The Keio-Waseda Game is on May 29 | Tomoyuki Kojima (Dean, Faculty of Policy Management)
2004.04.28
This year, there is a long holiday period of up to seven days from April 29 to May 5. However, Friday, April 30, is a regular class day, and I will also be holding a practice session with graduate students from 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. in preparation for their upcoming mid-term master's thesis presentations.
The new students who enrolled in April seem to be getting used to campus life at SFC. However, they still look very much like freshmen, getting lost and going to the wrong classrooms, or looking bewildered during lunch breaks with barely enough time to eat. But as time goes by, they will become Keio students and students of SFC. By participating in classes and research projects, and joining the Athletic Association or student clubs, they will become more like Keio students and SFC students. Besides classes, there are other opportunities to experience SFC, such as the Tanabata Festival in July, the Autumn Festival in October, Homecoming Day (HCD) when alumni return to campus, and the Open Research Forum (ORF) in November.
This year, I want to add the Keio-Waseda baseball game to that list. I really want you to experience the cheering, which brings together Keio students from Yochisha (the elementary school) to the university, students from the Mita, Hiyoshi, Yagami, Shinanomachi, and SFC campuses, as well as alumni. I myself first felt a strong attachment to being a student of Keio University at a Keio-Waseda game at Jingu Stadium, which I attended with senior members of my student club during the spring of my freshman year.
Of course, alumni of any university have a love for their alma mater, but the love that Keio University alumni have for the Juku is exceptionally strong. Every year, alumni celebrating their 25th graduation anniversary are invited to the commencement ceremony, and those celebrating their 50th anniversary are invited to the entrance ceremony. This year, graduates from the class of 1953 attended the entrance ceremony. Out of a total of 2,500 graduates, 1,500 invitations were sent, and over 1,000 actually attended. This is an extremely high attendance rate. Perhaps the starting point of this love for the Juku among the alumni celebrating their 50th year is a fond memory of the passionate Keio-Waseda games.
The Keio-Waseda game in this spring's league tournament is on Saturday, May 29. Tickets are available. To all new students, let's meet at Jingu Stadium. Of course, I hope to see second, third, and fourth-year students, as well as graduate students, at the stadium too!
(Posted on: 2004/04/28)