Kyushu University New Century Plaza On October 10, Kyushu University New Century Plaza, which is located in Hakozaki Campus' Science Zone, was officially opened in the presence of President Sugioka, Vice- Presidents Yada and Shibata, and other faculty staff. At the ceremony to open the plaza, a ribbon was cut by the above three gentlemen, Professor Kajiyama, Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Director-General Mr. Hayata and two students, Mr. Murata and Mr. Okazaki. The two students who participated in the ceremony were awarded the C&C Prize (refer to page 10) for their plan to vitalize this newly constructed plaza. Inside the plaza, the first floor contains a bookstore (mainly containing science related materials) and the Culture Cafe. Lecture rooms, computer room, and study room are

located on the second floor of the plaza. To mark the event, famous Japanese rock group, SHEENA & the ROKKETS, led by Mr. Makoto Ayukawa, who graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture in 1974, held a concert at the plaza. In addition to this plaza, two further plazas have also recently been opened. One is located in Hakozaki Campus' Humanities Zone and was opened on October 19. The other, which is in Ropponmatsu Campus where liberal arts are taught, was opened on June 27 mainly for the use of students participating in the 21st Century Program. The floor plans and design of each of the plazas differ according to the needs of the particular campuses.

Culture Cafe has moved! ---now open year-round

"Culture Cafe ‘Chadokoro’ is a 4-year ongoing project run entirely by students to make our Hakozaki Campus a more enjoyable place. In creating Culture Cafe, our main goal is to provide a place where all campus users can come to relax, meet comfortably with friends, or even make new acquaintances, such as Japanese students meeting with foreign exchange students, students from different departments getting together for a cup of coffee, or even students meeting with professors. The reason why we decided on a cafe as our ‘place for interaction’ is because we feel that it is impossible to create interaction without a common ‘thing’ to tie people of differing backgrounds or research areas together. Thus, by providing a cafe, one of the most popular trends in our society today, with coffee as the ‘thing’ to tie individuals together, we feel that we can encourage various kinds of

interaction. At Culture Cafe, we strive to ‘build new bridges’ between people with every cup we serve. Why not come and visit us today? Or, better yet, why not try on one of our aprons and become a bridge-builder yourself?" Chad Walker, Culture Cafe Planner, 2nd Year Ph.D. Student, Graduate School of Human Environment Studies Culture Cafe is open Monday through Friday from 10AM to 8PM. We are closed on weekends.

The Center Point for

the Future University

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of foundation of the university, on October 29, Kyushu University Research and International Exchange Plaza was officially opened. Located at Nishijin, on the former site of Fukuoka High School's foreign teachers' house, the plaza will function as a public campus for research and cooperation. To achieve these ends, the plaza will promote international academic research and cooperation with the community as well as distributing information to the public concerning various academic activities.