Something Worth Fighting For: Education and Equality at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Josephina Caruso, History 250: The Historian Craft, Spring 2022

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) has long held a belief in the value of diversity and inclusion. UNL has been part of the discussion on the importance of these values since its’ inception, and has continued modeling how a school should be a melting pot of differing people and ideas coming together to learn and grow. In the 1940s, Japanese students living on the West Coast were forced into internment camps. With the help of a relocation committee, many of these students were moved to other schools. UNL was one of these schools, and their commitment to these students went far beyond a basic college education. Nisei students who traveled to UNL to study during WWII were welcomed with open arms and lead a full life on campus, becoming involved in clubs, classes, and within the surrounding community. It is in this way that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was a new paradigm, and exemplified to the country what equality and fairness should look like on a college campus.

On December 7, 1941, Japanese planes destroyed the United States military base in Hawaii called Pearl Harbor. This attack set into motion a series of events that would lead to the U.S.’s involvement in World War II, as well as intensified tension among white Americans and Japanese-Americans within the U.S. Japanese-Americans lost their homes, jobs, businesses, friends, property, and virtually any kind of respect within their communities. These entities were seized due to suspicions and fears that all Japanese people were to blame for the attack on Pearl Harbor and would do something like that again. It was also a form of revenge used by grieving Americans who were still reeling from the events of December 7th. One specific group of people that was uniquely affected by this was the Nisei.

The Nisei Japanese are a group of people who were born in the U.S. to immigrant parents from Japan. They were regular American teens who attended school, worked jobs, participated in 1sports, and were fascinated by American culture. After Pearl Harbor, Nisei students were denied their education at colleges and universities on the West Coast and instead viewed as a threat by their community. Due to the intensified amount of xenophobia and racism, these students were ostracized and cast aside by their classmates even though many were U.S. citizens, born and raised on U.S. soil. On May 29, 1942 the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council was created and approved by the U.S. government as a means of relocating Japanese students from the West Coast to other parts of the country. These students were sent with the mission of being the utmost role models to their fellow classmates and needed to be “ambassadors of goodwill.” [1]

While many schools in the United States rejected Nisei students, many others opened their doors to them. This lead to Nisei students transferring to different colleges and universities across the U.S. One of these schools that began working with the Relocation Council to accept Nisei students was the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 1942, the UNL Board of Regents approved the conditional acceptance of Nisei students, provided that they passed inspection by the FBI.[2] While the experience was different for students at each school, UNL provided equal treatment of Nisei students during these tense times. These students thrived on campus, becoming involved and participating in many different things on campus.

Prior to UNL’s relocation efforts, students of Japanese ancestry had already had a presence on campus since the early 1800s. They were participants in various kinds of programs and degrees that ranged from undergraduate to medical programs.[3] These students blended in seamlessly on campus and were also participants in the surrounding community. Because of this, Chauncey S. Bauer, the University Chancellor, worked with others at the University to welcome as many Nisei students onto its campus as they could. Their combined efforts resulted in the acceptance of over 100 Nisei students to UNL.[4] In total, 104 Nisei students studied at UNL during the period of Japanese internment. Students were also welcomed to surrounding Nebraska schools like Nebraska Wesleyan University where they lived similar lives.[5]

For the students arriving at UNL, this was a chance at a new beginning and a return to normalcy. At home on the West Coast, they had their entire lives taken out from under them. They went from normal teens to having their entire community viewing them as a threat. Attending the University gave them a new-found sense of stability. One Nisei student at UNL, George Hachiya, was quoted in the Daily Nebraskan saying that “Crisis creates opportunity. So it was a bad situation, but for me and many other Japanese Americans, it opened new opportunities." These opportunities included things like pursuing a graduate degree, having a leadership role on campus, or participating in Greek life, and that is exactly what these students went on to accomplish.[6]

Some students found a new home on campus by participating in UNL’s sororities and fraternities. Gladys Aoki, who entered the school in 1943, wrote an impactful essay about the ways in which UNL and her sorority, Kappa Phi, enhanced her life. She said that “after Pearl Harbour, life as a Japanese-American seemed worthless to me.”[7] Once she got to UNL, the “students were very friendly” and the school embraced her.[8] Aoki’s experience serves as an example of how UNL went above and beyond to make these students feel welcome and accepted. Nisei students at UNL also excelled in their academic studies. Verna Boyles, the Dean of Women, wrote in a letter to Nebraska principal Ivan Wilson that the Nisei women in UNL’s International House were doing very well, and that she had just watched five of them be awarded in the Honors Convocation. This is further evidence that these students were not just accepted, but that they were also celebrated.[9]

Students not only excelled in school and social areas, but were also able to create a comfortable home-life on campus. University Housing built the International House as a way to connect international students with American students. After indicating interest in the program, international students would be paired with an American roommate in an attempt to help them understand the campus culture.[10]

The “I-House” got its start 1945, and in it’s first year elected Margaret Iwata, a Nisei student, as Vice President of the house.[11] Many Nisei students such as Ruby Hayashi, Lillian Kazuko Hashiba, and many more lived in this house during their time at UNL. Living on Campus helped them feel more connected to the community.[12] Additionally, living in the same building as people having a similar experience as them helped them feel less isolated while apart from their families.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln was ahead it’s time by inviting more than 100 Nisei students to attend. Their admittance rate was in stark contrast to other neighboring schools, who typically only admitted 10-20 Nisei students. Many schools chose to not admit any Nisei students, claiming that they had already reached their quota.[13] This is what set UNL apart from other schools. Rather than turning students away because they had met an arbitrary quota, they welcomed more and more Nisei students and gave them back the education that was taken away from them due to racism. Some Nisei students were hesitant to even apply for admission because they had become accustomed to the rejection letters they had from other schools. Patrick Sano, one of the 104 Nisei students at UNL, said “I was prepared to accept whatever the reply might be. My feelings by then were well-callused by the two previous rejections.”[14] However, when other schools closed their doors, UNL welcomed students like Sano. This is evidence of UNL’s commitment to treating all students with equality and fairness. By the end of Japanese internment, UNL had admitted the third highest amount of Nisei students in the country, beat only by the University of Colorado and the University of Utah.[15]

This is not to say that these students were not facing any sort of prejudice during their time in Nebraska. A letter from Elsie Ford Piper, the Assistant Dean of Women at UNL, was sent to Chancellor Boucher discussing the issue of Japanese students being placed in historically white university dormitories. In her letter, she states that “we have always confined our residents in University dormitories to the white race”. She was hesitant to expand these dormitories to include students of other races, showing that the University was still practicing some segregation tactics on campus. Additionally, a Daily Nebraskan article from September 30th, 1942 discussed how there was “no need for any kind of scare” regarding the Nisei students, and that they had to go through many tests of loyalty in order to be admitted. However, while there was some lingering xenophobia and fear going on, students at UNL were more accepting than students from the west coast who were actively ostracizing their Japanese classmates.[16] As mentioned earlier, native Nebraskan students even came together with University Housing to create a program that would pair Nisei students with other UNL students. This collaboration helped these students meet new people and make more connections on campus. Attending UNL was their first chance at a normal life, and the countless yearbook entries and interviews show that they had no problem fitting in on campus and finding a place where they belonged.

New cultures were beginning to be embraced on campus in many different ways. Members of the local Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) created a “series of forums” dedicated to observing what dating around the world was like. When it came time for Meyer Ueoka, a Japanese-American student, to give her presentation on what dating was like in her culture, she received an entire article dedicated to her in the Daily Nebraskan.[17] This article on her presentation increased accessibility on the information and showed how UNL was not only trying to help these students fit in, but also embrace their native home and culture. This celebration of other cultures helped Nisei students feel wanted and accepted on campus. Other students could read about these traditions in the newspaper and learn more about the people they were taking classes with.

Some student groups even went so far as to petition for the furthering of Nisei students’ rights on campus. In an open letter University Admissions, Chancellor Boucher, the Dean of Women, and the Head of Housing, the UNL YWCA Chapter wrote asking for more equality within housing on campus. More specifically, they requested that the housing policies regarding who can live in Love Memorial Hall be changed. Love Memorial Hall was a cooperative hall dedicated to helping female-only students master leadership and home-making skills. In 1945 when the letter was written, the house was confined to white women only. In the letter, the young women of the YWCA chapter quoted General Dwight D. Eisenhower in saying “there shall be no discrimination in race or religion made in schools” and that they wanted to be among the first to put that into action. They were lobbying for Love Memorial Hall to be open to women of all backgrounds, and urged UNL administration to make changes accordingly. This insistence for equality among students helped Nisei students feel wanted and valued on campus.[18] While this letter did not result in the immediate opening of Love Hall to women of all races, the UNL Board of Regents released a statement saying that the hall should run “either as a residence for white women students or as an international residence open to women students of any race or color, as may be determined from year to year by the committee responsible for selecting residents of this dormitory.”[19] Additionally, it signaled to Nisei students that there were fellow students actively advocating for them on campus.

Nisei students weren’t just relocated to UNL, they were embraced by the university community and encouraged to live full lives on campus. They became involved in classes, clubs, and so many other opportunities. While they may have had to leave their home on the West Coast behind, they were able to find a new one in the heartland of the U.S. While surrounding schools chose to only accept 10-20 students, UNL welcomed as many as they could, furthering their message of acceptance and global unity that they still encourage to this day. It is clear that the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the Nisei students that attended were dedicated to standing strong in the face of injustice and advocating for a fairer and more equal world.

Endnotes

  1. Densho Encyclopedia contributors. (2020, October 8). National Japanese American Student Relocation Council. Retrieved from https://encyclopedia.densho.org/National_Japanese_American_Student_Relocation_Coun
    cil/.
  2. Nebraska Public Media. (n.d.). Japanese Americans. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://nebraskastudies.org/en/1925-1949/the-war-nebraska-stories/japanese-americans/
  3. Reinhardt, C., & Ganzel, B. (n.d.). Nisei Invade...Nebraska. Living History Farm.
    Retrieved April 12, 2022, from
    https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/life_14.html
  4. Archives & Special Collections, "Nisei Experience at UNL." Nebraska U: A Collaborative History.
    Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://unlhistory.unl.edu/exhibits/show/nisei/niseiexperience-at-unl
  5. Reinhardt, C., & Ganzel, B. (n.d.). Nisei Invade...Nebraska. Living History Farm.
    Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/life_14.html
  6. Mensch, M. (2006, July 10). UNL welcomes Nisei students during time of crisis. The Daily Nebraskan. Retrieved April 1, 2022, from https://www.dailynebraskan.com/unlwelcomes-
    nisei-students-during-time-of-crisis/article_4f03b3de-5cfa-5688-a52bff042edd19b8.html
  7. Aoki, Gladys. (1944, April 2). What Kappa Phi Means to Me. Archives & Special
    Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, RG 52-03-00, Box 27.
  8. Aoki, Gladys. (1944, April 2). What Kappa Phi Means to Me. Archives & Special
    Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, RG 52-03-00, Box 27.
  9. Boyles, V. Letter to Mr. Wilson From Verna Boyles. April 17, 1945. Elsie Ford Piper, Papers. Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, RG 51-06-00, Box 03.
  10. University Housing. (August 1945 - December 1945) International House.
  11. Elsie Ford Piper, Papers. Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, RG 51-06-00, Box 03.
  12. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The Cornhusker. (Lincoln, NE: 1945), 241,
    University of Nebraska Yearbooks.
  13. University Housing. (August 1945 - December 1945) International House.
  14. Elsie Ford Piper, Papers. Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, RG 51-06-00, Box 03.
  15. Reinhardt, C., & Ganzel, B. (n.d.). Nisei Invade...Nebraska. Living History Farm.
    Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe40s/life_14.html
  16. Sano, Patrick. Of Sacred Profanities : a Memoir. Apple Valley, CA: The Author, 1999. Print.
  17. Nebraska Public Media. (n.d.). Japanese Americans. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://nebraskastudies.org/en/1925-1949/the-war-nebraska-stories/japanese-americans/
  18. [Hesperian Pub. Co.]. The Daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current,
    September 30, 1942, image 1. Nebraska Newspapers. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://nebnewspapers.unl.edu/lccn/sn96080312/1942-09-30/ed-1/seq-
    1/#words=Japanese+students
  19. [Hesperian Pub. Co.]. The Daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current,
    February 20, 1941 , image 1. Nebraska Newspapers. Retrieved March 22, 2022, from https://nebnewspapers.unl.edu/lccn/sn96080312/1941-02-20/ed-1/seq-
    3/#words=Japanese+student
  20. UNL Y.W.C.A. Letter to Admissions Committee. March 8, 1945.
  21. Elsie Ford Piper, Papers. Archives & Special Collections, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, RG 51-06-00, Box 03.
  22. UNL Board of Regents. UNL Board of Regents Statement of Policy Re: Inter-racial
    Social Relations. University of Nebraska-Lincoln. June 17, 1945.

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Something Worth Fighting For: Education and Equality at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln