2013 november 8 by Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

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Tough competition headlines this year’s Rainbow Classic NICK HUTH Staff Writer

Sharpening the point BLAKE TOLENTINO Web Specialist

Throughout head coach Gib Arnold’s tenure at the University of Hawai‘i, the most consistent aspect of his teams has been inconsistency at the point guard position. From day one, Hawai‘i has struggled to produce a solid prospect at the position in a program that has seen nine different players find significant minutes running the offense during the past three years. Due to a combination of outgoing transfers, injury, spotty production and one player missing parts of seasons due to membership on the football team, Arnold has often been forced to piece together a Frankenstein lineup just to put someone out on the floor. After a number of transfers gutted the position in his first two seasons, Arnold resorted to pressing defensive specialist Garrett Jefferson and freshman forward Ozren Pavlovic into playing the point just to provide some depth behind starter Jace Tavita, who was generally a non-factor scoring-wise. This season, no returning point guards remain on the roster. While Arnold has always fielded a talented frontcourt, the backcourt issues have stifled the team’s potential, especially in the guardheavy Big West. This season, however, newcomers Keith Shamburger and Quincy Smith hope to

provide the stability at point guard that has eluded the team for the past three seasons. “Both of those guys are starters on any of our teams in the past,” Arnold said. “Either one of them probably would have started at that point guard position. We’re going to play them together a lot because I think they both are that good.” TWO-WAY UPGRADE Shamburger and Smith differ from their predecessors – who often lacked the athleticism and confidence to do more than facilitate other players – with their willingness and ability to attack the defense off the dribble and force opponents to respect their shooting. “They bring a little more quickness,” Arnold said. “I think we’re a lot better with both those guys at the end of the shot clock.” They have also made their presence felt on the defensive end, especially in full-court press situations. “We’re able to guard the ball a lot better, especially on quick guards. For three years, we struggled with quickness on the perimeter, and those two guys can really guard,” Arnold said. “I think you’ve gotta have the personnel to press. I’ve always been a pressing coach, but I don’t think I’ve ever had the correct personnel to do it. We kind of recruited into that. Guard-wise,

ISMAEL MA / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

we’ve got really quick guards. In certain occasions, we’re definitely going to press this year, more so than we ever have.” “With the type of team we have, we just want to play up and down, we just want to play fast,” Shamburger said. IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT Hawai‘i has shown potential during the past three years, only to fall short of expectations by the season’s end. The underwhelming performances at the point have played a significant part in the disappointing finishes. If Hawai‘i is to finally have the breakout season the talented frontcourt hinted at last year, both Shamburger and Smith will need to play at a higher level than any of Arnold’s previous point guards. Shamburger in particular arrives with lofty hype surrounding him. One of Arnold’s original recruiting targets, he spent two years at San Jose State, where he posted 13.1 points and 5.2 assists per game in his sophomore season. After sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules, fans are eager to see if he’s the real deal after Tavita produced so sparingly as a scorer last season. “It feels great,” Shamburger said. “It’s like a dream come true. I feel like a little kid opening my presents. I’m out here with a purpose again.”

The University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team will attempt an elusive three-peat this weekend as the 2013 Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Rainbow Classic gets underway. Although the annual tournament took a brief hiatus in 2011, Hawai‘i can take its third straight classic title if it can edge out Tennessee State, Western Michigan and New Mexico State in the roundrobin contest this weekend. Regardless of the Rainbow Warriors’ success in the tournament’s brief history, the competition this year is more capable than ever before. All three opponents are coming off winning seasons, with a combined record last year of 54-39. Head coach Gib Arnold made a conscious effort to bring in a group of teams that will thoroughly challenge the Warriors early in the season. “It’s good to be tested early,” said Arnold, who is entering his fourth season as the head coach of the program with a record of 52-45. “We wanted to bring the toughest teams we could, and with that we brought in three winning programs.” New Mexico State is potentially the biggest challenge facing the Warriors during the Rainbow Classic. The Aggies are coming off a season in which they won the Western Athletic Conference tournament, which earned them a spot in the NCAA tournament. The former conference foe will face the Warriors on Tuesday at midnight as part of ESPN’s College Hoops Tip-off Marathon. With the historic change in the quality of opponents in this year’s classic, Hawai‘i can prepare for its toughest foe of the season. Following this weekend’s tournament, the Warriors will face SEC powerhouse Missouri on Nov. 16 on the road, and the team is fully aware of the prepa-

ration required for the matchup. Head coach Gib Arnold felt the need to schedule challengchalleng ing opponents in the Rainbow Classic due in part to the Missouri matchup. “By the end of the week, we’ll be tested by three good teams and follow that up with a long road trip to a really good team in Missouri,” he said. Injuries may hamper Arnold’s plans to prepare the team fully for the season ahead. Senior guard Brandon Spearman is nursing a high ankle sprain that he suffered during an exhibition against BYU-Hawai‘i. Sophomore guard Quincy Smith is questionable with a lower-back injury. It is unlikely that either will play during the Rainbow Classic, and Arnold did not sound confident in a quick recovery for Spearman. “It doesn’t look like we’ll have him for the first couple weeks,” Arnold said. The senior guard averaged 9.6 points per game and served as the top perimeter defender for the Warriors last season, and it will likely be up to redshirt freshman Aaron Valdes to fill the void in the starting lineup until he returns. Valdes scored eight points to go along with a game-high 11 rebounds during the match against BYU-Hawai‘i after the Spearman injury. “When we play together, regardless of who’s on the fl oor, we can be a pretty good team,” Arnold said.

UPCOMING GAMES Hawai‘i vs. Tennessee State Friday, 6:30 p.m. (OCSports) Hawai‘i vs. Western Michigan Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (OCSports) Hawai‘i vs. New Mexico State Tuesday, 12 a.m. (ESPN2) All games will be played at Stan Sheriff Center. Admission is free to students with valid UH IDs.

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M E E T T H E R A IN B O W W A R R IO R S T A R T IN G L IN E U P JOEY RAMIREZ SPORTS EDITOR

Aaron Valdes

Guard – Freshman

Garrett Nevels Guard – Junior

Nevels stole the spotlight from his fellow Rainbow Warriors in last Thursday’s 101-85 exhibition win over BYU-Hawai‘i as the Mount San Antonio College transfer shot a game-best 12-of-18 for 24 points. Nevels led Mt. SAC to the school’s first state title by averaging 25.8 points in five playoff contests, including 32 points in the championship game.

Isaac Fotu

Christian Standhardinger

Keith Shamburger

Expectations are high for Fotu after being named Big West Co-Freshman of the Year last season. Despite averaging the team’s fifth-most attempts (6.4), Fotu made the most of his shots by placing third in scoring with 10.1 points per game. Big West opponents learned to fear the fro during conference play when he led the league by shooting 63.5 percent from the field.

As a junior in his first season with Hawai‘i, Standhardinger was selected to the All-Big West first team and named UH’s Most Outstanding Player. The Germany native was the Rainbow Warriors’ top offensive threat with 15.8 points per game and 51 percent field goal shooting, both of which were team highs. Also a force on defense, Standhardinger led the team with 45 steals.

At 5 feet 11 inches, Shamburger is the second-shortest player on the team. But the newly eligible point guard might have the biggest impact. In just two seasons at San Jose State, he cemented himself in the school’s top 10 for career assists (235) and 3-pointers (108). As a sophomore, Shamburger also led the Spartans by averaging 35.2 minutes played per game.

Forward – Sophomore

Forward – Senior

Guard – Junior

ILLUSTRATION BY NICHOLAS SMITH / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

With senior guard Brandon Spearman sidelined by a high ankle sprain, Valdes will be thrust into the starting lineup for the first game of his collegiate career. Though he redshirted last season, Valdes displayed his talent at La Serna High in Whittier, Calif., as he averaged a double-double for three straight seasons, including his senior year when he tallied 19.6 points and 13.6 rebounds per game.

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M E E T T H E R A IN B O W W A R R IO R S T A R T IN G L IN E U P JOEY RAMIREZ SPORTS EDITOR

Aaron Valdes

Guard – Freshman

Garrett Nevels Guard – Junior

Isaac Fotu

Christian Standhardinger

Keith Shamburger

Forward – Sophomore

Forward – Senior

Guard – Junior

ILLUSTRATION BY NICHOLAS SMITH / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

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‘BOWS FROM E B O L G E H T S S O R C A

STEFAN JOVANOVIC KRALJEVO, SERBIA

DAVIS ROZITIS CESIS, LATVIA

PHOTOS COURTESY OF UH ATHLETICS

Canada Washington

1 California

1 1 Illinois 1 Oregon

1 Latvia 1 Serbia

Germany

NEGUS WEBSTER-CHAN SCARBOROUGH, CANADA

1 Hawai‘i

Australia

1 1

New Zealand KEITH SHAMBURGER LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

BRANDON SPEARMAN CHICAGO. ILL.

MICHAEL HARPER MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

JACK HACKMAN PORTLAND, ORE.

NIKO FILIPOVICH RANCHO PALOS VERDES, CALIF.

BRANDON JAWATO EL SEGUNDO, CALIF.

CHRISTIAN STANDHARDINGER MUNICH, GERMANY

AARON VALDES WHITTIER, CALIF.

MIKE THOMAS WOODLAND HILLS, CALIF.

DYRBE ENOS AIEA , HAWAI‘I

QUINCY SMITH ANTIOCH, CALIF.

CALEB DRESSLER VANCOUVER, WASH.

GARRETT NEVELS LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

ISAAC FOTU TORBAY, NEW ZEALAND

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Fotu rejects pro offer for return to UH JOEY R AMIREZ Sports Editor This summer, Rainbow Warrior forward Isaac Fotu was handed a life-altering offer. He could either return to Hawai‘i for his sophomore season, or he could accept the three-year, $300,000 contract to play professionally back home for the New Zealand Breakers. While Fotu admitted to being tempted by the chance to play on his country’s top team in front of his family in Auckland, he could not be torn away from his other, “dysfunctional family” that he shares the court with in Honolulu. “When he decided to bring his fro back to Waikīkī Beach, it meant a lot to us,” senior center Davis Rozitis said. “If a guy turns down the amount of money that he did, obviously that shows us that he cares about us. A lot of people would have done it differently cause money is money and everybody is trying to support their families.” “It was too good of an opportunity here for me,” Fotu said. “With the players Coach Gib (Arnold) has brought over this year, I think we have a chance to do something. … At the end of the day, I just said, ‘If I leave, I think I’d regret it.’” With only two Kiwis currently in the NBA, Fotu is already one of his country’s biggest basketball stars. When he was just 17, Fotu earned a spot on the New Zealand senior national team. Two years ago, he led New Zealand to its first world title in a FIBA-sanctioned event by hitting the winning shot in the final game of the 3x3 Youth World Championship. “It was hard to not just take the money and go,” Fotu

said. “That’s the life that we as basketballers want to live: just playing basketball and getting paid for it.” But the Breakers’ allure was not limited to dollar signs. Fotu grew up a Breakers fan and earned a spot on their developmental team in 2011. As an insatiable competitor, Fotu was also impressed with the fact that they won the last three Australian National Basketball League championships. “Growing up, my dream was to become a Breaker,” Fotu said. “But I’ve got bigger ambitions now that I realize what I can do. But it was tempting to stay home and stay with my family; I miss my family.” LOOKING FOR A BIGGER BREAK Now, Fotu recognizes that the ceiling of his basketball career is not in New Zealand. “Scouts will be looking more in America than overseas,” Fotu said. “Every basketballer’s dream is to make the NBA. I want to go as far as I can with basketball.” “Isaac’s gonna have a lot better offers than the Breakers when it’s all said and done,” head coach Gib Arnold said. “I really hope he’s thinking a lot higher than that. I think he’s got a chance to make real money in real leagues like the NBA.” Arnold believes Fotu has the talent to potentially make a name for himself in the NBA and can “for sure” make it in one of the main European leagues. “The Breakers will always be there for him,” Arnold said. “He could’ve joined with the Breakers right out of high school. So I think that’s a nobrainer. He’s got bigger and better things ahead of him.”

As a freshman last year, Isaac Fotu led UH by shooting 62.3 percent from the field. KENNETH RODRIGUEZ-CLISHAM KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

COURTNEY COOPER / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

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no fear in JEREMY NITTA Associate Sports Editor In basketball, some players get by on natural ability. Others work hard in attempt to overcome a lack of raw talent. Then, there are players like Brandon Spearman, a physically talented player who still works to improve himself. “You always have to keep working,” Spearman said. “Being on the team, you wanna be out there playing with these guys. You gotta do whatever it takes; that’s my attitude. Do whatever it takes to help your team.” Associate coach Benjy Taylor, who works with the team’s wing players, had high praise for the Chicago native. “I’ve been coaching a long time, and he’s one of the best I’ve had in terms of being a good player, a great teammate and a guy who wants to compete and do well,” Taylor said. “He’s a rah-rah, high-energy guy and more guys need to be like him. They need to be committed to winning and to playing the game the right way. He’s been a treat to coach.”

play late last season. A high ankle sprain forced him to miss five games, including the Big West Tournament. Nevertheless, Spearman worked to give himself a chance to play and was able to get back on the court a month later for Hawai‘i’s game against Air Force in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. “Spearman’s a grinder,” senior center Davis Rozitis said. “Even when he was hurt, he was trying to get back as soon as possible to help the team. Trainers had to literally hold him back physically because he was trying to get in as soon as he could. But he loves this game so much. He was trying to push through the pain just so he could help us as soon as possible.”

LEADING BY EXAMPLE As Spearman was forced to sit on the bench last season, he was often seen cheering for his teammates during games. Spearman explained that while he was unable to play, supporting the team was his way of continuing to contribute. His teammates also began to notice a change in the guard, watching as he grew into a leader before their eyes. HEART OF A CHAMPION “After he got hurt, it was hard for Spearman’s work ethic was on full dis-

him,” Rozitis said. “But that’s when he became really vocal. He was on the sidelines yelling out support for the guys and growing into a leader. Last year, he wasn’t a captain, but he was forced to be vocal and grow as a leader.” This year, Spearman was named team captain, alongside fellow seniors Rozitis and forward Christian Standhardinger. Taylor believes that anyone who watches Spearman will agree he has earned the title. “He leads by example,” Taylor said. “He’s going hard in every drill at every practice. He’s very competitive, and he’s a team-first guy. A lot of the younger guys look up to him and think that if they do the same thing, the hard work will pay off down the road.” STILL FIGHTING Unfortunately, the circumstances haven’t gotten any easier for Spearman. During an exhibition against BYUHawai‘i, Spearman suffered another high ankle sprain less than five seconds into the game. Spearman has remained silent about the injury, which head coach Gib Arnold expects to keep him out for multiple weeks. “I want to get back to help the guys,”

Spearman said. “I hate sitting out. I always can’t wait to get back on the floor. It was a tough break, but it’s my teammates and coaches that push me on.” Meanwhile, his coach has noted that despite the injury, nothing has changed about the senior captain. “During practice, he’s still here cheering, just standing and being around,” Taylor said. “He has to leave to go to rehab, but he was still here in a hot gym just to be with these guys. A lot of guys, when they’re out, if they can’t practice, then they won’t come out. In many ways, he’s the heart and soul of this team. He’s our vocal leader. We need to get him back as soon as we can.” And that commitment shown by Spearman is what pushes his teammates to reach for greatness as their leader works his way back. “There’s a saying that a team is as strong as its weakest link,” Rozitis said. “Brandon Spearman is trying to show this team that we don’t have any weak links. We’re strong as a team, like a fist. His attitude shows the new guys that that’s how you’re supposed to work, even when you’re injured. Treat yourself like a professional and always keep

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CASA volunteers advocate for foster care children

COURTESY OF LAUREN KURASHIGE

DANIELLE G ORMAN Contributing Writer

Amphay Champathong, program manager for CASA.

dren experience, the more progression they’ll have.”

Hawai‘i averages about 1,076 children in foster care every month, according to Kayla Rosenfeld, Department of Health communications specialist and public information ofﬁcer. UH Mānoa students who are at least 21 years old are able to become a Hawai‘i Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer to advocate for foster care children and make sure the child is placed in a safe, permanent home. “UH students ﬁt perfectly into this model with their educational experience and the ability to help our youth have dreams and goals beyond the dismal statistic and realities associated with foster care,” said

C A S A VO L U N T E E R S

G I V I N G BAC K

CASA volunteers are appointed by family court judges and act as a voice for children in court. “Our CASAs become mentors within the advocacy role,” Champathong said. CASA volunteers provide a judge with background details about the child and review the child’s records to determine the best interest of the children. The CASA volunteer makes a recommendation on placement to the judge and follows through until the case is resolved.

FOSTER CARE Cynthia White, executive director for the Hawai‘i Foster Youth Coalition, a youth-led statewide organization that advocates for improvements in the foster care system, explained that foster care is a traumatic experience. Most children in foster care have been abused and neglected, and some have behavior problems because of their foster care experience. “They sometimes see themselves as throwaway children, which is not an ideal situation for them to be in,” White said. “The more stability and placement chil-

To be a CASA volunteer, volunteers fill out an application, undergo a background check and go through training. Richardson Law School student Lauren Kurashige has been a CASA volunteer since 2010. “This program is unique, and it lets you give back in a meaningful way,” Kurashige said. Kurashige said that she enjoys watching the growth of her CASA children as they take on more responsibility. According to the website, children who are represented by a CASA volunteer usually spend less time in court and the foster care system, and have a better chance of ﬁnding a permanent home. “Being a CASA volunteer is one of the reasons why I went to law school,” Kurashige said. “You’re there to be the objective person who has their best interest.” The CASA Hawai‘i website states that there are more than 70,000 CASA volunteers nationally. In 2013, the CASA program in Hawai‘i has served 236 children. “We want a diverse population of volunteers, someone who wants to help a child in need,” Kurashige said. “It would be great to have more UH students volunteer because it is a great program.” Those interested in learning more about the CASA program can go to casahawaii.org or email Lauren Kurashige at lauren2@hawaii.edu.

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Twitter @kaleofeatures | features@kaleo.org |Jackie Perreira Editor |Karissa Montania Associate

Features K A LEO T H E

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Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

ISMAEL MA / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

Zachary Eto

Andrea Gordon

University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa 2445 Campus Road Hemenway Hall 107 Honolulu, HI 96822

Newsroom (808) 956-7043 Advertising (808) 956-7043 Facsimile (808) 956-9962 E-mail kaleo@kaleo.org Web site www.kaleo.org

EDITORIAL STAFF Editor in Chief Bianca Bystrom Pino Managing Editor Joseph Han Chief Copy Editor Kim Clark Assoc Chief Copy Editor Kirstie Campbell News Editor Noelle Fujii Assoc News Editor Fadi Youkhana Features Editor Jackie Perreira Assoc Features Editor Karissa Montania Opinions Editor Doorae Shin Sports Editor Joey Ramirez Assoc Sports Editor Jeremy Nitta Comics Editor Nicholas Smith Co-Photo Editor Chasen Davis Co-Photo Editor Ismael Ma Online Photo Editor Jessica Homrich Web Specialist Blake Tolentino

ADVERTISING E-mail advertising@kaleo.org Ad Manager Gabrielle Pangilinan PR Coordinator Tianna Barbier Ka Leo O Hawai‘i is the campus newspaper of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. It is published by the Board of Publications three times a week except on holidays and during exam periods. Circulation is 10,000. Ka Leo is also published once a week during summer sessions with a circulation of 5,000. Ka Leo is funded by student fees and advertising. Its editorial content reflects only the views of its writers, reporters, columnists and editors, who are solely responsible for its content. No material that appears in Ka Leo may be reprinted or republished in any medium without permission. The first newsstand copy is free; for additional copies, please visit Ka Leo. Subscription rates are $50 for one semester and $85 for one year. ©2012 Board of Publications.

ADMINISTRATION The Board of Publications, a student organization chartered by the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents, publishes Ka Leo O Hawai‘i. Issues or concerns can be reported to the board (Rebekah Carroll, chair; Nicholas Pope, vice chair; or Mechelins Kora Iechad, treasurer) via bop@hawaii.edu.

Visit www.kaleo.org/board_of_publications

HAWAI‘I REVIEW STUDENTS OF THE MONTH : OCTOBER ELIZABETH ANDERSON Staff Writer Hawai‘i Review launched a new series called “Student of the Month” where exceptional student writers are featured in the journal and in Ka Leo. “(SOTM) was born out of our desire to create additional space where upcoming UHM students could have their work featured online … While it’s not a requirement, we are especially excited about featuring students who have not been published before,” said Editor in Chief of Hawai‘i Review Anjoli Roy. The series allows them to publish fresh content more often than in their bi-annual issues. They hope this will encourage more students to submit their work. “We are hoping to give student writers and artists a boost–to create an additional space where their work can shine outside of the classroom … There’s so much talent here at UH. Why not feature more work more often? That’s our main goal with this new initiative,” she said.

ZACHARY ETO Zach Eto is a psychology major from Maui who writes poetry. Upon enrolling at UH, he began his major in education but found that teaching children was not his calling. He changed his major to psychology, a topic he is passionate about. Before taking the class ENG 273, poetr y never sparked his interest. “Once we actually started doing it, I found

out that I really enjoyed … writing about my own experiences,” he said. He never expected that his work would be featured in the Hawai‘i Review or that he would be SOTM. “It’s really cool that I got picked,” he said. His poem, entitled “Language of Hawai‘i,” incorporates aspects of Pidgin to illustrate his childhood and family life. “When we visited family and stuff all of my cousins speak it and all my aunties and uncles, so I guess I grew up with it,” he said. After he graduates from UH, he might attend a college in Southern California and study marketing.

ANDREA GORDON Andrea Gordon is an aspiring screenwriter from Canada in her third year of college. “My ultimate plan is to go to ﬁlm school in New York or California after I graduate and see where that takes me,” she said. She also wants to minor in English if she can get enough credits before she graduates. Her poem, “Languages,” incorporates Canadian-style dialect to portray life in the “Great White North.” “I really liked the weather (of Canada),” she said. “I know that is a really weird thing to like, but here it is all the same temperature and in Vancouver it changes all the time.” “I put it on my Facebook,” she said about ﬁnding out she was SOTM. “It got like 20 likes in 10

minutes, so that was pretty cool.” She enjoys winter sports such as cross countr y skiing and tubing, and she wants to visit the ski resort Whistler and learn to snowboard. Gordon is a hockey fan, mainly supporting the Vancouver Canucks but is also drawn toward the Maple Leaves. She pointed out that Canadian stereotypes are “all pretty accurate, but (the stereotype) that we all say ‘oot’ and ‘aboout’ and stuff like that … we don’t actually talk like that.” She explained that the ‘O’ is not as accented as people are led to believe.

HIROKO MATSURABA

Hiroko Matsuraba was born and raised in Hawai‘i and is a recent UH Mā noa graduate. Her poem “Culture Shock” describes one of her experiences during her junior year, in which she studied abroad in Japan. She tells a stor y of self-awareness, discover y, heritage and ethnicity. As detailed in her author’s bio, she “likes to cuddle on her couch with her goofy yellow lab and watch countless episodes of her favorite crime television series.”

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Opinions

Saying a‘ole to the world’s second largest telescope

ISMAEL MA / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

The ASUH passed SB 13-14, a bill opposing UH’s 65-year lease renewal at Mauna Kea. DOOR AE SHIN Opinions Editor

Incredible passion from hauMĀNA, a Hawaiian independence student group, shook up campus a few weeks ago. The fervor arose when portions of a mural were painted over that depicted Mauna Kea and had messages to demand UH to pull support from the Thirty Meter Telescope. The slated construction of this telescope threatens the culturally signiﬁcant, delicate land of the Mauna Kea summit. Environmentalists, cultural practitioners and local residents express opposition to the proposed telescope, which is estimated to cost $1 billion in construction.

C U LT U R A L A N D E N V I RO N M E N TA L SIGNIFICANCE Native Hawaiian groups are among the most passionate to prevent the telescope, citing the sanctity of the summit of Mauna Kea and its cultural signiﬁcance. Based

on traditional stories, the mountain is a child born of Papahānaumoku and Wākea, who are responsible for the creation of the islands. Therefore, Mauna Kea is considered an elder sibling of the people. In Hawaiian culture, the younger siblings have a kuleana, or duty, to care of their elder siblings; in turn, the elder siblings provide for and protect the younger siblings. Many believe these traditions indicate a cultural obligation to defend the mountain. Mauna Kea is also sacred as the location of at least one burial site and a ceremonial spot for cultural practitioners. “The lack of say and control we have over our sacred places is one of the ongoing traumas of colonialism and occupation for Kanaka Māoli in Hawai‘i,” said Ilima Long, a Hawaiian studies master’s student and an organizer of the movement against the telescope. Environmentalists also voice serious concern about TMT, as existing telescopes in Hawai‘i have had significant impacts on the land, with seven documented

mercury spills. According to K AHEA Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, “A court-ordered EIS concludes the cumulative impact of 30 years of astronomy activity has caused significant, substantial and adverse harm.” K AHEA also explains that Mauna Kea is “home to unique ecosystems and rare and endangered species, many of which are found nowhere else on our planet.” The massive nature of the telescope on one of the highest points in the state poses signiﬁcant threats to the incredibly fragile ecosystem of the summit, which inevitably affects the stability of the rest of the island.

I N VO LV E M E N T O F T H E UNIVERSITY Mauna Kea is now under the control of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, whose governing body is the Board of Land and Natural Resources. The BLNR leases the land to the University of Hawai‘i through the Board of Regents, who then deals

out land to build telescopes on the summit. UH charges developers $1 a year in rent. Long feels that proponents of the telescope are seeking “ideal sites” to conduct research and gain academic prestige. “As a student who pays tuition every semester, I have a responsibility to respond to UH’s direct support of the destruction of this sacred summit, and I will hold this institution responsible not only for their actions but for their hypocrisy as a ‘Hawaiian place of learning,’” Long said. TMT is a collaboration of universities in Canada and California as well as institutions in China and India. The TMT website claims that the goal is “to marshal lessonslearned from today’s leading observatories and use that foundation to push the frontiers of technology thereby enabling astronomy research that has proven to be beyond the current generation.” TMT’s ofﬁcial website includes almost no mention of the location being on Hawai‘i island, and it does

not once address the environmental and cultural impact the construction and structure will have on the summit. Based on the site, it seems there is not much acknowledgement of Hawai‘i involved in the development of TMT, and this raises major concerns in the consideration of the uniqueness of Hawai‘i. These islands are rooted in traditional Hawaiian culture, and additionally, their ecosystems are extremely fragile and vulnerable. These are factors that cannot be ruled out when making decisions about TMT. UH wants to scrap their current lease with the BLNR and replace it with a 65-year lease. This will ensure the mountain is under control of those in favor of the telescope for many decades, and Long and many other activists will be campaigning against the lease renewal. Such a bold move should not and will not go under the radar of students and community members. The BLNR will discuss the potential to renew the lease of the Mauna Kea summit at their meeting today.

Comics@kaleo.org | Nicholas Smith Editor

Page 8 | Ka Leo | Friday, Nov. 8 2013

Comics