Volume 2: Knocking on Heaven's Door Chapter 76 A-Level Focus on Tommy Hawke
"It's rare for freshmen to come to the library to work part-time in their first week. Usually, after two to three weeks, when they have a general understanding of the situation on the Stanford campus and find that there are no other part-time jobs to choose from, they will consider coming here." Maya Gibbons, administrator of the Technical Support and Help Center of the Henry Meyer Memorial Library at Stanford University, introduced the library to Tommy.
Stanford University Library is a general term, including twenty different libraries. The Meyer Library where Tommy works part-time at this time was completed in 1966. It commemorates Henry Meyer, an early donor of Stanford University and the founder of the Stanford Endowment Fund. It is a four-story building. The first floor is open 24 hours a day and includes several study group discussion rooms, a reading hall that is open 24 hours a day and has a collection of 400,000 books. The second floor is the technical support center, the third floor is the Stanford Asia Library, and the fourth floor is the library office area.
Tommy's job is mainly at the service desk on the first floor. When students come to ask about a certain book, he searches the list on the computer and gives the other party the specific location area, or he helps students print some study materials on the computer for a fee.
"Apple II?" Tommy looked at the computer he was assigned to use, a little surprised. "I thought that because of the failure of Apple III, many universities would abandon the Apple brand."
The Apple II and III he mentioned were two computers released previously by Apple . After the former became a huge hit, Jobs ambitiously launched the third generation. However, because the concept was too advanced and he argued that it would affect the aesthetics of the entire machine, he forcibly removed the built-in radiator from the computer despite dissuasion and opposition, which directly resulted in the heating effect of the third generation computers shipped in the early stages being comparable to that of a fireplace.
Moreover, the price of Apple III was too high and the overall operating changes were too great, so the market share captured by the second generation was quickly swallowed up by other brands of computers. Jobs, who stubbornly made wrong market judgments, was regarded as a black sheep by shareholders, who spent all day thinking about how to kick him out of the company.
"When Apple 3 was first released, we did purchase some, but we found that VisiCalc on Apple 2 could not run on the new generation of computers, and the heat dissipation of the new computers was not good, so we returned them all and continued to use the previous Apple 2. After all, our library only purchased computers because of the VisiCalc software." Maya watched Tommy open the computer and introduced it to him:
"The library's book lists are all made with VisiCalc, and as the collection grows, new entries are added. Compared to the previous practice of looking through a large number of paper records , this software makes search much more efficient. Do you know about this software?"
VisiCalc is a spreadsheet software specifically designed for Apple computers. Seventy percent of the reason why Apple 2 sold so well was that this software developed by Soft Art Company was loved by major schools and companies, freeing them from traditional paper spreadsheets. However, this software could only run on Apple 2.
Just like the Stanford University Library at this time, the reason for purchasing Apple computers was simply because they needed to use this software.
"I understand part of it. I bought a computer and the same software, but I didn't remember all the operations. It's very difficult to use." Tommy operated the keyboard, ran the software, called up the library's book list and showed it to Maya teacher, and said.
Seeing Tommy's operation, Maya nodded with satisfaction: "This is already very good. If you have any problems with the operation, you can use it with the manual next to it. For more complicated problems, you can contact me, or go to the second floor to contact other management teachers, and we will arrange for technicians to handle it."
"Thank you, I have no other questions , Mrs. Gibbons." Tommy nodded to Maya, indicating that he was clear about all the questions.
Maya smiled back at Tommy and left the workbench. "Well, I wish you a good first day at your part-time job."
However, after she took a few steps, she couldn't help but turn her head to look at Tommy Hawke who was concentrating on operating the computer. This tall, blond boy with a sunny smile was extremely conspicuous in the library. She just noticed that since he appeared at the workbench, several girls reading in the hall couldn't help but cast their eyes on him, and just when she walked a few steps away, a girl stood up and walked towards the workbench, obviously preparing to consult Tommy.
This boy should not be here. According to past experience, this kind of freshman with outstanding appearance and looks would choose to work part-time in places like restaurants or stadiums to spread his charm and attract those beautiful and outgoing girls. However, here, whether they are part-time students or students who come to look up information, most of them wear high-definition glasses, do not care about their appearance, and are jokingly called a group of nerds.
"Maybe because of this young man named Tommy, more girls will come to this library to read." Maya said to herself with a smile, then walked towards her office.
…
The SSD fraternity house on Stanford Greek Avenue, known internally as Sparta, covers an area of more than 2,400 square meters and has 20 bedrooms, a large conference room, a large kitchen with a dedicated chef, a laundry room, a fraternity honor room filled with certificates, photos and trophies, a sacred secret room and other rooms.
The land is owned by Stanford University, and the fraternity is required to pay rent every year, which is usually paid by funds donated by fraternity alumni and dues collected.
While Tommy Hawke was working part-time in the library, several managers of the SSD Stanford University chapter were discussing the recruitment party on Friday in the meeting hall. For the fraternity, this is the most important event of the year because it will determine the future development of SSD.
After all, today's managers will eventually graduate, and the fraternity will sooner or later be handed over to newcomers. Whether SSD will continue to grow or close down depends on their vision in recruiting new parties.
If you recruit a group of rookies with poor self-control, poor social skills, and simple minds, and the fraternity's reputation is damaged or even closed down due to poor operations, then you will be engraved on the pillar of shame.
"A senator's son joined Stanford this year. I think he deserves S-level attention. I've received news that at least five fraternities, including us, are planning to recruit him." The fraternity house manager shared the news he had received: "That senator might become the vice secretary of state one day."
For the fraternity, although it advertises that anyone will be considered for admission, that is only to deceive the simple-minded freshmen. The fraternity's primary consideration is always the descendants of senior politicians. For example, if a Florida governor's son is admitted into the fraternity, although the Stanford University branch does not seem to enjoy too many political resources, the fraternity is a national organization, and the Florida branch will naturally get a lot of resources and exposure.
"So you've had someone contact him? Does he personally want to choose the Order of the Phoenix or us?" Fraternity President Charles Salmon looked at the house manager and said.
The house manager shrugged. "He's still considering it. He personally prefers the Order of the Phoenix, but his father hopes that he can choose us because the charity organization we are tied to is the Vietnam Veterans Charity Care Foundation, and his father is more interested in this association. The charity organization of the Order of the Phoenix is the Cancer Care Foundation, which is not attractive enough compared to our partners. Their care objects are just a group of miserable people waiting to die, while ours are warriors fighting for the United States. His father certainly knows how to choose."
"Huntsman, call the headquarters and ask the Vietnam Veterans Care Foundation to send an invitation letter to the father of the new student, inviting him to attend some fundraising event of the association. Build a good relationship with him. We help those Vietnam War alcoholics raise millions of dollars every year, and it can't be without rewards. Then you contact him and find out what that guy is interested in, women, alcohol, grades, honors, etc. The information should be as detailed as possible so that I can be more relaxed when talking to him on Friday night. Next one." After Charles finished speaking, he tapped the table lightly twice, indicating the next question.
"The son of the California Attorney General is also attending Stanford University this year," the social manager said at this time.
"You said the California Attorney General's son was ranked second?" Charles looked at the social manager who spoke and said unhappily, "Okay, go on."
"Although that guy is undoubtedly an S-level attention, he only likes DTS. The chance of him joining us or the Order of the Phoenix is negligible. This is why I didn't say it at the first time."
"The son of the Deputy Secretary of State of Washington is attending Stanford University this year. I suggest that he only needs to pay attention to the B level because the chances of him joining us are not high. He plans to join the public welfare fraternity to echo his mother's efforts against racial discrimination."
"The son of the Los Angeles Long Beach Sheriff's Commissioner, an A-level attention, a muscular idiot, has long been our SSD's dream. If we give him an A-level attention, he will definitely be ours. His family has a 90-foot yacht. If he joins us, we will have one more activity during the summer vacation: going to Los Angeles to drive the yacht out to the sea."
The other people also shared the information they had gathered. Charles looked at Eric, the recruitment chairman who had remained silent, and said, "Eric, are you going to remain silent until the end of the meeting?"
"I have a country boy on my side, a first-generation kid, whose family is also unknown, but that guy is very smart. He and his roommates made some money by selling fake news to freshmen, and then held a party, taking the lead in expanding their social circle among freshmen." Eric thought for a moment, looked at Charles, and told him his thoughts.
Charles frowned slightly. "Eric, don't waste your time on those country rookies who can't achieve anything and only know how to pick up girls. We need new blood to strengthen the fraternity, but we won't choose those idiots who have no vision and courage, who only know how to hide in the corner and do five-finger exercises secretly, and whose first reaction when they meet girls from big cities is to cover their crotch."
"I think if he passes the assessment, he can help the fraternity with social work in the future. He is definitely experienced in hosting parties and doesn't look like a country bumpkin at all. Who among you would have thought of going out to the beach to specifically pick couples, unhooking the women's bras, and then running away to practice his ability to catch the bras with one hand? That guy could think of it, and I saw it with my own eyes. He unhooked it really damn fast." Eric talked about what he had seen in Tommy's dormitory before, and his tone was still shocked: "And I think his potential is far more than what he has shown, so I want to give him an A-level attention."
"A-level attention, brother, there are only nine A-level attentions and above at our recruitment party that night. Are you sure you want to waste the spot on a country boy?" Charles frowned slightly, stared at Eric and emphasized his tone.
The so-called A-level or above attention means that the nine managers of SSD took out their precious time on the night of the recruitment party to focus on and communicate with the nine freshmen one-on-one.
That's why it is necessary to determine in advance the list of nine freshmen who are of A-level or above. For example, there are only two positions for the highest S-level attention. The fraternity president and vice president have to personally communicate with the freshmen, understand their wishes, and invite them to join.
Eric nodded. "Brother, I insist. That kid is definitely good at becoming a badass. By the way, his profile says he's good at table tennis, which is a plus for the newcomers. After all, other newcomers have more information about football."
"Very good, you are my classmate, I choose to believe in your persistence." Charles saw Eric's affirmative tone and finally nodded: "Let's see if he will be the idiot we need. This year's freshman competition, our goal is to defeat the Order of the Phoenix and DTS and regain the title of Stanford's number one fraternity."
