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BY HANNAH PURKEY

In print | March 20, 2008

The newly created Japanese Club, formed to foster a comfortable environment for students interested in all aspects of Japanese study and culture, will have its first general meeting next Thursday.

Robert Matthews ‘09, the club’s president, said the idea for the club came from the sense of camaraderie that the Japanese department has which encourages its students to be friends.

Some students began meeting in a more informal manner to discuss and supplement their class work, and decided others would benefit from similar meetings.

“thought it would be a good idea to have a space outside of class where we could basically do the same kinds of things we had been doing, but in a more structured setting,” Matthews said.

Created not just for students of the Japanese language, Matthews hopes that the club can reach out to all students who are interested in a wide variety of Japanese issues. “Our target audience … as we are drafting our charter is very broad,” Matthews said.

According to Matthews, the target audience for the club includes current and former students of Japanese language, students of Japanese culture, history, literature and art. We are trying to appeal to anyone who has any interest in Japanese," Matthews said.

The club will be holding both small and large-scale events. Smaller events will include general meetings, which focus on talking to members of the club for input on activities, and study sessions to help students who are currently in Japanese classes. “At the study sessions, we will have all of the electronic and print resources of the members of the club,” Matthews said. “It’s an opportunity for us to pool our resources and help each other.”

Several students in Japanese language courses said they would be glad to have the opportunity to review material covered in class and further their understanding of Japanese culture.

“It sounds like a great idea,” Japanese language student Nikhil Sharma ’09 said. “I would be interested in going to the movie showings and I think many students would attend the study sessions,” Sharma said.

The club will also be holding larger, school-wide events, including weekly screenings of Japanese dramas and other Japanese movies, as well as Japanese food nights and perhaps a Sharples take- over, according to Matthews.

In addition, the club will be providing transportation to other local events that are not hosted by the club but that students have expressed an interest in attending. For example, Matthews expressed interest in arranging transportation to the upcoming Sakura Matsuri (Cherry Blossom) Festival in Philadelphia.

Another important aspect of the club will be reaching out to prospective students. “It is hard to get to know people and find out about the Japanese department,” Matthews said. “We want to provide resources for prospective students and high school students who are interested in becoming involved in the department.”

To do this, the club will be hosting events at Ride the Tide and Discovery Weekend, as well as implementing an ambassador program.

This program, according to Matthews, will match prospective students who have expressed an interest in the Japanese department with club members, who will be able to answer questions and give a more intimate tour of the school and the department.

The club has been working closely with members of the Japanese department to coordinate the events and study sessions in order to bolster the department and not interfere.

“So far we have been working really well with the Japanese department,” Matthews said.

The intellectual resources and expertise of the department’s faculty members have enabled the club to extend its activities off campus.

“They have helped us greatly in shaping and honing the ideas we have, as well as giving us some ideas to help us branch out and get out of just the Swat bubble,” Matthews said.

Members of the Japanese department are excited to see students taking the initiative outside of class to stay involved in Japanese study.

“We are so happy to see the student initiative to make this club possible,” Japanese department lecturer Yoshiko Jo said.

“Previously, faculty had planned activities for students outside of class, so it is great to see this club formed by students from their desire to want to learn about the Japanese language and culture,” Jo added.

Like Matthews, Jo said she believes that the club is a good way to help develop the community of students studying the language and culture of Japan.

Furthermore, Jo stressed the importance of allowing students to retain creative control over the club’s mission and direction.

“We will always be there to help as much as we can because we want to support the club’s activities and events, but we still will respect the students’ freedom,” Jo said.

Matthews hopes that after the basic elements of the club focusing on the Swarthmore campus have been finalized, they will be able to reach out more to the outside community.

This might include an outreach program, in which members of the club volunteer to tutor students studying Japanese in high schools in nearby areas.

“Things are happening in stages,” Matthews said. “First we are working on things at Swat, and then once we are done we will be able to branch out more,” he said

With these outreach programs and the club’s appeal to a wide variety of students, the club is working towards being more than just an extracurricular activity. “We want to be more than just a club,” Matthews said. “We want to be a network.”

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