Santa Clara Law Reunion Weekend 2006By Larry Sokoloff '92
Class reunion weekend 2006 was bigger and better in many ways than ever before. More alumni participated—by attending and planning the events—than at any reunion gathering in recent memory. In addition, each reunion class is also giving a special gift back to Santa Clara Law in honor of their reunion.
For the alumni who took an inaugural alumni bicycle ride, to nearly 300 who attended the reunion dinner on Saturday night, it was a weekend of fun, of reminiscing and reconnecting with classmates. Reunions were held for the classes of 1956, ’71, ’76, ’81, ’86, ’91, ’96, and 2001.
For alumni such as Cynthia Oshiro ’91, it was a time to appreciate Santa Clara Law. "It brought back all the memories of the good stuff we went through there," she said. "It hit me how absolutely beautiful the campus is, and what a great foundation I got from the professors who taught me there."
FRIDAY, SEPT. 8Friday was a day of recreation for alumni, with biking, barbecuing, golfing, and gathering for food and drinks on the schedule. Tom Schneck ’71 started a reunion event that he hopes other classes will carry on—an alumni bicycle ride from the Santa Clara campus to Los Gatos. Schneck, a San Jose patent attorney, and others had originally planned to take a leisurely ride to Vasona Lake Park in Los Gatos, but the group was so fit, they continued riding into the hills above Los Gatos and pedaled over thirty miles before finishing at the park for a barbeque. Alumni riders included Ted Chan ’86, Cecelia "Leah" Soboleski ’91, and Alexander Yuan ’96.
At the same time, other alumni played golf at San Jose Country Club and the Cinnabar Hills Golf Club in San Jose, including classmates Patrick Strader, Scott Sagaria, and Suk Lee, all from the class of 2001. The class of ’01 continued celebrating that evening with a well attended happy hour at the Hut, the famed Santa Clara watering hole. "It was a great turnout," said Strader. "It was very informal and relaxed." Other alumni gathered on campus that evening for their own class receptions and barbecues. SATURDAY, SEPT. 9The reunion continued in earnest, with alumni gathering for education at lunch, and cocktails and dinner in the evening. Lunchtime featured a continuing legal education presentation by Professor Robert Peterson. It was just like old times in evidence class, as Peterson spoke on "The Bard and the Bench: Content, Context and California Evidence Code Section 356," at the Adobe Lodge.
In the afternoon, Dean Donald Polden hosted a champagne reception behind Bergin Hall for the many volunteers who worked on the reunion. Both Dean Polden and University President Paul Locatelli, S.J., spoke to the alumni and guests at the event, which also featured classical music by string musicians. Volunteers had a major role in increasing turnout at the 2006 reunion events, by contacting former classmates and encouraging them to attend. They were aided by Susan Moore B.S. ’86, who joined the law school’s alumni relations office as assistant director. One of her primay responsibilities is to organize reunions. Early evening brought out more alumni, for a cocktail reception held in front of the Benson Memorial Center, followed by class dinners inside Benson Center that lasted into the night. Nearly 300 people attended the dinners, with many of them echoing Oshiro, who said, "It was great. It was fun."
SUNDAY, SEPT. 10On Sunday, reunion attendees gathered for brunch and Mass at the new Jesuit Residence on Franklin Street. Mass was celebrated by a familiar face from law school days—law professor Paul Goda, S.J. Others gathered on campus in the afternoon at the Mission Gardens for a University-wide wine and food festival, Vintage Santa Clara XXIII. "I thought it was a great reunion," said Schneck, who attended events on all three days. "The alumni office put a lot of work into it."
Larry Sokoloff is the Assistant Editor of Santa Clara.
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