The Spring 2017 Undergraduate Entrance Ceremony was held on Monday, April 3, at the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall. This spring, Keio University welcomed a total of 6,584 students, including students entering the Japanese Language Program. Two ceremonies were held to accommodate the large number of students—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The morning ceremony was held for the students entering the Faculty of Law, Faculty of Business and Commerce, Faculty of Science and Technology, and the Japanese Language Program, and the afternoon ceremony was for students entering the Faculty of Letters, Faculty of Economics, School of Medicine, Faculty of Policy Management, Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Faculty of Nursing and Medical Care, and Faculty of Pharmacy. In addition, every year, Keio alumni celebrating 50 years after graduation are invited to the entrance ceremony, and this year, many alumni from the class of 1967 were in attendance.
To open each ceremony, Vice-President Akira Haseyama gave the Incoming Class Report. This was followed by a welcome address by President Atsushi Seike, who used Yukichi Fukuzawa’s words and spoke of the importance of kochi (wisdom to relatively determine what is important) based on jitsugaku (science). He also encouraged the students to be the “guardian goose” that cranes it neck to watch for danger while the rest of the flock focuses intently on pecking their food, telling them to not be preoccupied with the trends of the times but instead to develop the ability to think for themselves. A congratulatory speech was then delivered on behalf of the faculty and staff by Professor Masahito Omori of the Faculty of Law (morning) and Professor Fumiyuki Kiuchi of the Faculty of Pharmacy (afternoon). Incoming class representatives, Masaya Sugihara of the Faculty of Science and Technology (morning) and Ryo Ihara of the School of Medicine (afternoon) gave matriculation addresses expressing their joy of entering Keio University and their aspirations for university life. Next, there was a presentation of donations and a celebratory address by representatives of the 1967 Mita-kai, and then the Alma Mater, “The Juku-ka,” was sung by all those in attendance.
After that, a welcome performance was given by the Keio Cheer Group, which livened the atmosphere inside the hall. From the fall of this year, the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall will be rebuilt. When this year’s new students graduate in 2020, it is planned to hold their commencement ceremony in the newly completed building.