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Waseda University has approximately 500 officially recognized student club. The genres range from cultural to sports to academic, and it is a place where each student can express their individuality. However, due to restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, face-to-face activities have drastically decreased. There are many student club that have been able to connect their respective cultures through trial and error, such as switching to online activities. This year, with the long-awaited return of face-to-face activities in full swing, we held a roundtable discussion with four uniquely accredited student club at Waseda University Student Center, which has regained its liveliness. We asked them about their face-to-face activities, their thoughts on the university and the city of Waseda, and their aspirations for the future.

Textile Research Group(繊維研究会)  Kota Aoyagi, 3rd year student, School of Humanities and Social Sciences
Banzai Alliance(バンザイ同盟) Sae Nakamaru, 3rd year student, School of Culture, Media and Society
Oral Society(雄弁会) Sota Shimakura, 3rd year student School of Political Science and Economics
Match Work Group Waseda(まっちワークグループ早稲田) Eiji Nishi, 3rd year School of Social Sciences

Fashion, speech, community volunteering, and Banzai!? A diverse student club culture where students' individuality shines through.

--First of all, please tell us about the activities of student club.

Aoyagi: The Textile Research Group is a student club that hosts fashion shows, with student clubs members in charge of everything from making clothes to setting up the venue and public relations. Specifically, we engage in a variety of activities, including sewing clothes we designed ourselves using sewing machines, creating the venue, and creating lookbooks (*) to hand out on the day.

(*) A photo book/catalogue that expresses the world view of clothes.

Nakamaru: As the name suggests, the Banzai Alliance is a student club performs banzai at various auspicious occasions. When requested, I go to parties such as weddings and chase parties, and sometimes politicians' election celebrations. Since 1971, we have created a total of 768 types of Banzai, and the number continues to increase!

Shimakura: The Orental Society is a historical political and debate student club founded in 1902. In fact, the first president of student club was Shigenobu Okuma! The school has also produced many famous alumni, including politicians. Our activities center around participating in speech contests and study sessions, and we also engage in external activities such as interning with and reporting on various political parties.

Nishi: Machi Work Group Waseda is a community-based volunteer student club. In collaboration with merchant associations near Waseda, we will assist in the management of local events and propose and implement new plans. We also operate a web magazine to communicate the charms of Waseda's surrounding area.

Photo left: Textile Research Group's 2022 Lookbook "Wrapping Empty Boxes"
Photo right: Machi Work Group Waseda will have a booth at the “Furusato Festival” held at an elementary school near the university in June 2023.

――Comparing your current activities with those during the coronavirus pandemic, are there any activities or events that stand out to you?

Aoyagi: During the coronavirus pandemic, we were streaming shows, but our online activities were quite irregular... The sense of unity in the venue is the most attractive and important part of a fashion show. That's why when we held our first show after in-person activities resumed, we were moved by the enthusiasm of the venue.

Shimakura: That's true. When I was heckled for the first time at the face-to-face speech contest in May 2022, I couldn't help but smile because I felt like this was the activity I wanted to do (lol). When I said on stage, "I'm proposing a policy!'', everyone in the audience responded, "What?'' During the coronavirus pandemic, all I had to do was give speeches calmly at my computer, so I was even more moved when I was able to engage in an interactive activity where my speeches were met with jeers each time.

Photo left: Even during the coronavirus pandemic, the Orentukai held study sessions with student club members online.
Photo right: A photo from the face-to-face speech contest held at Tokyo University of Agriculture in November 2022.

――Are there any activities planned after summer, such as student club training camps or exhibiting at events?

Nakamaru: The Banzai Alliance is planning a summer training camp. While staying for about a week, we plan to divide into groups and come up with new banzai designs and improve the skill level of our current banzai designs.

Aoyagi & Shimakura & Nishi: What? Training camp for Banzai!?

Nakamaru: That's right, it's funny I think(lol). I'm also looking forward to seeing how many Banzai will be added. How do you like Machi Work?

Nishi: We are planning to exhibit at the Waseda Earth Thanksgiving Festival, which will be held in September for the first time in four years. We planned the secondhand book fair to solve the problem of university students turning away from books and to revitalize local second-hand secondhand book. We plan to publicize the fair at local libraries and secondhand book so that many people can visit.

Aoyagi: It's difficult to create a project from scratch...The Textile Research Society is also planning a training camp, but there are substitutes and there aren't many seniors who know the details of the activities before the coronavirus pandemic. Although we are still trying our best, we are planning to have fun making clothes together.

Shimakura: Although the Oral Society has been holding training camps since last year, we were unable to conduct alumni visits, which was a tradition before the coronavirus pandemic. This year, I would like to visit alumni in Okinawa and deepen our thinking together about issues such as US military bases. Additionally, Waseda Festival is also planning to hold the Okuma Hai, a speech contest in which all the audience members will be judges, so the event is sure to be very popular.

Activities are supported by “university facilities” and “connections with people and the city.”

--As face-to-face student club activities become more active, please let us know if there are any good things about the university or Waseda that you have noticed.

Shimakura: The existence of the club room is huge. It's a very convenient place to hold study sessions at any time, or as a place to store things that have been passed down over the years. Actually, this flag is also usually placed in the club room.

Nakamaru: There are some student club members in the club room, so whenever I have time I follow them and chat with them.

Aoyagi: Yeah, the big thing is that if you go there, there might be someone there. Also, I am very grateful that the university has a full range of facilities and equipment, not just Waseda University Student Center with club rooms. Even student club members who don't have a sewing machine at home can easily try their hand at sewing, thanks to the sewing machines available at the Monozukuri Workshop (Nishi-Waseda Campus).

Also, the connections I have with seniors who have graduated have been very helpful. Especially the year before last, I even asked my seniors to design flyers for shows.

Nakamaru: I agree! Seniors are really great. Banzai patterns are passed down orally, so the only way to do it is to be taught directly, which was a challenge during the coronavirus pandemic. At that time, the person who helped me was a legendary senior who is called "Banzai God" in student clubs (lol). They helped us by directly teaching us how to play banzai, which even the most advanced students didn't know, and by compiling and distributing it in a list, and we were able to expand the range of banzai once again.

Nishi: As a community-based student clubs, the closeness of the city and students is very attractive, and the activities are rewarding. For example, if you go to the same restaurant over and over again, the staff will remember you and say hello to you, and you can quickly become friends with them. I like the relationship like that.

Shimakura: It's great that there are so many restaurants around the campus. I don't have to worry about finding a place to eat, and sharing meals with student club members makes discussions more lively.

Nishi: Also, I sometimes interact with the same community-based student club at events, such as the Atom Currency Executive Committee and Kankyo Rodriguez, and I get a real sense of the horizontal connections between student club. Although their activities may be similar, each group has its own characteristics, and you will be surprised at the diversity of Waseda's student club culture.

Aoyagi: In the case of the Textile Research Society, we have strong connections with fashion-related student club at other universities, and I think it's interesting that there are exchanges that go beyond the university.

The joy of face-to-face activities A new tradition begins here

--Finally, please tell us your enthusiasm for further enlivening Waseda's student club culture.

Aoyagi: First of all, we want to increase the number of people who come to our fashion shows. We hope to actively utilize media such as SNS to convey the joy of the show to as many people as possible. Our big goal is to make the fashion show itself an open event.

Nakamaru: Like the Textile Research Group, we would like to expand the circle of our activities. I myself have a lot of fun playing Banzai, so I want as many people as possible to know how fun it is. That's why I want to participate in various events not only on campus, but also outside the university and overseas to spread the word about Banzai culture.

Photo left: Fashion show of the Textile Research Society. student clubs members also select models.
Photo right: Banzai Alliance went to Oita during the unified local elections in April 2023 (Nakamaru is in the front row on the far right)

Shimakura: While continuing the tradition of student club, I feel that we need to think about what the Oral Society should be like in the post-corona era. I would like to not only engage in activities that are limited to student club members, such as study sessions and writing speeches, but also actively go out into society and increase the learning that can be gained in the field.

Nishi: I hope that Machi Work Group Waseda can become a bridge between the community and student club. It would be a waste if only community-based student club were involved with the city, so I would like to continue to propose projects that only Waseda can do. I will do my best to make the student town and student club culture even more exciting!

Photo on the left: An oratory party that visited the mayor of Akitakada City, Hiroshima (center) at the spring training camp in 2023 (Shimakura is third from the left)
Photo right: Machi Work Group Waseda participated in the "Ximen Day Fair" held at Waseda University's Nishimon Dori Shopping Street in April 2022 (Nishi is second from the right)

After finishing the interview

Planning/coverage/text: Waseda Weekly Reporter (SJC student staff)
Saya Tanabe, 3rd year School of Culture, Media and Society

Planning and cooperation: Sotaro Tsutsumi, 3rd year School of Social Sciences
Hinari Ukiya, 2nd year School of Culture, Media and Society
Shino Watanabe, 2nd year School of Education

Public information on student club that appeared this time

Textile research group
Twitter: @sen_i_lab
Instagram: @seni_1949

banzai alliance
Twitter: @banzaidoumei2
Instagram: @banzaidoumei

Oratory meeting
Twitter: @yubenkai

Match Work Group Waseda
Twitter: @match_waseda
Instagram: @hakkenmatch

* Click here for the Waseda University official student club guide, which includes information on the above student club.

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