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Please visit our Events page. Max and the Axe The diminutive Maxine Hong Kingston ’62, Alumna of the Year for 2000, stood on a chair to lead the Cal Band at this year’s Charter Banquet. In her keynote address, Kingston spoke of the responsibilities she feels come with accepting the title. One is to help make the University a more accessible place. “Diversity is what makes a university ‘universal,’” she explained. Another is to consider the “proper stewardship” of the nuclear weapons at Lawrence Livermore Labs, since it is part of the UC system. “I try to be a good spy whenever I meet someone who works there,” says Kingston. “They always say they are working on earthquakes, but I choose not to believe that.” Kingston went on to regale the banquet audience with tales of her undergraduate days at Cal, when tuition was just $75 per semester and rent was $90 a month—including maid service. After winning them over with her wit and charm, Kingston felt brave enough to make a confession: “This year, I have been teaching at Stanford,” she admitted, quickly adding that to make up for her transgression she has been trying—literally—to steal the Axe. “I’ve been fantasizing about it all quarter—about what a great occasion this would be tonight if I could produce it right now,” she told the assembled dinner guests. So far unsuccessful, Kingston said she had two more chances to get her hands on the trophy. It’s a responsibility she says she takes very seriously. |
 Maxine Hong Kingston, Alumna of the Year for 2000 Photo by Kristen Loken
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