I remember pawing through our Frosh Book before I arrived on campus freshman year in 1987. It included a quote about bike riding on campus requiring vector analysis. I remember chuckling and having no appreciation for what the contributor was trying to convey.
Then, six weeks into freshman year, my Branner roommate plowed head on into the Dean of Admissions Jean Fetter, both of whom were on their bikes. They tumbled to the ground; their bodies and their bikes took hard hits; lots of road rash ensued, though there weren’t any broken bones. Suddenly, that Frosh Book quote became very real for me.
The upside? My roommate had already been admitted to Stanford so Dean Jean wouldn’t have been able to exact any lasting revenge.