A K LEO T H E
MONDAY, JUNE 3 to SUNDAY JUNE 9, 2013 VOLUME 108 ISSUE 85
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Giving ‘Credit Where Credit is Due’ NOELL E F UJII News Editor Next academic year, transfer students who qualify for an associate degree while they are at a four-year school will be eligible to receive that degree under the “Credit Where Credit is Due” program. The University of Hawai‘i implemented the “Credit Where Credit is Due” program on a pilot basis two years ago, first called “reverse transfer.” Through this program, the credits of students who have transferred from a community col-
“ This is a way to make sure people who have earned the degree get the degree,” Johnsrud said. Lumina, a philanthropic foundation, announced the “Credit Where Credit is Due” initiative when UH applied and was selected as one of the recipients in October 2012. Funding for the program comes from the Kresge Foundation, which is one of Lumina’s funding partners. Lumina puts out requests for proposals in particular areas of academic or educational reform. “ This is one of those reform areas because it addresses a national
This is a way to make sure people who have earned the degree get the degree.
lege without earning an associate degree but meet the requirements for one while at a four-year will transfer back to the community college, therefore telling that college the student has earned an associate degree. This program only applies to University of Hawai‘i community colleges and universities and is run through STAR. “Not every transfer student makes it to the bachelor’s degree, so this way they’ve got an associate degree to fall back on,” Executive Vice President for Academic A ffairs/Provost Linda Johnsrud said. “ They could be leaving without any credential at all. And that’s why it’s called ‘Credit Where Credit is Due.’” Under Vice President for Communit y Colleges John Morton, UH communit y colleges applied the program. T he f irst degrees under the program were awarded last year.
-Linda Johnsrud priority to have more of the working-age population having degrees and certificates,” Johnsrud said. Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UH M ā noa Reed Dasenbrock brought the ideas that developed into “automatic admission” and “reverse credit transfer” with him when he first started at UH in 2009. These were based on ideas worked out in El Paso, Texas, between the University of Texas and El Paso Community College. Currently, UH is working on continuing to improve the computer programs that are being used to make sure they are accurate. According to Morton, the program is operating at no cost to the university by tapping into systems that are already available such as STAR. “As soon as we identify them as a student that has earned a degree we will notify them,” Morton said.
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“Fifty-eight percent of Hawai‘i’s community college students transfer to public universities without an associate degree,” according to the Lumina foundation website.
Page 2 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 3 2013
News@kaleo.org |Noelle Fujii Editor
News
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Enhancing Hawaiian knowledge at Mānoa K ELLY Z AKIMI Staff Writer A “Hawaiian Place of Learning” is the fi rst of the values defi ned in the University of Hawai‘i at Mā noa’s 2011-15 Strategic Plan. This not only means engaging constantly in Native Hawaiian knowledge and values, but achieving the vitality in indigenous scholarship to set UH apart from other universities. This summer and fall, new and revived Hawaiian knowledge courses are being added to the university’s curriculum, striving to bring UH Mānoa closer to an ideal “Hawaiian Place of Learning.” These classes include Hawaiian 100 (Language in Hawai‘i), Hawaiian Studies 440 (Mahele Land Awards), Hawaiian Studies 691 (Sovereign Hawaiian State, Law, Governance, and Politics), Religion 205 (Understanding Hawaiian Religion) and Religion 390 (Hawaiian Gods: Pele and Kamapua‘a).
H AWA I I A N 10 0
New to UH Mānoa, HAW 100 serves to teach students about the origins and history of three vital communication methods unique to Hawai‘i: nonverbal exchanges, pidgin and the Hawaiian language. “It covers nine topics,” said Kahealani Lono, a professor of the Kawaihuelani Center for Hawaiian Language who will be teaching the class. “We talk about these topics in the context of Hawai‘i, and then we cross-reference them to global communities.” It was this desire to give Mānoa undergraduates the ability to not only understand local topics, but connect them to different cultures around the world that inspired HAW 100’s creation. “We wanted to go global — we wanted to offer a course that could incorporate material and knowledge curriculum about Hawai‘i and Hawaiian language, but we wanted to look at that in global terms,” Lono said. Lono also explained the course’s importance in bettering Hawaiian knowledge at the university. A discussion-based class, HAW 100 encourages students to ask questions and learn from their constituents, many of whom originate from different areas of the world. “Because we are able to cover Hawaiian language and Hawaiian names and sovereignty, ideology of language, we have nine broad topics that we can educate the students about,” Lono said. “We get to answer those little questions that students are wanting to know but don’t really ask.” HAW 100 will be offered during the fall, spring and summer semesters, as well as online. It also fulfi lls the FGB requirement.
ISMAEL MA / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
Five courses will be added this fall to increase Hawaiian education. H AWA I I A N S T U D I E S 4 4 0 A N D 691 After requests from students for the courses’ restoration, HWST 440 and HWST 691 are now being revived by Professor Kamana Beamer, a joint faculty member in the Hawai‘inui‘kea School of Hawaiian Knowledge and Richardson School of Law. A research-based course, HWST 440 traces the origin and history of both the ahupua‘a system and privatized land tenure in Hawai‘i. “Most students leave the course with invaluable research skills that are transferable to better understanding their own family lands, genealogies, place and the changes that have occurred over time to particular piece of ‘āina,” Beamer said in an email interview. HWST 691 utilizes seminar readings to examine the formation of the Hawaiian Kingdom in the 19th century and the legal and political aspects surrounding the period. Like Lono, Beamer believes the addition of these courses is an asset to students on a local level and global scale. “I think these are extremely important courses for understanding Hawai‘i, our resources, justice, peace and independence in the world today,” Beamer said. Beamer is also part of the Hui ‘Āina Momona program, another initiative to enhance Hawaiian knowledge at the university. A team comprising of Beamer and UH faculty members Malia Akutagawa and Mehana Vaughn is working to introduce a certificate in Aloha ‘Āina, indigenous Hawaiian models of resource management.
R E L I G I O N 2 05 A N D 390 After a three-semester hiatus due to the retirement of Professor John Charlot in fall 2011,
REL 205 and REL 390 are being revived by Marie Alohalani Brown, Hawaiian religion specialist of UH Mā noa’s religion department and professor for these two courses in the upcoming fall and spring semesters. Following the format of Charlot, Brown plans to make the courses reading-intensive and discussion-based. “What I want to take away from my class is to understand just how complex Hawaiian religion is, and you can’t really understand it unless you contextualize it within a larger belief system,” Brown said. “Hawaiian religion is dynamic — it has always been in evolution.” R EL 205 centers on the Hawaiian belief system, acquainting students with a variety of methodologies and concepts, such as the significance of the environment and akua (deities). Honing in on the Hawaiian gods Pelehonuamea and Kamapua‘a, R EL 390 explores the mo‘olelo (histories), mo‘ok ū ‘auhau (genealogies) and mele (songs) that help unravel the roles and relationships of these two deities. Additionally, Brown emphasized the significance of these courses in bettering Hawaiian knowledge and, in extension, the importance of understanding the Hawaiian culture in general. “Hawai‘i is unique, and the reason why it’s unique is because of Hawaiian culture,” Brown said. “I think it’s important to be able to fully appreciate Hawai‘i, to have a deeper knowledge about its culture. If more people knew more about the Hawaiian belief system and Hawaiian culture in general, they would find Hawai‘i even more fascinating. Perhaps it will even be a way of building bridges — if more people were more familiar with the kind of things I’m talking about, they would understand Hawaiians even more.”
Page 3 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 3 2013
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Features@kaleo.org | Jackie Perreira Editor
Features
Abnormalities personified: Dana Paresa’s ‘Uncontrollable Urge’ JACKIE PERREIR A Features Editor
Everyone has it. A part of you that’s abnormal – that prompts you to do something strange. Some of us are better at hiding it than others, but all of us hope to fi nd someone who is just as weird, if not more so, than ourselves. UH alumna Dana Paresa brings this concept to life with her show “Uncontrollable Urge” at ii Gallery in Kaka‘ako until June 7. “I always was kind of interested in freaks and weirdoes,” Paresa said. … “It’s a topic that isn’t touched as much as I think it should be because probably everyone here has some kind of disease or whatever. It’s very likely that you have something.” Paresa is a Kamehameha Schools Kap ā lama graduate and in 2011 earned a BA in art at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. As a freelance illustrator, she has maintained an array of gigs – from fl iers for punk concerts and Night Breakfast, to illustrations for Honolulu Magazine, Sea Life Park and Whole Ox Deli. Most days she baristas at R /D, a nonprof it workspace/ café located beside the ii Galler y. T here, she was able to
net work and was eventually offered the galler y space for her second solo art show. Her f irst solo, “Little Black Bag,” in August 2012 was also at ii. Paresa, a fan of genres punk and new wave, titled it af ter a song by Devo of the same name. Each piece illustrates different oddities, such as apotemnophilia (someone who doesn’t feel attached to their limbs, so then amputates them) pictured with forniphilia (someone who gets turned on by furniture). “I put them in pairs for people who belong together,” she said. “ They’re social deviants that neutralize each other. … Putting these people together whom everybody would look at and be weirded-out by and finding their other half. So they’re not weird in each other’s eyes – they’re helping each other achieve their own urges.” The drawings may raise some eyebrows, as they depict subjects that could be deemed less than attractive caught in strange and unnerving acts. Ironically, her artwork could’ve potentially looked more unruly. “Maybe a couple of them, I held back a little bit because I knew my mom was coming to the
opening. … I was like, ‘Oh man my mom’s going to hate that’ or ‘What if my grandma comes?’ So I made some of them less naked than I would have normally,” she said. “I also didn’t want to do too much nudity because that could be seen as a cheap shot. Like you’re just trying to shock them with nudity.” Although some may view her work disapprovingly, to Paresa it is true to what she envisions. “What’s weird is, I don’t think it is grotesque,” she said. “I did an illustration for this magazine once … and they were like, ‘Can you make it less grotesque?’ And I couldn’t understand why it was in the first place because that’s just how I draw and how I see it. … I think it’s good-looking ; otherwise I wouldn’t do it.” The artwork primarily consists of Indian ink and brush – a medium Paresa chose because of a New Year’s resolution to learn the art of inking. She drew inspiration from comic artistry and took to YouTube, where she found tutorials on how to work with ink Marvel-style from Stan Lee. T he pieces are on sale for $10 0 - 450. “I try to make it really cheap so everyone can have it for a couple reasons: I want people to have
“(The person with apotemnophilia is) sitting on somebody who has a leg. So they have to sit down on somebody.” Paresa said.
ISMAEL MA / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
Dana Paresa lives and works in Honolulu. art in their houses. … A rt in a house is important. … It’s comforting, it breaks up the monotony. But also, since I’m splitting (the profit with the gallery), I want to make more than (the cost of the) materials at least. And my time.” That being said, Paresa’s galler y has ser ved primarily as a way to display her work instead of to turn a profit. “It’s not my main income,” she said. “I’m doing it because I’m going to be (producing artwork) anyway. … Most people just ask me to show
it. … I already have a bunch of stuff ready. I’m prepared to just do work wherever at the same time.” Also on display is Paresa herself – or at least a version of her. “One of them is a self-portrait; the one without the leg,” she said. “I always try to make mine the most bizarre so it seems like I’m not making fun of anybody. It’s just like, I got the worst of it, so we’re all on the same level.” When you visit Uncontrollable Urge, look closely. Among the hidden faces and faded brush strokes you may find your other half.
Uncontrollable Urge Instagram: @dananotdana Twitter: @danaparesa
Scan this QR code to visit Dana Paresa’s website for more of her work.
ISMAEL MA KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
ISMAEL MA / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
The ii Gallery opened on Jan. 27, 2012.
ii Gallery 687 Auahi Street Honolulu, HI 808-343-0240 Tues – Fri, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Sat, 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Comics@kaleo.org | Nicholas Smith Editor
Page 5 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 3 2013
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Opinions@kaleo.org | Tim Metra Editor
Page 7 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 3 2013
Opinions
Apparent choice My mom had her gall bladder removed several weeks ago, but she’s still experiencing some issues with her digestion. She’s very set in her ways and doesn’t like going to a regular doctor, though, because she prefers to see one of those holistic medicine naturopath doctors. However, whatever the naturopath has her doing isn’t working. I don’t live at home anymore, and my family still at home can’t or won’t get her in to see a normal doctor of modern medicine. What should I do?
–Worried Son This isn’t a pleasant situation by any means, but I’m pretty sure there’s a solution for you. Your mom just had one of her organs removed, so she has to have at least a little faith in modern medicine, which is a good start. Witchdoctoring and voodoo have their place, but that place isn’t after having invasive surgery. I don’t know what exactly your mom’s symptoms are, and even if I did, I’m no doctor, but having any sort of digestive issues for an extended length of time can lead to serious complications, especially if they’re acid-related. Going to see a naturopath who will tell you to drink tea and chant a mantra isn’t going to prevent digestive acids from corroding your mom’s esophagus or giving her an ulcer. So, I’m assuming that your family has given up on asking your mother to go see a modern medical doctor of some sort. If that’s the case, then shame on them; this is serious stuff. I’m guessing that because yyou’re old enough g to be asking g me for advice, your mom is probably somewhere over 40, and possibly closer to 60. While this doesn’t necessarily make her old, it does mean that she
needs to take her health a bit more seriously than she did 20 years ago; we don’t bounce back at that age the way we used to. To answer your question, I recommend pulling out the big guns straight away: guilt, guilt and more guilt. Tell your mom that you need her to go see a “real” doctor as soon as possible for your peace of mind. I’d go with something about how worried you are about her health, and it’s causing you to be super stressed and interfering with your ability to concentrate on work or studying. If that’s not enough ammo, tell her that you’re afraid she’s going to die from acids eating her from the inside out and will she please go see a doctor as soon as possible. Take her to the doctor yourself if you have to, or lay some of that guilt on your dad or whoever is still back home with her. As we get older, we forget that our parents do too. It’s shocking to realize one day that mom and dad are suddenly old. With that realization comes the responsibility to make sure they’re getting their regular age-specific check-ups for things such as cancer or heart disease. Modern medicine has come a long way, and many illnesses that could potentially be lifethreatening are now perfectly treatable if they’re caught in time.
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Page 8 | Ka Leo | Monday, June 3 2013
Sports Junior Austin Wobrock had 13 RBI along with a .239 batting average this season. KENT NISHIMURA KA LEO O HAWAI‘I
Rainbows triumph over trials ELIAQUIM R EYES Senior Staff Writer
Despite many reasons to give up, the UH baseball team persisted through one of its toughest seasons and went against odds and expectations. Along with the pressures of transitioning into the Big West, the team also tackled what was, according to Boyd’s World, the nation’s most diffi cult non-conference schedule. Consequently, it suffered a 10game losing streak at the start of the season and was also met with a wave of injuries that depleted the pitching staff. However, the ‘Bows ended their season on a strong note, collecting fi ve wins in the last three series. While their main focus was to win games through the season’s progression, they were also under the canopy of leadership that instilled in the team a hard work ethic, responsibility and a sense of community.
T H E S E T BAC K S The Rainbows faced two issues that affected the team throughout the season: injured pitchers and a frustrating pre-conference schedule. Junior Jarrett Arakawa, freshman Quintin Torres-Costa and junior Andrew Jones were projected to start in the rotation alongside senior Corey MacDonald. However,
their season was brought to a halt after three of them suffered injuries that forced them to sit out for the year while only MacDonald made it to the second week of play. As a result, adjustments to the rotation had to be made as junior Matt Cooper and sophomore Scott Squier were shuffled back and forth from the bullpen to the rotation, while senior Connor Little was given a starting position. Though Cooper eventually got the role as a starter, the lack of consistency in the beginning of the season could have added to the heaviness of having a difficult non-conference schedule. According to Boyd’s World, UH also ranked No. 12 in the nation for the strength of its overall schedule. Head coach Mike Trapasso has been known for making tough schedules, but he acknowledged that this year was “a little too tough” and tore into the team’s confi dence with the players laboring through each game.
R I S I N G A B OV E D E F E AT Upon entering Big West conference play with a .250 winning percentage, Hawai‘i battled through losses that could have shaken its resolve. But in earning four series wins, including a sweep of UC Davis in its fi nal home series, the team showed that it still had much to prove. A late turnaround in the season was fueled by several players emerging as key
cogs in the team’s offense, and Trapasso said they began to “fi gure it out.” One such player was junior shortstop Austin Wobrock. After hitting .183 in the pre-conference, Wobrock broke out in Big West play to improve his overall average to .239. While his offensive outburst had become a tremendous asset for the team, he also took pride in his defense, boasting one error on his otherwise-clean slate as a fielder. He also had been the only Rainbow to have started and played in every game of this season, exhibiting his endurance as an everyday player. The Costa Mesa, Calif., native also helped Hawai‘i pull off a stunner in its game one victory against Cal State Fullerton, who was ranked No. 3 at that time. It was a two-out check swing by Wobrock that sent the ball down the third base line to drive in the game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth. And although the ‘Bows did not take the rest of the series, the win over a top-ranked team showed that they did not wallow in their past defeats but instead made it a point to strive for success regardless of whom they faced.
PERSISTENCE What really set the Rainbows apart from this age of complex formulas and over-devised strategies was their tactic of hard work.
“ T he only way I know to work through this is to work,” Trapasso said before the team faced CSUF. A nd it seems so, as he had also reiterated similarly in past inter views. Like Trapasso, the players seem to have the same mindset through the rough patches of the season. With a focus on winning and striving to get better each game, their work paid off with victory in the final home series, giving the seniors a farewell to remember. Beneath the layers of sweat and effort that the ‘Bows poured out was a leadership that embodied a spirit of dedication and a love for the team and the game. Senior third baseman Pi‘ikea Kitamura led the players as their captain for the last time this season, and his leadership garnered praise from players, coaches and fans who have watched his four-year tenure as a Rainbow. However, he did not lead the team alone; beside him were his coaches and his fellow seniors, who rose up to the challenges they faced this year and showed the players what it means to be “one team.” W hile this kind of leadership may be irreplaceable, the value of hard work that has been planted will likely spring up next season and prepare the players for a new chapter in their careers as “R ainbow Warriors.”