Fall 2022 Shirokuma Awards Ceremony

At the end of every semester, Japanese language students create original skits in Japanese and showcase their hard work at the Shirokuma (polar bear) Awards Ceremony. Along with students and Senseis, the event attracts friends and other professors. We gather not only to find out who wins the illustrious “Shirokuma” awards, but to celebrate the knowledge and community we create in our Japanese classes. 

 While the event has traditionally been held by the Japanese Language Department, last December’s ceremony was a little different. Unlike previous years, the Japanese Student Association hosted the event. This was the first time that students planned and emceed the entire ceremony. Camaraderie filled the room as classmates handed each other plaques for “Best Editing”, “Best Screenplay”, and “Best Acting”.  

 Before we started the skits, we held a moment of silence for our first-year classmate Omar Osman, who tragically passed away during our fall semester. Omar was a diligent learner who always left me in awe as he breezed through our TA sessions. He was also an unbelievably kind friend. His willingness to help his peers, his patience, and his gentle smile warmed my fall semester. His enthusiasm for the Japanese program will not be forgotten. His passing was heartbreaking, and we hoped that the awards ceremony could be a place for us to be in community and celebrate how lucky we were to have had even a short time with Omar.  

 As the first-year learning assistant, I felt an overwhelming sense of pride as I watched the skits, and the audience’s emotive reactions to them. I vividly remember my first sessions with students in September, when most did not yet know how to introduce themselves or count to ten in Japanese. Only a few months later, the same students were able to write complex scripts and confidently preform them. From films titled “Aridome’s Got Talent”, to story lines with detectives, romance, and murder, creativity and student personalities poured through the screen. Although we had provided sushi and pizza, many students had to stop eating as they erupted in laughter. I watched as students hilariously hid their flustered faces, and friends exchanged knowing looks and high-fives.  

 The Shirokuma Awards Ceremony is a long-standing tradition that is more than just a film screening. It is a bi-annual event for all members of the Bowdoin community who would like to see how learning and teaching a language can bring people together.