WSC 2000Program

Volume 3, Issue 1, January 2001

ISSN 1096-4886 http://www.westerncriminology.org/Western_Criminology_Review.htm
© 2001, The Western Criminology Review. All Rights Reserved.

Proceedings

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

WESTERN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY

27^TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

"Diversity and Justice"

February 24^th - 26^th, 2000

Kona, Hawaii

This program is dedicated to the memory of Wayne Matsuo (1943 - 1999),
Fellow, Western Society of Criminology

"Wayne Matsuo was a tireless worker for social justice in Hawaii. There was not a part of the youth service or corrections system that he hadn't worked in and yet his gaze was anything but parochial. Tom Murton, one of Wayne's great fans, once said that "real change is brought about by those who have both the vision and the power to effect it&endash;hence, the most effective reformer is the person within the power structure. " Wayne's life was clear testimony to the truth of this observation. When he was finally given an opportunity to lead the Hawaii Office of Youth Services, he brought all his experiences together. He vowed, against all odds, to downsize the institution in which he once worked. He knew full well the unavoidable problems of prisons, and he was determined to build a new system of community-based services for kids with a clear emphasis on prevention and early intervention. Wayne's vision that informed OYS placed Hawaii at the forefront of youth services nationally. It now falls to us to continue his important legacy; I only hope we are up to it."

Meda Chesney-Lind, Ph.D.

Women's Studies Program, University of Hawaii at Manoa

"Wayne Matsuo was a truly great man whose progressive approach to human services set an example for the entire country. I had the privilege of serving as a consultant to the Hawaii Office of Youth Services while Wayne was its director and having Wayne as a guest lecturer in my sociology classes when I was a visiting professor at UH-Manoa in 1995. The people of Hawaii should be aware of the many significant contributions Wayne made and the esteem with which Wayne was regarded throughout the nation. His principle-centered leadership was exemplary. His vision was one in which there can be no criminal "justice" without social justice. He provided critical leadership in helping Hawaii resist the prison-building mania that has swept much of the mainland, devouring huge sums of public money that might have been spent instead for progressive initiatives that would have helped reduce the need to lock up and "write off" so many of our fellow citizens who so badly need education, job training, a chance in life&endash;and hope. All of us are diminished by the loss of Wayne Matsuo, but we must honor his memory by resolving even more firmly to resist the seductive and simplistic over-reliance on prison development and to invest instead in human development and in social and economic justice for all our citizens. Wayne's life was a monument to that cause."

C. Ronald Huff, Ph.D.

Dean, School of Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine

"With Wayne's death, I lost a mentor, a teacher and a friend all at the same time. He constantly encouraged me to engage in political action toward achieving those things I believed in &endash; and to be able to defend my position with anyone. His love for young people and his compassion for those who suffered from injustice left a legacy to all of us who knew him. He was a man who brushed shoulders with the powerful and tried to empower the powerless. He was more than a teacher, he was and will always be my friend."

Arlie Tagayuna

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Sociology Department, University of Hawaii

Special thanks are extended to the University of Hawaii at Manoa who provided funding for the printing of this program and other conference material.