午夜剧场

Image: From left, Kappa (κ), Epsilon (ε), Iota (ι), and Omicron (ο) Buildings

Last autumn, during a street interview, a person being handed a microphone said, "The something-or-other variant..." It was natural for it to become "something-or-other" since it was still unfamiliar to many people. However, those associated with SFC (including many graduates) must have smiled wryly with mixed feelings. When we hear "Omicron," we immediately think of the campus.

After getting off the bus at SFC, walking up the main grand staircase and continuing for a bit, you will see four buildings of the same shape lined up. From the left, they are the Kappa, Epsilon, Iota, and Omicron buildings (all research and classroom buildings), arranged as κ, ε, ι, and ο. The main building housing the administrative offices is the Alpha (Α) Building, the large lecture hall building is the Theta (Θ) Building, and the building containing the Co-op store and cafeteria is the Sigma (Σ) Building; SFC buildings have been called by Greek letters since the campus was established. While there seemed to be some confusion at first, today, Greek letters are understood even for courier services and food deliveries. Of course, it would be problematic to be going back and forth with "Kappa?" in a situation where an emergency vehicle needs to be called. It seems there are separate "official" building names.

I hear that over thirty years ago, when designing SFC, it was decided to use Greek letters while envisioning the creation of a new source of knowledge. The detention basin is nicknamed Theatron, and the gymnasium is called the Arena. The "Agora," where faculty and staff converse, is held regularly, and notices of personnel changes arrive via a newsletter called "Pantheon." Many things are named with consistency. Standing at the bottom of the grand staircase with that in mind, it begins to look like the approach to a giant temple.

Since its founding, our campus has expanded little by little. The "Miraisozojuku (Institute for Designing the Future)" project currently underway on campus began in 2007. Despite various twists and turns, including the worsening economic situation, all the buildings on the east side were completed in the autumn of 2020 as residential education and research facilities. Construction of a student dormitory is progressing on the site to the west, and students are scheduled to begin moving in during the spring of 2023.

Now, what to call the new buildings? Since students, faculty, and staff were involved in the design and construction of the east side, we decided to call the series of buildings "β Village." It became "Beta (β)" to instill pride in the concept of always being "under construction" (continuously updating). On the other hand, since the student dormitory will be a base for living, it was decided to call it "Η Village," using the Η (Eta) from "House." Fortunately, neither β nor Η had been used yet, so we were able to decide while being mindful of the characteristics of the locations. I also realized that most of the letters have already been used.

(Fumitoshi Kato, Dean of the Graduate School of Media and Governance, Professor at the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies)