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On Monday, March 25, the 2023 Undergraduate Commencement Ceremony was held at the Hiyoshi Commemorative Hall on Hiyoshi Campus, where 6,151 students from the 10 undergraduate faculties embarked on a new chapter in their lives. Among the graduates were 305 Correspondence Course students.
The ceremonies began with Vice-President Yoshimitsu Matsuura’s presentation of the Graduating Class Report. President Kohei Itoh then conferred diplomas and commendations for academic excellence, after which he delivered an address to the new graduates. In his address, President Itoh introduced a conversation he had with American journalist Thomas Friedman at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Friedman spoke of how mangroves, which serve as buffer zones between land and the ocean, are being destroyed by human economic activities. He expressed his concern that this is analogous to media—the filtering buffer and "mangrove" of information between politics and the public—losing its role due to the rise of social media. Through this anecdote, President Itoh relayed his hopes to the new graduates that they will become independent and self-respecting leaders able to organically connect with different social systems to develop the communities around them, just like Keio founder Yukichi Fukuzawa, who valued the concept of jinkan kosai, or human interaction in society.
Next, a congratulatory address was made by alumni representative Masatada Kobayashi, Chief Well-being Officer of Rakuten Group, Inc. and member of the Keio University Board of Councillors. Yiran Zheng, a fourth-year at the Faculty of Economics, followed up with a speech on behalf of the graduating students.
Many Mita-kai (Alumni Association) members from the Class of 1999, celebrating 25 years since their graduation, also attended the ceremony and watched over the new graduates as they set out to start a new life. To commemorate their 25th graduation anniversary, the Class of 1999 Mita-kai donated funds for diversity projects, educational enrichment, and scholarships. Shigeru Uehara, vice chair of the executive committee, presented an inventory of donations. This was followed by a speech delivered by the committee’s chair, Rika Sueyoshi. After the ceremony, Keio University held the 25-Year Reunion for Keio Alumni, which took place on Hiyoshi Campus for the first time in seven years. The event provided an opportunity to renew old friendships.
The next day, on Tuesday, March 26, Keio University held its Graduate Commencement Ceremony at the same venue. This year, degrees were conferred on a total of 1,478 students from across the 14 graduate schools (195 doctoral degrees, 1,130 master’s degrees, and 153 professional degrees).
The ceremony began with Vice-President Matsuura’s Graduating Class Report, followed by President Itoh conferring degrees on three representatives for those obtaining their doctoral, master's, and professional degrees, respectively. After the president finished his address to the graduates, Professor Tetsuya Toma from the Graduate School of System Design and Management gave a congratulatory address on behalf of the faculty and staff members. The ceremony ended with a rendition of Keio’s alma mater, "Juku-ka."
While the weather was unfavorable for both ceremonies, the Hiyoshi Campus was nevertheless filled with the happy faces of graduates and their families.
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