125 Stanford Stories

NO. 7
Behind the Scenes

Becoming the Tree

In a beloved Stanford tradition, Sarah Young, this year’s Tree, designed and made her own tree costume. 

The familiar four-beat whistle is prelude to one of the most joyous scenes at Stanford athletic events: the dancing Tree. Sarah Young won the right to dance her way through the Cardinal sports schedule and to create her own costume, an annual tradition dating back to 1987For her Tree, Young chose a weeping willow design: “There has never been a willow before, so I wanted to represent the new generation of Trees, both as people and as costumes.”