NOTE: The following speech was delivered at the Garden of Remembrance Dedication held on campus April 19, 2002.

Good afternoon. Distinguished guests, honored alumni, members of the University community, and community friends: It is my great pleasure to welcome you all, and to thank you for joining us in this solemn, yet beautiful, dedication ceremony. We have gathered here - some of you traveling from as far as our Sister City of Osaka - to acknowledge the past, honor those our nation wronged, and rededicate ourselves to a future in which such things will never -- never -- be repeated.

We are exceptionally honored by the presence of a distinguished delegation from Osaka, Japan. On behalf of the University, I am pleased to welcome the Mayor of Osaka, Takafumi Isomura, the Vice President of the Osaka City Council, Shigeo Murao, and five distinguished members of the Osaka City Council.

We are delighted to welcome the Honorable Shigeru Nakamura, Consul General of Japan.

We are deeply pleased also to be joined by so many leaders from the Japanese American community.

It is a particular privilege to welcome several San Francisco State University alumni who embody all that we commemorate today. Their names appear within this memorial, for they are among the 19 students who, by an unjust act of our government, were wrenched from their lives -- and their studies here at San Francisco State -- and sent to internment camps. Please join me in applauding: Mrs. Helen Nitta Hori; Mrs. Kaya Kitagawa Sugiyama; Mr. William Hirose, representing his father, George Hirose; Mrs. Vivian Nelson, representing her late mother, Aiko Nishi; and Mr. Steve Kikuchi and Mr. Robert Kikuchi-Yngojo, representing their late father, Dr. John Kikuchi.

Today is the second occasion on which this university has honored these 19 former students. Four years ago, we sought them out and invited them to join us at commencement, to sit on the commencement stage and be recognized individually as honored alumni. As I said that day, "in a spirit of sorrow for the past, determination that it shall not be repeated, and recommitment to our highest values," we welcomed them back into the university community, acknowledging their permanent place in this university's history. The Garden of Remembrance now makes that figurative "place" a beautiful physical reality, to be shared and enjoyed by generations to come.

At that same 1998 commencement, San Francisco State University and the California State University honored an individual who is an immensely important part of today's celebration. One of the highlights of that day was the conferral on Ruth Asawa of the highest honor the academic world can bestow -- the honorary doctorate. As I told our 20,000-plus audience, Ruth Asawa shared the pain and loss experienced by our honored alumni. Despite her experience -- that of a young girl not only incarcerated, but separated from her family -- she found a way to preserve her spirit. That way was art, and since then, she has used it as a means to bring people together and to forge shared values.

Ruth, you show us how to create both art and community, and for that, we are grateful. Today, I would like to present you with a framed copy of the formal citation for the conferral on you of an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts degree.

From the writing of the grant application that produced key financial support for this garden to the placement of the very last boulder, the Garden of Remembrance has brought out the highest talents -- and deepest feelings -- of a great many individuals and groups.

Our garden is the first of what will be a two-site memorial to the Japanese Americans who were removed from their homes, banished from their communities, and incarcerated by unjust government action during World War II. The garden's 10 boulders symbolize the permanent internment camps. Its waterfall -- which will come to life at the end of this ceremony -- symbolizes energy and renewal, and celebrates the release of Japanese Americans from unjust confinement.

This site, too, was chosen with great love and care. It is, as described in our successful grant application to the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, "an oasis, sheltered but warm…one of the most treasured places on campus for quiet contemplation, study, or a friendly conversation between classes." All can enjoy this site. We have ensured that it is fully accessible to persons with mobility or visual disabilities.

Many generous partners made this project possible. I would like first to acknowledge and thank California State Librarian Dr. Kevin Starr and the California Civil Liberties Public Education Program, which provided primary funding for the garden.

The exceptional beauty of this garden can be credited to its three designers: Ruth Asawa, and, from the Professional Gardeners Federation of Northern California: Isao Ogura and Shigeru Namba.

Thanks also go to another key partner -- the San Francisco Mayor's Neighborhood Beautification Fund, represented here today by Wendy Nelder.

From many hands and many hearts, we have created this beautiful and inspiring memorial. It will stand on this diverse and international-minded campus as a permanent reminder of past errors and future commitment to the values we need to sustain our nation and our shared global society.