Celebrating Soochow University’s 117th Anniversary with Miscellaneous Sports and Cultural Activities

Soochow University’s 117^th anniversary and sports competitions made its grand openings on March 11, 2017, on Shuangxi campus. A total of 3,000 students, teachers, and alumni from all over the world got together to celebrate the event. It had been raining for many days, but fortunately on that day the rain stopped, allowing all participants to compete on the sports ground and sing University Anthem together. President Wei-Da Pan in the opening remarks made blessings on the University’s anniversary and expected all Soochow University students to hold on to the legacy spirit of earnestness and to create further honor for the University. Mr. Shao-Yu Wang, Director of the Board, was also proud that, even under current trend of fewer children in contemporary society, the University could persist in its principle of teaching integrity in a serious manner. Mr. Ji-Ren Liu, President of Alumni Association, expressed gratitude to the University’s dedication to education and hoped in the future more alumni would contribute to the University’s resources.

The celebration activities were plentiful and miscellaneous. There were 17 students taking bicycles to take the challenge of 380-kilometer-ride from Taipei to Kaohsiung in one single day. Besides, there were all kinds of track-and-field sports competitions, free health checks, campus fairs, and multi-cultural carnivals hosted by student dormitories.

One-day bike ride from Taipei to Kaohsiung through Rain and Tears

Seventeen Soochow University students, who had just finished an astonishing journey in 18.5 hours under the leadership of Professor Mr. Kun-Zhong Lee, from Department of Accounting, entered the sports ground during the opening ceremony. Despite the poor weather when they started their journey, all the students persisted in the rain, helped each other, and took turns to be the windbreaker of the team. During the journey, there were sweat, rain, and tears. One of them, named Chung, a student from Department of Psychology, fell off from his bike and was injured when he tried to avoid crashing into a motorcycle rider. Unfortunately he did not finish the ride, but he said he would take up another challenge like this in the future.

Competition on Field for Ten-Thousand-Dollar Scholarship

Right after the creative entry of students from each Department, the sports competitions began. In addition to the entertainment competition, basketball 3-on-3, and relay race, the race that caught the most attention is the 400-meter dash. Jun-Han Yao, a student from Department of History, who had also been the record holder of 800-meter dash, tried to challenge Bo-Wei Huang, a student from Department of Social Studies, who broke the “Wei-Guo Obstacle” last year. The competition ended with Jun-Han Yao’s winning the first place with 54 .25 seconds.

Appreciation Ceremony for University Fund Donators

In the year 2016, the number of donators to Soochow University Fund reached a new high of 1194 persons. To show gratitude to these donators from social elites and alumni, a heart-warming Appreciation Ceremony was held on the University’s 117^th anniversary. Edward Rada, Director of the “Friends of Soochow in America,” said he was pleased to see Soochow University well-equipped with hardware facilities and making all efforts to improve its learning environment and teaching resources.

Narnia Kingdom at Campus Fair Surprised Everyone

The Student Association hosted a Narnia Kingdom at campus Fair to sell popular items and used books. They even invited a DJ from the English broadcasting station ICRT to campus, warm up the atmosphere with several humorous interviews. Additionally, the Student Association also invited some alumni to come back and recall good memories and celebrate the Student Association’s 60^th anniversary.

Multi-Cultural Ghosts Carnival in Dormitories

Using ghosts as a theme this year, the Student Dormitory Association held a “Ghost and Grinch” Carnival, featuring Western and Eastern ghosts that include China’s Liaozhai, Europe and America’s ghosts and monsters, and Japan’s Hundreds of Ghosts Walking. The delightful interactive games and the exquisite decorations in dormitories gave all visitors an impression of being at the scene and experience different cultures.