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My Case at San Jose State University in California

Fall Semester 2005

In Fall 2005, I took a class (Anth 142? Culture in Mind) from the dean, and it required a service learning session. Most students in that class found the volunteer work through Project SHINE, and I was one of them. I had problem with my informants (since they are Chinese elders, I couldn’t get along with them as a Japanese), and I e-mailed her to arrange a different site to fulfill the requirement. Sarah replied me to write back what happened at the site, so I made cut & past of two incidents from my field notes. One of them was about a Chinese volunteer, and on her reply, she wrote that they replaced the man since he was problematic. Anyway, she gave me alternatives, so I worked at a different site. Just before the final exam week, the instructor sent me an e-mail about the problem with the site. In the e-mail, she asked me if I want to talk with the people at the site or I want her to handle the problem. I replied her to handle the problem. Personally, I did not want to involve with the Chinese people for awhile. If there was misunderstanding, it would be the lack of explanation from my side. Since my final exams were coming, I did not have time for anything but finish my papers and study for the finals and I left the issue to the hand of the instructor (the dean).

There are couple of reasons I did not wanted to involve in the problem:

My experience during the anti-Japanese propaganda going on during Spring time.

Since I did not have informed consent from my informants, I did not wanted to debunk

their problems. I am not a spy, and I did not want to take any responsibility about what they are doing in the site.

As I wrote down the problem with a particular volunteer and their replacement of that man, I did not take any responsibility about their decision. I felt guilty about sending the information, since we suppose to protect our informants as anthropologists. It was an ethics matter.

In my final research paper for that class, I wrote down that my presence as a Japanese might give different influence to the people in the site. In other words, my correcting data might be biased and not applicable for everyone’s experience.

Moreover, I was taking a winter class, I had no time to ask them about the result. First of all, none of the instructor nor Sarah tried to contact me. So, I thought it was over, and I never thought I would became a kind of scapegoat of the problem.

Spring Semester 2006

On March 7th, Sarah was talking with other classmates in the back of the classroom. First, I was not aware of what she was talking. But hearing my name in what she was saying, I noticed their conversation. I do not know where she got the information, but she was talking about my grade and 6-year education at DeAnza. She was talking about my personal problems like changing my major. It was really a humiliation.

On March 9th, the dean came to the class to observe the session. Since it is the first time we have Anth187 class at SJSU, she observed session. It seemed Sarah and other classmates did not talk anything about me before the class.

On March 14th, after Anth187 class (probably about 4:20pm), she followed my car from the 4th St garage (on the corner of 4th and San Fernando) for awhile. I drove my car to San Fernando St Westbound and made left turn near the station (the street headed to the I-87 South), and I made right turn on the San Carlos St where she drove straight to enter I-87. It was a red color jeep with no number plate on the front.

On March 16th, she and other people were still talking about me on the back of the classroom. I have heard her saying, “Miyoko is there,” and later in the conversation, she said something like “I wanna see her crying.” I do not know what the whole conversation was about but it really made me nervous.

On March 18th, I talked with my friend on the phone to complain about my problem with Sarah and classmates in Anth 187. My friend said that it is a type of harassment and violation of privacy. She also said that my personal record is in the admission and it is not accessible for everyone. She said that the dean might be involved because the dean can check the student records, and she stated that the dean should not talk about personal issues of a student to another student. Actually, she suggested me to talk to student advisor first.

April:

- Dr. Wxxxx held a special lecture on her past research on Friday of the third week(?) of that

month. Actually, the lecture was quite odd because she was working on aggressive flirtation on me. Unlike during her regular class, she came to the class with loose T-shirt with no bra. She had a jacket over the T-shirt, yet while the lecture, she walked down near my sheet and was using gesture like moving her arms like hinging 'come on'. During the regular lecture, she was not so active – only putting her lipstick and watching me while doing so, or walking around me quite often. Dr. Exxxxx-Lxxxx, the dean, visited the lecture and sat two or three sheets left of me observing the lecture.

Another issues:

Fall Semester 2006

September:

- I heard that some students, Mike and another female student, in Anth 143 were trying to

October:

- On Wednesday, Oct 11th, some students in the class started to made rumor of me as a “German spy,” and that destroyed my friendship in the class.

- On Oct 16th, I was on the way to my class (Anth 143) on 2nd floor of Clark Building, I saw Dr. English-Lueck standing outside of the classroom. When I saw her, she told me that she has something to talk about and asked me to follow to her office. In the elevator, I asked her that if Dr. Meniketti knew this meeting because I did not want to be late for the class, she said yes. When we got to the Anthropology Department office, there were two university police officers in the corner. And Dr. English-Lueck said that she and Dr.Weiss thought this as response and the officers handcuffed me, and then I was transported to Valley Medical Center as a mental patient. In the document, Dr.Sivertsen, the director of the counseling service wrote that I am “suicidal” and “dangerous to other people.” I have no idea why she wrote such document, and if I am suicidal, I should not prepared for the class or attending the class.

- At the hospital, the psychiatrist diagnosed me as “paranoia” probably because of my explanation of students harassments. Then last Friday, Dr. Newsome wrote me as Gravely disabled and in need of 14days-period hold. If I am gravely disabled, probably I had no chance to go to my class on last Monday night. I do not know why such misunderstanding happened.

- Instead of having 14days-period hold, I was given an alternative choice which I voluntarily staying hospital till Monday morning, which I chose.

- On Monday morning (Oct 23rd), we supposed to have goal counseling at 11:30am, and it was postponed to 2:30pm. Later, Dr. Burr, the substitute for Dr. Newsom who has been to San Diego for conference, told me to stay few more days. I pursued him to release me on that afternoon by telling him my parrot needs my care. Later he brought a message that he received from my parents. According to him, my parents are coming from Japan next day. Dr. Burr asked me to stay one more day at hospital for my parents sake, and I refused. So far, I was discharged at about 4 pm.