Kwisatz Haderach
Christmas at Stanford
369 Panama Mall Stanford University. (Chase Leo S. C.)
Written By: Chase Leo S. C., head editor
Christmas, the annual holiday for Jesus Christ’s birthday, is usually when individuals attend mass gatherings at Church, have family reunions and expect gifts from Santa Claus. On that fateful day, I spent Christmas at Stanford University.
Rated the best University in California and 4th best University nationally according to USNews, why would anyone decline a day at Stanford? Stanford’s community is academically driven and poised to innovate breakthroughs in technology, medicine, and sciences.
With the presence of industry giants such as Amazon, Google, and Meta, they know individuals from Stanford will be curing diseases, performing the impossible, and revolutionizing our future.
Why go during Christmas? Well, after going to the same celebration almost every year of my life, I decided it was time to be more innovative and look at how the next CEOs, breakthrough scientists, and scholars celebrate Christmas at Stanford University, particularly in Downtown Palo Alto.
After having a mouthwatering sponge cake, dim sum, sticky rice, and shrimp rice rolls at Red A Dim Sum, located at 634 Clement St, San Francisco, CA, my father was in a dilemma about whether to take me to the University of California, Berkeley, or San Francisco State University. I mentioned Stanford University, insisting on seeing the culture there during the holidays.
After enduring the one-hour drive with beautiful sights of the San Andreas Fault and Junipero Serra statue, I got dropped off on the famous University Avenue. Needing to catch up on my reading of God Emperor of Dune by Frank Herbert, I stayed at the Starbucks nearby.
The infrastructure of Starbucks alone shows the influence of the tech giants surrounding the area. This Starbucks had a huge open area made out of glass for people-watching and sunlight. The design was genius, and the comfortable chairs and nice air circulation made reading and studying enjoyable.
Inside Downtown Palo Alto Starbucks (Vivian C/Yelp)
Due to it being Christmas, many businesses including Starbucks closed at 3 p.m. I ended up walking up Downtown Palo Alto and spun around back to the towering city hall. All of the buildings were either for studying, food, education, or social reasons which amplified the academic environment.
Shortly after, I walked past El Camino Real, which facilitated the road toward the Spanish Missions, and to the Stanford Shopping Center, which was empty. Walking toward the Stanford medical buildings, you can see the beauty of the infrastructure alongside nature, with many paths leading around the campus.
Once I found myself at the Cantor Arts Center, I roamed around the various Rodin pieces, such as The Gate of Hell and The Thinker. Many families were there looking at the masterpieces held at the University.
The Gates of Hell, Cantor Arts Center, Stanford University. (Chase Leo S. C.)
Roaming around the University felt endless. You would see various halls for particular studies, such as Chemistry, and the massive complex just for their Bio-X program. Every building was unique for its field, the most eye-catching was the stone spheres in the Science & Engineering Quad which looked like planets surrounded by beautiful trees and mounds.
The Science & Engineering Quad and James H. Clark Center, Stanford University (Chase Leo S. C.)
Afterward, I went to the Tresidder Memorial Union, where many families were viewing and sightseeing at Stanford. I went inside the dining area to see Starbucks, the only building open, overwhelmed with a mob of visitors trying to order.
On the far back side of the dining hall, I saw some students trying to use the smoke screen of visitors to study and read. I took the opportunity to sit among the students and only read a few pages of God Emperor of Dune before the exhausted Starbucks manager came over and told us all to get out.
After being kicked out of the building, I was a free spirit once again. I walked around the White Memorial Plaza, known by many as the Student Union, and looked around the various buildings, including the graduating Senior class of 2025’s Lasuen Mall Old Union.
As an independent and developing journalist, I had to swing around The Lorry Lokey Stanford Daily Building to see where the future journalists of The Washington Post, The New York Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle do their magic.
The Lorry Lokey Stanford Daily Building, Stanford University. (Chase Leo S. C.)
Once the families at the campus started depleting, and the sunlight was fading, I retraced my steps back towards Downtown Palo Alto. While walking back I had a chance to see a Stanford Hospital helicopter airlift someone toward the helipad above the building.
Walking through the underpass that separates Stanford University from Downtown Palo Alto, I got hungry so I actively searched around the various businesses across the area.
Being a fanatic for breakfast, I stopped at the Palo Alto Creamery, which was jam-packed with customers. I walked up to the host and he looked at me. After an awkward silence, I said “Can I eat here?” and he said right back “Oh, yes, yes, where do you want to sit?”
The host thought I was a burdensome teenager and asked me to sit right next to the cash register. Not wanting to add another problem to the multiple he had on Christmas Day, I complied.
Being alone made me vulnerable to loneliness. I saw many students and families having food while I was alone. Sitting alone in the booth, I took out God Emperor of Dune to mask the deafening feeling of loneliness.
The waiter stopped by the table, asking what drink I wanted. This restaurant had cola and root beer from the tap, but thinking I could not afford it, the waiter asked if I wanted a fountain drink due to there being free refills.
Knowing he was thinking about the availability of money I had, I accepted to ease him. Luckily, their soda fountain was having trouble, and he gave me one of their specialty Empire Cola.
The taste was genuine, you could feel the sugarcane and the authentic cola feel, and I could not stop myself from drinking it till the waiter rolled around again. He offered me cheap options, which appalled me. I did not say anything back, I knew the consideration he had in mind for helping a teenage kid conserve money.
I asked him for his favorite dish and he talked about one with SPAM. I questioned the dish further and he asked “You have not had SPAM?” No, I have never had SPAM and not being interested in SPAM, I hurriedly got Corn Beef Hash & Eggs.
Corn Beef Hash & Eggs at Palo Alto Creamery. (Chase Leo S. C.)
Breakfast is excellent. I always say to people that if I could only eat either breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I would eat breakfast. The protein-rich beef and eggs, along with the buttery bread and jam force you to eat slowly, making you study each flavor profile. Each is so diverse but works together to form a beautiful harmony that fulfills you.
Families came in one after another, and I got woken up from the utopia presented before me. Kids kicked at my booth and tried to make me look back. Parents are so distracted with getting seats for their families, that possibly thinking annoying people with their kids would make them hurry out.
I believe kids are born innocent, to one day lose their innocence at their own cost. They are not born with malice, or troubled with the idea of societal problems such as climate change or politics. They represent so much of what people want to be, free-spirited but yet oblivious to the expectations and overbearing gravity the world forces upon us.
Finishing the delicacy and receiving the check, I paid at the cash register and left, feeling the silent breeze of freedom outside the deafening restaurant.
I walked around Downtown Palo Alto again seeing the families and a variety of restaurants serving mouth-watering foods. Ultimately, after notifying my father that I was ready to go, I sat down outside of Verve Coffee Roasters, which had a line in the morning but now had one student studying outside and a few homeless taking advantage of the silent night to block out the endless hunger and burden of every passing day.
I spent my last hour reading and finally exceeded my quota of 50 pages for the day, ending the holiday accomplished in reading, studying, and exploring the empowering campus of Stanford and its surrounding areas.
“It has occurred to me more than once that holy boredom is a good and sufficient reason for the invention of free will.” - Frank Herbert’s God Emperor of Dune.
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