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Show merica er, after the center opened, ived by an attractive Nisei d the same officiat now in .ised morale. They insisted hen they went to the mess ·d continue to represent the nts generally insisted upon ere grateful that they were Most of them were not as ~n ted being treated as alien ·tides, laundry soap, food, ere sold. Each ordered hunoebuck catalogs which the ogs helped them pass many 1d made excellent use of the Kuees and the government twelve, although buildings ~ -The teachers were accredn ostly competent and sinn ent. This was also true of · programs. Relations were td the residents. Some diffi~ nd supply personnel. The j deal with the evacuees as rifts developed among the •rs were pro-administration form of strikes against the ed and some residents ree such group was sent from 1 Corps barracks in Death elp arrange relocation. ers and the War Relocation mrage evacuees to II go ou t" ad to prove they were loyal ort them, and provide proof tny of the jobs offered were Too often the wage offered The Wartime Relocation of Japanese I 135 During the first year the War Relocation Authority was forced to direct most of its energies to running the centers. Its officials therefore welcomed help from any group which could place persons of Japanese ancestry outside the centers. College students were first to be relocated outside the camps as soon as arrangements could be made. Offices were opened in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle to assemble the records of those who wished to go to college. Each record file contained the scholastic record of the applicant, letters of recommendation from university professors and neighbors, information about financial ability and needs, and a health certificate. It took weeks to assemble and evaluate this material. In the Midwest other offices contacted colleges, developed community acceptance, and arranged scholarship aid and jobs for interested students. I was head of a Los Angeles office organized by the American Friends Service Committee with a full-time YWCA secretary and dozens of volunteers. The character and willing service of the volunteers were of inestimable value. They typed and filed hundreds of letters asking for the necessary recommendations. Experienced registrars and student advisors among them gave hours of their vacation time evaluating the records so that the best openings in colleges could be filled by the most deserving students. One student received a clearance before leaving the assembly center but his authorization papers lay on the director's desk until only a few hours remained before his pass expired. He was hurriedly found among the thousands roaming about the camp,.given an hour to pack, rushed to the Los Angeles railroad station by army jeep, and left dazed and alone in that hostile yet familiar place. He phoned us and a friend hurried to the station to see him off. In his case, a denominational college asked for him specifically because he was a certain pastor's son and consequently clearance came early. By autumn the trickle of students cleared to leave the camps became a stream, as openings were found in medical, law, and other graduate courses as well as in many undergraduate schools. The student relocation staff placed more than 2,600 students before the evacuation ended. These students won a great deal of respect for the Nisei. They excelled scholastically, worked hard to supplement their scholarships, and wholeheartedly entered into the life of the college communities. Many attended schools in communities where there had been almost no contact with Orientals and where prejudice was strong against Japanese, but most succeeded. One project that helped the evacuees to know that they were not forgotten by their fellow citizens originated in Pasadena, from where |
