Band Runs and Dorm Community

In her Stanfordphile column, Anya Vedantambe profiles students, faculty, staff and alumni, highlighting community members’ unique stories and their favorite aspects of Stanford.

Senior Taylor Pagel leans conspiratorially over her marinara pasta. She’s about to tell me about a rule she broke at Stanford, and I’m anxiously awaiting her answer. The chatter of the late dinner crowd (or as late as dinner arrives at Arrillaga Dining Commons, i.e. 7:30) buzzes around us, and the warm glow of the room makes me feel like this place is going to run out of steam very soon. could become my home.

It turns out that Taylor broke this rule not just her sophomore year, not just her freshman year, but every year she has been physically on campus. What could this be? I wonder.

“I’ve done tire running about three times,” she admits, laughing. “You’re only allowed to do belt running when you’re a freshman,” she says, “but technically I was the RA who started it, so it doesn’t really count.”

Band Run is a tradition during New Student Orientation, where the marching band runs around campus, stopping at each dormitory to pick up freshmen who join the running crowd. The run ends in front of the Memorial Church with dancing and celebration. After spending the first year in COVID isolation, hearing the trumpets and horns blaring, pulling along with the crowd to avoid being trampled, and dancing under the glowing lights in Main Quad was doubly special.

Taylor, a SymSys major from Temecula, California, has spent the past three years at Stanford giving back to her community as an RA (residential assistant). Some people may shy away from a job that takes up their entire life, but for Taylor, the work is a joy. According to her, being an RA is a special opportunity to meet many new people and make close friendships.

“I love working with people and mentoring people,” she says. In her opinion, there are few other places where “you can have so many connections with so many people from so many different backgrounds.”

Taylor is one of the few Stanford students who can say she has seen the freshmen she mentored as sophomores become RAs themselves as juniors.

“It was a really cool experience to see their growth as people,” she told me. “I still remember that first day,” she reminisces, saying that seeing things come full circle makes her “very happy for their residents,” because she knows they will do well as RAs.

In addition to being an RA, one of her favorite things about Stanford is the many opportunities to connect with others. “Stanford is doing its best” to give people those opportunities, she says, “whether that’s through phone calls or other programs or Cardinal nights.” She loves that there are plenty of opportunities to meet new people, even if you haven’t made the effort in recent years.

As we talk, the room begins to empty and become quiet, and the staff closes the metal gate at the entrance to the hall. Taylor shares one final Stanford secret with me before we put away our plates. Or maybe it’s not really a secret – maybe I’m just a freshman.

“Many people don’t know that the church is almost always open during the week,” she says. “So sometimes I go in there between classes, and it’s a really nice place to clear your head… It’s beautiful.” She continues: “I think this is something that has always met my expectations. Even when things don’t go well, I can always rely on the beauty of the campus: the trees, the foliage, the sunsets and the buildings.”

I’m always looking for members of the Stanford community to feature in the column! If you’re interested in being featured next on Stanfordphile, visit tinyurl.com/stanfordphile.