NEWS
2018 Autumn Matriculation Ceremony
Update: September 3, 2018
On September 1 (Sat), ICU welcomed over 300 new undergraduate and graduate students, including those graduating from high schools abroad, international schools in Japan, and exchange students from partnership schools, at the matriculation ceremony held in the University Chapel.
The ceremony started with a hymn and prayer by Acting Director of the Religious Center Rev. Shoko Kitanaka. Next, Professor Osamu Arakaki read Acts 20:33-35. Then, as is the custom at ICU, the names of the new students were called one by one.
Following Presidents Junko Hibiya's address, the students signed the Students Pledge, promising to adhere to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
2017 Autumn Matriculation Address by Junko Hibiya, President
I would like to extend my congratulations to all members of the incoming class. May I also offer warm greetings to those family members, relatives and friends who are with us today.
ICU, which you entered today, was founded as the first four-year liberal arts university in Japan. In the years immediately following the end of World War II, a fund to purchase campus land in Tokyo for a new university was raised in North America as well as in Japan. It is upon this land that you will study and engage in extracurricular activities and conduct your daily lives, especially those who will reside in a dormitory. On the American side, various Christian churches, those connected to foreign mission boards, and many individuals, made outstanding efforts in fundraising. On the Japanese side, Governor Hisato Ichimata of the Bank of Japan took charge as president of the supporters' association. A campaign of unprecedented scale began, involving the political, economic and academic sectors of the country. Those who responded positively to this call were not simply leaders in these sectors but countless ordinary people despite the poor and desperate condition of life in the immediate post-war years. According to the records, elementary school children donated ten or twenty yen instead of buying candy, and students of another university offered 100 yen each, money they had earned from their part-time jobs. Thanks to the collaborative efforts on both sides of the Pacific, the first class matriculated in April 1953, and these new students were each introduced to the congregation exactly like today.
The wooden boxes that contain the cards recording information about each donor are housed in the University Archives on the first floor of the library. Upon request, you will be able to take a look at individual cards in these boxes. The Archives also include over 10,000 items such as photographs and documents that have been collected since the foundation of ICU. You will certainly use the library many times in your academic life at ICU. I strongly encourage you to visit the Archives when you take a break from your study and familiarize yourself with the history of the university you enter today.
You may be surprised to learn that as many as ninety five percent of those who contributed to establish an interdenominational Christian university in Japan were not Christians. Why did they make their donation despite the poverty and dire circumstances after the war? That was because they supported the purpose of a new university to cultivate capable individuals, who would contribute zealously to lasting peace. Most of these individuals were probably unfamiliar with the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," that were read at the beginning of this ceremony. However, what they did coincided perfectly with the Jesus's words. They could not have done what they did if they had not believed in the essence of these words. Some people think it is more blessed to receive than to give; it is, of course, human nature to feel the happiness of the gift from others. However, it is the act of giving that brings us true joy. Today's scripture reading enjoins each of us to perform our duties faithfully, to expect no reward, and to give generously.
The document presented to the Japanese Ministry of Education a year before the opening of ICU stated, "students shall be selected from among those who empathize with the university's founding ideals without regard to their race, nationality, and religion." In order to realize our mission, we seek to admit students coming from diverse geographical, cultural and educational backgrounds. For the past sixty-five years, ICU has been a place where varied cultures of students and faculty from around the world cross over. Coming from all over the world, you, September students, are expected to enrich the ICU student body with different and innovative ways in which to meet the challenges of the new global age.
You will take the "Student Pledge," shortly. This has also been a noble tradition since the university's first matriculation ceremony. You will sign a pledge to uphold the principles of the 'Universal Declaration of Human Rights' adopted by the United Nations General Assembly, in 1948. The first article of the declaration states, "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. Human beings are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood." We trust that you will spend your days here abiding by this declaration and give serious thought to what you personally should do to realize a world in which the divides around us disappear.
Today, I have shared with you how ICU came into being. This institution was created through the good will of countless people. Entering such a school, you are urged to meet the expectations and prayers of those who contributed to its founding. Discover your own calling through your studies, through extracurricular activities and in fellowship with friends, faculty and staff on this campus. May the years ahead of you be fruitful.