CAA Announcements

Philip Lee ’82 was 14 when he immigrated to the United States from Hong Kong in the mid-1970s. His new high school classmates teased him, calling him Bruce Lee because of their shared racial background and last name, but Philip didn’t let this color his first impressions of his new home. “It was my first experience in America, so I didn’t know what to expect, nor think it was bad,” he recalled, “I was just so happy to be [here].”

In honor of UC Berkeley’s 150th anniversary, we spoke with Gabriela Taylor ’65 about her experience at Cal in the 1960s during the Free Speech Movement. Her story honors the footprint this alumna, and many like her, have left on campus for other students to follow.

Governor Jerry Brown released his proposed $132 billion state budget on January 10, which includes a boost to University of California funding, but fails to meet all of UC’s needs. UC President Janet Napolitano and UC Board of Regents Chair George Kieffer issued the following statement on the budget:

Since its founding in 1872, the Cal Alumni Association (CAA) has endeavored to connect Cal alumni with each other and our alma mater, UC Berkeley. 145 years later, CAA continues as one of the nation’s preeminent independent alumni associations, with a mission of engaging an alumni community of nearly half a million graduates.

By Courtney Cheng ’16

When David Joe Kim ’17 first heard that his friend, producer James Yi, wanted to call his new film “gook”, Kim was stunned. “You sure about that?” he’d asked Yi. “That’s derogatory!” Yi was insistent. In Korean, “gook” is the word for country. In English, the Korean word is used as a slur against East and Southeast Asian people.

As a new academic year begins for more than 40,000 Cal students, I reflect on those whose brilliant work on behalf of the university has lit the paths for so many of us. This year has seen the passing of multiple individuals who have made great contributions to UC Berkeley’s legacy—here, I call to mind a dear few.