America 1982-Chapter 83 - 6: A-Level Attention Tommy Hawk

"It’s rare to see a new student start a part-time job at the library in the first week; it usually takes two to three weeks for freshmen to get a good feel for Stanford’s campus and realize there aren’t other part-time jobs available before they consider this place," Maya Gibbons, the administrator of the technical support and help center at Stanford University’s Henry Meyer Memorial Library, was informing Tommy about the library.

Stanford University Library is a collective term that includes twenty different libraries. The Meyer Library where Tommy was working part-time was completed in 1966 to commemorate early Stanford University donor and the founder of the Stanford endowment, Henry Meyer. It is a four-story building. The first floor is open 24 hours and includes several small study group discussion rooms and a reading hall with four hundred thousand volumes, also open around the clock. The second floor houses the technical support center, the third floor is the East Asia Library, and the fourth floor is the library’s administrative area.

Tommy’s work was mainly at the service desk on the first floor. When students came asking for a specific book, he would look it up on the computer and provide the precise location or offer to help them print some study materials for a fee.

"Apple II?" Tommy looked at the computer he was assigned to use, somewhat surprised, "I thought that because of the Apple III’s failure, many universities would abandon the Apple brand."

The Apple II and III he mentioned were two computer models previously released by Apple Company. The former was a big hit, and following its success, Jobs ambitiously launched the third generation. However, it turned out to be too advanced for its time, and despite warnings and oppositions, Jobs, insisting on an aesthetic vision, removed the built-in cooling system, leading to early models heating up like fireplaces.

Furthermore, the Apple III was priced too high, and the overall operational changes were too great, causing the market share gained by the second generation to be quickly consumed by other computer brands. Jobs, who stubbornly made the wrong market judgment, was regarded by shareholders as a curse to the group, with constant thoughts on how to force him out of the company.

"When Apple III first went on sale, we did buy some, but we found that VisiCalc, which worked perfectly on Apple II, couldn’t run on the new generation at all, and the cooling issue was a problem. So, we returned all of them and continued using the older Apple IIs, mainly because our library bought computers just to use VisiCalc," Maya explained as she watched Tommy turning on the computer, adding:

"The library’s catalog is created with VisiCalc, and it’s continually updated as we add more to the collection. Compared to the old way of searching for books, which involved flipping through vast amounts of paper records, this software has greatly improved our search efficiency. Do you know how to use it?"

VisiCalc was an exclusive spreadsheet software for the Apple computers. The Apple II’s success was largely due to this Software Arts Company-developed application, which was well-received by colleges and companies, freeing them from the constraints of traditional paper spreadsheets; furthermore, the software only worked on the Apple II.

Just like with the Stanford University Library, the reason for purchasing Apple computers was solely to use this application.

"I understand parts of it. I specially bought a computer and the same software, but I haven’t mastered all the operations; it’s quite difficult to use," Tommy said as he operated the keyboard, running the software and displaying the library’s catalog for Maya.

Seeing Tommy’s handling of the software, Maya nodded in approval, "That’s already very good. If you have any issues with operation, you can consult the manual next to you. For more complex technical problems, you can contact me or go to the second floor to consult other administrators, and we will arrange for technical staff to handle it."

"Thank you, I have no further questions, Mrs. Gibbons," Tommy nodded to Maya, indicating he had understood everything.

Maya responded to Tommy with a smile and left the desk, "Well, I wish you a smooth first day at your part-time job."

However, after she had walked a few steps away, she couldn’t help but turn back to look at Tommy Hawk, the tall and sunshiny-smiling blonde young man at the computer who stood out in the library. She had noticed that since he had appeared at the work desk, several girls in the reading hall couldn’t help but cast glances his way, and as soon as she stepped away, some of them had already gotten up and headed towards the desk, evidently preparing to approach Tommy with questions.

This young man shouldn’t be here. Based on past experience, new students with his looks and charm usually chose to work part-time in places like restaurants or sports fields to shine their charisma and attract beautiful, outgoing girls, unlike here where both part-time working students and those coming to search for materials were mostly part of a group jokingly referred to as bookworms, wearing thick glasses, unconcerned about their clothes or appearance.

"The number of girls who like to read at this library might increase because of this young man named Tommy," Maya muttered to herself with a smile, and then she headed to her office.

...

In the SSD Fraternity House on Stanford’s Greek Row, referred to as Sparta internally, covered over two thousand four hundred square meters, with twenty bedrooms, a large conference room, a kitchen equipped with a professional chef, a laundry room, and rooms filled with certificates, photos, and trophies—the Fraternity’s hall of honor, a private sanctum, and more.

This property was owned by Stanford University, and the Fraternity had to pay rent each year, which was generally covered by funds donated by Fraternity alumni and membership fees collected. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

While Tommy Hawk was working part-time at the library, several managers from the SSD Stanford Chapter were discussing the details of Friday’s recruitment party in the meeting hall. For the Fraternity, this was one of the most significant events of the year because it would determine SSD’s future.

After all, these managers will eventually graduate one day, and the Fraternity will sooner or later fall into the hands of newcomers. Whether SSD will continue to grow or close its doors depends on their discernment at the recruitment parties.

If they recruit a bunch of rookies with poor self-control, poor social skills, and simple minds, causing the Fraternity’s reputation to be damaged or even forcing it to shut down due to poor operation, then they had better be ready to be etched onto the pillar of shame.

"A senator’s son has joined Stanford this year, and I think he should be given an S-level attention. I’ve received word that at least five fraternities, including ours, are planning to pull him in," said the house manager, sharing the information he had received: "That senator might well become the Deputy Secretary of State one day."

For the Fraternity, although it’s publicly claimed that anyone would be considered for admission, that’s just a line to fool the naive freshmen. The Fraternity’s primary consideration will always be the descendants of high-ranking politicians, like recruiting a son of the Florida Governor. While the Stanford Chapter might not seem to benefit much from political resources, since the Fraternity is a national organization, the Florida Chapter would naturally gain a lot of resources and exposure.

"So have you approached him? Does he personally hope to choose the Phoenix Society or us?" Charles Salmon, the president of the Fraternity, looked at the house manager as he spoke.

The house manager shrugged: "He’s still considering. He seems to prefer the Phoenix Society, but his father wants him to choose us because our affiliated charity is the Vietnam War Veterans Care Foundation, which his father is more interested in. The Phoenix Society’s charity is the Cancer Care Foundation, which lacks sufficient appeal compared to our partner. Their beneficiaries are just a bunch of miserable people waiting to die, while ours fought for the United States. His father certainly knows how to choose."

"Hans Meyer, call headquarters and have the Vietnam War Veterans Care Foundation send an invitation letter to the freshman’s father, inviting him to attend one of the association’s fundraising events. Build a good relationship; we can’t be raising millions of US dollars annually for those Vietnam War drunks without getting something in return. Then you contact him, see what the guy’s interested in—women, alcohol, academic performance, honors, and so on. Make the information as detailed as possible to make it easier for me when I talk to him on Friday night. Next," Charles said, and after finishing, he gently tapped the table twice with his hand to indicate the next matter.

"The son of California’s Attorney General is also attending Stanford University this year," the social manager spoke up at this moment.

"You put the son of California’s Attorney General second?" Charles looked at the social manager with dissatisfaction and said, "Alright, continue."

"Although he’s undoubtedly an S-level prospect, he only likes DTS. The chances of him joining us or the Phoenix Society are so low they can be ignored. That’s why I didn’t mention it immediately," explained the social manager.

"The son of Washington’s Deputy Secretary of State is also attending Stanford this year. I propose only a B-level attention is sufficient, as the likelihood of him joining us isn’t high. He plans to join a charity-focused fraternity to support his mother’s anti-racism efforts," said another.

"The son of the Police Commissioner from Long Beach, Los Angeles, deserves an A-level attention—a muscular idiot who has longed for SSD. Give him an A-level attention and he’s guaranteed to be ours. His family has a ninety-foot yacht; if he joins us, we can add a new summertime activity of cruising on a yacht off the coast of Los Angeles," commented yet another member.

The others also shared the information they had collected. Charles looked toward Eric, the recruitment chairman, who hadn’t yet spoken: "Eric, do you plan to keep silent until the end of the meeting?"

"I have a country boy on my hands, first generation, and his family is of no renown, but the guy is smart. He and his roommate have made some money by selling fake news to freshmen and then threw a party, taking the lead in expanding his social circle among the new students," Eric thought for a moment, then looked at Charles and shared his thoughts.

Charles frowned slightly: "Eric, don’t waste our time on those country bumpkins who can’t achieve greatness and come to college only to chase girls. We need fresh blood to strengthen the Fraternity, but we’re not going to pick someone without vision or guts, whose first reaction to big city girls is to clutch at his crotch."

"I think if he passes the evaluation, he could help the Fraternity with social functions in the future. When it comes to throwing parties, the guy is absolutely experienced, nothing like a rural bumpkin. Who else would think to go to the beach, pick out couples, unhook women’s bras, and then dash off to train his one-handed bra-catching skills? This guy thought of it, and I’ve seen it myself—damn quick hands. Also, I believe his potential is far greater than he has shown, so I’d like to give him an A-level attention," Eric spoke about what he witnessed at Tommy’s dorm, his voice still betraying amazement.

"A-level attention, brother, we only have nine spots for A-level and above on the night of our recruitment party. Are you sure you want to waste one on a country boy?" Charles frowned slightly and emphasized with a firmer tone.

A-level attention and above means that on the night of the recruitment party, the nine managers of SSD devote their precious time, focusing one-on-one on nine new students.

This is why it’s necessary to determine the list of nine freshmen who deserve A-level attention or higher in advance. For the highest S-level attention, there are only two spots, and they involve personal interaction by the Fraternity president and vice-president to understand the intentions of the freshmen and invite them to join.

Eric nodded firmly: "Brother, I insist. That kid is definitely Fraternity material. Oh, and he’s good at table tennis, which should be a bonus for a newcomer, considering how many other new students put football down as their skill."

"Very well, you’re my fraternity brother; I choose to trust your insistence," said Charles, eventually nodding in agreement: "Let’s see if he’s the kind of guy we’re looking for. This year’s freshman competition, our goal is to beat the Phoenix Society and DTS and reclaim the title of Stanford’s number one Fraternity."