As students closed the book on the first day of classes, Radcliffe officially opened its school year with the annual Convocation ceremony in Radcliffe Yard last night.

Author Gish Jen '77 delivered the keynote address to an audience of about 300.

Jen reminisced humorously about her days rowing for Radcliffe lightweight crew, recalling how the team lifted Hawaiian Punch cans filled with concrete instead of the more conventional weights used by the men's teams.

Jen also told of her serendipitous journey to a career in writing. She had, at different points in her career, flirted with pre-law, pre-medicine and architecture, as well as a stint in business school.

"I became a writer finally by process of elimination," she said.

Jen is the author of two novels, most recently Mona in the Promised Land. Her short stories have appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, The New Yorker, and the 1988 and 1995 editions of Best American Short Stories.

At the close of her speech, Jen urged students to put real effort into their educations.

"Seek to be changed. Trust in yourselves. Be unafraid," she said.

After receiving a standing ovation, Jen wept in her seat.

Students seemed to enjoy Jen's address.

"It was what I needed, after my first day of class, to get me focused on the long term again after worrying about how to deal with everyday details," said Victoria J.K.J. Harris '00.

"Gish Jen was really inspirational," said Maureen C. Hickey '99.

Other speakers included Radcliffe President Linda S. Wilson, First Vice President of the Radcliffe Alumni Association Jane Tewksbury '74, newly-appointed Dean of Radcliffe Educational Programs Tamar March, and Radcliffe Union of Students Co-presidents Corinne E. Funk '97, who is a Crimson executive, and Megan L. Peimer '97.

March, making her first major public appearance since her appointment, delivered a jocular speech.

"I am encouraging you to have fun, in moderation," she said, echoing a common theme among the evening's speakers.

Tension?

A possible moment of tension occurred during Peimer's speech, when she mentioned the elimination of the post of dean of Radcliffe College and the resultant loss of Philippa A. Bovet as an administrator.

Students had strongly objected to this change last spring.

Signs of tension could also be perceived in Wilson's conduct during the undergraduates' address.

While the president listened intently to all non-student speeches, she ignored Peimer and Funk as they spoke, instead reading the contents of a folder she carried on-stage with her, observers said.

But other students said as to a possible controversy.

"I didn't see it on any visible level at Convocation," said Katherine H. Gibson '99, a coordinator of the Lyman Common Room.