National Student Relocation Council Report on progress

BPATIOTAL STUDEHRT RELOCATION COUNCIL

REPORT OF PROGRESS

West Coast Section, Berkeley Office

up to July 25, 1942

Confidential: NOT TO BE RELEASED TO THE PRESS OR PUBLIC IN ANY MANNER

HISTORY

`During late March and throughout April, after the freezing orders

were issued and prior to the evacuation of the Japanese into Assembly

Centers, the Student Relocation Committee, predecessor of the NSRC,

helped approximately 75 students to relocate themselves in colleges and

universities to the east. Particularly active was the Northwest office

under Robert W. O'Brien, Assistant to the Dean at the University of

Washington, with the enthusiastic and effective support of Ruth Haines

and M. D. Woodbury, secretaries respectively of the University Y.W.C.A.

and Y.M.C.A. in Seattle. Of the 458 nisei enrolled at the University

of Washington December 7th, 58 were relocated prior to the Evacuation.

May 5. Milton S, Eisenhower of the War Relocation Authority re~

quested Clarence S. Pickett of the American Friends Service Committee

to form a Council of distinguished educators which would bring together

those persons and agencies who had been working to relocate evacuee

students from the West Coast.

May 21. Assistant Secretary of War, John J. McCloy, wrote to ex-

press his hearty approval of the student relocation idea and the establish-

ment of a Council to carry it out.

May 29. Hducators, representatives of organizations dealing with

student placement, and officials from the interested government agencies

met in Chicago and established the NSRC. Dr. Robbins W. Barstow, President

Re

of Hartford Theological Seminary, was named National Director. The

Council was divided into two sections, the eastern with offices in

Philadelphia to find college openings and raise scholarship money,

the western with offices in Berkeley, Los Angeles, Seattle and Port-

land to assemble information about the students. Executive Secretary

of the West Coast section is Joseph Conard in Berkeley.

UWeeing the month of June a questionnaire was prepared, arrange-

Ments were made with the Wartime Civil Control stutatatretson for

carrying on the work of the Council in the Assembly Centers, offices

were found and. staffs assembled, procedures worked out in detail, not

only for distributing and collecting questionnaires and interviewing

individual students in Assembly Centers in keeping with the Directive

issued to us by order of Colonel Karl R. Bendetsen; but also for tyy-

ing to arrange for the immediate release and travel permits of students

already accepted, many of them for summer sessions, and for the tabu-

lating, handling, analysis and rating of questionnaires when received

at the various offices. Priceless help was provided at this stage

by Marjorie Page Schauffler, on vacation (!) from her work in the

Refugee Section of the American Friends Service Committee in

Philadelphia,

During the first two weeks of July every Assembly and Relocation

Center was visited end questionnaires distributed and collected. In

most of them, general meetings open to all interested students were

held, at which the program of NSRO was described in detail and ques"

tions pertaining to it answered.

July 4. The first student to receive a release and travel permit

under the auspices of the NSRC left Tule Lake Relocation Center for

Se

St. Louis. He is Harvey Itano, medalist from the University

of California, A grades in all his undergraduate work, now studying at

the Medical School of St. Louis University.

July 4. The Berkeley office moved from the attic of Stiles Hall

(University Y.M.C.A.) into the Anna Head School (4 large classrooms for

offices downstairs, 6 bedrooms and a sleeping porch for out of town

staff workers upstairs).

July 4. First large batch of questionnaires arrived at Berkeley

office from Tanforan.

July 12. (Sunday) Peak day in the arrival of questionnaires at the

Berkeley office -- 153 from Turlock, Stockton, Pinedale and Fresno

Assembly Centers.

July 21. First questionnaires ready for analysis by counselors and

raters (all documents received: college and high school transcripts,

letters of reference from persons named by student, from employers, and

from college or high school personnel office).

July 24. Word from the Los Angeles office that a total of 600

questionnaires had arrived there. Seattle reported 350. Together with

Berkeley's 800, grand total is now 1750.

Meeting of the West Coast Committee to report progress and make

decisions.

STATE

The staff suffers from a disturbingly high turnover. At the moment

there seem to be nineteen people working more or less full time in Berkeley,

five in Los Angeles, two or more in Seattle, and two or more in Portland.

In Berkeley, in the office:

Full time workers:

Joseph Conard, Executive Secretary

Marydel Balderston Jean McKay

Walter Baiderston Edna Morris

Thomas R. Bodine Homer Morris

Calvin Cope Murray Rich

Grace Cope Claude N. Settles

Margaret Cosgrave Mrs. Walter Steilberg

Trudy King Wilma Wight

Secretaries:

Ruth Sample

Murial Bullard

Peggy Hatch

Vivian Urwand

Part time workers:

Leila Anderson Ruth Mendenhall

Frances Bailey Ruth Price

Medra Bartlett Lillie Margaret Sherman

Margaret Campbell Ethel Swain -

Clive Greenlee Arvine Wales

(Some of these staff workers come to us on loan from the American

Friends Service Committee. Others are high school and college regis-

trars and teachers, Almost all of them are volunteering their time.)

in Los Angeles:

Mrs. Marion Brown Reith, who headed the southern office from pre+

Council days, is now on vacation. In her place, David Henley and Esther

B. Rhoads are serving as co-executive secretaries with Clare Brown Harris

as administrative assistant and Miss Matlack, Mrs. Engberg, and many

other volunteers assisting them.

EXxEBCUTIVSE

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Liaison with CCA and WRA |

CONRTTITSS

Dre Robert Ge Sproul, Chairman

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Conard

Morris

Bodine

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Executive Secretary

Joseph Conard

| Advisers

Anderson Greene Morris

L Deutsch Homan Tyler

DeVoss Hoyt Stebbins

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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA OFFICE

We O- Mendenhall, Chairman

Distribution, processing and analysis

of questionnaires from Santa Anita,

pentane het se Leer ments. tun etn

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA OFFICE |

Joseph Conard

General Oversight

Coordinate Departments

PACIFIC NORTHWEST OFFICE

MLL LOLOL OCS A

Robert We O'Brien, Chairman

Distribution, processing and analysis

| questionnaires, Puyallup, Portland |

Pomona, Manzanar and Poston (Parker) Te Re Bodine

' Ce CeCope i

Staff similar to that in Northern Portland Office

California Office, though smaller. George Allan Odgers

OFFICE STAFF RECORDS ANALYSTS

Office Manager: Ruth Sample Supervisor: Wilma Wight Supervisor:

Receptionis Troubleshooters: McKay and Balderston, Me Leila Anderson

Supervise Office Workers

General Files Bailey,Ee Jones, Me

Purchasing Recording Readers Processing Baker Keene

Dictation for Conard Mendenhall, Preliminary: Rich, Chief Brown, Me iinard

Supervisor Campbell "Jorker Corson Phillips

Hatch Bullard Urwandt Cope, Ge Sherman Morris, Be Cosgrave Stebbins

Mail Mimeo= Dicta- "co" Students: Price DeVoss Spindt

Dicta= graph tion Filing Hoyt Wales Eckert Swain

tion Misce for MeKay, Swain Cards for Analy=- Coleman Tyler

for Dicte King Supervisor Final Check: sis and Matching `Greene yoorhies

King Assist Greenlee Mendenhall Bailey, Fe, Homan Wagoner

Volunteer Typists Supervisor Hoyt Zelhart |

STUDENT CORRESPONDENCE

Walter Balderston

As of July 31, 1942

PERMITS AND RELEASES

Supervisor: Trudy King

Correspondence: Steilberg

De

In Seattle:

Robert W. O'Brien with Joan Hatton as office assistant and secre-

tary seem to hold down the fort. `They are supported by many others

volunteering part time.

In Portland:

George Allen Odgers with Jo Anne Russell as office assistant and

secretary and behind them a really active committee.

Supporting the office staff in Berkeley (as in all the West Coast

offices) is a large group of volunteer counselors and raters. These

will have responsibility for analysing the record of each student and

determining where each stands in respect to scholarship, character,

adaptability, leadership and so on. In some cases where there are

specific matters that need checking, they may consult personally with

students in the Centers:

Dr. Edna Bailey, University of California

Miss Mary Baker, Dean of Women, Fresno State College, Fresno.

Mr. Janes Corson, Dean of Men, College of the Pacific, Stockton.

Dr. Marian Brown, Dean, University High School, Oakland.

Miss Margaret Cosgrave, Registrar, Fresno State College, Fresno.

Dr, James DeVoss, Dean, Upper Division, San Jose State College.

Dr. Ralph Eckert, Stockton Junior College, Stockton.

Dr. Irving Goleman, College of the Pacific, Stockton.

Dr. Catherine Greene, Asst. Dean of Women, University of California.

Dr. Walter Homan, Dean Lower Division, San Francisco State College.

' Miss Alice Hoyt, Assoc. Dean of Women, University of California.

Dr. Mary Jones, University of California.

Mr. C. M. Keene, Sacramento Junior College, Sacramento.

Miss Jeannette Minard, Sacramento Junior College, Sacramento.

Dr. Hubert Phillips, Dean Upper Division, Fresno State College.

Mr. Herman Svindt, Placement Bureau, University of California.

Miss Lucy Stebbins, Dean of Women, University of California.

Dr. Henry Tyler, Sacramento Junior College, Sacramento.

Dr. Edwin Voorhies, Dean of Students, University of California.

Dr. Lovisa Wagoner, Mills College.

Mrs. Marjorie Zelhart, Fresno State College, Fresno.

Behind the staff and counseling group are the West Coast Committee.

Their names appear on the Cotincil's letterhead, and include six college ~

presidents and six college deans.

FINANCES

The approximate expenditures for July run to $2000.

Salaries (2 staff workers, 7 secretaries) $1082.00

Travel 75.00

Office Expense (including expenses of

office volunteers) 330.00

Printing 150.00

Telephone and Telegraph 100.00

Postage 230.00

(Approximate) $1967.00

STATUS OF QUESTIUNNAIREGS RECEIVED

Approximately 1750 questionnaires had been received in the three

offices up to July 25th. Of these 600 are being processed in Los Angeles,

-g00 in Berkeley, 350 in Seattle. The number of questionnaires received

from each Center known to the Berkeley office as of noon July 24th:

Assembly or Relocation Center Number Questionnaires Received

Puyallup 204

North Portland 81

Tulelake 106

Tanforan 193

Stockton 35

Turlock 29

Merced 95

Pinedale 96

Fresno 71

Tulare 98

Santa Anita 19*

Pomona 10*

Manzanar 40x2122

Poston 88

California Free Zone 14

F.S.4. Camp, Nyssa, Oregon 2

TOTAL 1169*

* In the Los Angeles office are some 600 questionnaires from Santa

Anita, Pomona, and Manzanar not yet recorded at the Berkeley

office. Grand total received to date is therefore approximately

1750.

7.

Less than three weeks have passed since the first questionnaires

arrived in the Berkeley office. There are now (7/24/42) roughly 800

questionnaires being processed here, Their status is as follows:

Received today and in process of being recorded,

numbered, indexed, sifted, and sent to other offices. . . 97

Temporarily postponed until sifted by a committee of deans

and registrars:

(a) Kibei who have received some education in Japan.48

(b) College undergraduates with a "C" scholastic

average. (These are carefully studied and

some selected for active consideration.). ... 53

Postponed after sifting:

(a) Students not wishing to continue their uni-

versity education at present, high school

graduates with scholastic averages below B,

and others not considered promising ...... 77

Approved after sifting and waiting for transcripts and

letters of reference to be sent for. (References are

asked not only from persons named by the student but also

from the personnel office of the student's college or high

School and from the student's employer, if any.) .... 60

Approved after sifting and waiting return of

transcripts and letters of reference ....... - " 308

Transcripts and at least two letters of reference

received: ready for appraisal and analysis by

counselors and raters . . 50

Students who on their own initiative have already

been accepted by some college or university to the

east. (For details see report of Immediate Release and

aiete) Formis Docnetment). . wt tt tt th tht tll le

"Because about 100 of these students are included in the pro-

cessing listed above, the total number mentioned here exceeds

the 800 actually on hand in the Berkeley office.

Be

TABULATION OF QUESTIONNAIRES RECEIVED

There follows a preliminary tabulation of some of the more interest-

ing things about the first thousand students whose questionnaires were

received or recorded at the Berkeley office. Of particular interest is

the fact that almost half those who have already attended some college

have a scholastic average of either A or B, and that 874 of the high

school graduates have averages of A or B. It is also interesting to

note that about 20% of the students have more than $1000 with which to

continue their education, and that 25% of them wish to study medicine,

nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, optometry, and allied subjects. In the

final tabulation the latter category will be further broken down.

TABULATION OF 994 QUESTIONNAIRES

on hand in Berkeley Office

as of Friday noon 7/24/42

Percentage Course of Study:

Medicine (including Nursing,

-. oe Pharmacy, Dentistry, Opto-

metry, and allied subjects 254.

General 19

: Business 17

a Engineering 17

: Fine Arts O7

H School 23

acpi see 67 Social Science 05

Post Graduate 10 Agriculture 05

Home Economics 04

Theology Ol

Grade Points: College Students Grade Points: High School

Students

2.0 = 2.4 34 High School A average 30%

1.5 -1.9 Qo High School B average 57

1.0 -1.4 20 Low and unstated 13

Below 1 and unstated 7

Religious Preference: Want to continue education:

Protestant 69% Now 90%

Buddhist 17 Later 10

None ia Not at all ~

Catholic 03

Financial Resources: Have already applied to some

College

$0 - $250 38%

$250 ~ $500 21 Yes 34%

$500 - $1,000 18 Mo , 66

$1,000 and up 20

Unstated 03