Last year, Sacramento State began a program called The One Book for expanding literacy in the community.

Sheree Meyer, One Book faculty coordinator and Sheila Macias, director of the Community Engagement Center are the program coordinators of the One Book Program. Meyer said the attempt to promote widespread literacy was aimed not just at reading and writing, but also at literacy in the broader world.

Meyer said one book is chosen annually by a book selection committee, composed of faculty, staff, students and community members. Macias said the program targets freshman students, so that students’ literacy may be encouraged early and thereby continue to flourish.

Meyer said that incoming freshmen should have received a copy of this year’s One Book during their new student orientation this semester.

Macias said last year’s novel was more humorous than the selection this year. She noted that faculty are anticipating loaded emotions and involvement with their newest selection, Julie Otsuka’s “When the Emperor Was Divine.”

John Kanemoto, sophomore mathematics major, said Otsuka’s novel deals with Japanese-American internment camps and said that many readers may be affected by the book due to current events surrounding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the idea of segregation and discrimination in internment camps.

Kanemoto, who is very involved in this year’s program, said that although freshmen are being targeted by the program, it is still open and any community member can participate.

In 2007, the inspiration for the One Book Program came about when Sac State hosted Wangari Maathai, a 2004 Noble Peace Prize winner. Maathai specialized in sustainable resources and the subject of woman’s rights within her community in Africa. Meyer said that on the day of Maathai’s lecture, more than 400 people came to hear her speak.

“We were delightfully shocked when we not only had enough students, faculty and staff to fill the Redwood Room, but they were out the door. And this was a Friday morning. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people in one place at the same time on this campus,” Meyer said.

Up until that point, Meyer, Macias and other faculty members had been trying for years to establish a One Book Program at Sac State. Macias said that after the response to Maathai’s lecture, the amount of activism and awareness on campus seemed evident and faculty felt that the time was right to make an attempt with the program.

Meyer approached Sac State President Alexander Gonzalez with the One Book blueprints. In response, Gonzalez recommended they seek funding from the Wells Fargo Foundation. It took a month to write up the grant proposal, Meyer said. Wells Fargo accepted and offered $100,000 for the first 18 months of Sac State’s One Book Program.

Meyer said that even in the first year of the program, around 1,200 community members attended the author day when Firoozeh Dumas lectured and shared her experiences on campus.

“We figured we’d have some smaller building years, but the fact that we were working with the first year programs and getting that kind of buy-in was phenomenal,” Meyer said.

Last year’s program centered on the memoir “Funny in Farsi” by Firoozeh Dumas, which educated the community about Iranian culture.

Meyer said the program intends to have a similar impact this year, but instead will focus on the Japanese-American culture.

“My biggest passion about this is that it helps us all stretch a bit and get out of our comfort zones,” Macias said.

This year, Meyer feels that the program did a better job of planning ahead, mostly because there was a better sense of focus throughout the program.

“We don’t want the One Book Program to be a one-shot deal. We want the events and focus to last throughout the year,” Meyer said.

First-time freshmen will have access to the first lecture at 10 a.m. on Oct. 5 in The University Union Ballroom, which will then be opened up to the public at 7 p.m.

Information regarding this can be found on the One Book Program’s website: http://www.csus.edu/onebook/.

Katrina Tupper can be reached at [email protected]