Shu (Robert) arrived on campus in the fall of 1941, only months before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Shu first appeared in the Daily Emerald when he signed a letter written by other Japanese American male students. They affirmed their American citizenship, and wrote, “Whenever we are called upon to do so, we shall be ready and willing to bear arms and fight for the Stars and Stripes against Japan or any other aggressor nation. We only ask that we be given a chance to prove our loyalty to our country, the United States.” The letter appear next to a similar letter from Japanese American women, signed by Shu’s sister Michi, who was a senior at the time.

Shu found the time to weigh in on campus issues related to the civilian contributions to the war effort. He wrote a short letter published in the Emerald in December 1941, noting his approval that Emerald’s editorial opinion about the food situation in dormitories was “100 per cent OK.” He likely was referring to a recently published editorial that noted students “have shown a willingness to share in the sacrifice of ‘extras’ on menus in keeping with the nationwide ‘economy for defense’ trend,” and other reports of complaints about the quality of food in the dormitories.

Early in 1942, Shu became active on campus. The Emerald reported that he scored six points in an intramural basketball game and displayed “brilliant baserunning” in intramural softball. He also made the honor roll.

Shu continued to argue that Japanese American students were loyal to the United States. The Emerald reported that he wrote a reply to a resolution by the Military Mothers Club submitted to President Roosevelt, which included a rumor that “Japanese pilots at Pearl Harbor wore University of Oregon rings.” While the letter is not printed, the Emerald summarizes his arguments. In the letter, Shu “recalled moments of his life in his home town, Hood River, Oregon, and many experiences there that showed that he was an American, not a foreigner.” He also wrote that while after Pearl Harbor, some made accusations of disloyalty, “He recalled how his friends stood by him magnificently when the crisis came and he is grateful to them for this.” Shu also asked, “’What makes an American? Is it skin color?’ All Nisei (Americans of Japanese ancestry) are asking this question. The Nisei can’t answer this question; the American public only can answer this question.”

Executive Order 9066, signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, allows forced removal and incarceration of “all persons of Japanese ancestry.”

By the time Shu sent his letter to the Military Mothers Club, a curfew had already been imposed on Japanese Americans, and rumors that they would be forcibly removed from the West Coast had begun to circulate. Just a week after the Emerald reported on his letter, it ran a photo of Shu and another Japanese American student, Kenzo Nakagawa, “practicing” their forced removal from the exclusion zone. Emerald writer Bob Edwards noted, “It is unfortunate that the college careers shall be interrupted for many of these students of Japanese ancestry are brilliant scholars in difficult fields.”

One of the articles about the Japanese American forced removal included a short biography of Shu, reporting that his family in Hood River were to be sent to incarceration camps. It said Shu was a “brilliant student in high school and has made honor roll grades in pre-medics at the University.”

Upon notice that the Nikkei would soon be ordered to camps, Shu knew he must leave in order to continue his education.  He appealed to his UO professors to release his final grades ahead of schedule. They all complied, giving him A’s. He snuck out of his dorm late at night, defying curfew, and hopped a bus for Denver, which was beyond the western evacuation zone.

Once safely there, he called sister Michi and told her to follow, which she did, giving up her UO graduation dreams.

Shu entered the University of Denver and later transferred to the University of Wisconsin to finish pre-med classes.

Despite high grades, Shu’s multiple applications to medical school were rejected, presumably due to his ethnicity, meager finances, and the “taint” of an imprisoned father and brother. The only school to accept him was Temple University in Philadelphia—the seat of a Quaker-led movement to release Japanese American students from incarceration. His younger brother Homer likewise benefitted from this advocacy and enters Philadelphia’s Hahnemann Medical School in 1945.

Shu entered medical school and graduated in three years, earning his M.D. at age 23.

In 2008, Shu received an honorary degree along with nineteen other Japanese American students whose educations were disrupted by the detention orders. President David Frohmayer said in his remarks, “We are proud to claim you as alumni.”