The National Defense Act in 1916 established the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps on college campuses around the country. Soon after the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Stanford’s ROTC cadets gathered in the Inner Quad. The university’s enrollment plummeted 28 percent in 1917-18 when hundreds of male students, including most of those in the senior class, enlisted. The first Stanford-related WWI veterans to die in action were honored on campus plaques.
Photo: University Archives
Trending Stories
-
Breaking Point
Public Service/Government
-
Pressing Pause
Alumni Community
- Obituaries - Winter 2026
-
New use for CO2; beef is back; Olympics fashion
News
-
The Mystery of the MingKwai
AAPI (Asian/Pacific Islander)
