San Jose State’s Associated Students Board of Directors met Wednesday in person to discuss a proposal for a monument and mural outside of Yoshihiro Uchida Hall that depicts and offers resources regarding internment of people with Japanese ancestry during World War II when Executive order 9066 was enacted on February 19, 1942 until 1946.
President Anoop Kaur presented the new business discussion item that San Jose has an obligation in acknowledging the harm caused to Japanese Americans on campus.
The presentation Kaur brought for the mural and monument was a discussion item on the A.S meeting list meaning it’s only talked about but after, Vice President Nina Chuang said that it could go on to be an action in the next meeting to approve funding.
“Talking about a monument is not just like putting a piece of stone on campus, it’s a way to commemorate our people here and to show that not all is forgotten and it wasn’t just business as usual,” Chuang said.
The presentation stated that San Jose needs to acknowledge “many instances of discrimination against Japanese students, staff and professors.”
The short term request was two full-sized permanent wall murals outside of Uchida hall that portrays Japanese American contributions on campus. Another mural idea would be a visual display depicting the history of Japanese internment camps above the brick outline inside Uchida hall.
The third ask was a monument with space and benches in front of Uchida Hall. The presentation Kaur presented stated that the benches would specify individuals who were registered interned at the gymnasium on campus, “in order to properly acknowledge the history as an institution.”
Kaur presented an institutionalization of the Day of Remembrance on campus that would occur on February 19 in the future.
According to the White House website, Day of Remembrance commemorates Japanese American internment during World War II.
Sharanya Kumar, A.S. director of student rights and responsibilities, said that this is a large community that has a lot of history on campus that doesn’t have much representation in terms of a legacy.
“As history goes on a lot of history fades into the past but I think thi is something so important to this area. . . and to our school especially with such a diverse population that it definitely needs to be represented,” Kumar said.
During the meeting the presentation stated that “funding this project will continue that legacy and ensure the Japanese community receives the acknowledgement deserved.”
The mural and proposal is in collaboration with the Japanese American Citizen League (JACL), San José/Silicon Valley NAACP and SJSU Stories for Solidarity.
Vice President Chuang said monuments and murals around campus are conversation starters.
“As this monument begins to enter more topics, more places of discussion to be established here, that it would be a place of learning, knowledge and comemerance of what really happened here,” Chuang said.
Kaur hopes that it will become an action item on April 15, 2022 and break ground for the murals by end of May.
** This article has been updated since its publication
