As many of you know, the recent incidents that have stemmed from reactions of the “Compton Cookout” have created a divide among many students at UCSD. As a Japanese American organization, many of our members are of Asian decent, and make up the racial majority of the campus. Some may feel that these incidents do not concern them or that these racial problems are not applicable. But why not? Have we already forgotten what has happened to our community as thousands of Japanese decent were sent to internment camps during WWII? Although these events may not directly affect us personally, we need to recognize the consequences of apathy. Many of those sent to internment camps simply did what they were told, without a fight, and without question. They were scared about what could have happened if they rebelled or spoke up for their rights. After years of persecution, Japanese Americans as a community stood up and finally rebelled against injustice with demands for redress and reparations. It took 40 years of a constant political battle to earn an apology from our government for the racism and oppression inflicted on Japanese Americans. Its important to always remember history and why we put on events like Day of Remembrance. We REMEMBER our injustice, and as a members of a community that has been victims of racial persecution, we cannot allow the same to happen to any other members of any race.
As the UCSD Nikkei Student Union, we stand by our foundational principles that we will not let racism prevail. We stand by our colleagues and classmates of the Black Student Union and other members of the Student Affirmative Action Committee against racial injustice and racial terror.
In Solidarity,
Megan Sadakane
President 2009-2010
Nikkei Student Union
University of California, San Diego
msadakan@ucsd.edu
