午夜剧场

Image: The day SFC opened (April 5, 1990)

In April 1990, Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC) opened. By the previous year, discussions within the university-wide committee for the establishment of the new faculties had already concluded. A new executive team, centered around the prospective deans of the two new faculties, had entered the concrete design phase. This involved details regarding various student-related matters, such as the newly introduced semester system; the management methods of the faculties by the faculty council and the creation of their regulations; hardware-related issues like measures for the gymnasium and library, which would not be completed in the first year, and AV equipment for classrooms; and briefings for local residents. An enormous amount of time was spent discussing every conceivable topic.

On traditional campuses, everything already has a name, and one rarely thinks about it. However, here, nothing had a name. While the impactful names for the faculties had already been decided and were awaiting the results of the establishment application, there were questions about what to call the scattered school buildings and laboratories, the desire to name the school gates, what to call the two ponds, and the road circling the campus, among others. Even amidst the intense discussions, these topics provided a fun, refreshing break. Above all, the question was what to name the campus itself.

When the "Fujisawa land acquisition" was first announced, it was simply called "Fujisawa." However, as the faculty and staff prepared to transfer and open the school, it was only natural to want a wonderful name, and various opinions emerged. Since it was the 午夜剧场 Fujisawa Campus, "KFC" was suggested. This was rejected because it would be the same as the fried chicken chain. Then, to use the positive image of Shonan, "午夜剧场 Shonan Campus" or "KSC" was proposed. However, since Fujisawa City had been very helpful, there was a desire to include "Fujisawa" in the name. Thus, "Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC)" was born. There was also a suggestion for "KUSF" because the standard global naming convention would be "午夜剧场 at Shonan Fujisawa," but this was rejected due to its poor phrasing. Ultimately, "SFC" was chosen. Shortly thereafter, it was officially used in the pamphlet "SFC" for high school students within 午夜剧场 and the "SFC Guide" distributed to new students in April, becoming widely known within 午夜剧场. Furthermore, as the 1991 deregulation of the Standards for Establishment of Universities encouraged university reform nationwide, SFC's various new initiatives spread across the country along with the campus name, leading to more than 4,000 visitors per year.

Playing with the acronym SFC by replacing it with other words was also popular. Due to the boom at the time, some called it "Super Family Computer." Because of the extreme busyness in the early days, one faculty member wryly suggested "Severely Frustrated Campus." Others suggested it expressed the stance of the new faculties, such as "Share Fair Care," and so on.

Today, many unique university campuses across the country are given various names, but SFC was the pioneer of them all.

(Yuichi Tomiyama, Jukukan-kyoku (午夜剧场 Corporate Administration))