The graduation season returned with the sound of summer cicadas, but this year's graduation was different. The Covid-19 has separated the graduates of the College across the country, preventing them from returning to the university and reuniting. As "isolating virus not isolating love", the College held an online lecture the Final Lesson for Graduates for the whole of class of 2020 and the graduating students from over all the country participated in this "compulsory module of life" , although it was not written into the training scheme, on the afternoon of 4 July, 2020.
Student Tutor Yang Mingquan moderated the lecture and Dean Xie Zhiyong was the keynote speaker. A/Prof. Pan Deng was also invited to give a speech in class.
At the start of the event, Yang Mingquan said that the sudden outbreak of Covid-19 had disrupted students' plans and increased many difficulties for students' graduation and employment. She said that the CPC Central Committee and the State Council are very concerned about the graduates of class of 2020 and students should grasp a series of favorable policies issued by the state and take the teachers' suggestions. Yang hoped that when the students step out of this university they could grow up as a real responsible legal talent.
Today's teacher Pan Deng, as a then graduate of the class of 2003, had a similar state of mind as today's graduates when SARS outbroke in Beijing 17 years ago. He once did not know what his future was going to be. With his own personal experience, Pan Deng encouraged the students to combine their own ideals and aspirations with the needs of the motherland and not be afraid facing of temporary difficulties as time would turn things around eventually.
Xie Zhiyong started with reviewing the "78 phenomenon" at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law (in 1978, the Southwest University of Political Science and Law resumed enrollment and as year goes by the class of 1978 then became the most influential governmental officials, judges and lawyers in China), shared his feelings and experience in six points with the students. He encouraged the students that individuals should always comply with the historical trend, and that law students should use communication as a professional ability and should not covet vanity. As a teacher, Xie Zhiyong hoped that each student could make less detours, hit less walls and have a wonderful life when they enter the society.
At the end of the lecture, Yang introduced a series of graduation gifts prepared by the College for the students, and once again on behalf of the whole of faculty expressed her best wishes to each graduate student that they could fit in quickly and realise the value of life. After class, the three teachers and the graduates had a special photo together by video conference. The graduates thanked the three teachers and said goodbye to each other.
During this special graduation season, the College prepared three gift bags for all the class of 2020, including 1) graduation T-shirts, graduation bears, custom-made canvas bags and handwritten cards; 2) graduation video, graduation cloud photo, 100 old photos and "bear graduation photo"; and 3) graduation album and university graduation gift, hoping to make up for the graduates as they were not able to go back to the university, as well as sending the best wishes from the faculty of the College.
