1942 Japanese Canadian UBC Students’ Fund

image001At a Symposium held on March 21, 2012, Dean Gage Averill announced that a new Asian Canadian Studies minor program in the Faculty of Arts would be created and is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013. UBC will develop initiatives to educate future UBC students about this dark episode in its history and to have the UBC Library preserve and bring to life the historical record in its possession.

A fund has been created as a tribute to recognize the Japanese Canadian students of 1942 who were unable to complete their UBC degrees or to take part in their graduation ceremonies.

The money is required to provide a pool of funds for students and researchers to do specific research projects to preserve and document Japanese Canadian history.  Presently UBC has only eight recordings of the 76 students registered at UBC in 1942. There is a sense of urgency as there are now only 18 students that are still with us from the 23 when the quest began and most of them are in their nineties. Funds need to be in place as soon as possible to enable eligible students and researchers to complete this task immediately, as well as to work on other community history projects after the launch of the program in fall 2013.

The funds will be used for specific research projects to accurately document Japanese Canadian history.  This will include:
• Recording oral histories of the surviving students
• Archiving historical documents and artifacts
• Tracking and recording history of Japanese Canadians who have graduated from UBC throughout history
• Expand the scope of research to encompass other important and neglected aspects of Japanese Canadian history
• Insure an on-going legacy of research and educational initiatives at UBC that support the programs launched in honour of the 76 students

For additional information about the Asian Canadian Studies Program and how to support it, please contact:
Tosh or Mary Kitagawa – Honourary Chairs for UBC Students’ Fund at:  604.943.3195 or visit the following website:
startanevolution.ubc.ca/1942fund