NEWS
2023 Spring Commencement Ceremony was held
Update: March 24, 2023
511 undergraduate students and 43 graduate students graduated from ICU at its spring commencement ceremony held at the University Chapel on Friday, March 24.
At the ceremony, each student's name was read out in keeping with tradition that has continued since the first commencement ceremony. Also, students sang hymn together and listened to the scripture reading and President's commencement address.
After the ceremony, students cheerfully greeted their friends at various places on campus, which was full of cherry blossom.
Commencement Address by Shoichiro Iwakiri, President
Scripture Reading: Matthew:16-20 28
Congratulations to all who have completed your Bachelor of Arts program in our Division of Arts and Sciences as well as to those who have finished the MA or PhD programs in our Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and who are graduating today. I also offer my sincere congratulations to all family members, relatives and friends of our graduates. When the COVID pandemic began some three years ago, various restrictions were placed on our movements, and here at ICU, too, we were obliged to cancel our graduation ceremonies. I am so happy that we are finally able to gather together here in the chapel and to celebrate your graduation all together.
Despite the many restrictions imposed by Covid-19, you have all continued to dialogue, to find ways to enrich the time in which you are living and to encourage one another. I believe that there have been many painful and distressing moments. Nevertheless, through these experiences, I am sure you have been able to strengthen your faith that, regardless of the situation, we never stop talking to each other in order to connect with each other at all times. I hope you will continue to value this experience throughout your lives.
During these past few years, the nature of society itself has changed as a result of COVID prevention measures. And we recognize that the significance of the idea that "someone is there - someone is present" has also changed.
It is now accepted that, even if one is not physically present in the classroom, one can be "present" in class via the computer screen. Previously, the concept of being "present" would have inevitably entailed sharing an experience in a given moment, such as hearing the chirping of a tit or the croak of crows coming from outside the window, or sensing the light and the temperature in a room.
But the definition of being present in a certain place, or of being together has come to refer to the experience of being on the same screen and of sharing images and sounds for fixed periods of time, even if we are physically separated.
We have discovered that education is still possible even in such circumstances. Yet at the same time, we know that something is missing.
In April of last year, the students organized an event, called "Rethink ICU", where they invited members of faculty, staff and members of our Board of Trustees to come together to reconsider the bonds that join us together. It was not that there was any particular academic information or knowledge that was shared at that time; but the event did provide for a real presence and a chance for dialogue. Those who couldn't be there physically were able to take part remotely via live streaming, which could be seen as rather ironic, and yet the event succeeded in conveying the important message that the opportunity to communicate from a distance whereby we are able to touch each other had returned.
I know that there are some who feel uncomfortable in face to face situations, who prefer online interactions and believe that they are better suited to meeting people in a virtual space. Meeting people in person is often bothersome. I was really pleased that people didn't hesitate to do these "bothersome" activities at the Rethink ICU event. A recent magazine article reported the poor outcomes of ICU on the cost performance scale. On careful reading, however, it turned out to be more of a complimentary article about ICU, and I was pleased to note that, in an era when we are prone to measure the tangible value of things, whether in education or in romantic relationships, simply on the basis of cost performance, the spirit that appreciates the "bothersome" is still alive.
The philosopher, Jacques Derrida, argues that there is something wild in the logos, claiming that humankind has tamed the wild by means of the order of truth. Derrida also calls this wild quality "ambiguous animality".
I feel as if the bothersome part of life, that which is not necessarily reasonable, is somehow linked to this "ambiguous animality". We are talking here of the spirit that transforms things that are lost if we only live for rationality and efficiency into something of enriched value, of affording a greater depth to the world we live in. Society expects universities to equip students with the skills to respond flexibly to unforeseeable events. But what is needed for them to acquire such skills? The answer here is a spirit of freedom, which may look unwieldy on the surface, but which is in fact the strength inherent in the logos and its energy. That energy is born of dialogue and love. One of the philosophers who most valued dialogue was Socrates. Derrida sees a 'spellbinding powers of enchantment' in Socratic living logos. Through dialogue, we listen to the words of reason and, at the same time, we may be touched by something that is not transparent, something magical which causes a transformation in us. This untamed part in us saves us from the conventional way of seeing the world.
I am sure that you have all come to realize this through your learning at ICU.
Our world will continue to change and confront us with a variety of issues. Throughout these changes and your attempts to solve problems, I hope that something beautiful will come to rest in your heart. When beauty is in your heart, this can serve as a source of strength.
I pray that, as you move forward, buoyed by a determination to build a new tomorrow, you will take on new challenges with beauty in your mind, make new discoveries, use your creative imagination and contribute to the building of peace.
The English translation of sotsugyoshiki is "commencement", a word rooted in the idea of a beginning. Today you are graduating and have completed one phase of life; but today is also a new beginning. I would like to send you off with my very best wishes, praying that your future lives may be full of blessings and bear rich fruit.