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“II want to continue doing things for others"

SJC Student Staff
Daiki Sato, 2nd year student, School of Law

Do you know about the Student Participation and Job Center (SJC)? I think most people probably don't know about it. I am a student staff member at SJC.

SJC is an organization established in the Student Affairs Division of the Student Affairs Section, and I work at the Welfare Desk in the Student Affairs Section. There are currently about 18 members from various faculties and years. In addition to accepting applications for medical expense benefits from the Waseda University Student Health Promotion Mutual Aid Association, we listen to  the voices and suggestions of students, and are engaged in activities to consider and implement projects that will benefit the university and increase its value.

When I first enrolled, I found a job posting for SJC student staff on MyWaseda and applied, thinking that by being involved in university administration, I could achieve my motto of doing something for others.

One of the many initiatives at SJC is the "Waseda Conference." It is an event held every year around December that any Waseda student can easily participate in. At this conference, students actively exchange opinions about small complaints and requests they have about their daily student life and make proposals that will lead to reforms for the university.

In order to resolve the complaints about lunches raised at the Waseda Conference held in 2023, a project called the "Lunch Project" was implemented. A survey of all Waseda students was conducted again, and 2,230 responses were received, including that, "The places to eat are crowded and I can't eat during my lunch break," and, "There are not enough shops or eating spaces on campus." The six project members joined forces to work on improvements.

Photo on the left: The survey was sent to all students via MyWaseda email and was also posted on digital signage on campus. The photo shows the main gate of Toyama Campus at the time.
Photo on the right: Improvement plans were created and repeatedly examined to address the dissatisfaction expressed in the survey responses.

In January 2025, I took over from my senior who had been the leader of this project. At that time, I was still a first-year student, and anxious about whether I could really take the lead and succeed my senior in planning. In particular, I was worried that it would be difficult for us at SJC and the Student Affairs Section to improve the many problems we had identified in the survey, and that we would not be able to achieve sufficient results.

The most difficult part was communicating with the various departments at the university. There are many departments involved, and it is not easy to convey the thoughts of Waseda students and put together improvement measures. However, when we didn't know what to do or hit a wall, the staff of the Student Affairs Section and project members were always there to support us. In particular, we were able to make the project proceed smoothly thanks to our predecessor's having already set the course to some extent and their tireless support afterwards. Also, perhaps our enthusiasm was conveyed, as the staff of the Co-op and other departments were happy to take on the task of implementing improvement measures when we asked for their cooperation.

We inspected the cafeterias and food trucks at Okuma Garden House (left) and Tokorozawa Campus (right) and held multiple discussions with staff from the Co-op and other departments.

Those who have already used the cafeteria may have noticed that starting in 2025, Okuma Garden House is making improvements such as widening the aisles in the dining area and making the seats easier to use. In particular, the Tokorozawa Cafeteria has implemented various measures to alleviate the congestion that was the most common complaint, such as installing speed seats for people who want to eat quickly and putting up posters calling for cooperation in sharing seats. In fact, we have received feedback that more people are now able to use the cafeteria more efficiently than before.

In addition, based on the many opinions we received, we are currently working on several other improvements, such as expanding the meal lineup across the entire Tokorozawa Campus. I truly felt that even if the issue of "improving the lunch situation across the university" seems overwhelming at first glance, if we work together with the people around us, we can find a solution, even if it is only a little at a time.

Additionally, I read through all the responses to the questionnaire, and many people wrote passionate thoughts in the comment section, and I felt a strong desire to respond to those thoughts even if only a little. This made me realize once again the joy of doing something to help someone who is in trouble or has worries, even if I can't see them face to face.

Although we faced many difficulties in this project, we continued to make steady efforts and I strongly felt that we were able to achieve it thanks to everyone who was involved. I would like to use what I learned this time to continue to work diligently in everything I do, never forgetting to be grateful to those around me.

With project members in the lobby of Building No. 11 Waseda Campus. From the left in the front row: Masakazu Ueda (2nd year student,School of International Liberal Studies), the author, Rin Ohashi (2nd year student, School of Law), and from the left in the back row: Sayana Shimode (3rd year student, the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences), and the previous leader Momoka Toshima (3rd year student,School of Culture, Media and Society). Unpictured is member Sota Ogura (2nd year student, School of Law).

[Campus Store Map] Packed with useful information to help you spend your lunch and break time comfortably!

We also cooperated by providing input on the feature in "Focus."