AS THE FIRST BIG STORM OF THE SEASON rolled through last week, the university’s 10-person tree crew rolled out, clearing the campus of downed tree limbs. For such a strong storm, campus tree damage was actually “pretty mild,” reports crew member MIKE BURDZINSKI. A mature eucalyptus was lost, along with an ash tree at Rains Houses. Wind gusts also plucked a number of newly planted 8- to 10-inch oaks from the rain-soaked soil, he said. Almost as soon as they were picked up, the downed branches and debris were being shredded into mulch, to be spread back into the campus landscape.

THE BIG GAME LOOMS (NOV. 23 AT BERKELEY), but one Axe is already safe in Stanford hands. For the first time ever, the Stanford Dragons beat the Cal Paddling Bears in the “Big Race” at the Northern California International Dragon Boat Championships, held earlier this year at Lake Merced. In dragon boat racing, a 2,000-year-old Asian sport that regained popularity two decades ago in Hong Kong, approximately 20 crew – both men and women – paddle a long boat decorated to look like a dragon. One team member steers the boat, while another beats a drum. This year’s Stanford Dragons team was an ad hoc assemblage put together by email. The crew had practiced together only three times before their big win, said TUNAY TUNCA, an assistant professor of operations, information and technology in the Graduate School of Business. “There was a ton of flair at the competition itself. It was far beyond what I could have expected,” said alumnus LOREN CHENG, a first-time dragon boat team member. Although the festival opened with a Taoist blessing, the race was anything but serene. “We definitely experienced a lot of jeering from Cal,” Cheng said.

GOT SPACE? JENNIFER CHIU, A STUDENT AND intern at the Stanford Recycling Center, is looking for unused closets or corners where she could store office supplies and other items for a nascent “reuse” program on campus. Chiu figures she’ll need from 200 to 240 square feet of storage space. You can leave a message for Chiu at the recycling center, 321-4236.

Write to Barbara Palmer at barbara.palmer@stanford.edu or mail code 2245 or call her at 724-6184.