Waseda WeeklyWaseda Weekly

In May 2026, the university was in the midst of its President election season, and election-related topics were flying around everywhere. A unique tension hung over the usually quiet campus. I myself was running around the campus as a recommender for one of the candidates in this election. As a result, I experienced the President election, which I had previously thought of as something to "observe from a distance," from the inside and up close.

Because of my position, I have many opportunities to speak at Professor meetings, etc., and many of the teachers I met during the election said to me, "K-sensei, thank you for your hard work. However, it is surprisingly common that I do not know the faces of the professors I meet. A university is a large organization, and it is not uncommon for people who are in the same Faculty to know each other's names but have never met.

However, through this election campaign, I was able to get to know many professors with whom I had never had contact before. I realized once again that there is a world of research and education within the university that I am still unaware of, and I believe that these new connections have become a great asset to me.

It was during one of these occasions that I visited a research lab. I completely mistook the young person in the room for a professor, and I spoke quite enthusiastically about the candidate's ideas and university reforms. The person listened very politely, saying things like, "I see, so that's the candidate's perspective," which made me feel good and allowed me to continue talking. But when I finished speaking, they said, "Oh, I'm a student."

The awkwardness of that moment is hard to forget. But at the same time, this experience, including this failure, was truly fascinating. It allowed me to see not only the surface of the university organization, but also the human relationships and atmosphere that are usually hidden, as well as the various thoughts that each professor has about the future of the university.

The President election is over, but I feel I've given it my all. At the very least, I feel I've gained a slightly deeper understanding of the Waseda University community than before.

(K)

No. 1191