by Yae Wada, as told to Ruth Sasaki
“…most graduates… received their diplomas by mail. ‘I opened the stall door, and there it was, just dumped on the ground…'”
I was 23 when I was in Tanforan Assembly Center. My school friend from Oakland, Goro Suzuki (most people would remember him as Jack Soo, the actor) was also in Tanforan. I knew his mother first; she taught me and other Nisei (second-generation) girls how to sew. I met Goro when I got called out of a gym class to be his partner in his dance class because he was not allowed to dance with white girls.
Even in camp, Goro liked to entertain and was a terrific singer. He worried about the younger people in camp, and he always tried to think of ways to keep up their morale so that they wouldn’t become angry and get into trouble.
One thing we noticed was how sad the high school seniors were about missing their graduations. They were supposed to graduate in June 1942, but most of us were taken away and locked up in April or May of that year. Goro talked to our mess-hall cook and asked him if he could bake a cake or something to celebrate the graduation, but the cook refused, saying that he couldn’t make a cake for just a few people; if you did it for one, you would have to do it for all.
When the time came, some schools sent representatives to hand out diplomas in person. They would come on visiting day, and sections of the grandstand would be designated for different schools. There was no ceremony or anything—just handing out diplomas.
One senior complained that he didn’t even get his diploma then because the school representative couldn’t pronounce his name, so he didn’t realize he was being called.