People go to San Francisco on a regular basis. Myth. Especially for freshman, this simply does not happen. Sorry, folks. The Caltrain is a hassle (only runs once an hour on weekends), and campus offers students more than enough to keep busy on the weekends, from recovering from that hangover the night before to working on that CS 106A program due on Monday. Some do make the occasional venture into the city, but usually no more than once a quarter. Enjoy that upcoming scavenger hunt; you probably won’t see the city for a long time.

Palo Alto is a bad college town. True and false. Palo Also isn’t Chapel Hill or Cambridge, but it isn’t half bad either. Aquarius is a gem of an independent theater, and University Ave. has a number of pretentious coffee shops and a plethora of Indian/Chinese/Thai restaurants. In short, you should visit, if only to get off-campus once in awhile. The places don’t really cater to college students, but they’ll take your money (and lots of it) anyway.

No one cares about the Cal rivalry. True. I was surprised to find freshman year that at Big Game, in our own stadium, the Cal student section was much larger and louder than ours. No matter how much the Axe Committee tries to make us care, we are only interested in it enough to make cruel t-shirts with phrases like “safety school” and “There is one thing we do have in common...a Cal acceptance letter.” Leave the hatred, and the crushing victories, to Cal.

Stanford football is bad. Myth. They’re terrible. Last season in a nutshell: when we lined up for a field goal against USC, our only chance to score in the whole game, they blocked it and took it to the house. USC 42, Stanford 0. We finished the season 1-11 and opened this season with a 45-17 shellacking at the hands of UCLA. Things are not looking good for the grand ol’ Cardinal. But there’s always next year. Maybe if we just “believe,” they’ll score a touchdown or two.

The Freshman 15. True and false. Stanford Dining takes pains to make a variety of dining options available, and, many days, the salad bar is the best option. Add that to the long distances from dorms to class (science majors in Wilbur, I feel bad for you) and many students’ frequent trips to Arrillaga gym; some students lose weight. But it’s also hard to form an exercise regimen with constantly irregular schedules, so don’t be worried if you gain a few pounds. No one will notice, much less care. What you should watch out for is when you come home, as your parents will probably try to feed you every two hours after hearing about the dorm food.

Various IHUM rumors. All true. Yes, there is the “IHUM kid” who dominates discussions and annoys everyone else. It could even be you. Yes, you will read random texts that don’t make much sense. Yes, if you are an engineer, you will be miserable. Yes, it’s better than PWR, but not by much. Yes, you will realize that high school BS is nothing compared to college BS. Good luck!

Fountain-hopping. Unverified. After asking a couple of friends, there seems to be debate over whether students actually go fountain-hopping. One of my friends has been several times, but I’ve been exactly zero times. I was inclined to believe fountain-hopping was a propaganda tool during Admit Weekend, but my sources tell me some students actually do go. Why they do, though, is another question.

Stanford students don’t date. True, mostly. Most Stanford students romantically involved seem to be “Married” or “It’s complicated.” There’s little in between, unfortunately — the extremes of “benefriends” and “practically living together” seem to be easiest to manage and the least stressful. That said, a few students actually do “date” — meaning they both actually go on dates (dinner and a movie, etc.) and have relationships that aren’t “we are one person.” “Dating” is more nebulous, but also, potentially, the most rewarding. And I firmly believe the lack of dating should change. So go ahead, ask someone out to dinner; you might start a hip new trend.

SLE kids are celibate accordion players. Myth. For some reason, there’s a massive stigma against SLE kids. In the eyes of most students, having an inordinate passion for Plato and Dante makes one socially awkward and unable to party. This is not to say that SLE doesn’t have its fair share of those kids, but so does IHUM (see “Various IHUM rumors” above). But SLE, more than anything else, seems to typify the “work hard, play hard” mentality. So take on that SLE kid in Beirut. You just might be shamed by a Plato-lover.

Premeds are intense. True. If you’re a premed, be prepared. If you aren’t, be prepared to be around them. I don’t know what it is, but premeds seem to be the most stressed — not only do they have tough classes, but they have to worry about their GPA being higher than the next guy’s. And then there’s also massive competition for top research positions. Stanford doesn’t have a reputation for being cutthroat, but, if anyone is, it’s your sleep-deprived, tense premed next door.

People are not stressed. Myth. Many Stanford students are afflicted with “Duck Syndrome,” paddling like mad underwater but looking serene above the surface. Fact of the matter is, Stanford students can be very stressed, and not everyone pretends to be relaxed and calm. In fact, I do not really know anyone who does that. So don’t be afraid to show stress — it’s healthy, and maybe you’ll even meet a cute, stressed-out boy or girl. Overworked students need study-buddies too, right?