AZUSA, Calif. — On Sat., Dec. 18, as nearly 700 graduates of Azusa Pacific University walk across the stage at the university’s winter commencement ceremonies, they will be joined by 24 Americans of Japanese ancestry who were unable to complete their studies due to the forced evacuation of Japanese Americans to internment camps during World War II.
These 24 former students will be recognized and receive honorary degrees at the commencement ceremony on Sat. Dec. 18, at 3 p.m. in APU’s Felix Event Center, 701 E. Foothill Blvd., Azusa.
In October 2009, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill into law directing the state’s community college, California State University, and University of California systems to locate and award honorary degrees to former Japanese-American students. Private universities are not required by law to follow suit, but APU took initiative to integrate its own reconciliation project.
Evelyn Shimazu Yee, M.L.I.S., associate professor and APU’s head of community relations for university libraries, and Irma Harue Nicola, serials coordinator for university libraries, created the Nisei Christian Honorary Program to help realize the dreams of these former Azusa Pacific students.
“By honoring these former students, one can see the faithfulness of our God and how He brought these young Christian students through this dark period in U.S. history with a faith that was stronger than their circumstances,” said Yee, a third generation (Sansei) American of Japanese ancestry. “We also want to recognize those faithful Christians who were not of Japanese ancestry who reached out with Christ’s love and compassion to these marginalized sisters and brothers at a time when the popular culture turned against them.”
