Cancellation of graduation and commencement ceremonies (March 26)
Mar. 18, 2011
We hereby announce, with much regret, the cancellation of the graduation ceremony planned to take place at Nippon Budokan on Saturday, March 26, as well as the commencement ceremony at Liberty Tower and Academy Common. We have reached this difficult decision in view of the current circumstances associated with the earthquake disaster.
Details about the issuance of degrees will be notified to you at a later date, on the university website and other forums. We would like to ask for the understanding of the graduating students and all the people concerned.
The graduation ceremony which was to be held at the Nippon Budokan, with a large number of people connected to our university gathering under one roof, must give priority, first and foremost, to the safety of participants. After carefully studying various factors—the nuclear power plant accident that occurred in the wake of the earthquake, confusion in society due, among other things, to the disruption in public transportation services caused by the scheduled power outages in the Kanto area, and the uncertain situation with frequent aftershocks still occurring—we have decided that we should cancel the ceremonies.
We have also decided not to hold the commencement ceremonies to grant degrees to graduates, an event planned to take place after the graduation ceremony at the Liberty Tower. We will send Graduation Certificates and Diplomas to graduates by post.
Although we have been forced to cancel the graduation and commencement ceremonies in this way, we do feel truly pained to see our graduates leave Meiji University under such difficult circumstances. We hope that you will go out into society and be able to involve yourselves in Japan’s recovery efforts as you grow and develop your skills further. In view of the current domestic situation in Japan we would like to ask for the kind and generous understanding of your parents and all other people concerned.
Details about the issuance of degrees will be notified to you at a later date, on the university website and other forums. We would like to ask for the understanding of the graduating students and all the people concerned.
To our graduating students and all people concerned
We would like to express our deepest sympathy and concern to the victims of the Great Tohoku-Kanto Earthquake, and offer our heartfelt condolences to individuals who have lost their precious lives, as well as members of their families. Meiji University prays for a swift recovery from this unprecedented disaster, and pledges to make school-wide effort to assist our students and concerned people who have been affected.The graduation ceremony which was to be held at the Nippon Budokan, with a large number of people connected to our university gathering under one roof, must give priority, first and foremost, to the safety of participants. After carefully studying various factors—the nuclear power plant accident that occurred in the wake of the earthquake, confusion in society due, among other things, to the disruption in public transportation services caused by the scheduled power outages in the Kanto area, and the uncertain situation with frequent aftershocks still occurring—we have decided that we should cancel the ceremonies.
We have also decided not to hold the commencement ceremonies to grant degrees to graduates, an event planned to take place after the graduation ceremony at the Liberty Tower. We will send Graduation Certificates and Diplomas to graduates by post.
Although we have been forced to cancel the graduation and commencement ceremonies in this way, we do feel truly pained to see our graduates leave Meiji University under such difficult circumstances. We hope that you will go out into society and be able to involve yourselves in Japan’s recovery efforts as you grow and develop your skills further. In view of the current domestic situation in Japan we would like to ask for the kind and generous understanding of your parents and all other people concerned.
Hiromi Naya
President
Meiji University