Imposed as a matter of national security, the United States government interned Japanese-Americans at campus in western states starting in 1942. However, some college-age internees were allowed to continue their education far from home. UConn accepted nearly 20 of these students and was the only higher education instutition in the state to do so. Among the students welcomed to Storrs were two standouts in football and baseball: William Hayakawa, left, and Kay Kiyokawa, right. This 1944 photograph shows them with baseball coach Dick Wargo.

Some of UConn's Japanese-American students of the 1940s returned to campus for a reunion October 16-19. Please go to the story.