On Thursday, March 23, the 2017 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony was held at the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall, graduating 6,445 students from the 10 undergraduate faculties. Among the graduates were 237 Correspondence Course students.
The ceremony began with Vice-President Akira Haseyama’s Graduating Class Report, followed by the presentation of awards and diplomas and the congratulatory address to Keio’s newest graduates by President Atsushi Seike. In his address, the president spoke about the importance of seeking the truth without being constrained by fixed ideas and dogmas, and cited a sentence from Yukichi Fukuzawa’s book An Encouragement of Learning: “There is much that is false in the realm of belief, and much that is true in the realm of doubt.” Mr. Motoyuki Oka, Senior Adviser of Sumitomo Corporation, represented Keio alumni and gave his congratulatory address, and a new graduate of the Faculty of Business and Commerce, Honoka Tsuda, gave a speech on behalf of the graduating class.
Other various events were held after the ceremony, including the diploma conferment by each faculty, a reception for 25th anniversary Keio University alumni, Koizumi Award-related celebrations, and a ceremony for honors students.
It was a mild spring day, and Hiyoshi Campus was filled with new graduates taking photos with their families and friends, and was bursting with a sense of celebration for accomplishments and the future beyond.