Tagged: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month

Student Spotlight: Eito Okino, Wikipedian-In-Residence

In 2017 UO Special Collections and University Archives hired our first Wikipedian-in-Residence. One of our goals in SCUA is to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion by illuminating hidden histories and providing access to information. Wikipedia aims to make public information accessible by summarizing both scholarly and non-academic sources, citing information from a range of perspectives, using neutral language, and providing hyperlinks in over 200 languages. Wikipedian Eito Okino spent this past term improving Wikipedia articles and organizing a Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon focused on Asian and Pacific American history. He details his experience below. 

Name: Eito Okino
Major: Human Physiology
Year in School: Undergraduate
Job in SCUA: Wikipedian-In-Residence

Tell us a little bit about what brought you to Special Collections and University Archives? What made you want to work here, as opposed to other places on campus?

I saw the job posting and I thought editing Wikipedia articles for the library was a unique job. I used to edit some Wikipedia articles back in high school so I thought it would be fun to learn more better ways to edit Wikipedia articles and start editing again.

I was also interested in SCUA and I had been here in the past to look at a couple collections, so that is what got me more interested in the position.

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Inspiring Action and Igniting Justice Symposium: The Legacy of UO Alumnus Minoru Yasui

Minoru Yasui
UO Alumnus Minoru Yasui

“There is no amount of money that can ever repay us for the kinds of things that we underwent. Who could put a price tag upon that kind of confinement?” – Minoru Yasui

 

In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the University of Oregon Special Collections and University Archives is featuring events and student organizations that serve Asian Americans on and off campus. On April 23 at the New World Trade Center in Portland, Oregon, I was privileged enough to attend the Minoru Yasui Inspiring Action and Igniting Justice Symposium. The event was meant to honor University of Oregon Alumnus and activist Minoru Yasui who was the first Japanese American to graduate from the UO Law School and was an individual who protested discriminatory Executive Order 9066 during World War II. The symposium not only celebrated the life of Minoru Yasui and his fight for social justice, but also his United States Medal of Freedom that was recently awarded to him, which is the highest honor a civilian can receive in the US. Continue reading