California State University Searches For Former Japanese American Students

Gann Matsuda — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 02:25:25 +0000

The following is a press release from the California State University system.

LONG BEACH, CA — Do you know of a Japanese American student who was removed from a California State University campus in 1941-42 and incarcerated in a camp?

Six California State University campuses are searching for 250 Japanese American students who were forcibly removed from CSU campuses during World War II and relocated to prison camps, interrupting their academic careers.

The CSU campuses plan to award these Nisei students Special Honorary Bachelor of Humane Letters degrees as part of the CSU’s Nisei Honorary Degree Project. The CSU project is a result of Assembly Member Warren Furutani’s bill, Assembly Bill 37, which called upon the CSU, University of California and the community colleges to award the degrees.

“By awarding these degrees, the California State University hopes to help heal the wounds of injustice suffered by these Japanese Americans, to honor their academic intentions and to welcome them back to the CSU as alumni,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed.

A new CSU website, http://www.calstate.edu/nisei has been launched to help in the search and provide application forms for the Nisei and/or their families. The CSU also has established a dedicated e-mail address, nisei@calstate.edu and a dedicated phone number, (562) 951-4723 for people who need additional information.

The six CSU campuses where students attended and that will grant the honorary degrees are: Fresno, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, San Luis Obispo and Pomona (which was a branch of San Luis Obispo during those years). CSU Dominguez Hills is assisting is the search for students, and will host a ceremony at its campus if there are Los Angeles-area Nisei who cannot travel to their former campuses.

In addition, the CSU Chancellor’s Office has formed an Honorary Nisei Committee of prominent Californians who support the CSU’s efforts. They are:

Assembly Member Warren Furutani, Author of AB 37
James Hirabayashi, Founding curator of the Japanese American National Museum
Congressman Mike Honda
Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston, Author of Farewell to Manzanar
Helen Kawagoe, Board of Governors, Japanese American National Museum and Carson City Clerk
Dale Minami, Attorney who chaired the federal Civil Liberties Public Education Program
Norm Mineta, Former Congressman and U.S. Secretary of Transportation
Paul Osaki, Executive Director, Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California
Joan Otomo-Corgel, CSU Trustee Emeritus and Fresno State alumna whose father is a Fresno honoree
Margaret Iwanaga Penrose, President and Chief Executive Officer, Union of Pan Asian Communities
Kevin Starr, California State Librarian Emeritus and Administrator of the CA Civil Liberties Public Education Program
Bob H. Suzuki, Former President of Cal Poly Pomona
George Takei, Actor and Former Chairman of the Japanese American National Museum
Yoshihiro Uchida, Former Olympic and judo coach at SJSU
Jan Yanehiro, San Francisco Bay Area broadcast newscaster and host of community-interest programs
Akemi Kikumura Yano, Executive Director of the Japanese American National Museum

The new Nisei website also has dates of the campuses’ commencement ceremonies, and links to the people at each of the campuses who are coordinating the efforts there.

The campuses are working with their local Japanese American community organizations to help locate their former students using lists that they have compiled from old registrar’s records, yearbooks, alumni and library records, and other sources. The Chancellor’s Office is also working closely with the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC) which has a grant to help the state’s higher educational institutions in locating the former students.

As the former students are located and celebrated at the campus commencement ceremonies, the CSU will post many of their stories on the http://www.calstate.edu/nisei web site.

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Tagged: California State University, Caliornia Nisei College Diploma Project, Charles B. Reed, civil rights, CSU, Japanese American, Japanese American Internment, Warren Furutani

California State University System To Grant Honorary Degrees To Japanese American Internees

Gann Matsuda — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 01:18:26 +0000

The following was excerpted from press releases issued by the California State University system.

California State University System To Grant Honorary Degrees To Japanese American Internees: Seeking Former Students Who May Be Eligible

LONG BEACH, CA — The California State University Board of Trustees voted unanimously to grant honorary bachelor’s degrees to Japanese Americans who were enrolled at CSU campuses and forced to internment camps during World War II.

The first degree was awarded September 23, 2009, to Aiko Nishi Uwate, a Japanese American woman who was removed from San Francisco State University and sent to the Gila River concentration camp in Arizona. The posthumous degree was accepted by Uwate’s daughter, Vivian Uwate Nelson, a resident of Los Angeles County.

The Trustees’ action followed legislation authored by Assemblymember Warren T. Furutani in 2009 that directs California’s postsecondary education institutions to extend honorary degrees to individuals who were unable to complete their post-secondary education due to their forced incarceration during World War II.

“AB 37 is an opportunity for our state to honor Americans of Japanese descent who suffered a significant injustice,” said Furutani. “This legislation reflects our state’s commitment to correcting this ‘unfinished business’ for a waning population of deserving students.”

By some historical accounts, nearly 250 Americans of Japanese descent were students attending CSU campuses when the order for removal was issued. Campuses established by 1942 include Chico, Fresno, Humboldt, Pomona, San Diego, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, San Jose and the California Maritime Academy. While records show some students went on to receive a university degree, many did not.

“Hundreds of students were removed from colleges and universities, forced to delay or abandon their dreams based solely on their ancestry,” said CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed. “The internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese immigrants during World War II represents the worst of a nation driven by fear and prejudice. By issuing honorary degrees, we hope to achieve a small right in the face of such grave wrongs.”

The California State University is asking for public assistance in identifying individuals who qualify for the honorary degree. Former CSU Students (or families of students) whose studies were interrupted due to the internment are urged to call (562) 951-4723, or send e-mail to: nisei@calstate.edu. Further information is available at Nisei Diploma Project – CSU.

You can also watch a video below featuring Reed, who spoke of the CSU’s desires to honor their former Japanese American students who were forced to leave their respective CSU campuses during World War II.

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Tagged: Aiko Nishi Uwate, California State University, Charles B. Reed, Japanese American Internment, Manzanar, Vivian Uwate Nelson, Warren Furutani

Manzanar Committee » Charles B. Reed

California State University Searches For Former Japanese American Students

California State University System To Grant Honorary Degrees To Japanese American Internees