What's Next? | Kenji Kumasaka (Dean of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)
2005.02.03
At last, my fears have come true. The Take-off Rally, one of the most quintessential SFC events celebrating the departure of our graduates, has been canceled this year. For the past few years, its continuation has always been uncertain around this time, barely managing to happen at the last minute. But that tightrope walk has finally come to an end this year; the rope has snapped. For those of us who have been involved from the beginning, to see the history of students taking the lead in running SFC's graduation ceremony with the concept of a "take-off" come to an end here brings a feeling of something more than just sadness. I can't help but sigh and wonder, "Is this really okay for SFC?" But I suppose this is what SFC is all about. No matter how valuable something is, once it loses its appeal, it vanishes in an instant, and in the next moment, something that surpasses it is born. Perhaps these "students from the future" dislike being inheritors of history.
On January 31, Yutsuko Chusonji died. The "oyaji gal" has also become a thing of the past.
Right now, there are students who are struggling and working hard. They are serious about making the Graduation Project Exhibition a success. Instead of the Take-off Rally, which had become an easy event, a new initiative is underway. It's an attempt to find meaning in their own history at SFC by publicly showcasing the original research they have accumulated over four years in the form of a Graduation Project Exhibition—not through grades, that objective? privilege of teachers alone—and actively seeking rigorous evaluation from a wide audience. This Graduation Project Exhibition will surpass the Take-off Rally and become a fitting final gate for these students, who have sought to create new value and have pursued a problem-finding and solving style of education and research. Of course, it is a student-led project, and their spirit of "We will make this Graduation Project Exhibition happen ourselves" is robust. Moreover, as if to challenge us, it will be held at the Yokohama Red Brick Warehouse on February 19 and 20—the very days of the entrance examinations for the Faculty of Policy Management and the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies. I can hear their straightforward assertion: "Students will choose, not teachers."
On January 28, I was born into this world. Though that was 58 years ago in the past.
As if to celebrate it (a complete misunderstanding, of course), the "Keio Sports Party" was held in grand style. Although this party was a project that started as a spontaneous idea between myself and Kojima-san, it turned into a wonderful event thanks to Matsuhashi-kun and others who worked tirelessly to make it happen. I am very grateful. The sporting spirit of SFC blossomed magnificently in 2004 with championships in basketball and baseball. Congratulations. However, the real reward from this party came unexpectedly from a different quarter. "Excuse me, my name is Shomooki. Please, I'd like to talk to you." He was Koji Shomooki, a second-year student in the Faculty of Policy Management. He belongs to the Cycling Club and took second place in the adult men's Keirin at last year's National Sports Festival. He had the article about it from the Miyazaki Nichinichi Shimbun. But what was astounding was not the second-place finish itself, but the unbelievable fact that he had only started competitive cycling after entering SFC and had his major breakthrough in just one year. SFC truly has some monsters. However, it seems the club has no funding and cannot even afford adequate equipment. Supported only by their passion for cycling, they are riding hard and tenaciously on old tires.
Next, it seems likely that someone will emerge to devise a plan to make him a star. Launching a sports venture might be a good idea, too.
On January 31, it was decided that Keio High School would go to Koshien. They have been freed from the past after 45 years.
(Date of publication: 2005/02/03)