A decades-old tradition at the University of California, Los Angeles, brings together students and alumni over a meal to build connections and trust. For three nights each spring, hundreds of University of California, Los Angeles students gather in alumni’s homes, sharing a meal among a small group and bonding over their experiences as Bruins. The initiative, Dinners for 12 Strangers, started in the 1960s as a way to unite students with diverse perspectives over dinner and has evolved over the past 50 years to include present and former UCLA students across the globe.