Asian-American Seeks Apology for Remark : Race: School Supt. Albert Marley does not deny using a term that offended attorney Lyn K. Philipps in a talk for the Optimist Club, but said it was not meant to be derogatory.

A Japanese-American attorney said Tuesday that she will press on with her objections that the superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District referred to “slant-eyed” Asians in a presentation of vacation slides to a civic group and then refused her demand for an apology.

Lyn K. Philipps of Calabasas, the attorney, said she was also offended by a motion passed by the board of the Optimist Club of Calabasas, which dissociated the group from a letter of protest she sent to Supt. Albert Marley.

Marley does not deny using the term but said it was not meant to be derogatory.

The Japanese-American Citizens League is investigating the complaint that Marley used the term in a presentation of slides he took during a trip to China. During the March 21 presentation to the Optimist Club, Marley--a guest speaker--described his 58th birthday celebration in a hotel restaurant and the curiosity it triggered among locals, contrasting his party of “round-eyed” tourists with the rest of the dining room’s “slant-eyed” patrons.

Phil Shigekuni, legislative chairman for the San Fernando Valley chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League, said this week he was writing to Marley and the Calabasas Optimists in response to the protest by Philipps, who was at the show because she was considering joining the club.

Philipps’ complaint was discussed last week at the chapter’s board meeting and referred to the group’s regional headquarters in downtown Los Angeles.

“A point has to be made, otherwise there are never going to be any changes,” Shigekuni said. He noted that the term “slant-eyed” strikes a raw nerve among Asian-Americans because it was widely used during World War II as an epithet against the Japanese and used again during the Vietnam War.

Marley said Tuesday he never meant to offend anyone and added that since receiving Philipps’ letter, he has avoided the terms “round-eyed” and “slant-eyed” when showing his China slides. “In no way did I mean to be derogatory or disparaging, but rather to emphasize the distinct differences, and that they do exist whether people acknowledge them or not,” Marley said.

He also defended his reply to Philipps, calling it appropriate. In a March 30 reply to Philipps’ angry letter, Marley wrote:

“I accept your criticism; and with regard to any reference to being a conspicuous minority among one of the largest majority populations in the world on the occasion of my birthday, I accept your counsel.”

The letter offers no apology or explanation for the choice of words.

“I really expected him to say, ‘I didn’t mean it the way you took it and sorry I offended you, it was not my intent to do that,’ ” Philipps said. “But he didn’t, and that’s what really bothers me.”

Optimist officials present for the slide show confirmed Philipps’ memory of Marley’s remarks but agreed with Marley that the remark was not intended to be insulting.

“It was not meant as a racial slur. He was just trying to describe the situation,” said Laura Marcinik, a school principal in the Las Virgenes district who is a vice president of the Calabasas Optimist Club.

But Shigekuni said the league was dissatisfied with Marley’s response to Philipps and felt it signified a lack of appreciation for the term’s connotation and history.

Philipps said she was not only disturbed by Marley’s remark and response but by the Optimist Club’s failure to recognize the term as deeply offensive.

Philipps said she was chastised by one board member for writing the letter, a strongly worded note she began by expressing her “extreme disgust and anger.” She also said she withdrew her application for membership after learning that the club’s board adopted a motion stating that her letter “in no way reflects the actions or sentiments of the Optimist Club of Calabasas.”

“After the motion was passed by the Optimist Club I couldn’t see myself attending with people who had that sentiment,” said Philipps.

Donna Cole, president of the Calabasas Optimists, called the incident unfortunate and said she was surprised to hear of Philipps’ withdrawal from the club. She said Philipps’ membership application was unanimously accepted by the board last month.