2888

Support for Honoring Alumni Interned by Federal
Executive Order 9066

AS-2888-09/AA/FGA (Rev)

RESOLVED: The Academic Senate of the California State University (ASCSU) strongly urge campuses to seek out and honor those alumni who as a result of their relocation and internment under Federal
Executive Order 9066 were unable to complete their degrees; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU strongly urge the faculty of those CSU campuses with alumni whose academic lives were disrupted by Federal Executive Order 9066 to consider honoring such alumni with
honorary degrees, ceremonies of acknowledgment, and/or other appropriate recognition for the
unique forms of patriotism demonstrated by these citizens; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the ASCSU send copies of this resolution to the CSU Board of Trustees, the Board of
Governors, Academic Senate of the University of California, and Academic Senate for the
California Community College System, Assemblyman Furutani, Assembly Higher Education
Committee and Legislative leadership.

RATIONALE: It is now recognized that Federal Executive Order 9066, signed by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942, was an outrageous violation of the civil rights of American citizens and legal residents. Americans of Japanese descent who were living near the west coast were the dominant group affected by the relocation and internment that resulted from the order. A significant number (~247) of these citizens were students at campuses that are now part of the California State University (Fresno, San Diego, San Francisco, and San José.) The disruption of the academic efforts of these students was just one of many interruptions suffered by these individuals and their families during the war and the years that followed. It is very appropriate that the CSU campuses seek out these alumni and to find ways to honor the sacrifices and contributions of these former students. And it is appropriate that the faculty of these campuses work to honor these individuals and their families with appropriate honorary degrees, such as honorary doctorates. Legislation with similar purposes has passed in such states as Oregon and Washington.

Approved Unanimously– May 7-8, 2009