UO Student goes through Commencement -
40 years after her graduation.

In 1943, a Japanese student asked and was denied permission to go to commencement. In 1983, UO Archivist Keith Richard decided to right that wrong.

by Lauren Snyder and Gordon Kelley

Every year, Keith Richard would put together an archives display case for the library circulation lobby. 1983's display was about the changes on campus as a result of the war. Richard was going through the archive boxes of former University President Donald Erb looking for photos and other information when he came across a folder labeled "Japanese Student." Richard said, "I wondered what that would be so I pulled it out." The folder contained a series of correspondences related to a Japanese student's 1943 request to be allowed to go through her commencement graduation ceremony.

The administrative assistant to President Donald Erb wrote a letter to the federal government in the spring of 1943, asking permission for Yasui to be exempted from the curfew so she could go to the 8pm commencement at Mac Court. The university would assign a faculty member to accompany her there and back. Richards said, "The letter came back from the feds, rather brisk, saying permission was denied and there wasn't any point in this because by the time it takes place, Eugene will be evacuated [of Japanese, who were being sent to internment camps], so it's a moot issue." The non-descript "Japanese Student" folder Richards had found contained that letter and all the other correspondence the university had about her commencement request.

At the time, the government was sending all people of Japanese descent on the west coast to internment camps, even people like Yasui; a second generation American who'd grown up locally in Hood River, Ore. All Japanese were treated the same. Her mother and younger sister had already been moved to a Northern California internment camp. One of her brothers transferred to Ohio state where he could finish his bachelor's degree without fear of being put in an internment camp. Her other brother, an attorney in Portland, spent most of WWII in jail for breaking the curfew.

Shortly after finishing her finals, Yasui went down the bus depot with her bag and bought a bus ticket to Denver, knowing that leaving the west coast immediately was the only way she would avoid the internment camps. She was in Denver by the time commencement took place. Just before Yasui left Eugene, the evacuation of Japanese Oregonians had begun. Richard said she should never have been sold a bus ticket because the government had a ban on Japanese traveling without government permission. Yasui stayed in Denver, became an elementary school teacher, got married and raised a family. Her name is now Michi Ando.

Richard added, "So I'd read all this material, and I'm sitting there as a child who grew up during WWII , not really being obvious to most of the things going on around me." He didn't know much about the war at the time except for the newsreels that ran before the start of movies. He learned about the internment camps years later as a University of Oregon student in the 1950's. When I found all this correspondence, I thought 'this is unfair' because she should have been able to go through commencement," Richard said. "So, I decided to find out if she ever did go through a commencement."

He knew Ando had her degree because the university had been mailing diplomas to graduates since 1878. He felt that the commencement was an important ritual for many students and that she deserved to go through it, even 40 years later. In 1983, Richard looked Ando's name up in an alumni directory and found she lived in Denver. Later that afternoon, he called her at home in Colorado. Richard introduced himself and explained that what he was calling to ask her if she'd ever been through graduation commencement, which she had been denied in 1943. She said no, and questioned him. Richard explained how he'd found the folder with all the correspondence. Ando said, "I didn't know anybody had even kept any of that! This is really digging up old memories for me." Richard said, "Well, I would like to propose to you that you come back to the University of Oregon and go through a commencement. We'll hand you a diploma, you'll be able to wear your cap and gown...the whole bit." Richard says Ando, 62, was very taken aback by this offer to fix a situation that happened 40 years in her past. She said she wasn't sure she wanted to go through it and told Richard to give her some time to think about it. Richard told her, "I'm not going to let you go," and that he'd call her again in a few months.

He wrote Ando a long letter, explaining the details of what he had in mind. In the letter he told her how he was so motivated to have her come back that he'd be personally willing to pay for travel expenses. At this point, Richard said he realized the need to inform University President Paul Olum. Olum was not sure it would be a good idea for Ando to return for commencement. "World War II veterans might not appreciate us digging up something like this," he said. Olum's concern was that it might bring bad publicity for the university. He decided to present it before the Board of Deans. He called Richard a week later to say, "The Board of Deans agrees with you." Richard went so far as to Get the opinion of a group of WWII veterans. Olum's fears were unfounded; not one veteran reacted negatively. A few months later, Richard wrote Ando again. He was letting her know that even though quite some time had passed, that the offer still stood. He told her that the university president had endorsed the idea. The only thing Richard could do was wait for her reply.

The day finally came in 1984 when Richard picked up his mail and saw her letter. He saw Ando's name and thought, "Ah, this is either 'Drop dead' or 'I'm coming'". He opened it up and after the formal introductions, the first words were "In the words of General MacArthur" and that's as far as he read. Richard jabbed his hands in the air to emphasize his excitement at hearing those famous words. "I threw the letter in the air and said....'She's coming!' I picked it up and it said, "I shall return."

The university news bureau, local news media, and national news media picked up on the story. Ando was featured on the "Today" show, "Good Morning America" and other similar TV shows. She had large amounts of local and state news the day of the commencement. A TV crew even came from Japan to interview her and film the event. Richard said the invitation to commencement was covered on TV in Colorado, including video of Ando teaching in her Denver classroom. Richard received mail from all over the country as a result of the media coverage. One letter was from a professor at Berkeley who wrote, "This is the most humane thing I've heard of a university doing in 100 years." Richard smiled as he recalled the letter. "We got letters from China where people had seen it on their televisions," he said.

At the commencement, Richard recalled that nobody was paying attention to former University of Oregon president Meredith Wilson's speech because "he was being outshone by this little Japanese lady sitting on the bench next to him." Not to mention all the TV cameras pointed at her. Wilson later told Richard, "What a beautiful way to be outshone." Richard notes that when Ando came up to give her speech, the students, seated in Hayward Field, began clapping and rose to their feet in unison.

Ando went through commencement and returned to Colorado. Later, Eugene teachers informed Richard that news publicity about the event had opened up a door for them to talk with their students about the US government's internment of Japanese during WWII. Richard said with a smile that he receives a Christmas card from Ando every year. The University of Oregon recognizes this story as an important part of its history and it is being used for part of the university's 125th anniversary celebration.

Go up