Legislator helps students see film about Topaz

A state lawmaker has taken it upon herself to send a few thousand students to a movie that she said everyone needs to see.

Rep. Sylvia Andersen, R-Sandy, said after walking out of a screening of "American Pastime," a movie about a Japanese family interned at the Topaz Relocation Center in central Utah during World War II, she was both moved and uncomfortable with how the nation could have made such a terrible misstep.

"It was very painful to watch and hard to imagine that we as a country would make such a huge mistake," Andersen said. "But we are at a time where it would be very easy to make that same mistake again, and we need to make sure that we don't."

And she said a good way to do that is to make students, who are future leaders, aware of the history so the memory of the event is not forgotten.

At the screening, Andersen was able to chat with the producer, who also produced Disney's "High School Musical," and he told her that he would love for every student to see the film.

So Andersen set up a screening for Jordan School District leaders to get the movie approved, which they did, unanimously.

"We felt (the) movie had value and we wanted to make it available to our kids," said David Stoddard, area executive director for the Riverton feeder system.

Then she met with leaders from the Larry H. Miller Corp., who agreed to show the film to students for free at Megaplex 17 at Jordan Commons and Megaplex 20 at The District.

"That really didn't take a lot of talking because they are so much in favor of the movie and the message that it brings," Andersen said.

But the question of transportation funding still remained. So Andersen went to work finding business and private donors in hopes of raising the $5,000 needed to send 350 students from each high school in the district to see the film.

She has already pledged the money to the district and around 100 students have already watched the movie this week — even though she is still working on raising the money and vows to pay what is needed herself if she falls short.

"You have this strange concept that Japanese were rounded up and put in internment camps but when you see it in a real-life situation with real people you have a whole different perspective," Andersen said. "I hope the students realize how easily we can make that mistake and that it helps guard against ever treating citizens like that — the lesson and impact of (the) movie is we can't go there ever again."

To help or donate money to cover transportation costs e-mail Andersen at sylviaandersen@utah.gov.

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