Escondido Village Neighborhood Handbook

This Handbook provides useful information for students living in Escondido Village. It focuses on basic issues—food, laundry, mail, etc—but there’s some fun stuff too.  Since it focuses on Escondido Village, you should also refer to the web sites below for more information relevant to all students:

 

§         www.stanford.edu/dept/hds/shs/gradhousing: Stanford graduate housing

§         www.stanford.edu/dept/DoR/GSH: Stanford Graduate Student Handbook

§         gsc.stanford.edu : Graduate Student Council

§         www.stanford.edu/group/gspb: Graduate Student Programming Board

§         www.stanford.edu/group/glo: Graduate Life Office

§         Med Students' Guide to the Bay Area


Ants

Particularly after a few days of rain, your apartment may be invaded by these little creatures, usually all following a little trail. You can fill out a Fix-it Form (see below) or, if it’s a minor situation, handle it yourself: household cleaning products containing ammonia or even soap and water work well against ants. Try to wash the area where the ants are first entering the apartment; if you eliminate the chemical markings on their trail, fewer ants will follow it in from outside. More importantly, if you keep all food in sealed storage & eliminate ant temptations from your counters, floor, and garbage (they really like sweet stuff), the remaining ants will move on to more hospitable accommodations.

Bechtel International Center

The center features a wide variety of resources and programs to support international students and Americans wishing to study abroad.  For more information, check out Bechtel International Center (icenter.stanford.edu) .

Bicycles

As you may have noticed, the main vehicle for student transportation is the bicycle. Here’s a partial list of shops in the area where you can purchase one:

  • Campus Bicycle Shop: on campus behind the Law School
  • Stanford Cyclery: on El Camino, north of Stanford Avenue*
  • Bike Connection: on El Camino, south of Stanford Avenue*
  • Mike’s Cyclery: on El Camino, south of Stanford Avenue*
  • Palo Alto Bicycles On University Avenue, east of El Camino
  • Menlo Velo Bicycles On El Camino in Menlo Park (by Safeway)

*easy walking distance from Escondido Village

 

You can also check out the Stanford newsgroup su.market (For information on how to read newsgroups on campus see 

Stanford Newsgroups (www.stanford.edu/dept/DLCL/info-resources/newsgroups.htm) )

Make sure to purchase a U-lock, preferably with Bad Bones; Stanford is well-known for bike theft—several hundred are stolen from campus each year. Make sure to lock your bike to something other than itself, as thieves are bold enough to steal bicycles from your front step and don’t mind carrying bikes like briefcases.  The Transportation Department (transportation.stanford.edu) will register your bike with the State of California (for a small fee); this will save you a $20 fine if you are pulled over by the police for a traffic violation, which the police will do, occasionally.

Bike lights are required at night, and you must obey traffic laws; fines are hefty if you don’t, and the police do stop cyclists. As a graduate student, helmets are mandatory (well, not really, but now that you’ve got one degree, don’t you want to protect all that knowledge?  Crossing Campus Drive at Escondido Road and at Serra Road is particularly dangerous on dark, rainy nights.  Don’t assume that a motorist can see you, as they often can’t.  On a less dangerous note, also beware of redwood trees: part of their cone can puncture bicycle inner tubes.

For more information, check out transportation.stanford.edu/alt_transportation/BikingAtStanford.shtml

Big Game

You will hear talk about “Big Game” almost immediately upon arrival on campus. It refers to the annual football matchup between the Stanford Cardinal (yes, a color - not a religious figure, and not a bird) and arch-rival Cal-Berkeley (the Weenies, in Stanford lingo). This year the game will be held at Berkeley. Generally, both universities engage in pranks on each other. It is best to get your tickets with the season ticket package, and all students are entitled to tickets. The winner of the Big Game wins a trophy known as the Stanford Axe.

Calendar of Campus Events

You can look up upcoming news and events on campus at the following pages: Stanford News and Events (www.stanford.edu/home/news/index.html) and the Graduate Student Programming Board (www.stanford.edu/group/gspb) .  You can also subscribe to the grad-events email list, a weekly email of events of interest to graduate students (for instructions on subscribing, See the E-mail List section below).

Car Rental

There are a number of rental places nearby, many of them located on El Camino Real.  Since Stanford just implemented the new policy that freshmen cannot have cars, they have established car rental facilities on campus.  You can rent a car at the bookstore from Enterprise Car Rentals.  This service is available to licensed student drivers 18 and older. For reservations and more information contact Enterprise on Campus at (650) 321-0110.

If you’re thinking of buying a used car, check out  http://doors.stanford.edu/~sr/computing/lrb/node53.html

Computers

Computer clusters are available for all EV residents in the basement of the Hoskins highrise and in EV 116A (low rise). The clusters contain a variety of computers and computer peripherals, including a laser printer and scanner. There is no charge for access to the clusters, however there is a charge for printing.  Your apartment key will open the cluster doors. You should establish your e-mail account on leland before you try to print. See the E-mail List section below.

The Residential Computing Coordinators (RCCs) are here in Escondido Village to help you with your in-room connection, Rescomp-supported software, and general computer questions. You can also find computer consultants on the second floor of Meyer Library, and on the second floor of Sweet Hall.  See this page for EV-specific information on residential computing: http://rescomp.stanford.edu/dorms/escondido

 

In-Room Connection kits are available for purchase in the Stanford Bookstore, though if you have a laptop and your department has a computer consultant, an alternative method of connecting is through your department.  Connecting this way allows you to buy your connection card somewhere other than the bookstore, which can be expensive.

Contacts

Police or Fire

9-911

Escondido Village Office

            Thom Massey, Assistant Dean

3-1171

Emergency Maintenance

5-1602

Stanford Operator/Directory

0

Safe ride home Escort service

5-SURE

 Neighborhood Community Associates

www.stanford.edu/group/EV/calist.html

Counseling Services

Probably every graduate student is told about Counseling and Psychological Services (caps.stanford.edu) during orientation, and most of them probably think that they will never need to use it. However, graduate school can be difficult in more ways than you think when you begin, and CAPS has helped many graduate students deal with those difficulties.  The service is located on the second floor of the Vaden Student Health Center and is free to students for a number of visits. They can be contacted at 723-3785 (day) or 723-4861 (night).

Dead Week

This is the week before final exams that is supposed to be free of homework assignments and examinations. You will find that it rarely lives up to its name. Often you will hear undergraduates taking part in “Primal Scream”.  Between midnight and 12:05am, students open their windows and scream to relieve their tensions during Dead Week.

Driver’s License

According to California State Law, drivers are required to apply for a California driver’s license within 10 days of their arrival or face a fine. If you have a valid driver’s license from another state, you must present that license to the Department of Motor Vehicles (www.dmv.ca.gov) as well as take a test on California driving laws. A study booklet is available from the DMV. It is at 595 Showers Drive (a left off El Camino Real) in Mountain View. You may make an appointment to take the test by phone or online (https://eg.dmv.ca.gov/foAppt/Welcome.jsp) (which eliminates a lot of waiting time on your part). The phone number is 968-0610 and the hours are 8am to 5pm MTWF and 8am to 6:30pm on Thursday. December is the least busy month at the DMV.

E-mail List

Community Associates primarily use their neighborhood email lists for communicating with residents.  These lists are constructed at the beginning of the year from available information, but if you have a new email account or have selected “Privacy” for any part of your address, you may not be on the list.  If you aren’t receiving emails from your CA, email him or her (Neighborhood CAs) for the name of your neighborhood list so that you can subscribe yourself to it, using the following instructions:

Send an e-mail to majordomo@lists.stanford.edu with the line

subscribe <list name>

in the body of the message (replace <list name> with the appropriate name). 

Eating on Campus

You can partake in the food service offered by the University either through the residences (such as nearby Kimball Hall), as an Eating Associate at some of the co-op, self-op, and fraternity houses (such as in nearby Cowell Cluster), or as an Eating Associate at the Toyon Eating Clubs located nearby on Serra Street behind Encina Hall. Note that the eating club Breakers is run primarily by and for graduate students; they can be reached at 723-3103. You can find a comprehensive list of other campus eating spots here: www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/physics/stanford/campuseateries.html

Escort Service

SURE Escort Service (www.stanford.edu/group/SURE) is a student run group that provides golf-cart escorts anywhere on campus, 7 nights a week. To request a SURE Escort, call 725-SURE (5-SURE from an on-campus phone) between dusk and 2am.

Exercise

A number of resources for exercise are nearby and available for you. Some of the most popular are listed below:

§         Aerobics held on afternoons and other times in Hacienda Commons in Rains; the schedule is usually posted near Hacienda Commons or check the Stanford Aerobics Program (www.stanford.edu/group/aerobics) website.

§         EV Tennis & Basketball Courts located right next to McFarland.

  • Intramural Sports: EV may be organizing some teams; otherwise, ask in your department or you can sign up directly with Intramural Sports as a single player
  • Arrillaga Gym (723-1499) in the basement of the Arrillaga Family Sports Center, this has free weights, weight machines, exercise bicycles, and a few elliptical trainers. Make sure to bring your Student ID.  Hours are limited during daytime.

§         There’s a climbing wall (www.stanford.edu/group/climbingwall) near the DeGuerre Pools and Courts, free for students

  • Cobb Track and Angell Field, open daily from 8AM - dusk
  • Ford Center (6-1127) this has some exercise bikes and stairmasters
  • DeGuerre Pool and Courts (725-0725), a large heated outdoor pool and racquetball/squash courts

§         Stanford Golf Course (www.stanfordgolfcourse.com) (323-0944) is rated one of the finest golf courses in the world.  Students can play for the unbelievably low rate of $10-$20 per game (depending on day of the week).

§         Stanford Driving Range (www.stanfordgolfcourse.com/range.htm) (323-9516) is located on Campus Drive West and has discounted prices for students.

  • Roble Gym Complex (3-7686) has a basketball court, a pool, and weight room
  • The football stadium has a track and is open during daylight hours.
  • Tennis Courts: sign-up sheets are posted on court bulletin boards for next day’s play at the following times:

§         Encina Courts         8:30AM

§         Taube Stadium  5:10PM

§         West Campus Courts  8:30AM

  • Tressider Fitness Center, also known as “The Fishbowl” due to its surrounding windows, is a smaller gym located in Tressider Student Union with extended operating hours.  It has treadmills, stairmasters, exercise bikes, and some weights.

 

For more info see the Stanford Athletics Homepage (www.stanford.edu/home/athletics) .

Fees & Fines

Among the things that can cost you money (potentially a lot) in fines or fees are are

  • keeping a pet
    • they cause problems for people with allergies who move in after you, so you’ll be charged a fine and may be liable for substantial cleaning costs
  • having a halogen lamp
    • they’re a fire hazard, so your contract with Stanford specifies a fine of $100/day
  • causing damage to your apartment
    • including, in some cases, damage that is due to lack of maintenance but for which you did not file a Fix-it—so file a Fix-it!
  • not cleaning your apartment before moving out
  • parking without a permit or in a no-parking zone, especially a handicapped zone (for which the fine is at least $360)

Fix-It Forms

If something breaks in your apartment, you can fill out a Fix-It Form and it will be repaired within the next few days. The best way to fill out a Fix-It Form is on-line at https://goddard.stanford.edu/hds/newfixit.cgi. You can also use the fixit form to contact the Facilities Supervisor for our neighborhood. 

Garbage

There are lots of dumpsters in the area. Please be sure to keep the dumpsters closed to keep out critters looking for food; there are a number of racoons in our neighborhood who love to cause trouble. Green recycling containers (glass, plastic, cans, newspaper, junk mail, etc.) are located at the end of most buildings or next to the dumpsters.

There is a toxic waste collection day during the spring; watch for an announcement.  Dead batteries (the small kind) are collected all year round at the door of the EV office.

Graduate Student Council (GSC)

The GSC is the graduate arm of the Associated Students of Stanford University (ASSU). The GSC is a body intended to represent the interests of all graduate students. Over the past year, the GSC has helped to organize social and informational events for graduate students. In addition, the GSC has emerged as a strong advocate for graduate student concerns on issues that affect the entire graduate community. To learn more about the GSC check the GSC Homepage (gsc.stanford.edu).

Graduate Student Programming Board (GSPB)

The GSPB operates under the Dean of Students Office at Stanford University. They are primarily charged with providing graduate students with a variety of programming events of large, medium, and small scales in an effort to promote networking among graduate students and further interaction between the University and graduate students. To learn more about the GSPB check the GSPB Homepage (www.stanford.edu/group/gspb).

Heat

The heat for our buildings is turned on by the EV Facilities Office sometime after the end of October or the middle of November. If your apartment is very chilly, call Facilities and let them know (3-1192). The more residents that call, the more likely they are to turn on the heat. Once the heat has been turned on, you can (in theory) control the temperature using the thermostat in your apartment. If there is a problem with your heat, fill out a Fix-It Form.

Hoover Tower

The view from the Observation Deck at the top of Hoover Tower is great - on a clear day you can see San Francisco. It is open weekdays 10am-4pm, possibly other hours, and it is free to students.

Job Hunting

Looking for a job? Take advantage of the following services:

§         The Stanford Personnel Office (855 Serra) provides binder listings of almost every job available on campus. These listings are also available on the Forsythetn computer in the Folio system.

The Campus Report newspaper also lists Stanford job opportunities.

§         The Career Development Center (CDC) (www.stanford.edu/dept/CDC/) on campus has newsletters focused on different specialty areas. It is excellent for jobs after college and summer jobs as well. There is a nominal fee for some services which is payable at the front desk. The CPPC is located in its own building on Alvarado Row

§         The Career Action Center (www.career.org) located at 445 Sherman Avenue (one block past California; a quick left off El Camino Real). The CAC list jobs in almost every area, provides counseling for a fee, holds workshops on job hunting, has job support groups, and almost any job hunting related support system you can imagine. You can visit the Center for a one-day fee of $10 or join for the year. Call 324-1710 for details.

§         You may search the su.jobs newsgroup using PINE.  For more information check out Stanford Newsgroups.

Check out www.stanford.edu/dept/icenter/families/job.html from more job hunt information.

Laundry facilities and rental

There are laundry facilities in your neighborhood as well as in a building near the EV office and in the basements of the high rises (see your assignment below). It is $0.75 for the washing machines and $0.75 for the dryers (quarters only). There is a change machine at the main laundry room near the EV office. If you have problems with the machines during the week, fill out a Fix-It Form; on the weekends, call Reliable Co. directly at 800-942-9274. Note that the front-loading washing machines near the EV office really don’t require much soap, so be very careful and follow the guidelines on the wall to avoid a disastrous sudsing experience.

Buildings

Laundry Room

1-54

Comstock Laundry (next to EV Office)

55-62

Abrams

64-79

Barnes

80-94

Hulme

95-101

Hoskins

103-108

McFarland

110-115

Quillen

116-118, 120-125

Blackwelder

127-144

128 & 137

Abrams

Abrams

Barnes

Barnes

Blackwelder

Blackwelder

Hoskins

Hoskins

Hulme

Hulme

McFarland

McFarland

Quillen

Quillen

Studios 1 & 2

1st floor

Studios 3 & 4

1st floor

Studios 5 & 6

Laundry hut

You can also rent a washer and dryer- there are hookups in most kitchens.  One good place to call is Mission Laundry in San Jose. Installation, delivery and pick-up are free, and they charge $30 per month. Their phone number is 408-578-8237.  Be aware, there are other companies out there who have ripped people off, taking a deposit and then never delivering.

 

To buy a washer and dryer, check out the su.market newsgroup

Lockouts/Lost Keys

Getting back into your place after being locked out will cost you money.  See www.stanford.edu/dept/hds/shs/gradhousing/services.html#lockout.  This information is also posted on the door of the EV Office.

Mail

Mail is delivered through the slot by your front door; you can also leave mail there for pickup. If you plan to live at Stanford for a while you may want to purchase a post office box at the Stanford Post Office (next to the Bookstore) to avoid lots of address changes. The boxes go very fast at the beginning of the year so you will want to hurry. The cost is approximately $35-40/year.
 
All Escondido Village apartments are located in Stanford, CA 94305

 

Building

Address

EV Low rises, other than 127-144

Building # Street Name Apartment #

Ex: 118 Jenkins Court Apt. B

EV 127-144

750 Escondido Road, Apt. #

Abrams

63 Abrams Court Apt. #

Barnes

74 Barnes Court Apt. #

Blackwelder

126 Blackwelder Court Apt. #

Hoskins

102 Hoskins Court Apt. #

Hulme

87 Hulme Court Apt. #

McFarland

109 McFarland Court Apt. #

Quillen

119 Quillen Court Apt. #

Studio 1

736 Escondido Road Apt. #

Studio 2

729 Escondido Road Apt. #

Studio 3

37 Angell Court Apt. #

Studio 4

51 Dudley Lane Apt. #

Studio 5

344 Olmstead Rd. Apt. #

Studio 6

334 Olmstead Rd. Apt. #

 

Undelivered mail is sometimes left at the EV office; check there if you did not receive something you expected.

Maintenance

The Escondido Village Maintenance Office handles all maintenance problems. For non-emergency maintenance problems you can fill out a Fix-it Form on the web. For emergencies, call emergency maintenance at 725-1602. 

Movie Theaters

If you find yourself with a desire for some cinematic diversion, there are a number of theaters in the area. Here are a few local venues:

  • Stanford Theater, 221 University Avenue: classic pre-1970 American double features, with an organ between films
  • Aquarius Theater, 430 Emerson (near University): art films
  • Palo Alto Square, corner of El Camino Real & Page Mill: current/art films
  • Guild Theater, 949 El Camino Real (Menlo Park): current/art films
  • Park Theater, 1275 El Camino Real (Menlo Park): current/art films
  • Century 16, US 101 at Shoreline Blvd (Mountain View): current films, with student discount
  • Century Park 12, Whipple Ave and 101 (Redwood City): current films
  • Oaks Theater, 21275 Stevens Creek (Cupertino): closest $2 theater
  • AMC Mercado, US 101 at Great America Parkway (Santa Clara): current films, with $3 discount with your student ID

For showtimes see www.moviefone.com or movies.yahoo.com

The ASSU sponsors “Flicks (flicks.stanford.edu)” for a nominal cost. These are recent movies shown at a discount in Memorial Auditorium on Sunday nights. There are usually two showings—one at 7pm and another at 10pm.  If you want to actually hear the show, go to the 7PM showing.  The 10PM showing is traditionally rowdy, including a paper fight before the show and the occasional performance by the Stanford Band.  You can purchase tickets at the door at the start of every show for $4 or you can purchase a “season ticket” or “Flicks pass”.  Ask your CA if your neighborhood has a pass.

Noise

Escondido Village is normally a relatively quiet place to live, though construction has changed that in some places.  If the noise is coming from your neighbors, please contact them directly before calling the police for assistance. Most people are simply not aware of the fact that they are being too noisy. Quiet hours are after 11 p.m. on weekdays and after 1 a.m. on weekends.
 

Parking

Living on campus means that you need to purchase a parking permit if you plan to have a car. The Escondido Village Parking permit costs ~$160 for 12 months or three quarters of that for 9 months and can be obtained at the Transportation Office (340 Bonair Siding, between the Police/Fire Station and Maples Gym) or online at http://transportation.stanford.edu. There are no visitor spaces in EV, despite what you might