A Student Publication of the University of Hawai`i • Honolulu Community College • March 2016
Ohana lives here
Ka Lā photos by Larry Medina
The Hawaiian Center on campus is a gathering place that has helped hundreds of students through the years.
Aunty Mel says goodbye, but her legacy continues on By Larry Medina
Ka Lā staff writer
Melissa Tupa looks very much like the academic support educational specialist that she is at HonCC's Hulili Ke Kukui Hawaiian Center. A short, dark-skinned Native Hawaiian power-dressed in a black blazer and slacks, Tupa is in the middle of a surprise party, bedecked in lei, in a bright room full of students and faculty as they exchange intimate hugs and kisses with her, and trade small, private stories. Tupa’s desk, with stacks of paperwork inches high and adorned
with a few personal photos posted to the side of a computer monitor, and a cardboard box of binders and books on the floor, reflects the past 16 years she has spent working her way up through the ranks to her current position, and this party, which is just for her, is filled with happiness, a little sadness, and lots of reflection. Today is Tupa's last day on the job. She started at HonCC in 1998 as a student, first studying aircraft mechanics. "I figured if I
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Melissa Tupa helped grow the center from its earliest days .
KaLā • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai`i M arch 2016 2
Ka Lā, the campus newspaper of Honolulu Community College. Ka La publishes 1,000 copies every month during the Spring and Fall Semesters Ka Lā and all campus publications are funded by student publication fees and advertising. All materials published in Ka Lā may not be reproduced or reused without permission of the HonCC Student Media Board. Ka Lā is published under the supervision of the HonCC Student Media Board: Chairperson
Angelina Peralta Board members Alyssa Baligad Tiera Spencer
Nakemiah Williams Contributing Writers Vania Graves
Dante Lomboy Larry Medina Allen Poole
Shannell Bell
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Big changes in the works
STAR system will take leading role in class planning By Vania Graves
Ka Lā staff writer
Honolulu Community College students will notice some big changes when they register for classes in the future. After working on the new system for years, the school is ready to start implementing changes which will utilize the STAR system for planning out an academic pathway, picking classes and registering for them. In the past, students have relied heavily on personal visits with academic counselors to help them plan out their class schedules. Soon much of that work will be done online through the STAR system. Whether a student is at a community college or fouryear school, the system will calculate all the classes needed to graduate in a major and recommend the best course of action. Once students declare a major, they can log into STAR through the myuh. hawaii.edu site and check what classes they need to
In coming semesters students will find their graduation pathway and register for classes through the STAR system. graduate in the “Graduation Pathway” tab. The system suggests the best classes to take each semester to move most effectively toward graduation. For now students can explore the graduation pathway online and have a better idea of what classes they need to take. However, HonCC has been working with other schools in the UH system
with a future plan to automatically tie the graduation pathway to class registration each semester. Once the student sees the recommended classes for each, there will be an extra button on the side to click register. It will give the different times available for each class needed and make a color coded schedule on the side. From the same window students
will be able to access links to the parking pass form page, and to the bookstore for textbook shopping. “I think if they do add those things, it will be very convenient,” said HonCC student Arabela Javier. Geremi Tangonan has a similar opinion: “I feel like for the students that don’t feel comfortable with their counselors, I think it’s a good idea!.” However, there are other students like Angelina Peralta who feel differently. "It’s like medical insurance, you need to investigate…you need to do your research,” Peralta said. “I feel like school has helped me understand the real world is not like that easy,” she said talking about the new system. She further suggested, “Maybe they should have both ways.” Officials hope to have the new system start next semester with incoming freshmen and be expanded to all students by Fall 2017.
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March 2016
Hawaiian Center: a sense of ohana From Page 1
was gonna ride on an airplane, I'd like to know what things to look out for," Tupa said. Due to unforeseen circumstances, she never completed this major. Instead, her interests led her to HonCC's Administration of Justice program, which she did earn an associate degree. She never got a job in the field, though. Instead, Tupa landed a job on campus. She happened to be in the campus Hawaiian Club at the time, and then-adviser Leon Ferendo asked her if she'd like to develop a new HonCC-based center to service Native Hawaiians. The program would be built from the ground up, but it would, as Ferendo put it, allow Tupa and others to design it to meet the needs of Native Hawaiians. With Ferendo as the first program coordinator, Tupa and another fellow student assistant proceeded to form the original Native Hawaiian Center. She was just 22 at the time. STARTING THE CENTER "We had to cold-call people. We would get the names of Native Hawaiian students who were looking to enroll at HonCC who were interested in pursuing a degree, and let them know that we were here," Tupa said. Starting from scratch allowed her and new fellow student participants to "groom the services we needed as Native Hawaiian students so that we could be successful in our educational endeavors." Years on, Hulili Ke Kukui (The Hawaiian Center) is open to faculty and students of all ethnicities, providing study space, tutoring, computers, cultural enrichment workshops, guest speakers and counseling. It is committed ”to actively preserve and perpetuate Hawaiian culture and values.” “I wish the (Center) was out 20 years ago,” says Boysie B, a Hawaiian Studies student and patron of the Center. “It wasn't available for students at that time to help them get ahead, but now their programs really help students to excel. I hope and pray that more programs like this can go out. (There are) less people on the street struggling now because they got an education through this place.” FAMILY & A MOTHER HEN Boysie B said socializing at the Center encouraged him to solidify his interest in Hawaiian Studies. “The counselors help me with my
Ka La photo by Larry Medina
A well-kept garden grows just outside the entrance to the Hawaiian Center schedules, (ensure that I am) taking all the proper classes (and) not wasting time.” He has established a close kinship with the Center, which he has been visiting since 2014. “I see every one of the personnel here so I get to know them like family, and eventually start having a family bond.” Center-sponsored activities help to strengthen that bond. “We experience a lot of things together like going to Kaho'olawe, and going to the Kūkala'ula conference. I (am) always exposed to them through Malama 'Aina, (and) being a participant of that allows me to project forward in my Hawaiian studies and give me the right direction.” And what of Tupa? “She's like a mother hen, gathering all the kids,” Boysie B said. “She’s very influential to the kids.” The people who both work at and patronize the center “are like her family (and) that makes working with her fun.” Tupa has also grown over the years. She is nearing completion of her master's degree in natural resource management from Washington State University. "I always had a passion for the marine environment. My grandfather was a fisherman. The ocean has always fascinated me." In fact, anything to do with the environment, Tupa says, is something she's willing to pursue. KAHO'OLAWE The center is part of a consortium of several partners to help with land restoration on the island of Kaho'olawe. Tupa sent the first seven students from O'ahu in December 2014, all from the Center, to that island to do just that, and there have been four land restoration missions since then. Boysie
IMUA
B was part of that original seven. "Auntie Mel selected us to go to Kahoʻolawe because she had confidence in what we was learning; she had confidence that we could fulfill the obligation. She also had confidence that in future that "we would be using what we learning for the betterment of the whole (Hawaiian) nation,” Boysie B said. "There's just something about the island (of Kaho'olawe) that calls to you; to be able to reflect on your life, on decisions you've made. If you need to re-focus to know what step to take next, that's the greatest place to do it,” Tupa said.
"When I finish school, I probably will be working here, giving back, the same way others gave to me, said Boysie B. "At least we know we went on some journeys, we lived it, and now we can go on more journeys." And what will Tupa be doing next? Being from Leeward O'ahu, it had long been her intention to go back to her own community and serve the students there. She will be transferring to UH-West Oahu to "continue what I've always been doing for the community - this (now her former HonCC position) is not an end."
Graduate
& get ahead.
on time
KNOW YOUR ACADEMIC ADVISOR Develop an academic plan to make sure you’re taking the required courses to earn your degree on time. http://www.hawaii.edu/offices/aa/aapp/advisors.html
https://www.star.hawaii.edu/
TM
Part of the Hawai’i Graduation Initiative
www.15tofinish.com
KaLĀ • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai`i
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March 2016
Upcoming changes include parking, Building 5 By Tiera Spencer Ka Lā staff writer
Recently, people have been noticing the changes that are being made to our school’s campus. Although the changes have been minimal so far, there are bigger ones in the works. One change is that a small section in parking lot 1C, formerly available to students, has been blocked off for faculty members. The change was made after several faculty parking spaces behind Building 7 had to be closed off. Administrators have coned off those spaces to ensure that a fire truck or ambulance could get through the area in the time of an emergency. "These changes were made to open up a fire lane in case of an emergency,” said one administration official who did not want to be identified by name. Designated parking areas for students include parking lot 1, parking lot 1C, parking lot 3, parking lot 7, and parking lot 8, which is located at the south end of Kokea Street. Another change that’s in the process of being made is in Building 5 where renovations are beginning to happen. The makai side of the building, now mostly used for science department offices, will be renovated; after that new residents will include financial aid and the Native Hawaiian Center. “We want to create a central area for students, where there’s the courtyard and the cafeteria right in that central area,” an administration official said. The biggest project in the works is for a new science building that could start being built as early as summer. This new building will be located in parking lot 1, and will affect the students' main source of parking. Officials say the start of this construction could come sometime this year. Administration officials are looking into running a shuttle from parking lot 8 to campus for better convenience for students. All of this is in the works but no specific date has been confirmed.
We need a better way to teach Jason Ladd
Ka Lā writer
Perhaps there should be a different approach to what exactly it is students need to be taught to earn their degree. Every class students need to take should have a direct connection to their career field. At the very least, they should contain modern ideas and technology relevant to their desired degree. Classes like math, English, history, physics, etc. usually all are required. But if one is trying to get a degree in maybe music or engineering, how many of these subjects are they actually going to need in their future job or career? My guess is most of these topics were covered in high school and wouldn't be necessary in college. For example, I am pursuing a degree in audio engineering, and I feel confident that I’d be fine without taking classes like English or history or even reading a single textbook for a semester in order to move forward with this degree. On the other hand, I’m also confident most students, who are willing, will always have the option to further educate themselves in many other subjects to possibly further integrate their minds and intellectual learning structures if they so choose to. I believe most of the content they would be taught in some of these classes can be learned
Opinion through the applied experience within college and entry level jobs. Facts, ideas, and topics that aren’t so easily learned through a book are learned and applied much more often through experience and simply just going out there to do it, sometimes without even realizing it. The requirements of taking these classes and using standardized text books would most likely not change very easily, as it has been this way many years, and there could be much controversy over trying to change such requirements. So, what if, instead of removing these classes, we were able to take a direction by putting more relevant technology into these dreadfully boring classes? Videos are obviously quite popular nowadays, and I myself find it much easier to learn a chapter of a textbook or lecture through visual representation. English and history have proven to be easy subjects to incorporate videos and video lectures. Unless one plans to be an astronaut, rocket scientist, aeronautics engineer or perhaps even a math instructor, it seems unnecessary to need to know any math beyond
Math 24 or 25. I’m not ever going to use something such as Pythagorean Theorem in a recording studio when I get my degree and begin working in my career field. The requirements on classes such as this should be reduced to a minimal requirement so that students can have more time and education concerning their major in their degree. It would be a greater benefit to the students to have this focused education compared to what is currently being taught in the required core classes. This may seem like an impossible task but consider the possibility of assigning an instructor, who has a suitable teaching style, for students who would want to learn using different methods. I feel it would be very effective and we might see a more collaborative classroom which would help things proceed more smoothly and successfully within classes. If we do not make further attempts to improve and improvise our means of education then we may not be moving forward with our goals very efficiently. Society and the people within it demand progression. History has proven this and I am most confident that we will all do the right thing and we will all receive the right education we so truly deserve.
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March 2016
The true story behind poi mochi By Larry Medina
Ka Lā staff writer
When Charmaine NaauaoOcasek, creator of poi mochi, sees piles of empty boxes of her local snack spilling out of trash cans, she's elated, happy, beaming with delight. "That means people are eating them!" Poi mochi, around now for over 24 years, is a popular locally-made confection made out of Japanese mochi (pounded sticky rice) and Hawaiian poi (pounded taro), deep-fried into a round dessert ball. The little fried treat has become a stable of local pupus, in the same league as arare, shave ice and poke, and creating memories as well. Nuuao-Ocasek has some anecdotal, humorous stories surrounding poi mochi, like a friend of Nuuao-Ocasek’s, who hadn’t been able to conceive for three years, starting eating poi mochi. Within 3-6 months of eating them, she finally did. Maybe her friend just needed to relax or worry less, Naauao-Ocasek thought, "but the real reason was poi mochi." Naauao-Ocasek began making poi mochi in 1992, initially as a fundraising item for her oldest daughter, who was in competition hula at time. "I was just figuring out how I was going to help out all these kids who needed the money. That's all my goal was.” She initially conceived poi mochi since "we always had poi in the house, so that's why I grabbed the poi and infused it with cuscoron (Filipino sweet rice dumpling) and andagi (Okinawan deep-fried donut ball) and figure something out." Naauao-Ocasek would test her early experiments on her husband and his friends. "I'd whip something up, and ask them ‘how's this?’ Naauao-Ocasek said that in early versions, the dessert resembled "a real fat funnel cake. We were (forming and) squeezing it out our hands like andagi. So that thing had arms and legs!" These days, they use a scooper. “The first time we introduced it was out at the Nanakuli Stew Festival - this was our first fundraiser and we went out to see how this thing would work. It wasn’t even round!” she said. This didn't seem to put hungry locals off. "It was really gross-looking," but as Naauao-Ocasek said, “it was new; it was made with poi, and because a local family started
Charmaine Naauao-Ocasek, creator of poi mochi, sees piles of empty boxes of her local snack in spill
it, it took off.” "It went crazy," she said. "People were throwing money at us because they loved it so much." Naauao-Ocasek, a former state worker, decided to start a business around the new treat and marketed it under her father's name, Uncle Lani's Poi Mochi. Her family soon got behind the endeavor. “We helped fundraise for every possible team you can think of on the West (O'ahu) side.” As a business, Naauao-Ocasek first pre-sold tickets for a baseball fundraiser at Farrington High School. "All these little kids selling their boxes of poi mochi - they worked hard; they sold a lot of tickets. And the way they paid me was in stacks of cash because that's the way they got paid (for the tickets)." Naauao-Ocasek wasn’t sure how to react when the money started flowing in with this first batch of sales “They paid in chunks of
cash. I felt so guilty, taking all that (money). I would split it in half and here (offering it back to the team) - they worked super hard.” More fundraisers would result from this. The word spread. Quickly, businesses wanted to sell poi mochi, and being a family business, Waianae community organizers would promote them. Mass exposure resulted from Walmart carrying poi mochi, first at the Mililani store on the weekends, then carried by the other stores to fundraise for the Children's Miracle Network. As part of their expansion, a poi mochi snack shop/restaurant was set up in Waianae Mall. Daiei started selling them, as did all the Times supermarkets. “We were doing this for real!” said Naauao-Ocasek. And then, 9/11 happened. “Once 9/11 hit, nobody came. We had to close out. We just grew too fast.” But the business didn’t close completely. “We reverted
back to family, and with the family doing it, we’ve nursed it month after month, year after year.” Naauao-Ocasek has since arrived at a crossroads of sorts. Her parents, who were "supersupportive,” both passed recently. Her children are grown, and her eldest daughter, the same one who Naauao-Ocasek had invented poi mochi to fundraise for, is now a graduate of UH and “has wonderful plans, different ideas. She’s the one who said this could be taken to another level.” After some soul-searching, Naauao-Ocasek is ready to hand the business over to the next generation, perhaps for a second big rebirth. “I don’t have to nurse the business along anymore, (and the kids) want to do something with it.” She’s quit her job, and her daughter is “putting all her energy and effort into it, and we’re in a position where we can go for it.” They are already branching out to social media – promoting “meet-ups” on Facebook and Instagram. Naauao-Ocasek is “out pounding the pavement, figuring out ways to get the name out, doing different things just to expose yourself to gain sales. We get calls off the hook (for orders). Social is wonderful." She has some advice for starting out with business. "Go with your gut. Trust in God, but also (go with what) you know what feels right or what doesn’t. That's how I've been.”
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March 2016
Love of music keeps the Mystikal Vibez going By Kiki Williams Ka Lā staff writer
Mystikal Vibez bass guitar player, Flame Porter, 21, from Ewa Beach is a student focused on the order of responsibility: “School first, job second, music last with it being a domino effect.” Porter’s love of music, brings together a family that vibes to its own sound to show the world the potential he sees in his band. He sat down recently to talk about his school, his band and his music. How long have you been going HonCC? I have been coming here since late 2012 to 2013, trying to get my audio engineering degree for the MELE program. I will be graduating this spring of 2016. Close to finishing the degree, I switched majors to music business, so that set me back another year. I switched because, I guess, audio engineering wasn’t my passion. I wanted be on the other side
of the glass making music rather than the guy recording. I wanted to be that band being recorded, but it’s fascinating on both sides. Music business is more of what I want to do. How long has Mystikal Vibez been together and how did you become a band? I created the band in 2009, then the band went through changes with members but the three existing members are still in the band today. They are Ehu, the keyboarder, Koa, the drummer, and me the bass player. I met Ehu in high school at a surf meeting, then later we became friends. We decided why don’t we just make a band? Then we met Koa through a mutual friend. He didn’t go to high school with us because he was older then us, like two years older. What are the ways you prepare yourself for a show before going on stage? We just bond with one another and pump ourselves up. We don’t get nerves because we've been playing shows for
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the past two and half years and constantly gigging. We don’t get paid as much but we do get paid with experience and exposure. What’s the motivation of keeping Mystikal Vibez on this path of success? Ever since I first started the band, I just wanted to have a band that makes their own music, a real original and straight from scratch. We don’t copy no one, but we do get influenced by other bands. We don’t bite their songs; we have our own style. That’s what’s special. We make our own music the way we want to with no restrictions or limits. This is what keeps me motivated to keep pushing because I see potential in our music. Is there a certain bass guitar that you like playing? For the past four years, I have been using my Yamaha five string bass guitar. I used to play other bass guitars before. Some do feel better then mine, but it’s how you play it
Ka Lā photo by Kiki Williams
Flame Porter performs with his band Mystikal Vibez: "We have our own style," he says.
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KaLĀ • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai`i
March 2016
S P O N S O R E D B Y S T U D E N T AC T I V I T I E S B OA R D W I T H S T U D E N T L I F E & D E V E L O P M E N T
DATES Minute to Bubble! March 9, 2016 Student Lounge 10:30am-12:30pm Ready set go! Compete in Minute to Win it challenges and win prizes!
Food Drive March 28-Apr 8, 2016 Student Life & Development Bring in non-perishable food to support our community.
Health & Wellness Fair April 4, 2016 Cafeteria 10:30am-12:30pm Learn more on how to better your mind, body, and spirit.
Graduation May 13, 2016 Waikiki Shell 3:00pm-5:30pm A time to get together to celebrate our 2015 & 2016 graduates.
Pi Day March 14, 2016 Campus Mall 10:30am-12:30pm Love PI? Come down to the campus mall for “Sweet Revenge”’s PIE truck. Making math fun and delicious.
Truck Stop March 30, 2016 Campus Mall 10:30am-2:00pm The Student Activities Boards is bringing you yummy treats to ease your hunger.
HonCC Sports: Volleyball March 30-April 13 (Wednesdays) Pearl City District Gym 5:30pm-9:00pm Staff from opposing colleges come together and compete through various sports! Represent and support your campus team!
S.T.A.R. Awards April 22, 2016 Pomaika’i Ballroom Dole Cannery 6:00pm-9:00pm Nominated students will be Thanked and recognized for their hardowork throughout the school year at our annual S.T.A.R awards. Space is limited. Check online for nomination and RSVP deadlines.
@honolulucc #honccsab
KaLĀ • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai`i
Pow! Wow! 2016
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By Steffanie Sobitz Ka Lā staff writer
Next time you are looking for a unique cultural experience in town, take a walk or ride your bicycle around Kaka'ako to check out the latest artwork on display from Pow! Wow! Hawaii 2016. The intensely colored, incredibly detailed street art on the buildings throughout town is guaranteed to blow your mind. The Pow! Wow! Festival takes place in and around Honolulu each year in mid-February. According to Jasper Wong, founder and lead director of Hawaii’s festival, “Pow! Wow! is a community beautification project.” Artists are invited from all over the world to participate in the event, Wong said. The international influences stand out in the many forms of art, but particularly the murals, produced during the main week of Pow! Wow! and on display throughout the year. Pow! Wow! is a community-centered festival that celebrates art, music, and culture. Some popular attractions this year included the opening night block party on Cooke Street, the Pow! Wow! Exploring the New Contemporary Art Movement Exhibit, and the Stranded in Paradise finale concert. During the events food trucks, live art installations, and lecture series gave participants and spectators an even broader cultural experience. The main events take place each year during Valentine’s Day week in the Kaka'ako district. You can find additional details about this year’s art and artists, locations of the murals, and more at www.powwowhawaii.com Are you involved in one of the many artistic programs at HonCC? If so, Art and Soul magazine would like to hear from you. Our next issue, featuring all kinds of creative art by HonCC students, is coming out in April. For more information contact us at hccartandsoul@gmail.com or stop by the Student Media Board offices in 2-115 to meet our staff.
Ka Lā photos by Steffanie Sobitz
March 2016