A flame burst in the middle of the dining-room table as dishes were being taken away when a well-meaning guest dropped a napkin into a candle, igniting in a small fire in an empty salad bowl.
The heated dinner in Westwood was one of 70 that took place this weekend as part of Dinners for 12 Strangers, an annual, usually fire-free event hosted by the Student Alumni Association.
Started in 1968 by the Gold Shield Alumnae Association, the program’s concept is simple: Local area alumni invite students and faculty as guests to their homes. Different generations converged in homes across Los Angeles with current and past students joining together to share conversation and a meal.
On March 1, 50 more dinners are set to take place. Registration ended in late January and hundreds of students remain on the waiting list.
Now in its 40th year, Dinners for 12 Strangers began with three dinners. Over time, the event was passed on to the Prytanean Alumnae Association, a group that supports and is affiliated with the UCLA Alumni Association, said David Stokes, project manager for Dinners for 12 Strangers.
Today, the event has grown to 120 dinners over three different dates, spanning a 30-mile radius, said Florence Tseng, executive director for the program. The Prytanean Alumnae Association still assists in coordinating the dinners.
She added that compared to recent years the program has experienced “extreme growth” with a record number of dinners. According to Tseng, 90 faculty and staff members and 200 hosts and cohosts signed up to participate this year.
“It just means a lot to our campus to have our tradition grow,” she said.
Tseng said the success of the dinners has not only resulted in the creation of an annual campus tradition, but also has inspired other universities across the nation to create their own version of the event. Currently, more than 30 schools have replicated the program since its inception.
Ann Sewill, a UCLA alumna who graduated from the School of Architecture and Urban Planning, which is now part of the UCLA School of Public Affairs, hosted one of the dinners in her Westwood home. It was her fourth time hosting.
Other hosts of dinners this year include Rep. Diane E. Watson, D-Los Angeles, as well as actor Steve Carell’s manager.
“You’ll never know who you’ll get,” Tseng said.
At the dinner, participants of different majors, interests and backgrounds were mixed together. Alumni whose UCLA experiences included punchcards and electric typewriters mingled with students whose lives revolve around wireless Internet and laptops.
Around the table, Jordan Tseng, a first-year civil engineering student from Hong Kong sat next to Sister Diane Donoghue, a UCLA alumna who graduated in 1954 and Eileen Flaxman, a third-year English student who previously dropped out of college to pursue a career in theater and later raised a daughter before returning to finish her degree.
Also present at the dinner was Iqra Qadri, a third-year anthropology student who said she transferred to UCLA fall quarter and has never been very involved in school before. To her left sat Nabeela Virji, a fourth-year sociology student who is involved in the Student Alumni Association and Dance Marathon. To her right sat Gary Phillips, a community activist and author of multiple crime novels.
Different dishes of vegetables, bread and pasta were passed up and down the table, and conversation topics ranged from Stephen Colbert to the slow food movement to the hazards of Segway parking.
Laughter erupted from one end of the table as discussions took place at the other end of the table about traveling to Europe and gentrification.
The appeal of the program is that the dinners offer students an opportunity to network and a chance to enjoy good food in an informal setting, Tseng said.
Tseng added that the dinners are a unique way for alumni to stay connected to the university.
“It’s just a really simple idea,” she said. “(The dinner) keeps students past and present integrated. I love that.”
During the dinner, Sewill said that in addition to hosting a dinner each year, she sometimes returns to campus to talk to students in the School of Public Affairs.
Walking from Lot 3 to the classroom, she said she thinks to herself, “It’s been 27 years since I’ve been a student here. Oh my God!”