Some university student volunteers and others are creating opportunities to make friends on a "virtual campus" for freshmen unable to go to their universities' campuses due to the pandemic.
One such opportunity was an April 3 online event called "New Game 2021" for incoming freshmen. It was hosted from a venue in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.
"We hope this year's first-year students won't feel lonely like we did and will expand their circle of friends," said a student involved in organizing the event.
Having promoted the event on a website with the catchphrase, "This is 'period 0' of the new world of universities," the event had about 600 freshmen participate online.
Based on a preliminary survey, the participants were assigned to groups of four based on something they shared in common, such as their university, hometown or hobbies. They met each other for the first time online during the event.
Students in each group expressed themselves online, saying things such as, "I want to hold a school festival this year," and "I want to express the hardships and voices of university students dealing with the pandemic to politicians."
The event was planned and organized by students who are second-year or above and were not able to enjoy campus life last year due to the pandemic.
"All the lectures I took were given online [last year]. I joined a club, but there were no face-to-face activities, and I couldn't make any friends at the university until around September [last year]," Masaki Oda, a sophomore at Keio University, said. "I don't want this year's freshmen to have the same painful experience I had."
Shuji Yamamoto, a sophomore at the University of Tokyo, said: "I made very few friends in my first year. I want to expand my own circle of friends through this event."
In the event, which lasted four hours, young professionals who are active in various fields were invited to give lectures regarding their current work and their own university days.
The professionals told participants, for example, "In your university life, I hope you will cherish your relationships with people and try various things without fear of failure."
Kim Hyongchol, a 31-year-old organizer of the event, talked with students from his alma mater university and heard many expressing the problems they faced building relationships.
"Having friends is essential to enjoying your university life," the business owner said. "It was a short event, but we'd be happy if people who met at this event can build lifelong relationships from it."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
