At the moment when the new year is replacing the old, everything will be brand new. On New Year’s Eve, SEU has organized colorful cultural activities to usher in the New Year.
On December 31st, SEU Party SecretaryYi Hong and SEU President Zhang Guangjun sent New Year Message through SEU Newspaper and SEU official new-media platforms to all the SEU students, staff and alumni at home and abroad. The message reviewed the great success SEU had made in the fields of subject construction, talent cultivation, scientific research, teaching staff building and international exchange and cooperation during the process of implementing 13th Five-Year Plan, of deepening comprehensive reforms and of promoting innovation development. According to the Message, in the past 2016, SEU had greatly improved its school management level, education quality and running efficiency, increased its overall strength and stepped up the pace of Double First-rate construction. In 2017, SEU will closely follow the overall arrangements of the 14thCongress of the Chinese Communist Party, fully deepen comprehensive reforms in all areas, practically stimulate internal vigor and innovative power, build SEU fate community and endeavor to create a world-class first-rate university with Chinese characteristics and SEU style. At the end of the Message, on behalf of the school Party Committee and school administration, Secretary Yi Hong and President Zhang Guangjun sincerely wish all SEU people, alumni at home and abroad and friends from all walks of life every success in work, great progress in study, good health and a happy family.
On the evening of December 31st, SEU Jiulonghu Campus Gymnasium was enveloped in bright and colorful lights and jubilant festival atmosphere. SEU 2016-2017 New Year’s Eve Gala Show, co-hosted by SEU Center of Art&Performance and College Students’ Art Troupe, was held here running on the theme of Hand in Hand From 2016 To 2017. SEUParty SecretaryYi Hong, Executive Vice Secretary Liu Bo, Vice Secretary Zheng Jiamao Vice President Wu Gang and other school leaders were present at the concert, sharing the happiness with over 5,000 teachers and students and waiting for the bell of the New Year to ring. Officers of China Unicom Nanjing Branch, HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES CO., LTD. Nanjing Research Institute and some school functional departments had arrived as invited guests. Around 8 in the evening, the show began with fantastic lights on. Chorus of SEU College Students’ Art Troupe opened the show with a lively and youthful song The Ryhthm of Life. In the following 4 hours, all the teachers, students, guests and school leaders had enjoyed a visual feast full of dreamy lights and youthful vitality. Dancing and singing performances such as Dai’s women, Dai’s Rain, Over the Sky and Send me a Rose had fully displayed the unique beauty of China’s minority nationalities; Graduate student Wu Yun from School of Humanities performed a delightful Bel Canto Solo Spring Ballet; some teachers and students sang Chun Ni together; female teachers from Association of Retired People presented their dancing performance Magnolia Blossoms in SEU; children from SEU Kindergarten performed the dance Always Prepared for My Dream which wished a hopeful future; the lively saxophone ensemble Mozart Symphony No.25 in G Minor and the soft Latin dance The Force of Awakens made the audience immersed in both classic and modern music world; the wit and humor hidden in the cross talk Journey of Confucius and the short sketch Good and Evil had not only amused the audience but also provoked them to think deeply. Close to midnight, a fashion catwalk show ignited the whole gym.
At last, all the guests, school leaders, teachers and students counted down together to greet the arrival of the New Year! Vice Secretary Liu Bo expressed New Year blessings that all the students study hard to “meet with a better self”! Then the New Year ‘s Eve Gala Show preparatory team had shown a picture-- it was a picture made up of 2017 nails which were arranged into the shape of Chinese character “一起来吧”(meaning come together in English), “止于至善”(SEU school motto) and the top view of this gymnasium. The preparatory team hoped to wish SEU teachers and students a united and striving New Year and to wish SEU greater prosperity through the picture. The song SEU Laud then successfully concluded the New Year Eve’s Gala Show.
At 0:00, the new SEU official website was launched at the show. Vice Secretary Liu Bo and Vice President Wu Gang pressed the crystal ball which controlled the renew of the website. In a gorgeous changing lights, the launch of the new website completed. The launch had been prepared for 4 months through the process of early surveys, scheme solicitation, suggestions solicitation, web design, template production and background system building, and it had finally been launched at 0:00, January 1st. 2017, which was a symbol of a brand new year and brand new image for SEU.
Other school departments and students’ societies had held all kinds of New Year activities as well. On Sipailou Campus, more than 400 graduate students from all schools of SEU had attended the New Year Ball in the Qun Xian Hall of Qun Xian Building, which was sponsored by SEU Youth League Committee and Party Committee and hosted by Graduate Student Union. A few graduate students of other universities such as Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and Nanjing Normal University had also come to the ball. When the ball was reaching its climax, Vice President Jin Baosheng turned up to express warm greetings and sincere New Year wishes to all the students. What’s more, he drew the big prize for the night and watched the brilliant dancing show with them. On Dingjaiqiao Campus, the New Year Game Carnival was held. It was sponsored by Dingjiaqiao Campus Students’ Association Union and co-hosted by SEU School of Public Health and 20 more other students’ societies. Vice President Jin Baosheng also appeared on the carnival, expressing New Year wishes and drawing the big prize for the students, which had pushed the atmosphere to the climax.
Not long before the New Year’s Eve, such schools as SEU School of Computer Science and Engineering and School of Software Engineering had held its own New Year Gala Show; the Party Committee and Administration Body of School of Electrical Engineering had jointly send their New Year Message; SEU Broadcast Station had presented its New Year special show; SEU TV Station had elaborated New Year Movie A Review on 2016... The old year has already gone away, a new year full of new hope has opened its arms! Happiness filled the whole campus until it finally reached its climax on New Year’s Eve.
The series of New Year cultural activities was a hit with SEU teachers and students. Their happiness towards the arrival of the New Year and strong affection towards SEU were interweaved, mixed and sublimated. On Wechat platform, there were people saying that “ when I listened to the New Year Message from Secretary Yi Hong and President Zhang Guangjun, I couldn’t help feeling extremely excited about how great progress our school had made in the past 2016. As an alumni, I gave my sincere thanks to all of SEU teachers and all of my fellow students for striving to achieve the great goal of making SEU the world’s A-list school. Thank you!”, “wish SEU a more beautiful, strong and better future.” Besides, for those students who had attended the New Year’s Eve Gala Show themselves, the large LED screen which could display people’s remarks on the scene was a good way to express their emotion. Some students had said: “This is the first time for me to watch the New Year’s Eve Gala Show, and I finally realized why my senior friends would tell me that the longer I stay in SEU the more I would love it!”, “I’m proud and touched by the show, I love you SEU! In 2017, I will definitely work harder for my dream here!” what’s more, many students responded actively to the new website once it had launched. They used phones to sign in to the website and spoke highly of it. They thought that the website was concisely designed and reasonably arranged, and using green as main color embodied ont only vigor and energy but also SEU’s intelligence and confidence. After the show was over, such words as “It’s my honor to meet you SEU!” and “ Wish SEU a better future” had taken over Wechat Moments.
