It has been 24 years since TCU was founded. For the past 24 years, TCU has sponsored various art and cultural activities to enhance the wellbeing of faculty members, staff and students; provided abundant resources to assist local students to go overseas to gain firsthand experience; and provided scholarships to welcome international students to acquire skills and knowledge in Taiwan.
Furthermore, TCU’s Center for Continuing Education offers numerous classes to the public, to meet the needs of those who are committed to lifelong learning. On this day, in addition to holding Sports Day activities, TCU also celebrated its 24th anniversary. A group of senior citizens taking classes in the Center for Continuing Education held a banner read “Happy birthday TCU. We feel happy to put our age aside.” In addition to giving their best wishes, they also performed a fantastic group drumming performance at the opening ceremony. A group of 139 youngsters from Singapore and Malaysia, who came here to attend Chinese Humanities Camp, also attended this event by wearing their traditional outfits. Although the weather was a little bit cool, people’s enthusiasm and heated races warmed up the entire campus.
During the opening ceremony, Dean of Student Affairs Professor Kun-Ruey Hsieh drove an ATV to the site. It is a special vehicle used for attending to people’s needs at disaster sites, and faculty members and staff followed behind the ATV. President Pen-Jung Wang reminded students to cherish every moment of their college years, and to leave good memories with their peers on the sports fields. Furthermore, they should look up to their Tzu Cheng and Yi Te dads and moms or senior citizens, to exercise daily for enhancing their physical wellbeing and spirit of perseverance. After the president’s speech, members of Tzu Chi Collegiate Association performed a dance entitled “I am powerful,” and invited participants to help those who need bone marrow transplants, by taking blood tests for bone marrow donation. There were many competitions taking place, such as softball, the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, 400-meter dash, 800-meter run and 1,500 meter run; moreover, faculty members, staff and students joined group relays and fun games.
While the competitions were taking place, six flash mobs gave performances. A flash mob is a group of at least 10 people who assemble suddenly in a public place, perform an unusual and seemingly pointless act for a brief time, and then quickly disperse, often for purposes of entertainment, satire, or artistic expression. This was well-liked by TCU students last year, and so six flash mobs showed up on Sports Day this year. The Indigenous Club was one of them. The students of this club wore traditional costumes representing various tribes, such as Rukai, Paiwan, Sakizaya, Puyuma, Amis, Truku and Atayal, and performed a tribal dance to entertain everyone. International students from Malaysia, South Africa, Indonesia and Thailand also presented a contemporary dance later on. Dean of the International College Professor Je-Wen Liou, accompanied the international students, and spoke highly of TCU’s 370 international students for adding cultural diversity to TCU’s campuses, and enabling local students to enjoy their learning more, including this Sports Day activity.
Cheng Chun Sang, a physical therapy student, finished the 100-meter dash in 11.43 seconds and won the race. In addition to the 100-meter dash, he also took part in 200-meter dash, 400-meter relay and 1,500 group relay. Chun Sang spends two to three days a week running, two to three hours each time. He has been participating in numerous races since he was a junior high school student in Hong Kong. Running practice enables him to be more persistent and to keep going forward in doing everything. He took part in four competitions on this day, and as a physical therapy student, he knows very well how to avoid sports injuries, how to take a break after each race and prepare for the upcoming one.
A fun game entitled “Hand-in hand” was joined in by faculty members and staff, and they apparently felt very happy to work together. Tzu Chi Foundation’s mobile kitchen was stationed here, so volunteers used it to prepare delicious rice rolls and hot soups containing Chinese yam, pearl barley and grain powder. Other than enjoying delicious foods, many participants donated blood, wishing to help those who need bone marrow transplants. Sports Day gave students many unforgettable memories and provided opportunities for them to help needy people. They also cherished their chances to work with each other in a team spirit and lots of fun.