From the Editors | Introducing the ‘Escondido’ magazine

Soon, we will be sending the Class of 2024 off into the world. Starting next fall, most of the undergraduate student body will no longer have memories of pre-COVID campus life, remote Stanford classes or pandemic protocols. Many of us will be unaware of which traditions have been made and remade, and which did not stand the test of time.

What are aspects of the Stanford campus and community that are lesser known to students? This question guided our search for the theme of the Volume 265 magazine.

In good company with many of our peers, we first turned to ChatGPT. “Give me a two-word magazine theme that is a wordplay on a Stanford tradition or landmark,” we asked it. After getting a few unsatisfactory answers like “Cardinal Directions” and “Tree-ditions,” we abandoned artificial intelligence. The perfect theme dawned on us when we were looking at a campus map for inspiration: “Escondido.” 

Escondido is central to our experience on campus. It is the road that runs from Meyer Green to Stanford Avenue, bisecting East Campus and leaving its traces on many building names: EVGR, Escondido Elementary School. It is the road we all walk on our way to get Wilbur dinner specials. It is the site of plenty of bike accidents, cross-campus jogs and sand volleyball.

But its meaning extends beyond Stanford landmarks. Escondido translates to “hidden” in Spanish. It allows us to explore aspects of Stanford culture and history that are hidden in plain sight.

Some of the details we uncovered in this issue do center around physical spaces. Mark Allen Cu’s ’26 opinion piece calls on the University to rename Wilbur Hall in recognition of the fact that its namesake was a eugenicist. Amina Wase’s ’26 article highlights meaningful goings-on within the Stanford Law School: a conference on the present-day ramifications of the War on Terror and a student-initiated reading group on the legal doctrine that the war set into motion. Charlotte Cao ’27 and Adam Golomb ’27 give a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation that student band “The Move” put into opening for Frost Fest, following them around campus and to the annual music festival. 

Other hidden aspects that we unveiled were more cultural and metaphorical. Dan Kubota ’27 explores Japanese American students’ identities on campus from the 1940s to the present, delving into The Daily’s archives surrounding Japanese internment. Cate Burtner ’25 reveals how 1970’s literature students rebuilt a literary magazine from the ground up, pushing it to achieve international fame. One of us, Greta Reich ’26, narrates the journey of student band “Six of Spades” from jamming sessions to their first album release this summer. 

An original short story by Kaylee Chan ’27 flips the standard college narrative into a sci-fi thriller, adding new connotations to the term “imposter syndrome.” Cameron Duran ’24 and Bradley Bush ’27 take the meaning of hidden literally, embedding Stanford history and traditions into trivia games and mini-crosswords. We conclude with personal narratives from another group of students who are “hidden” from much of campus: graduating Daily staffers, two of whom were former editors in chief.

We sincerely hope that in each article, you uncover an aspect of Stanford that was previously unknown to you. If you’re graduating, we hope you take these stories with you as mementos as you venture into the world. If you’re a new student, we hope these stories introduce you to parts of this campus that is your new home. For everyone, we hope these stories show you just how much Stanford will continue to surprise you with its rich history and legacies. 

Linda Liu ’25 and Greta Reich ’26

Vol. 265 Magazine Editors

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