventing others from seeing a speaker, and using violence to stop a speech violate a speaker’s right to speak and an audience’s right to listen. A troubling number of Stanford students report that they find use of these tactics at least rarely acceptable.

Three-quarters of Stanford students surveyed for this report said shouting down speakers to prevent them from speaking on campus is at least “rarely” acceptable, about three-fifths (62%) said that blocking other students from attending a campus speech is at least “rarely” acceptable, and more than a third (36%) said that using physical violence to stop a campus speech is at least “rarely” acceptable. To put that in perspective, these percentages among Stanford students range from 9% to 17% higher than the percentages among the roughly 55,000 undergraduate students across the United States surveyed at the other 253 schools for FIRE’s 2024 College Free Speech Rankings. [2]

As reflected below, gender, racial, and partisan differences are also evident when it comes to shouting down a speaker or blocking entry into an event, but not when it comes to using violence to stop a campus speech — the one exception is that fewer white than nonwhite Stanford students said violence is at least “rarely” acceptable to stop a campus speech.

How Often Do Students Think They May Experience Political Discrimination?

When asked how often, if at all, they think students or faculty would actively discriminate against them because of their political beliefs, Stanford students reported worrying about their peers than faculty discriminating against them for political reasons. Almost a quarter of Stanford students (23%) said they feel this way about their peers at least a couple of times a week, whereas 13% of Stanford students said they feel this way about the faculty.

Student thoughts also differed based on gender, racial, and partisan differences. About a quarter of males at Stanford (24%) said they think other students would actively discriminate against them because of their political beliefs at least a couple of times a week, compared to 16% of female students. The same percentage of Stanford male and female students (12%) said they think faculty would actively discriminate against them because of their political beliefs at least a couple of times a week. In contrast, about a quarter of white students (24%) and nonwhite students (23%) said they think other students would actively discriminate against them because of their political beliefs at least a couple of times a week. However, nonwhite students were more concerned than white students about facing political discrimination from faculty (17% and 12%, respectively).

When it comes to partisan differences, liberal Stanford students were less concerned than moderate or conservative students about experiencing active discrimination from students or faculty based on their political beliefs. About 1 in 10 liberal students were concerned about facing political discrimination from other students or faculty at least a couple times a week (12% and 9%, respectively). On the other hand, 52% of moderates and 46% of conservatives were concerned about being actively discriminated against by other students based on their political beliefs. Conservative students were more concerned about being actively discriminated against by faculty at least a few times a week — a third of them, compared to 22% of moderate students, reported this. 

Which Controversial Speakers Should Be Allowed on Campus?

Campus speech controversies — including Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford — often arise because a student group or organization invites a speaker to campus who has said or done something some students find objectionable. These controversies are one kind of stress test for college’s or university’s commitment to protecting freedom of speech.

Since the 1950’s, political scientists have asked people whether controversial speakers should be allowed to express themselves in a variety of contexts — such as in a community or on a campus — to assess people’s political tolerance. [3] FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings survey uses this methodology to assess political tolerance among undergraduates. The survey first instructs students that:

Student groups often invite speakers to campus to express their views on a range of topics. Regardless of your own views on the topic, should your school ALLOW or NOT ALLOW a speaker on campus who has previously expressed the following idea?

The survey then presents students with different hypothetical speakers who have clearly expressed controversial liberal or conservative ideas and asks them which speakers should be allowed on campus. [4]

As seen in the table below, Stanford students strongly opposed allowing on campus a speaker who has expressed the viewpoint, “The Holocaust is a myth; it never happened.” When it comes to the other seven speakers, at least two-thirds of Stanford students said four of them should “probably” or “definitely” be allowed on campus. Each of these speakers were said to have expressed a liberal viewpoint (e.g., “The federal government should confiscate all guns”). And only about a fifth of students said that a speaker who expressed the viewpoint, “Biological differences help explain gender differences,” should “probably” or “definitely” be allowed on campus. Support for allowing the other two speakers on campus — both of whom were said to have expressed a conservative viewpoint (e.g., “Same-sex marriage is unconstitutional”) — was lower. 

Percentage of students who say each speaker should “probably” or “definitely” be allowed on campus.

There are also a number of gender, racial, and partisan differences.

A majority of male and female Stanford students supported inviting five of the eight speakers to campus. Four of these five speakers were said to have expressed liberal positions that may offend conservatives. A roughly equal portion of male and female students supported a hypothetical speaker said to have expressed the viewpoint, “Biological differences help explain gender differences.” The results by race were similar. There was only a noticeable difference in support between white and nonwhite students for a speaker said to have expressed the viewpoint, “The Holocaust is a myth; it never happened.”

Partisan differences in tolerance are stronger. A majority of liberal Stanford students supported allowing five speakers on campus — the same five supported by males, females, whites, and nonwhites — while moderate students supported six, and conservative students supported seven. More conservative students than liberal or moderate students supported allowing the remaining three speakers on campus than liberal or moderate students. 

Comparing Undergraduate and Graduate Students

Graduate students were more familiar than undergraduate students with Judge Duncan’s visit to campus. Almost 1 in 3 graduate students said they were very familiar with Judge Duncan’s visit to campus and another 28% said they were “somewhat” familiar with it. In contrast, 12% of undergraduate students said they are “very” familiar with the incident and another 24% said they are “somewhat” familiar with it. That graduate students were more familiar with Judge Duncan’s visit to campus is not surprising, as the judge’s remarks were intended for Stanford law students.

Graduate and undergraduate students mostly reported similar feelings about Judge Duncan’s visit to campus.

Graduate students were slightly more likely than undergraduates to say Stanford failed to uphold its commitment to freedom of speech during Judge Duncan’s visit to campus — 30% of graduate students said this described their feelings “very well” or “completely,” while 22% of undergraduates said the same. In contrast, undergraduate students were slightly more likely than graduate students to say Stanford was wrong to apologize to Judge Duncan — 24% of undergraduates said this described their feelings “very well” or “completely,” while 17% of graduate students said the same.

When asked broadly about Stanford’s stance on free speech, graduate students reported slightly more confidence in the administration than undergraduates did. Almost two-fifths of graduate students (38%) said that it is “very” or “extremely” clear their administration protects freedom of speech on campus, while 26% of undergraduates said the same. Roughly a third of graduate students (34%) and undergraduate students (33%) said it is “very” or “extremely” likely the administration would defend a speaker’s speech rights during a controversy, while a quarter of undergraduates and a fifth of graduate students said this is “not very” or “not at all” likely.

Stanford graduate students were less accepting than undergraduate students of students blocking entry to a campus event or using violence to stop a campus speech. Specifically, a little more than half of graduate students (54%)  said blocking entry is at least “rarely” acceptable, and about a quarter (24%) said the same about using violence to stop a campus speech. Roughly three-fifths of undergraduates (62%) said the same about blocking entry and a third (35%) said the same about using violence to stop a campus speech. Graduate and undergraduate views about whether students shouting down a speaker is acceptable did not differ.

Finally, as the figure below demonstrates, Stanford graduate students were also more willing than undergraduates to say that controversial speakers should be allowed on their campus.

Stanford Before and After Judge Duncan’s Visit

Judge Duncan’s appearance at Stanford occurred while FIRE conducted its annual College Free Speech Rankings survey. [5] Comparing the survey responses of students who took the survey before the shoutdown of Judge Duncan to students who took the survey afterward allows us to test for evidence of a chilling effect at Stanford following the incident.

At first glance, there is little evidence a chilling effect occurred.

A roughly equal portion of Stanford students said they self-censor at least a couple times a week because of how students, a professor, or the administration would respond (20% before Duncan’s visit, 17% afterward). The story is similar for students who were asked how worried they are about damaging their reputation because someone misunderstands something they have said or done —  59% said they worried “a little” or “a lot” about this before the Judge Duncan incident compared to 55% afterward.

Likewise, Stanford students were slightly more comfortable expressing their views on a controversial political topic to other students during a discussion in a common campus space — 44% of students surveyed before the Judge Duncan incident were “somewhat” or “very” comfortable doing so, while half of students surveyed afterward said the same. When it comes to expressing views on a controversial political topic during an in-class discussion, student comfort levels did not change — an identical 39% felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable doing so before and after the Judge Duncan incident.

Recall that when we asked Stanford undergraduate and graduate students similar questions about Judge Duncan’s visit to campus, about half said they feel “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing their views on the Judge Duncan incident. This indicates Stanford students reported  more comfort expressing their views on a specific, and recent, campus controversy than when asked about a more amorphous “controversial political topic.”

Stanford students surveyed for FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings also reported experiencing considerably less pressure to avoid discussing controversial topics in their classes after the Judge Duncan incident. Before the Judge Duncan incident, 39% of Stanford students said they feel a “good” or a “great” deal of pressure, whereas after the incident 23% said they feel this way.

Indeed, disagreeing with a professor on a controversial political topic, whether publicly or privately, were the only campus domains in which Stanford students reported experiencing less comfort expressing themselves after Judge Duncan’s visit to campus. Prior to Judge Duncan’s visit, 30% of Stanford students felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable publicly disagreeing with a professor, while 21% felt this way afterward. A similar decline was evident for disagreeing with a professor on a controversial political topic privately in a written assignment — 44% felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable doing so before Judge Duncan’s visit, while 35% felt this way afterward.

Further, in the 2024 College Free Speech Rankings survey, we provided students with a definition of self-censorship and then asked about how often they self-censor during conversations with other students on campus, with their professors, or during classroom discussions. [6] Prior to the Judge Duncan incident, roughly a quarter of Stanford students (26%) said they self-censor in conversations with other students on campus at least a couple of times a week, while 21% said the same after the incident.

Declines in self-censorship were much starker when students were asked about conversations with their professors, with 28% self-censoring at least a couple of times a week before the incident compared to 13% afterward. And when asked about classroom discussions, 30% of students self-censored in classroom discussions at least a couple of times a week prior to the incident compared to 14% afterward. In other words, self-censorship in the classroom decreased.

What do we make of this decline in classroom self-censorship following the Judge Duncan incident, combined with findings from a different Stanford sample that show at least half of Stanford students said they feel comfortable discussing Judge Duncan’s visit to campus? We believe the decline in self-censorship in conversations with professors and in the classroom occurred because difficult conversations were happening.

Thus, evidence for a general chilling effect at Stanford after Judge Duncan’s shoutdown is scant. In fact, much of the data suggest the opposite occurred, with Stanford students feeling more comfortable expressing themselves on campus after the incident than before.

A deeper dive into the data, however, reveals evidence of a chilling effect for conservative viewpoints at Stanford after Judge Duncan’s visit.

A Chilling Effect for Some Views on Campus, But Not Others

First, the frequency of self-censorship on Stanford’s campus increased sharply among conservative students after Judge Duncan’s visit. [7] Before the incident, 24% of conservative students at Stanford said they self-censor at least a couple of times a week because of how students, a professor, or the administration would respond, whereas afterward the percentage jumped to 41%. In contrast, among liberal students, the percentage who said they self-censor at least a couple of times a week did not change after the incident (12% before the incident, 14% afterward). Before the incident, however, not a single liberal Stanford student said they self-censor “very often, nearly every day,” while afterward 7% said they did.

Second, conservative Stanford students, in contrast to liberal Stanford students, were also more worried after Judge Duncan’s visit than they were before it, about damaging their reputation because someone misunderstands something they have said or done. Prior to the incident, a quarter of conservative students said they worry “a little” or “a lot.” After the incident 69% of conservative students said they worry “a little” or “a lot.” Further, the percentage of conservative students reporting “a little” bit of worry surged from 21% before the incident to 61% afterward. [8]

In contrast, liberal students were less worried about damaging their reputations after Judge Duncan’s visit. Prior to the incident, three-fifths of liberal Stanford students said they worry “a little” or “a lot” about damaging their reputation because someone misunderstands something they have said or done, while after the incident 53% felt this way. However, the percentage of liberal students who said they worry “a lot” about damaging their reputation increased from 4% prior to the incident to 13% afterward.

Third, as can be seen below, conservative Stanford students were also less comfortable expressing their views after the Judge Duncan incident in all of the settings about which they were asked. Of particular note is the fact that among conservatives, the sharpest decline in comfort expressing controversial political opinions occurred when disagreeing with a professor publicly. 

In contrast, liberal Stanford students were more comfortable expressing their views outside the classroom after Judge Duncan’s visit. Prior to the incident, almost half of liberal students (46%) felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing their views on a controversial political topic to other students during a discussion in a common campus space, while 57% felt this way afterward. About a third of liberal students (34%) felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing their views on a controversial political topic during an in-class discussion, while 44% felt this way afterward. And 15% of liberal students felt “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing an unpopular political opinion to their fellow students on a social media account tied to their names, while 29% felt this way afterward.

However, like their conservative counterparts, liberal Stanford students also felt more uncomfortable expressing disagreement with their professors on a controversial political topic after the Judge Duncan incident. Prior to Judge Duncan’s visit almost a third of liberal Stanford students (31%) said they feel “somewhat” or “very” comfortable publicly disagreeing with a professor on a controversial political topic, while 26% said the same afterward. And almost half of liberal Stanford students (45%) said they feel “somewhat” or “very” comfortable expressing disagreement with one of their professors about a controversial political topic in a written assignment prior to Judge Duncan’s visit, while 37% said the same afterwards.

Fourth, when provided with a definition of self-censorship, conservative Stanford students reported self-censoring  more often after Judge Duncan’s visit than previously in conversations with other students on campus. Prior to Judge Duncan’s visit, 14% of conservative Stanford students reported self-censoring at least once or twice a week in conversations with other students. After the incident, 39% of conservative Stanford students said they self-censor at least once or twice a week in conversations with other students, including 17% who said they now self-censor nearly every day.

In contrast, there is little difference between liberal and conservative students in the frequency of self-censorship in conversations with other students after Judge Duncan’s visit. Prior to the incident, roughly a fifth of liberal students (21%) said they self-censor at least once or twice a week in conversations with other students, while 19% said this after Judge Duncan’s visit.

In sum, after Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford’s campus, conservative students were less comfortable expressing their views on a controversial political topic in the five different settings about which they were asked, were more worried about damaging their reputations because of someone taking something they said or did out of context, and self-censored more frequently than liberal students did in conversations with other students. These findings indicate that after Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford, conservative students felt less comfortable expressing themselves on “controversial political topics,” suggesting that the shoutdown of Judge Duncan resulted in a chilling effect for conservative viewpoints.

Conclusions

The totality of these findings raises the question: If, after Judge Duncan’s visit, conservative Stanford students are more comfortable expressing their views about Judge Duncan’s visit than their peers, how can they also be less comfortable expressing their views — according to FIRE’s College Free Speech Rankings data — on controversial political topics? Perhaps conservative Stanford students were more comfortable discussing the Judge Duncan incident, an event which actually happened, than they were discussing a more abstract “controversial political topic,” because of what occurred after the shoutdown.

The incident received extensive media coverage, much of it critical of the protesters and then-Dean Steinbach’s behavior. However, Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez, and then-university President Marc Tessier-Lavigne, issued an apology to Judge Duncan two days later. Martinez also announced that all students will participate in mandatory free speech training and that Steinbach was “on leave.” [9] Stanford also promoted Martinez to provost while Steinbach resigned. [10]

In other words, the Stanford administration made it clear it did not approve of the shoutdown. Could this have made conservative Stanford students more comfortable discussing the Judge Duncan incident with their peers and professors? By Stanford making clear its position, did some reveal their conservative leanings for the first time to and/or face negative consequences from others in the community, making them less comfortable expressing their views on other controversial political topics? Unfortunately, our survey questions preclude us from offering a more definitive answer to these questions.

Broadly speaking, however, our findings paint a bleak picture for free speech at Stanford. A majority of students surveyed think that someone who has said, “Same-sex marriage is unconstitutional” — a position Judge Duncan has taken — should not be allowed to give a speech on campus, that Stanford should have canceled Judge Duncan’s speech, and that Stanford was wrong to apologize to him after the shoutdown. A majority of Stanford students also think it is “always,” “sometimes,” or “rarely” acceptable to engage in illiberal forms of protest including shouting down speakers or blocking other students from attending the event. Additionally, more than a third said this about using physical violence to stop a campus speech.

The Judge Duncan controversy is not the only deplatforming incident recorded at Stanford within the past year. Around the same time as Judge Duncan’s visit to campus, an op-ed in the student newspaper called for cancellation of an event featuring conservative media personality Matt Walsh. The student senate also opposed the event and some students set promotional materials for the event on fire. Eventbrite even removed the event from its website, forcing its organizers, the Stanford College Republicans and Young America's Foundation, to find a new ticketing platform. Walsh ultimately spoke successfully despite this deplatforming campaign, and multiple events presenting other points of view took place at the same time. [11]

Earlier this year the university’s current president, Richard Saller, held a fireside chat featuring Martinez, Israeli Special Envoy for Combating Antisemitism Michal Cotler-Wunsh, and a few other panelists. Prior to the event, the campus chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace condemned Saller and Martinez for sharing the stage with Cotler-Wunsh. Then, during the Q&A, protesters interrupted and chanted “Ceasefire now!” over Cotler-Wunsh’s answer. Stanford had the protesters escorted out of the event. [12]

Even though Stanford responded well to each of these incidents, all of them reveal its students’ significant level of hostility toward freedom of speech. As colleges and universities increasingly grapple with protests and speaker disruptions, particularly in the aftermath of Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel, the onus is on administrators to send a clear message to their campus community by protecting freedom of speech and punishing attempts to silence it.

Topline Results

How clear is it to you that your college’s administration protects free speech on campus?

  3% Not at all clear 19% Not very clear 50% Somewhat clear 23% Very clear 6% Extremely clear

If a controversy over offensive speech were to occur on your campus, how likely is it that your college’s administration would defend the speaker's right to express their views?

  6% Not at all likely 19% Not very likely 43% Somewhat likely 26% Very likely   6% Extremely likely

How familiar are you with Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan’s recent visit to Stanford’s campus?

36% Not at all familiar 22% Slightly familiar 25% Somewhat familiar 16% Very familiar

If “not at all familiar” was selected on the previous question, students were presented with the following description of the incident:

On March 9, 2023 the Stanford Law School Federalist Society attempted to host a discussion with Judge Kyle Duncan from the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on the topic of “Covid, Guns, and Twitter.” For the duration of the event, students persistently heckled Duncan, preventing him from delivering his prepared remarks. A little over 10 minutes into the event, after help from an administrator was requested, Stanford Law School Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Tirien Steinbach came to the front of the room and, under the pretext of quieting the protestors, delivered prepared remarks. Following, Duncan, being unable to finish his speech, turned directly to Question and Answer time. A handful of questions were asked while the heckling continued. Finally, flustered and unable to continue, the event concluded and Duncan was escorted out by Federal Marshals who said they were there to protect him.

How well, if at all, do the following statements  DESCRIBE YOUR FEELINGS about Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford?

Stanford’s administration should have canceled Judge Duncan’s speech.

46% Does not describe my feelings at all 22% Describes my feelings slightly well 16% Describes my feelings somewhat well   9% Describes my feelings very well   7% Completely describes my feelings

Stanford’s administration was correct to suspend Dean Steinbach.

40% Does not describe my feelings at all 22% Describes my feelings slightly well 21% Describes my feelings somewhat well   7% Describes my feelings very well   9% Completely describes my feelings

Judge Duncan’s talk should have been moved to an off-campus location.

44% Does not describe my feelings at all 20% Describes my feelings slightly well 17% Describes my feelings somewhat well 12% Describes my feelings very well   7% Completely describes my feelings

Stanford's administration should have punished the students who disrupted Judge Duncan's speech.

52% Does not describe my feelings at all 19% Describes my feelings slightly well 15% Describes my feelings somewhat well   6% Describes my feelings very well   8% Completely describes my feelings

Stanford’s administration was wrong to apologize to Judge Duncan.

35% Does not describe my feelings at all 20% Describes my feelings slightly well 22% Describes my feelings somewhat well 12% Describes my feelings very well 11% Completely describes my feelings

Stanford failed to uphold its commitment to free speech during Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford.

26% Does not describe my feelings at all 26% Describes my feelings slightly well 24% Describes my feelings somewhat well 15% Describes my feelings very well   9% Completely describes my feelings

How  COMFORTABLE  or  UNCOMFORTABLE  do you feel expressing your views on Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford during an in-class discussion?

12% Very uncomfortable 37% Somewhat uncomfortable 36% Somewhat comfortable 15% Very comfortable

How  COMFORTABLE  or  UNCOMFORTABLE  do you feel expressing your views on Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford to other students during a discussion in a common campus space such as a quad, dining hall, or lounge?

15% Very uncomfortable 35% Somewhat uncomfortable 30% Somewhat comfortable 20% Very comfortable  

How  COMFORTABLE  or  UNCOMFORTABLE  do you feel expressing your views on Judge Duncan’s visit to Stanford to your fellow students on a social media account tied to your name?

34% Very uncomfortable 36% Somewhat uncomfortable 22% Somewhat comfortable   7% Very comfortable

How often, if at all, do you think other students on campus would actively discriminate against you on the basis of your political beliefs?

13% Never 34% Rarely 30% Occasionally 12% Fairly often, a couple times a week 11% Very often, nearly every day

How often, if at all, do you think faculty on campus would actively discriminate against you on the basis of your political beliefs?

18% Never 38% Rarely 31% Occasionally   7% Fairly often, a couple times a week   7% Very often, nearly every day

How acceptable would you say it is for students to engage in the following action to protest a campus speaker?

Shouting down a speaker to prevent them from speaking on campus.

  8% Always acceptable 37% Sometimes acceptable 30% Rarely acceptable 25% Never acceptable

Blocking other students from attending a campus speech.

  3% Always acceptable 21% Sometimes acceptable 38% Rarely acceptable 38% Never acceptable

Using physical violence to stop a campus speech.

  2% Always acceptable 12% Sometimes acceptable 22% Rarely acceptable 64% Never acceptable

Note: All students were asked about a speaker who previously said “same-sex marriage should be illegal” and then were randomly presented with three other controversial speakers.

Same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. (Answered by all 531 students)

31% Definitely should not allow this speaker on campus 30% Probably should not allow this speaker on campus 27% Probably should allow this speaker on campus 12% Definitely should allow this speaker on campus

Biological differences help explain gender differences. (Answered by 243 students)

12% Definitely should not allow this speaker on campus 30% Probably should not allow this speaker on campus 37% Probably should allow this speaker on campus 22% Definitely should allow this speaker on campus

Women who have an abortion should be prosecuted for murder. (Answered by 288 students)

41% Definitely should not allow this speaker on campus 29% Probably should not allow this speaker on campus 20% Probably should allow this speaker on campus 10% Definitely should allow this speaker on campus

Organized religion is a sexist, misogynistic institution. (Answered by 273 students)

10% Definitely should not allow this speaker on campus 23% Probably should not allow this speaker on campus 46% Probably should allow this speaker on campus 21% Definitely should allow this speaker on campus

It’s okay for a transgender woman to compete in women’s sports. (Answered by 258 students)

  5% Definitely should not allow this speaker on campus 13% Probably should not allow this speaker on campus 43% Probably should allow this speaker on campus 39% Definitely should allow this speaker on campus

Parents have no role in directing the education of their children. (Answered by 187 students)

  6% Definitely should not allow this speaker on campus 25% Probably should not allow this speaker on campus 49% Probably should allow this speaker on campus 21% Definitely should allow this speaker on campus

The Holocaust is a myth, it never happened. (Answered by 164 students)

65% Definitely should not allow this speaker on campus 19% Probably should not allow this speaker on campus 13% Probably should allow this speaker on campus   3% Definitely should allow this speaker on campus

The federal government should confiscate all guns. (Answered by 180 students)

  2% Definitely should not allow this speaker on campus 26% Probably should not allow this speaker on campus 44% Probably should allow this speaker on campus 28% Definitely should allow this speaker on campus

Using the following scale, how would you describe your political beliefs?

20% Very liberal 30% Somewhat liberal 11% Slightly liberal   9% Moderate, middle-of-the-road   7% Slightly conservative   7% Somewhat conservative   3% Very conservative   9% I do not identify as a liberal or a conservative   4% Haven’t thought much about this

Methodology

The sample consists of 413 undergraduate students, 90 graduate students, and 28 students of unknown status — for a total of 531 students. The overall margin of error for this survey was +/- 4%. 

The sample was drawn from College Pulse’s American College Student Panel™, which includes more than 750,000 verified undergraduate students and recent alumni from schools within a range of more than 1,500 two- and four-year colleges and universities in all 50 states. Panel members were recruited by a number of methods to help ensure student diversity in the panel population. These methods include web advertising, permission-based email campaigns, and partnerships with university-affiliated organizations. To ensure the overall panel reflects the diverse backgrounds and experiences of the American college population, College Pulse recruited panelists from a wide variety of institutions. The panel includes students attending large public universities, small private colleges, online universities, historically Black colleges, women’s colleges, and religiously affiliated colleges. 

College Pulse uses a two-stage validation process to ensure that all its surveys include only students currently enrolled in two- or four-year colleges or universities. Students are required to provide an “.edu” email address to join the panel and, for this survey, had to acknowledge that they are currently enrolled full-time in a four-year degree program or a graduate level program. All invitations to complete surveys were sent to the student’s “.edu” email address or through a notification in the College Pulse app, available on iOS and Android platforms. 

College Pulse applies a post-stratification adjustment based on demographic distributions from multiple data sources, including the Current Population Survey (CPS), the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). The post-stratification weight rebalances the sample based on a number of important benchmark attributes, such as race, gender, class year, voter registration status, and financial aid status. The sample weighting is accomplished using an iterative proportional fitting (IFP) process that simultaneously balances the distributions of all variables. Weights are trimmed to prevent individual interviews from having too much influence on the final results. 

The use of these weights in statistical analysis ensures that the demographic characteristics of the sample closely approximate the demographic characteristics of the target populations. Even with these adjustments, surveys may be subject to error or bias due to question wording, context, and order effects. For further information, please see:  https://collegepulse.com/methodology .

College Pulse calculated two weights for the statistical analysis of the present survey: a weight based on the demographic information provided by Stanford to IPEDS and a weight that also accounted for whether the respondent was an undergraduate or graduate student. 

[1] Knight Foundation/IPSOS (2023). College student views on free expression and campus speech 2022.  The Knight Foundation . Available online: https://knightfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/KFX_College_2022.pdf; Zhou, S & Barbaro, N. (2023). Understanding campus expression across higher ed: Heterodox Academy’s annual Campus Expression Survey.  Heterodox Academy . Available online: https://heterodoxacademy.org/reports/2022-campus-expression-survey-report/;  Zhou S. & Zhou, S. (2022). Understanding the campus expression climate: A research report from 2019, 2020, and 2021.  Heterodox Academy . Available online: https://heterodoxacademy.org/reports/campus-expression-survey-campus-expression-climate-research-report/.  

[2] Stevens, S.T. (2023).  2024 College Free Speech Rankings: What Is the State of Free Speech on America’s College Campuses?  The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression . https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/2024-college-free-speech-rankings  

[3] Gibson, J. (2006). Enigmas of intolerance: Fifty years after Stouffer’s  Communism, Conformity, and Civil Liberties .  Perspectives on Politics, 4, 21–34; Stouffer, S. A. (1955).  Communism, conformity, and civil liberties: A cross-section of the nation speaks its mind. Transaction Publishers; Sullivan, J. L.; Piereson, J.; & Marcus, G. E. (1979). An alternative conceptualization of political tolerance: Illusory increases 1950s–1970s.  American Political Science Review, 73, 781–794; Sullivan, J. L.; Piereson, J.; & Marcus, G. E. (1982).  Political Tolerance and American Democracy . University of Chicago Press. 

[4] All 531 students were asked about a speaker who had previously expressed that “Same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.” This was done because one of Judge Duncan’s judicial decisions that was cited by those opposed to his appearance on campus argued for this position. Students were also randomly presented with three of the other seven speakers.  

[5] A total of 284 Stanford students were surveyed in the 2024 rankings survey. Of these 284 students, 78 of them took the survey on March 9, 2023 or earlier (71 once the weighting variable was applied) and 206 of them took the survey March 10, 2023 or later (213 once the weighting variable was applied). 

[6] This next series of questions asks you about self-censorship in different settings. For the purpose of these questions, self-censorship is defined as follows:

Refraining from sharing certain views because you fear social (e.g., exclusion from social events), professional (e.g., losing job or promotion), legal (e.g., prosecution or fine), or violent (e.g., assault) consequences, whether in person or remotely (e.g., by phone or online), and whether the consequences come from state or non-state sources.

[7] All analyses in this section that compare liberal and conservative Stanford students were based on students who participated in the College Free Speech Rankings survey this year before or after the Judge Duncan incident. They are based on the following sample sizes: Liberal, Pre-Duncan = 42; Liberal, Post-Duncan = 151; Conservative, Pre-Duncan = 13; Conservative, Post-Duncan = 29. Only two moderates took the survey before the Judge Duncan incident, precluding any before and after comparisons among students in this group. 

[8] The percentage of conservative students saying they were “worried a lot” about damaging their reputation also doubled, from 4% to 8%. 

[9] Letter from Stanford Law School Dean Jenny Martinez to the campus community, March 22, 2023. Available online: https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/letter-stanford-law-school-dean-jenny-martinez-campus-community-march-22-2023; Barnes, T. & Willis, J. (March 22, 2023). Stanford Law School dean makes powerful commitment to free expression after shout-down controversy.  The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression . Available online: https://www.thefire.org/news/stanford-law-school-dean-makes-powerful-commitment-free-expression-after-shout-down  

[10] Moody, J. (July 21, 2023). Dean at center of Stanford Law controversy resigns.  Inside Higher Ed . Available online: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/quick-takes/2023/07/21/dean-center-stanford-law-controversy-resigns#:~:text=Months%20after%20being%20at%20the,law%20school%20dean%20Jenny%20Martinez.  

[11] Aidala, A. (February 21, 2023). Matt Walsh: A dangerous presence on campus. Available online: https://stanforddaily.com/2023/02/21/from-the-community-matt-walsh-a-dangerous-presence-on-campus/; Chen, C. & Cu, M.A. (March 3, 2023). Despite controversy, no protests materialize for Matt Walsh’s visit. Available online: https://stanforddaily.com/2023/03/03/despite-controversy-no-protests-materialize-for-matt-walshs-visit/  

[12] Yang, A. & Chen, C. (January 26, 2024). Jewish protester disrupts Saller, Martinez panel on antisemitism.  The Stanford Daily . Available online: https://stanforddaily.com/2024/01/26/protestors-disrupt-saller-martinez-panel-on-antisemitism/?utm_campaign=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_source=mailchimp&utm_content=Jan-26-2024

Related pages

• Stanford University: Law Students, Administrator Disrupt Federalist Society Event Featuring 5th Circuit Judge
• Stanford University
• Share this selection on Twitter
• Share this selection via email

Update browser for a secure Made experience

It looks like you may be using a web browser version that we don't support. Make sure you're using the most recent version of your browser, or try using of these supported browsers, to get the full Made experience: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge.

• Update Account

Starry Nights

Log in for Stanford student discounted tickets

SF Ballet returns to Starry Nights at Stanford Live with a full evening of repertory ranging from classical to contemporary showcasing the dynamic range of SF Ballet’s impressive roster of dancers.

The program includes Act II of Helgi Tomasson’s deeply moving Swan Lake . This quintessential classical ballet features the visually stunning corps de ballet of swans and the tender White Swan pas de deux.     

These performances mark the SF Ballet premiere of Ben Stevenson’s Three Preludes . Set to Sergei Rachmaninoff's piano compositions, this captivating work blends technical prowess with emotional depth and invites the audience on a journey through the complexities of the human soul.    

The evening closes with a tribute to the Dutch choreographer Hans van Manen whose hallmark inventive style will be on full display with Variations for Two Couples , Solo, and 5 Tango’s set to a score by the maestro of nuevo tango, Astor Piazzolla.   

This will be a memorable evening of traditional favorites and exciting company premieres that showcase classical and contemporary themes and celebrate the dynamic range of our dancers.  

Swan Lake Act II Choreographer: Helgi Tomasson, after Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov Composer: Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Three Preludes Choreographer: Ben Stevenson Composer: Sergei Rachmaninoff

Variation for Two Couples Choreographer: Hans van Manen Composers: Benjamin Britten, Einojuhani Rautavaara, Steven Kovacs Tickmayer, Astor Piazzolla

Solo Choreographer: Hans van Manen Composer: Johann Sebastian Bach 5 Tango’s Choreographer: Hans van Manen Composer: Astor Piazzolla

*Programming is subject to change

Make your evening extra special with seats at our VIP tables. VIP tables include food and beverage service (purchased separately), priority entry, and a special VIP-only menu of snacks, bites, and premium beverages.

Buy tickets for {{performance.Date}}

Parking pass.

Purchase a parking pass for $30 in the  Galvez Lot located at the corner of  Campus Drive and Lasuen Street. 

Stanford Live Arts Festival Sponsor:

  The San Francisco Ballet’s performances are generously supported by Sue & John Diekman and Jerry Yang & Akiko Yamazaki.

Frost Amphitheater

Explore More Events

Spanish favorites with the sf symphony, count basie orchestra, taj mahal quintet, the movie music of john williams with the sf symphony, cumbia@frost.

College Sports | Stanford football: Why Cardinal are looking…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
• Click to print (Opens in new window)
• Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)

Today's e-Edition

• Earthquakes
• High School
• Pac-12 Hotline
• Dieter Kurtenbach

College Sports

College sports | stanford football: why cardinal are looking forward to new acc affiliation, stanford stadium hosts first acc game against virginia tech on oct. 5. wake forest, louisville, and smu also visit the farm in 2024.

STANFORD – When Stanford opened last season at Hawai’i, traveling a day earlier than usual to adjust to the time change and the long flight, little did it know that it would be good preparation for the years to follow.

Starting this season, Stanford will replace annual trips to the Pacific Northwest and Southern California with cross-country flights as it begins a new era in the ACC.

The Cardinal will play four games in the Eastern time zone in 2024, including visits to Syracuse, Clemson and N.C. State and a previously scheduled game at Notre Dame.

“It’s going to be fun,” junior cornerback Colin Wright said. “I know a lot of people have mentioned the travel implications, but I think all those things will work themselves out. Playing against schools that we’ve all admired growing up like the Clemsons and Miamis will be interesting.

“A kid like me from Texas has never been to the East Coast, so it will be an interesting opportunity to see those places.”

While almost everyone would prefer the old arrangement of the Pac-12 and its longstanding regional rivalries, the Cardinal are seeing advantages to their new conference affiliation.

Senior linebacker Gaethan Bernadel, a Miami native, is excited that his family won’t have to stay up as late to watch many of his games, and defensive coordinator Bobby April is looking forward to being on national television more often.

“It will be fun to see our guys getting pubbed up in New York and California,” April said.

The ACC Network is available in about 90 million households, while the Pac-12 Network is available in less than 20 million households – one of the many reasons the Pac-12 is disbanding.

The coaching staff is preparing for a whole new set of opponents (Cal and Notre Dame are the only holdovers from last season), though April said it’s no different than last year when the staff brought in by new coach Troy Taylor was new to the Pac-12.

After facing a series of top QBs last year – USC’s Caleb Williams was selected first overall and Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. and Oregon’s Bo Nix were picked in the top 12 in the NFL Draft on Thursday – Stanford’s defense might have to prepare for a different set of challenges this fall.

“I anticipate we’ll get a lot more running in the ACC,” Wright said. “The Pac-12 is known for Air Raid offenses, people sling the ball around, which is why most of the QBs in the Pac-12 translate in the NFL. So I anticipate a lot more running.”

The Cardinal opens at home against TCU on Aug. 30 and hosts Cal Poly on Sept. 7 before opening ACC play at Syracuse on Sept. 20.

Stanford Stadium will host its first ACC game against Virginia Tech on Oct. 5. Wake Forest, Louisville, and SMU are also coming to The Farm in 2024 for the first time as conference opponents.

Though the schedule will look different, the coaching staff has stayed the same from last year, which should help the Cardinal improve on a 3-9 record in Taylor’s first season.

“We’re talking about fundamentals way more than in the past because the guys know the plays now,” April said.

As spring practice wrapped up on Friday, Bernadel compared tape from last spring and this spring and said the improvements were noticeable.

“Experience counts for something, and you see that Year 2 learning is a real thing,” Bernadel said. “Guys are going a lot faster. There’s no thinking, just play ball, so that’s a big thing for us. I can’t wait to see what we do in the fall.”

• Report an error
• Policies and Standards

More in College Sports

SUBSCRIBER ONLY

College sports | what stanford star kiki iriafen transferring to usc means for cardinal.

College Sports | NFL Draft winners and losers: Pac-12 shines before extinction while new versions of SEC, Big Ten dominate

College Sports | San Jose State football: Quarterback competition headlines 2024 spring game

College Sports | Top transfer prospect, former Stanford guard Stojaković heading to Cal

Our improved site navigation is here! Thank you to everyone who participated in our user tests. Send us your feedback .

Family Care & Parental Bonding Leave

Main navigation, guidelines, policies & forms.

Administrative Guide 2.3.5

If you need to take time off to care for a loved one or bond with a new child, you may be eligible for job-protected leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and California Family Rights Act (CFRA). At Stanford, some or all of your job-protected leave may be paid.

Criteria for Family Care

• You are caring for an immediate family member suffering from a serious health condition
• You are bonding with your newborn, foster child or adopted child
• Federal law (FMLA) and California law (CFRA) allow you to take up to 12 weeks of job-protected leave during a rolling 12-month period for all eligible leaves of absence combined
• FMLA and CFRA are not paid; however, paid family leave (PFL) benefits may provide you with full or partial income replacement while on an eligible leave for up to eight weeks in a rolling 12-month period. Your balance of job-protected leave, up to an additional four weeks, can be taken using a combination of vacation and paid time off accruals as income replacement
• PFL may be taken intermittently, and is most often taken in increments of at least two weeks each when used for baby bonding time
• The  San Francisco Paid Parental Leave Ordinance  provides supplemental compensation in addition to PFL to employees working in San Francisco.

Paid Family Leave - How It Works

Review your options.

Visit the pages below to learn more about your job-protection and insurance options while on a Family Leave.

• Family Medical Leave Act
• Paid Family Leave
• Steps for Taking Leave Checklist

• Accessibility Options:
• Skip to Content
• Skip to Search
• Skip to footer
• Office of Disability Services
• Request Assistance
• 305-284-2374
• High Contrast
• School of Architecture
• College of Arts and Sciences
• Miami Herbert Business School
• School of Communication
• School of Education and Human Development
• College of Engineering
• School of Law
• Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science
• Miller School of Medicine
• Frost School of Music
• School of Nursing and Health Studies
• The Graduate School
• Division of Continuing and International Education
• People Search
• Class Search
• IT Help and Support
• Privacy Statement
• Student Life
• University of Miami
• Division of University Communications
• Office of Media Relations
• Miller School of Medicine Communications
• Hurricane Sports
• UM Media Experts
• Emergency Preparedness
• Connection and Transition
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Student Engagement
• Well-Being and Resiliency
• Departments and Areas
• 'Canes Care for 'Canes
• Latest Headlines
• Student Affairs
• Subscribe to News@TheU Newsletter
• UM NEWS HOME

Saying Goodbye to SRC

By Margaret Todd 04-24-2024

After 55 years of standing tall, Henry King Stanford Residential College is coming down. Following the tear down of Hecht Residential College, in the summer of 2022, phase one of Centennial Village is set to open this fall for incoming freshman where Hecht once stood. Phase two begins with the demolition of Stanford Residential College, with a projected opening fall 2026.

Stanford Residential College houses 960 students on 24 floors between the two towers, Walsh and Rosborough. Both towers are also home to some amazing residential faculty including Leslie and Marc Knecht, Melvin Butler, and Karoline Mortensen—all of which are heavily involved in the residential community and enjoy getting to know their fellow residents. Through decades of residential events catered to student success, these dorms have certainly made a mark and are a staple of the history of the University of Miami.

For decades of students, Stanford Residential College was where young adults resided for the academic year, but for the generations of student Residential Assistants (RA), Stanford was more than just a place to stay. Celeste Landry, a third year RA and four-time resident of the towers, reflects back on her time in Stanford and is grateful for all the community it has brought her. “Stanford has been a place that has allowed me to grow and given me the chance to create my own opportunities for leadership. The four walls of the tower bedrooms have been the only room I have known while in college and have taken me through four amazing years,” says Landry.

At the event, Stanford’s Last Stand, that took place on Tuesday, April 24, Stanford's history was honored through a trip down memory lane. Patricia A. Whitely, senior vice president for student affairs and alumni engagement, was spotlighted and honored with a plaque at the event, as she started her career in the Stanford Residential College community as Area Director from 1982-1987. She found her love for the University and continues to lead the division of student affairs in providing a transformational student experience.

Along with Whitely, fourth year Stanford Resident, Sam Carter, had a chance to speak about what SRC meant to him. "You see, this dormitory, with it's quirks and imperfections, has taught me a valuable lesson—that challenges, far from being obstacles, are opprotunities for growth. Living [at Stanford Residential College] has forced me out of my comfort zone, pushing me to adapt, to connect with others, and to find strength in the face of adversity," said Carter.

Although Stanford itself is being torn down, the traditions and spirit the community has created will live on. Whether you were a resident yourself or not, this momentous occasion allowed a place to honor the residential college and how it paved the way for the future of the University.

Division of Student Affairs

• 1252 Memorial Drive Coral Gables , FL 33146
• 305-284-4922 305-284-4922
• [email protected]
• UM News and Events
• Alumni & Friends
• 'Cane Watch

Tools and Resources

• Academic Calendar
• Department Search
• Parking & Transportation
• social-facebook
• social-twitter
• social-youtube
• social-instagram

Copyright: 2024 University of Miami. All Rights Reserved. Emergency Information Privacy Statement & Legal Notices Title IX & Gender Equity Website Feedback

Individuals with disabilities who experience any technology-based barriers accessing the University’s websites or services can visit the Office of Workplace Equity and Inclusion .

Russia arrests another suspect in the concert…

Share this:.

• Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
• Click to share on X (Opens in new window)

Daily e-Edition

Evening e-Edition

• Things to Do
• Top Workplaces
• Advertising
• Classifieds

Breaking News

Teenage woman killed, four other injured in one-car rollover crash in willington, news world news, russia arrests another suspect in the concert hall attack that killed 144.

`MOSCOW (AP) — A Moscow court has detained another suspect as an accomplice in the attack by gunmen on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 144 people in March, the Moscow City Courts Telegram channel said Saturday.

Dzhumokhon Kurbonov, a citizen of Tajikistan, is accused of providing the attackers with means of communication and financing. The judge at Moscow’s Basmanny District Court ruled that Kurbonov would be kept in custody until May 22 pending investigation and trial.

Russian state news agency RIA Novosti said Kurbonov was reportedly detained on April 11 for 15 days on the administrative charge of petty hooliganism. Independent Russian media outlet Mediazona noted that this is a common practice used by Russian security forces to hold a person in custody while a criminal case is prepared against them.

Twelve defendants have been arrested in the case, including four who allegedly carried out the attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue, according to RIA Novosti.

Those four appeared in the same Moscow court at the end of March on terrorism charges and showed signs of severe beatings. One appeared to be barely conscious during the hearing. The court ordered that the men, all of whom were identified in the media as citizens of Tajikistan, also be held in custody until May 22.

A faction of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the massacre in which gunmen shot people who were waiting for a show by a popular rock band and then set the building on fire. But Russian officials including President Vladimir Putin have persistently claimed, without presenting evidence, that Ukraine and the West had a role in the attack.

Ukraine denies involvement and its officials claim that Moscow is pushing the allegation as a pretext to intensify its fighting in Ukraine .

More in World News

SUBSCRIBER ONLY

Orange crush: boats packed with revelers tour amsterdam canals to celebrate the king’s birthday.

Long lines form and frustration grows as Cuba runs short of cash

Pro-Palestinian students have peacefully evacuated prestigious Paris university campus building

Pope to bring his call for ethical artificial intelligence to G7 summit in June in southern Italy

• Business Today
• India Today
• India Today Gaming
• Cosmopolitan
• Harper's Bazaar
• Brides Today
• Aajtak Campus

• Magazine Cover Story Editor's Note Deep Dive Interview The Buzz
• BT TV Market Today Easynomics Drive Today BT Explainer
• Market Today Trending Stocks Indices Stocks List Stocks News Share Market News IPO Corner
• Tech Today Unbox Today Authen Tech Tech Deck Tech Shorts
• Money Today Tax Investment Insurance Tools & Calculator
• Mutual Funds
• Industry Banking IT Auto Energy Commodities Pharma Real Estate Telecom
• Visual Stories

INDICES ANALYSIS

Mutual funds.

• Cover Story
• Editor's Note
• Market Today
• Drive Today
• BT Explainer
• Trending Stocks
• Stocks List
• Stocks News
• Share Market News
• Unbox Today
• Authen Tech
• Tech Shorts
• Tools & Calculator
• Commodities
• Real Estate
• Election with BT
• Economic Indicators
• BT-TR GCC Listing

Alakh Pandey of Physics Wallah asks Indian students in US to return, contribute to country

In a post on Instagram, which is now viral, Pandey shared photos from his recent visit to prestigious education institutes such as Harvard University, Stanford University and the University of California as a speaker.

• Updated Apr 28, 2024, 10:16 AM IST

He shared a string of photos while posing with professors and students and also wrote in Hindi, “Jai Hind. I was invited as a speaker at Harvard University, Stanford University and University of California as a speaker. There, I motivated Indian students to come back to the country.”

He also urged students to contribute towards India’s development either directly or directly. “Yes, our country has a lot of flaws but no country is perfect. The youth of the nation should work towards making it better,” he added.

The now viral post has got reactions from his fans and followers, who hailed him for the gesture.

“Should we bow? Yes, he is the real king,” one user wrote. 

"Idol for a reason," another user remarked. "That's how success looks like," wrote another. 

Indian edtech unicorn PhysicsWallah has fired about 120 employees after a performance review in November last year. This is the first reported instance of layoffs at the company that has been one of the only profitable edtech firm in India.

The company issued a statement noting that the layoffs were a part of the performance review cycle and not a cost cutting measure.

Satish Khengre, Chief Human Resources Officer at PhysicsWallah said in a statement, "At PW, we regularly assess performance through mid-term and end-term cycles. For the cycle ending in October, less than 0.8 percent of our workforce, ranging from 70 to 120 individuals with performance concerns—may be asked to transition.”

The CHRO also noted that the company plans to hire an additional 1,100 employees in the next two quarters.

TOP STORIES

• Advertise with us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms and Conditions
• Press Releases

Copyright©2024 Living Media India Limited. For reprint rights: Syndications Today

Add Business Today to Home Screen