Several campuses in the California State University system along with a number of California Community Colleges held commencement ceremonies recently in which former Japanese American students who were forced to leave their respective campuses due to their forced relocation from the West Coast and imprisonment in American concentration camps during World War II received honorary degrees.

Ceremonies still on tap:

June 7, 2010: California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo
June 8: Los Angeles City College, Compton Junior College (now El Camino College – Compton Community Educational Center)
June 12: Imperial Valley College
June 18: Pasadena City College
July 12: Azusa Pacific University (private college)

Here’s a wrap-up of the news coverage from some of the CSU campuses:

Fresno State (California State University, Fresno)
Fresno State News – Public Attends Fresno State’s Historic Nisei Honorary Degree Ceremony
Rafu Shimpo – Fresno Honors Nisei Graduates

California State University, Dominguez Hills
Daily Breeze – CSUDH Honors WWII Internees
CSU Dominguez Hills – CSU Dominguez Hills College of Professional Studies Commencement – Keynote Address By Warren Furutani

San Jose State University
San Jose Mercury News – Nisei Woman, 87, and Other Japanese Americans To Be Honored By San Jose State
Spartan Daily (San Jose State) – Japanese American Detainees and Students Honored At SJSU Graduation

Bakersfield Junior College (now Bakersfield College)
Bakersfield Californian – Degree Long Overdue

Fullerton College
Rafu Shimpo – A Walk Delayed
Orange County Register – Diplomas, At Last, For World War II Internees
North County Times – OCEANSIDE: Woman To Get Degree After 68 Years

Sacramento City College
Sacramento Bee – Nearly 70 Years Later, Former Students To Get Diplomas

California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (ceremony to be held on June 7, 2010)
San Luis Obispo Tribune – Dan Krieger: Future Poly President Stood Up For Japanese

Fresno State News also produced a news video reporting on their ceremony:

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Like other California State University and California Community College campuses, San Jose State University is searching for their former Japanese American students who were forced to leave the University due to their imprisonment in American concentration camps during World War II so they (or surviving family members) can be awarded an honorary degree from the University.

You can read more about their search (they need your help!) at: Nisei Diploma Project.

Related Stories:
SDSU: A Matter Of Restitution
SDSU: A Wonderful Gesture
California State University Searches For Former Japanese American Students
Fresno State: Public Help Sought To Contact Japanese American Alumni
Honorary Degree To Fresno State Alumnus Interned In WW II

Unless otherwise specified, all stories, images, video and audio content on this site are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported License. You may copy, distribute and/or transmit any story, image, video or audio content published on this site under the terms of this license, but only if proper attribution is indicated. The full name of the author and a link back to the original article on this blog are required.

Manzanar Committee Comment Policies