Nanjing University held an award ceremony on Xianlin Campus on December 30 to give titles of “Students of the 2016 Year” to those with excellent performance in campus cultural activities, academic and scientific research, public services, innovation and entrepreneurship, and self-reliance.The ceremony also launched the campus mascot, the Little Blue Whale.
The selection and recommendation of Students of 2016 was part of the university’s theme activities of “holding lofty ideals and pure initial wishes,” aimed at finding and praising best students and using them as role models to create a healthy environment for students’ growth.
In 2016, the university took as its fundamental task the cultivation of high moral values and education in how to “button the first button” in life. It encouraged the students to be brave in having big dreams, pursuing their dreams, and working as pioneers, forerunners and dedicators in the forefront of the era.
A video was shown at the ceremony that covered the university’s theme activities that started last November.
First year student Li Jiehui shared her experience in a speech titled “Being a great person in pursuing my dream.”
Many other award winners spoke of their stories at the ceremony.
Zhang Yibin, chancellor of Nanjing University, and Chen Jun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and president of the university, presented to Yu Fan and other nine students the certificates and cups with the honorary title of “Student of 2016 at Nanjing University.”
Liu Hongjian, vice chancellor of the university, and Wang Zhilin, vice president, presented to Wang Danliang and nine other students the honorary certificates of the “Nominee for the Student of 2016 at Nanjing University.”
At the ceremony, the students put on the drama, “NJU and I, Young Forever,” to pay homage to such scholars from Nanjing University in history as Zhu Xie, Cheng Qianfan, Shen Zufen, Zhao Jiuzhang, Chen Wanli, and Guan Lu, who aimed high, held fast to their initial dreams, and through their action, lived out the spirit and character of the Chinese nation, setting examples for teachers and students today.
Because the phrase “blue whale” in Chinese is near-homophonic with “Nanjing,” students often express their love for the university by calling it “Blue Whale University,” and the “l(fā)ittle blue whale” for a long time has been the cartoon image beloved by on-campus student societies and teams of artistic innovation and design.
In fact, students designed many cartoon images of “l(fā)ittle blue whale” of their own accord and used the images for various publicity activities and products of artistic creation.
The university will register the trademark of the “l(fā)ittle blue whale” and used it as the symbol and mascot of the campus culture.
The formal initiation of the “NJU little blue whale” was witnessed by Chancellor Zhang Yibin, President Chen Jun, Zhong Chihang, a School of Government Management undergraduate enrolled in 2013, Huo Ran, a School of Marxism postgraduate enrolled in 2015, and other teachers and students present at the ceremony.
As the ceremony was held on the eve of 2017, all students stood up and took the “Oath of the Talents” in unison to show their determination in 2017 to hold fast to their initial dreams. By “talents,” the university means talents of the future with the world vision, Chinese spirit and Nanjing University characteristics, the kind of quality youths the university is trying to nurture in answer to the call of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that it is a lofty mission of young people today as required by the era to sow the seed of dreams, to pursue these dreams, and then to make them come true, and that it is the responsibility endowed upon young people by history to have the courage to have dreams, the nerve to pursue them and make efforts to achieve them. The growth of young people into talents will give strong impetus to the realization of the Chinese dream and to the great rejuvenation of Chinese nation.
The award ceremony ended with the chorus of “Dreams Begin from the Heart” by all presented.
Many university officials and representatives of student advisers and students participated in the ceremony, including Guo Suiping, a member of the standing committee of the CPC Nanjing University committee and director of the organizational department, members of the student affairs steering committee, persons in charge of students’ affairs from other relevant departments, persons in charge of departments and schools, the deputy deans in charge of undergraduate teaching, the deputy deans in charge of graduates’ affairs, deputy secretaries of the CPC school committees, deputy secretaries of the Youth League committees.
