Keio Senior High School Heads to Koshien | Motohiro Tsuchiya, Vice-President / Professor, Graduate School of Media and Governance
2023.08.08
Every summer, the Keio University Executive Board holds a three-day meeting called the "Intensive Executive Board Meeting." The President and Vice-Presidents share information on issues in their respective areas of responsibility and discuss major guidelines. They spend about 20 to 50 minutes discussing a single topic. Sometimes, discussions continue beyond the scheduled time.
It was the third day of this year's Intensive Executive Board Meeting. During the lunch break, Keio Senior High School was playing in the final of the Kanagawa Prefectural High School Baseball Tournament. At the start of lunch, it was the top of the eighth inning, and Vice-President Keita Yamauchi, who is in charge of affiliated schools, was streaming the game on his laptop. At that point, Keio Senior High School was trailing Yokohama High School 3 to 5.
I had something I wanted to do during the lunch break, so I left the dining area early. When I returned to the Intensive Executive Board Meeting venue in the G-Lab on the 6th floor of the East Research Building, the game was being broadcast on a large screen. To my surprise, while I was away, Keio Senior High School had taken the lead with a three-run home run.
Just before the afternoon session was about to start, the President and other Vice-Presidents returned to the G-Lab. For a moment, we all sat at our desks, glued to the screen. At 1:00 p.m., the head of the Administrative Affairs Office announced that it was time to resume the meeting. The President declared, "The first agenda item for the afternoon is Keio Senior High School." We all continued to watch the broadcast. Then, at 1:01 p.m., the final batter for Yokohama High School was out on a fly to shortstop. We all cheered with a resounding "Ooh!" It was welcome news in the midst of our furrowed-brow discussions about the many challenges facing Keio University as a whole.
This is the third Intensive Executive Board Meeting under President Itoh. We Vice-Presidents have also deepened our understanding of our respective areas of responsibility and are coming to realize the difficulty of solving these issues. More than half of President Itoh's term, which began with the workplace COVID-19 vaccinations, has now passed. It feels like a long time has passed, but considering the time remaining, we cannot afford to be complacent.