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Utah Schools and the Japanese American Student Relocation Program
Utah Schools and the Japanese American Student Relocation Program
By R. TODD WELKER
Utah has been recognized as an important site for the study of Japanese American relocation during World War II. A number of scholarly works document the state's role in the evacuation story. Prominent among these works are histories of Topaz and the Japanese American Citizens League (JACL). 1
However, at least one aspect of Utah's evacuation role has not received the attention it deserves, that of the involvement of Utah universities in the Japanese American Student Relocation Program. At a time when relatively few groups sought to help the Japanese, a number of colleges and universities took part in this program, the purpose of which -was to open the doors of college campuses throughout the nation to assist Nisei (second-generation Japanese American citizens) in continuing their higher education. Recognized as the first step in resettling Japanese Americans after incarceration in the relocation centers, the program played a crucial part in alleviating the evacuation blow. Given the program's importance, it is only natural that we explore the involvement of Brigham Young University (BYU), the University of Utah (U of U), and Utah State University, then known as Utah State Agricultural College (USAC).
Surprisingly little has been published on the matter, and most of the available material is confusing. Scholarly works, including those by Roger Daniels, Leonard Arrington, and Sandra Taylor, exhibit a number of discrepancies with regard to the involvement of the U of U and Utah State in student relocation, and in none of them is BYU even mentioned. 2 It becomes difficult, therefore, to trace Utah's contributions to this program based on existing accounts. In fact, there is an interesting story behind each school's decision either to open or close its doors to Japanese American students. This study seeks to relate the circumstances behind those decisions.
At the same time, this essay explores the issue of Utah's distinctive treatment of Japanese Americans during World War II. In his article "Utah's Ambiguous Reception: The Relocated Japanese Americans," Leonard Arrington argues that in some ways Utah distinguished itself from other states by demonstrating unusual favor toward the Japanese during the war. On the other hand, he recognized evidence of statewide prejudice, suggesting that Utah was no different than the rest of the nation. 3 The experience of Utah schools in the Student Relocation Program helps to solidify Arrington's argument, for it too is tinged with ambiguity. In some ways, Utah universities showed extraordinary favor toward the Japanese, and in other ways they reflected the prevailing prejudices.
There is little ambiguity, however, behind the beginnings of the Japanese American Student Relocation Program itself. Soon after Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, groups that included students, educators, religious organizations, and the Japanese American Citizens League began meeting voluntarily to discuss the fate of Nisei college students. After a series of conventions, and with the backing of the War Department, they gained official recognition from the federal government as the National Student Relocation Council (later changed to National Japanese American Student Relocation Council). Basic tasks of the council included raising funds for students, distributing inquiries so that potential students might obtain FBI clearance (a prerequisite to acceptance), visiting relocation camps to encourage Nisei enrollment, and convincing inland institutions to open their doors. The council received "no financial assistance whatever from the government either for operating expenses or for scholarship aid to the students." All expenses, including salaries, were paid by voluntary contributors. 4
Brigham Young University demonstrated immediate willingness to further the efforts of the relocation council. Compared to the U of U and the USAC, it had an easy time in deciding to open its doors to the Nisei. In fact, very little deliberation, if any, appear to have been necessary. The few remaining records of direct correspondence between the student relocation council and the administration at BYU reveal the decision-making process. On September 21, 1942, the university began receiving letters from the council, to which President Franklin S. Harris immediately responded: "For many years we have had a few Japanese students here and we shall be glad to have any of them in the future who are properly recommended." 5 He later wrote, "We accept all the relocation students who are recommended, and they can enter at any time." 6 Such was the policy of Brigham Young University from the beginning.
In addition to influencing administrative policy, Harris played a direct role in aiding many prospective Japanese American students. From March to December 1942, extensive correspondence between Harris and Nisei students attested to his personal involvement. In one letter, he received not only an admittance request but also a plea for additional assistance. Calvin Harada wrote to Harris from the Topaz Relocation Center on November 24, "Being without funds at the time, can you find me a job so that I may attend college? I have a mother and sister; my mother would like to work in Provo, room and board, and earn my tuition, and my sister would like to attend secondary high school. Can you find a job for my mother also?"
President Harris demonstrated a -willingness to go beyond the mere acceptance process. He was concerned not only with the students' ability to attend BYU but also with their having the means to complete their studies.
Helen Shiozawa, a Japanese American who attended BYU during the war years, recognized Harris's influence in opening the school's doors to the Nisei. As a student from 1942 through 1945, she remembered, "President Harris was particularly open to the Japanese. I didn't know [that] until I got there and then I found out that there had been some comments made at the faculty meetings about what they -were gonna do—because other schools had closed the doors to any Japanese American students—and he said our school is wide open. And I think that made a big difference." 8
Not only did President Harris openly accept the Nisei but evidence also suggests that the students at BYU did the same. Don Bowen submitted an article to the university newspaper -wherein he deplored the "short-sighted bigotry" of President Atkinson of the University of Arizona, who refused to allow what he called "the enemy" to enroll in U of A extension courses. "Such an attitude," Bowen argued, suggested that "we throw out both Christianity and democracy...and hate those with whom we are forced to fight...and who are purely by circumstance associated with [the enemy] For myself," he concluded, "I am proud and happy that I am privileged to be a member of an institution where the rational mantle of reason is not substituted by the roguish garments of blind emotion, where we welcome, not shun our American brothers of the Japanese race." 9 Although Bowen's article represented the opinion of only one student, his use of the term "-we" suggests that he saw himself as a spokesman on behalf of the entire student body. The institution as a whole, in his view, should be praised for the way it had received Japanese Americans in their time of need.
George Funatake's personal experience at BYU confirms the positive student response. Living in Portland when the war broke out, George and his entire family were consigned to the Minidoka relocation camp in southern Idaho. In 1944 he attended BYU for one year before enlisting in the army. Although not a member of the Mormon faith, Funatake recalled good times -when he thought of his short stay at the LDS-owned university:
When asked about his BYU experience, Funatake first thought of the times he had spent with fellow students. He seemed to have interacted quite naturally with those around him, especially -with those not of Japanese descent. "There were a few [Japanese students] I remember there were a couple of brothers from the Oakland area...but I can't remember any of them by name. I always associated not with the Japanese...so it felt normal to me." 11 Funatake's easy acceptance into non-Japanese social circles suggests that the students played a role in contributing to the success of the school's open door policy.
The faculty at BYU -was also praised for having taken a special interest in the Nisei. Seichi Watanabe arrived at the school in 1942. Of his two years there, he recalled with gratitude the positive role of the professors in shaping his experience: "I have tremendous respect for the members of the faculty All of the professors that I studied under were excellent educators to begin with, and they -were very helpful to us. I think they realized that we were in a bad situation, and I could feel that they were trying to be nice to us I think they understood." 12
In the final analysis, the university emerged as one of the most active participants in student relocation during the heart of the war. In 1943, nearly forty Japanese American students were enrolled, placing the school behind only four other U.S. institutions with regard to overall numbers. 13 Furthermore, "a group of 300 U.S. Army privates arrived at the school on July 1, 1942 to complete the Army Specialization Training Program." On-campus military training could have provided the administration with a "good excuse" to limit or even deny admittance to the Japanese, especially since a lack of facility space had already created problems. 14 But there is no evidence suggesting that these circumstances influenced the administration's posture toward the Nisei, and even if they were considered, the school never did modify its policy of unlimited enrollment for Japanese Americans.
Perhaps the most obvious reason why BYU responded the -way it did to the plight of the Nisei was the influence of President Harris. Not only did he play a direct role in establishing administrative policy but he also became personally involved in helping the Nisei. Even years before his presidency, he had spent time in Japan recruiting for BYU. As a result, the first students to attend the university from outside North America were two young men from Japan. In addition, Harris made trips to the Topaz relocation center to help "solve various social and educational problems" and oversee the implementation of certain programs at the camp. 15 By personal example, he prepared the ground where BYU's open door policy could take root.
Perhaps in an indirect way, the influence of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS or Mormon), which owned and operated the school, may have also contributed to BYU's positive reception. Leonard Arrington notes that "the preservation of peculiar [Mormon] values caused the Latter-day Saints to admire nations and peoples who, like the Japanese, were attempting the same." Furthermore, "ties had been established between key Utah leaders and the Japanese people after the Mormons established a proselyting mission in Japan in 1901." In fact, Heber J. Grant, who led the first LDS mission to Japan, acted as president of the church during World War II. Additionally, one of the state's more prominent political officials at the time, senior U.S. senator Elbert D. Thomas, was a leader within the Mormon church and had served a church mission to Japan. 16 Such factors may have affected, for good, the BYU environment.
Seichi Watanabe and George Funatake, although not members of the LDS church, recognized the importance of the Mormon influence. "I have a hell of a lot of respect for the Mormon people," Watanabe commented, "because they are all Mormons over there...and I was treated very well." Similarly, Funatake remarked, "I got along great. And we were just such a small group of guys.... Yeah, a lot of those guys were Mormon... from southern Utah and from Idaho." 17
But to refer to the LDS church as an unmitigated influence for good would be misleading. Members of the Mormon community in Provo demonstrated open hostility toward the Japanese at times. Helen Shiozawa recalled, "Some places wouldn't wait on you if you went shopping, and other places people would come out of the buildings and start calling you names and things.. .and so you learned to avoid the city." Even local leaders of the Mormon faith were sometimes cruel. During her senior year, Shiozawa and her husband experienced such cruelty first-hand:
Such episodes, according to Shiozawa, were common in Provo at the time.
The university itself, however, seemed to be a haven for the Nisei. In spite of occasional prejudices that surfaced within the community, most students felt very comfortable at BYU. As Shiozawa recalled, "I had no prejudices facing me at school....The school was wonderful! Oh, they [the people at BYU] were very good to me!" "I'll tell you what," George Funatake remarked, "it was great! Because it was war time and all, I think the population of the student body... was really a mixed bag. But I can tell you I enjoyed it." Seichi Watanabe summed up his BYU days: "They were wonderful! Excellent! I was treated very well.... I make a substantial contribution every year because I feel very indebted to BYU."
Like BYU, the University of Utah also decided to open its doors to the Nisei. On March 13, 1942, Leroy Cowles, president of the university, received a letter from the relocation council asking if students of Japanese ancestry would be admitted. 19 After some debate, Cowles and the Board of Regents drafted a reply stating that "nothing had been done officially to prevent American-born Japanese students from registering at the University" and that "students who present transcripts of credit from reputable institutions, together with recommendation as to their character and loyalty and who have sufficient money to pay their tuition and other expenses, will not be prohibited from registering here." 20
But the U of U position was not without reservations. In the same letter, Cowles spoke of possible "future restrictions" that might be applied to the campus area, due to the "very important military concentrations here." He continued: "We do not encourage [Nisei students] to come as we have no way of determining what the future may bring. It might happen that they would be requested to move on from here....We carry no responsibility for what may be done if this whole area is declared a restricted zone as is the western coast." He also spoke of how the university was "not in the position to furnish employment or free scholarships to such students, and they likewise will be subject to the non-resident fee." 21
Despite administrative concerns, applications from the Nisei immediately began to pour in by the hundreds, and many were admitted. Before the end of the year, the university had sixty-eight registered Japanese Americans. They had also received 270 applications for winter quarter and had accepted sixty-five. 22 In fact, by 1943 the University of Utah had more registered Nisei students than any other institution of higher learning in the nation. Although the administration was likely unaware of it at the time, the school was the only university in the United States with more than one hundred Japanese American students in attendance, enrollment having peaked at 127 that year. 23
Before the school reached its 1943 peak in Japanese American enrollment, however, some university officials began to grow a little nervous, especially when problems over student housing arose. Toward the end of 1942, Elmer R. Smith, professor of anthropology and official advisor to the Nisei, noted that a number of Japanese students lived in boardinghouses or rented rooms that belonged to local families. He feared that the area would reach a saturation point if the number of Nisei students continued to increase. He reported to the board that "attitudes in the community, a recent survey showed, may be soon of such negative proportions as to make a very large number of [Nisei] students a hindrance to their welfare as well as bringing various problems to a head at the University." Based on Professor Smith's recommendations, the Board decided to limit the number of Japanese American students to 150 at any given time. 24
Indeed, the Salt Lake community exhibited "negative attitudes" toward the Japanese American students. Locals spoke out through the media and in letters to President Cowles. In May 1942 an editorial in the Utah Chronicle erroneously—and bigotedly—reported that Nisei transferees from out of state did not have to pay non-resident fees: "Dr. Sproul declares that we ought to take Japanese students free of charge, which is just as if a man next door demanded that we leave our garden gate open so that he could dump his unwanted and unneeded material on our front lawn." The author concluded that "the University of Utah would be swamped by Japanese students taking advantage of this free program. Why should the bad boy be given a quarter after having been spanked for his behavior[?]" 25
Following the article's publication, rumors concerning the Nisei students proliferated. In an attempt to dispel false information, President Cowles answered mail, published articles, and delivered speeches. To the Salt Lake Rotary Club in May of 1943, he asserted, "Rumors are to the effect that 350 Japanese are on the university campus receiving free tuition. The truth is there now are 125 persons of Japanese ancestry on the campus. Some 25 are native Utahns." 26 Then, in an article in the Utah Chronicle, he defended the Nisei by stating that "several of [the Japanese students] are exceptionally bright and the 125 have a higher general intelligence than the average of all students at the University." 27 Thus, Cowles did much to temper a potentially volatile situation.
But the controversies surrounding the Nisei students at the U of U made up only a small part of their overall experience. Despite challenges, they gained wide acceptance into the university community. In one way, the Nisei were considered among the most patriotic students on campus. They actively participated in war stamp and bond sales, for example, and sold more than their quota in the month of March 1943. In fact, they purchased more bonds and stamps per student than the average non-Japanese student. 28
Other Nisei involved themselves in extracurricular activities such as sporting programs. One student in particular became quite popular as a player for the U of U's NCAA championship basketball team in 1944. Wat Misaka occupied a very important position as a starting guard for the team. He went on to become a firstround draft pick of the New York Knicks and the first Asian-Pacific American to play in the NBA. 29
Other former Japanese American students testified of their acceptance into the university environment. Roy Ishihara enrolled from 1942 to early 1945. He and most of his family escaped mass confinement and moved from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City during the few months of voluntary evacuation in February 1942. At the time of the move, he was a nineteen-year-old sophomore at Pepperdine University in Los Angeles. Having converted to the Baptist faith some years before, he was majoring in speech and English, with plans to attend a seminary to become a minister. Of transferring schools he recalled, "The University of Utah was one of the few universities at that time that would accept those of us of Japanese background.... Other universities said, 'No, we don't want Japs!' So I give them credit. There were a lot of Japanese Americans who attended the U of U at that time." According to Ishihara, the university provided a comfortable environment, and the Japanese felt secure on campus. With regard to the treatment that he and other Nisei students received, Roy stated, "At the University itself, they were open. I didn't have one incident of discrimination or discourtesy....They welcomed us as students. In fact, they went out of their way to be friendly to us." 30
Kazuo Sato shared a similar view. The Sato family had been long-time residents of Ogden, Utah. In the late 1930s Sato left the state and began his college studies at the University of Washington in Seattle. In anticipation of the danger ahead for the Nisei, and in an attempt to avoid forced evacuation, he decided to return to his home state and finish his senior year at the University of Utah early in 1942. Of the situation at the U of U he recalled, "In my case it was fine I got along pretty good. There was no animosity, no real concerns at all." With only a year left to graduate, Sato was a student at Utah through the first quarter of 1943. He received his bachelor's degree in engineering. Due to his short stay on campus, he did not remember many specific experiences, but he continually insisted that "[The Nisei] had no problems at the university." 31
There are specific reasons why the University of Utah became such a haven for the Nisei and one of the greatest contributors to the Student Relocation Program. In part, the efforts of both students and faculty made a difference. Of the few former Nisei students interviewed for this article, not one could recall even a moment of discrimination on the part of either group. Instead, they remembered how both students and faculty had gone out of their way to extend a welcome.
Furthermore, as was the case at BYU, the LDS presence may have helped in creating an open environment. Even as a member of the Baptist community, Ishihara could not deny the LDS influence. "My experience with the U of U was real positive," he remarked, "and I attribute this to the Mormon group; they were very friendly. In fact, they would say that they knew what we were going through because their ancestors, the Mormons who came to Salt Lake City, they were discriminated against back in the Midwest." 32
But more than anything, the success of the Student Relocation Program and the positive Nisei reception on campus resulted from the leadership of President Cowles and his fellow administrators. From the moment the doors were opened, the university accepted large numbers of Japanese American students and became the national leader in that regard during 1942. Then, when rumors and false information began to circulate around the community, President Cowles quickly came to the defense of Japanese American students. 33
And yet, similar to the BYU students, the U's Japanese American students encountered open hostility in the community. About a year into his studies, Roy Ishihara and a Baptist youth group of about thirty Nisei were making their way back from a Sunday afternoon outing to the Great Salt Lake. The return trip to town required that they "pass through a radio station," apparently an area of town that was regulated by the military. Certain restrictions applied to the area, including a curfew that forbade those of Japanese descent to go near the station after five o'clock in the evening. Conscious of the situation, the group left their outing in just enough time to make it through the zone before five o'clock. However, on the way, according to Ishihara, "a police officer approached us and said we will give you an escort to Salt Lake City.... We had plenty of time to get back, but he said, 'No, we will escort you.'"With that, the group proceeded, led by two officers. "As we neared the radio station," Ishihara continued, "the policemen stopped us in the middle of the restricted zone, and we waited there until past five o'clock...then they arrested us. Look in the headlines....They said,'Japs Arrested in the Curfew Zone!'" Fortunately for the group, the state attorney general and Senator Thomas both "went to bat" for them, and they were released after spending one night in jail. Outside of the university security blanket, then, things were not so secure for the Nisei. The campus environment at the U of U seemed to differ from the community, offering a world apart for the Nisei, a world in which they could freely pursue their interests.
Given the fact that both BYU and the U of U made substantial contributions to the Student Relocation Program, it is surprising to learn that Utah State Agricultural College chose not to participate at all. Due to a paucity of documents, it is difficult to understand all of the reasons and circumstances behind the school's decision to exclude the Nisei. One reason might be connected with the fact that, as soon after Pearl Harbor as the second week of December 1941, the federal government informed the school that its facilities would most likely be utilized for military training. At the January 1942 board of trustees meeting, the board gave authorization to "accept quotas of trainees from government agencies in various lines of national defense service." A few months later, the Navy Department and USAC negotiated an official contract whereby the school agreed to receive its first group of 100 students "for the training of radiomen on or about March 16." 34
It was in that context that Elmer G. Peterson, president of the college, began to receive requests from the Student Relocation Council. Just a few days after the March contract was drafted, the council sent him a copy of the same letter it had sent to President Cowles of the University of Utah, asking if students of Japanese descent would be accepted at the institution. Before rendering a decision, President Peterson appealed to state officials. On March 23 Governor Maw responded that "no policy [had] as yet been adopted by Utah with respect to Japanese." He assured the president that the state "[would] not make recommendations as to whether the USAC should permit Japanese students of American parentage to register at [the] school," and concluded that "whatever[he] and the board decided in the matter [would] be acceptable." 35
President Peterson took the issue to the board of trustees. A few days later, on March28, Peterson drafted a reply to the council. He noted, "After careful consideration of this matter our Board of Trustees decided, in view of our heavy program of defense training.. .it would not be advisable for us to accept such students at this time." The reply was short and to the point. And while Peterson expressed "great sympathy," the decision to exclude the Nisei, he insisted, was one of practicality. 36
Because information from the board minutes and the presidential papers tell us nothing more about the administration's early response, we can only speculate as to the circumstances behind the school's decision. It seems that the principal concern for the administration was the military activities on campus. Perhaps school officials viewed the Nisei presence as a threat to national security. Yet similar concentrations of military personnel existed on the campuses of BYU and the U of U, and those schools did not deem it necessary to exclude the Nisei. Maybe the administration anticipated increased military involvement in the future. But even so, it seems that the beginning of the war would have been the best time for the school to open its doors to as many Nisei as possible. Such had been the approach of President Cowles and the administration at the U of U At first they took in as many Nisei as they could; then, as circumstances developed, they found it advisable to at least set an enrollment cap.
Assuming, however, that the USAC truly sympathized with the Japanese American students, how does one explain the administration's actions regarding the few Nisei students already in attendance at the time of Pearl Harbor? Following U.S. entry into the war, Peterson had released a statement advising students that it was in their best interest to "continue their studies uninterruptedly." 37 And yet, around the month of March, most likely right after the board had established its policy with regard to Japanese American transfer students, the four or five Nisei then enrolled at the USAC were asked to leave.
Seichi Watanabe was of these students. He began his studies at Utah State in 1941 and was approaching the end of his freshman year at the time of Pearl Harbor. Although there had been talk of on-campus changes before the year ended, he and about four other Japanese Americans returned to school for the first quarter of 1942, logically following the president's advice to continue with their studies. Not long thereafter, each student received a letter from President Peterson stating that, at the completion of the current term, they would no longer be welcomed back to the school. 38
According to Watanabe, the request provided no explanation, and neither he nor any of the others sought one. In fact, throughout his life he assumed that the school's decision had been the direct result of a mandate from the state. "I didn't know," he explained, "if Governor Maw decreed that Japanese Americans not be allowed to attend the state institutions, or if it was the legislature." He further assumed that the same restrictions had been established at the U of U "My understanding was when I was asked to leave the college, that the same applied to Japanese American students at the University of Utah, so I didn't try to contact the school." Seichi then attempted to travel east to continue his studies, but he was refused a ticket at the Ogden railway station, and the stationmaster informed him that he could not travel east without FBI clearance. In a "last-ditch effort," he took the train from Ogden to Provo to inquire into the situation at BYU. He recalled, "President Harris welcomed me with open arms. His exact words to me were, T hope you bring five hundred just like you; I will gladly accept them all.'" 39
The reasons behind the decision to ban enrolled Japanese American students are unclear. Nothing in the minutes of the board or in the presidential papers suggests any kind of discussion of the matter. Watanabe testified that the letter he received had been written by President Peterson, but that did not mean Peterson was solely responsible for the decision. Moreover, the situation received no attention from the media. Even the USAC school newspaper failed to provide coverage.
But the case was not yet closed. Before the end of 1942, questions regarding the USAC policy resurfaced. On October 14, President Peterson received a letter from John Provinse of the War Relocation Authority, who wrote, "We are pleased to be able to inform you that your institution has been approved by both the War and Navy Departments for purposes of student relocation. This means that you may proceed with the admission of Japanese-American students who are now at assembly centers or at relocation centers with the complete assurance that all necessary governmental sanction has been obtained." Apparently, the letter persuaded Peterson to reconsider the matter. He approached the board again and suggested that "it be the policy of the College to accept the [Provinse] recommendation." It seemed, for a time, that the school's doors would be opened to the Nisei. 40
But whether or not the administration came to any definite conclusions is difficult to tell. The minutes of the subsequent board meeting reflected no discussion of the Provinse letter or of the Japanese American students in general. In fact, the Nisei question did not appear in the board minutes at all throughout the remainder of the war. At the same time, attendance records continued to show that students of Japanese background were not being accepted into the school. It seems the issue was either forgotten or the board minutes remained incomplete.
Only correspondence in the presidential papers offers an explanation as to why the policy remained unchanged. On December 11, 1942, Peterson received another letter from the War Relocation Authority:
Although the letter offers a partial explanation for the unchanged policy, it does not explain why the issue apparently was not discussed by the board. Perhaps President Peterson had been made aware of the relocation council's "mistake" before receiving the above letter. Such knowledge would have rendered unnecessary the discussion of the Provinse letter. Or, perhaps the board had made the decision to admit the Nisei, and the discussion was simply excluded from the minutes. Whatever the case, a lack of available information allows for speculation only.
Matters certainly became simpler for the administration after it received the December letter from the War Department. The navy, the same group with whom the school had negotiated its early contract, had the final say regarding the conditions on campus. It became apparent in the following weeks exactly why the navy had intervened. In January 1943 the school was assigned "to give academic training to and provide housing and feeding for one thousand Army Air Forces trainees." 42 The military, therefore, increased its use of USAC facilities, negating all chances for the institution to accept Nisei students. The school eventually became one of thirteen colleges in the western United States, and the only one in Utah, which was placed on a governmental list of institutions considered "important to the war effort" by the War Department. The school remained on that list until close to the end of the war. 43
Thus, the story behind Utah State's decision to close its doors to collegebound Nisei is difficult to assess. The initial policy to bar Japanese American transfers is questionable. Moreover, the decision to expel those few Nisei students already enrolled at the school at the time of Pearl Harbor seems to have been unnecessary and uncalled for. It might be easy to place the burden of responsibility squarely on the shoulders of President Peterson and the administration. But to do so would be unfair, since a lack of information renders impossible the formulation of any definite conclusions.
The evidence suggests that the institution would have accepted students of Japanese ancestry had the navy not intervened. Indeed, the president had urged adoption of the recommendations set forth in the Provinse letter in his communications with the board. Moreover, the school went on to provide classes at the branch college in Cedar City (a small community in the southern part of the state), which they encouraged many Nisei students to attend, especially those from the Topaz relocation camp. In a letter to Edward Marks in January 1943, Peterson noted the final arrangements for initiating the program at the branch college and stated, "I regret that the main campus of Utah State Agricultural College at Logan has not yet received Navy Department approval." 44 It appears that Utah State was at least on the path to opening its doors to the Japanese American students.
Thus, the experiences of BYU, the U of U, and the USAC with regard to the Student Relocation Program offer some interesting insights into Utah's reception of Japanese Americans during World War II. A unique world came to life on the campuses of Brigham Young University and the University of Utah. Among the most active program participants, both schools served as examples of the success of student relocation and its impact for good on the lives of thousands of Japanese American students. Certain factors were important in creating a favorable atmosphere. The influence of religion, in this case Mormonism, may have helped to generate an open environment. The friendly attitudes of students and faculty toward the Nisei also played a role. Finally, the courage and integrity of the administrations, particularly the university presidents, were especially significant.
Still, the very different experience of Utah State Agricultural College is equally insightful. Like many institutions throughout the nation, it did not open its doors to the Nisei. Although the reasons behind that decision are unclear, it is likely that military considerations simply overrode all other factors in shaping institutional policy. The level of defense training on campus, as dictated by the navy, emerged as one of the school's most important concerns throughout the war—so important that even the existence of a few Japanese American students on campus was considered threatening.
As Leonard Arrington noted, Utah's reception of Japanese Americans during World War II was indeed ambiguous. His assessment applies to the experiences of Utah schools. In some ways, they offered an exceptional environment wherein the Nisei could escape the turmoil of a hypocritical society; in others, they simply reflected the harsh "realities" of a nation at war.
NOTES
R.Todd Welker is a graduate student in history at Utah State University He would like to thank Brian Q Cannon for making him aware of this topic and critiquing early drafts
1 See Leonard J Arrington, The Price of Prejudice (Logan: Utah State University Press, 1962); Sandra C Taylor, Jewel of the Desert: Japanese American Internment at Topaz (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1993); Roger Daniels, Sandra C.Taylor, and Harry Kitano, eds., Japanese Americans: From Relocation to Redress (Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, 1991); Elmer R Smith, "The Japanese in Utah," Utah Humanities Review 11 (April-July, 1948)
2 Daniels's book Concentration Camps: North America (Malabar, FL: Krieger Publishing, 1981) notes that "the state universities of Utah. .expressed almost immediate willingness to admit [Japanese] students," suggesting that both the U of U and USAC cooperated with program officials from the outset Arrington, on the other hand, makes it clear in The Price of Prejudice that the USAC and U of U turned down all Nisei applications beginning in 1942 but then began accepting them "in the late stages of the war." Taylor asserts in Jewel of the Desert that the University of Utah opened its doors to the Nisei from the beginning, while "the president of Utah State University.. refused them admittance."
3 Leonard J Arrington, "Utah's Ambiguous Reception: The Relocated Japanese Americans," in Daniels et al., eds.,Japanese Americans.
4 Robert W O'Brien, The College Nisei (Palo Alto: Pacific Books, 1949), 60-67 For another comprehensive study of the experiences of the Nisei participating in student relocation, see Gary Y Okihiro, Storied Lives:Japanese-American Students and World War II (Seattle: University ofWashington Press, 1999).
5 Franklin S. Harris papers, box 92, folder M-MC, Brigham Young University Archives, Provo, UT.
6 Ibid.,fldrK.
7 Ibid.,box91,fldrH
8 Helen Shiozawa, telephone interview with author, December 27, 1999, Ogden, Utah; notes in possession of author.
9 "Scribe Lambasts Arizona U President for Jap Stand," White and Blue, December 4, 1942 It is ironic that the article speaks of welcoming the Japanese but that the headline writer uses the discriminatory term "Jap" in the title. This usage seems to have been a common occurrence, and it demonstrates how kindness and prejudice did coexist
10 George Funatake, telephone interview with author, December 27, 1999, Portland, Oregon; notes in possession of author
11 Ibid
12 Seichi Watanabe, telephone interview -with author, December 27, 1999, Hilo, Hawaii; notes in possession of author
13 O'Brien, The College Nisei, appendix.
"Ernest L.Wilkinson, ed., BrighamYoung University: The First One Hundred Years, 4 vols (Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1975), 2:392
15 Ernest L. Wilkinson and W. Cleon Skousen, Brigham Young University: A School of Destiny (Provo: BrighamYoung University Press, 1976), 254-55; White and Blue, May 1943.
16 Arrington, "Utah's Ambiguous Reception," 92—93
17 Watanabe and Funatake interviews
18 Shiozawa interview
"Board of Regents minutes, May 29, 1942, p 222, University of Utah Archives, Salt Lake City, in Jenny Nicholas, "Students and Soldiers: The University of Utah and World War II," unpublished essay in U of U archives
20 Leroy E Cowles papers, accn no 23, box 1, fldr 33, University of Utah Archives, Salt Lake City, quoted in Mark Wiesenberg, "Japanese-American Students and the University of Utah" (1997), unpublished essay in U of U Archives
21 Ibid
22 Board of Regents minutes, May 29,1942, quoted in Wiesenberg, "Japanese-American Students."
23 O'Brien, The College Nisei, appendix.
24 Cowles papers, accn no 23, box 1, fldr 13, quoted in Nicholas, "Students and Soldiers." See also Douglas Hardy, "Caucasian Attitudes toward Japanese in Metropolitan Salt Lake City" (Master's thesis, University of Utah, 1946) Hardy studied under Elmer Smith, and the "recent survey" spoken of may be linked to the statistics cited in Hardy's thesis Statistics indicate that during the war years, the number of enrolled Nisei students at the U of U never did exceed 127. After 1943, as greater numbers of colleges and universities throughout the nation began to participate in the Student Relocation Program, the Nisei tended to spread out See O'Brien, The College Nisei, appendix
25 Utah Chronicle, May 7, 1942, quoted in Nicholas, "Students and Soldiers." Existing documents suggest that Cowles never "proposed" any kind of tuition waiver. His statement on page 11 makes it clear that, from the beginning, he and the board decided that "the Nisei would be subject to the non-resident fee." It appears that the author of this editorial based his remarks on false information
26 Salt Lake Tribune, May 26,1943, quoted in Wiesenberg, "Japanese-American Students."
27 Utah Chronicle, May 26, 1943, quoted in Nicholas, "Students and Soldiers." For a student response to local prejudice, see Utah Chronicle, May 14, 1942
28 Leroy E Cowles, University of Utah and World War II (Salt Lake City: Deseret News Press, 1949), quoted
29 Ogden Standard Examiner, November 6,1999
30 Roy Ishihara, telephone interview by author, December 27, 1999; notes in possession of author
31 Kazuo Sato, telephone interview by author, December 27, 1999; notes in possession of author
32 Ishihara interview
33 Cowles and members of the board retrospectively recognized their contributions to student relocation as one of the highlights of their careers Such recognition can be seen in Cowles's treatment of the topic in his University of Utah and World War II and in the remarks of Sydney Angleman at Cowles's retirement dinner, when he praised the president and other administrators for their "freedom from prejudice" despite "severe criticism by the thoughtless, the prejudiced and the blind," quoted in Wiesenberg, "Japanese-American Students."
34 Logan Herald, December 11, 1941; USAC board of trustees minutes, vol 7, January 24, March 28, 1942, Utah State University Archives, Logan, Utah
35 USAC board of trustees minutes, March 28, 1942.
36 Ibid.; Peterson to Relocation Council, April 3, 1942
37 Logan Herald, December 11, 1941.
38 Watanabe interview.
39 Needless to say, Watanabe was shocked when he learned that the University of Utah had opened its doors to the Nisei from the outset "All these years I didn't know that," he exclaimed during an interview with the author "I would have gone to the U of U had I known that."
40 E G Peterson papers, Record Group 3.1/6-2, box 204, fldr 8, Utah State University Archives
41 Ibid
42 Ibid
43 Taylor, Price of Prejudice, 18
44 E G Peterson papers, Record Group 3.1/6.2, box 204, fldr 8
