In place of the undergraduate commencement ceremony for the 2019 academic year, which was cancelled due to the situation regarding COVID-19 (coronavirus disease), an undergraduate diploma conferment ceremony was held at the new Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall on Monday, March 23 without the participation of the graduating students. The ceremony was broadcast via video feed on the Keio University website.
The ceremony began with the singing of the Alma Mater, "The Juku-ka," and following Provost Tojiro Aoyama's Graduating Class Report, President Akira Haseyama conferred awards and diplomas before giving his address with words of encouragement to Keio's newest graduates. In his speech, President Haseyama touched on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a key phrase symbolizing the world coming together, cooperating, and responding to global-scale issues such as COVID-19, and spoke of the importance of determining the essence of things and finding solutions without being misled by unreliable information, even in chaotic circumstances.
Next, representing the alumni, the general secretary of the World Karate Federation Toshihisa Nagura gave a congratulatory address to the students, in which he spoke of his hope that the graduates would realize and embody the values of dignity and wisdom. This was followed by the presentation of donations and a celebratory address by the 1995 Mita-kai, whose members are commemorating 25 years since graduation.
This spring, a total of 6,224 students from the ten undergraduate faculties (including 216 Correspondence Course students) graduated to begin a new chapter in their lives. In classrooms and other venues on all campuses, graduates were seen with the diplomas they had each received in hand taking commemorative photographs with their friends and joyfully talking to each other. The blooming cherry blossoms provided additional color to the celebratory atmosphere.