KA LĀ
A Student Publication of the University of Hawai'i • Honolulu Community College •
November 2017
PRIDE IN PARADISE A decades-long tradition lives on in Hawai'i
Jonz Stoneroad Ka Lā staff writer
Starting off small and held on the sidewalk, Hawai'i’s Gay Pride Parade was first celebrated in the late 80’s, and was met with insults, protests, with bottles and eggs thrown at them. So much for Hawai'i’s “Aloha Spirit.” This small debut parade of marchers was undeterred, with the parade founders carrying on for two years. In 1990 the event was made official, when it became known as the Honolulu Gay Pride Parade. “Pride,” as it’s informally known, has been held every year since then despite continuing protests ranging from a bomb threat in 2003, to several local church groups holding such signs proclaiming “Gay is a Sin" and "Homosexuality is an Abomination.” This yearʻs Pride parade featured various members of the community from activists to entertainers, all celebrating some of the beliefs of the LGBT community. Jack Law, owner of Hula's Bar & Lei Stand, was a grand marshal for this year's parade, while the Royal Hawaiian Band also played. The parade was just one of several major gay pride Continued on Page 4
2 KaLā • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai'i NOVEMBER 2017
Ka Lā, the campus newspaper of Honolulu Community College. Ka Lā publishes 850 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 Angelina Perez Tiera Spencer
Contributing Writers & photographers Fredrene Balanay Noah Lee
Danielle Martinez Larry L. Medina Jonz Stoneroad
Steffanie Sobitz Christopher Garcia
Contact information hcckala@gmail.com Student Media Board Building 2, Room 115 Phone: (808) 845-9213 Ka Lā invites letters to the editors, articles, events, advertising and classified ads. Ka Lā reserves the right to refuse or edit submissions. Student editors and writers are responsible for content, which does not necessarily reflect the opinion of
Honolulu CC administra-
tion, faculty or staff.
Photos courtesy of Miss Hawai'i Plus pageant
A plus-sized pageant
HonCC student joins the first-ever event By Christopher Garcia Ka Lā staff writer
The isleʻs first Miss Hawaii Plus pageant was held Nov. 5, featuring full-figured women, and HonCC student and pageant contestant Puanani Hatori was in it. Hatori said that the pageant of 20 contestants was geared to “help women feel more comfortable about their bodies.” Hatori, from Waianae, is a student in the Welding Technology Program. She is set to graduate in Spring 2018. In her free time, Hatori enjoys hunting for pigs. “Most times, [I hunt] either it’s every weekend or every other weekend,” she said. She says she wants to eat pig “Hawaiian style” this Thanksgiving. Hatori entered the pageant through the urging of her cousin, who herself had been a contestant in another pageant. "Me and my cousin have similiarities - we are the shy ones in our family." When first asked to run, "I was like, ʻnah, I no think so, I donʻt wanna, noooo.ʻ What convinced me to do this was I wanted to get out my comfort zone." After watching her cousin onstage, she thought "damn, if she could it, I could do it." One of Hatori’s goals outside the pageant are to help with domestic violence and suicide prevention; she also wants to do outreach to full-sized girls and women “to help them cope and find confidence in themselves.” Hatori counts herself as a survivor of domestic violence, suicide, and body-shaming. Emotional and tearing, Hatori said that she was bullied from a very young age through high school. "I got into this whole other
Puanani Hatori: HonCC's Miss Hawaii Plus contestant
world - the drug scene - that was my new reality and I fit in." It was a world where not only did she not feel ashamed of her body, but she simply didnʻt care. She got sober in her mid-20ʻs, then entered college in 2015. "My family is into construction, and I didnʻt want a desk job," explaining her choice of major. Hatori said she doesnʻt have anything to say to those who bullied her. "Because I decided to change my mindset and be a positive person not only for myself, but for others. I donʻt want to say anything to them. I just want to show them what I can do. I can only say so much, and people will only listen so far. Actions, not words." Samantha Iha-Preece, former Miss Hawaii World 2015, is the pageant director. “There was a void in pageantry and an underrepresentation of plus-sized women,”
Iha-Preece says. She wants “beauty to be more positive and more inclusive.” She says that plussized women want to be viewed on “equal platforms as their thinner counterparts. They are not just beautiful but sensual, fabulous and sexy.” Miss Hawaii Plus took a year to plan, getting sponsors, booking venues and training first-time entrants. The pageant itself is not affiliated with the Miss America or Miss USA organizations. “Their guidelines differ from our own,” Iha-Preece said, “as well as their definition of beauty.” There are two different categories: Miss Hawaii Plus (ages 18 to 29) and Ms. Hawaii Plus (ages 30 and up). Contestants must be at least size 14W and must be born female. Training is a month and a half long, so “you have to catch on kind of quick,” said Hatori. “They train you on how to walk, how to talk, the dances that they do. It was hard! I had to wear high heels!" The contestants have different organizations and causes that they are personally involved with, Iha-Preece explained. Proceeds from the next two years will go to Feed Hawaii’s Homeless and Oahu SPCA. The pageant winners will also help care for and feed the homeless, and build and distribute care packages. Hatoriʻs 14 y/o son was inspired by her running. "Mom, you got this," he said. Her son, along with her significant other "are my biggest inspirations to do things. My other half inspires me to go out and do things and just try. "Difficult roads lead to beautiful destinations. Donʻt let anyone define who youʻre meant to be."
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KaLā • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai'i
NOVEMBER 2017
When disaster calls, she answers Want to help? Three things to remember
Honolulu CC's director of Student Life and Development, Emily Kukulies, recently spent a month in Hurricane Harvey impacted areas of Texas as a disaster relief volunteer for the American Red Cross. She relates her experience here.
1. Do not donate stuff Money is the best donation. Donations of stuff often cause more work than reward, cost the donor and the recipient more and often are completely wasted. 2. More disaster volunteers are desperately needed – especially in Hawa'i. Disaster relief has a need for all kinds of skills. We are desperately short on volunteers for providing shelters, feeding, crisis counseling, logistics and much more. If you are interested in being a volunteer, there are many organizations you can join. I recommend Red Cross because of the many opportunities for training and deployment to disasters locally and nationwide.
By Emily Kukulies
Special to Ka Lā
Almost every day this month, I have been asked about what it is like to be a disaster relief volunteer at Hurricane Harvey. These questions are akin to asking a soldier what itʻs like at war in Afghanistan. Itʻs a complex mix of emotions and purpose. You see sad things, but you helping make it better. It is very personalized every person has a different job, training, co-workers, and overall context in which they are deployed. In many ways it is indescribable. Getting the call Once notified that there is a position for which my skills and training are required, I was to be on my way within 24 hours. Of course I need to double check with my supervisor and family of the feasibility of my departure. It was the weekend, but I had lots of HonCC work do to tie up loose ends before my departure. Despite the short period of time I had to pack and prepare for departure, it was important to answer the request to do a TV news interview that could remind the people of Hawai'i of the impact of a hurricane. Soon after, Houston airport was announced as closed and I was rerouted to Dallas. Arriving after midnight. A recording for volunteers told me to make my way to a hotel for the night until I checked in at the Red Cross building in the morning. I hopped an Uber to the hotel. It was almost 2 a.m. when I walked in to a room where my another volunteer was already sleeping. When I woke up at 7 a.m., she was gone. It is Red Cross culture to treat everybody in Red Cross like longtime co-workers even if you have never met. So in the lobby I found others going to the main office and caught a ride. Once there I officially checked in, I was directed up to the area where I might be working.
Photos Courtesy of Emily Kukulies
A flooded home in East Texas, at top, and Emily Kukulies, center, meeting with victims of the storm, who were still unable to return to their homes. What do you actually do? Some disaster relief roles are straitforward and easy to explain such as cooking the food for feeding, managing a shelter and driving the delivery trucks. My area of greatest expertise is in community engagement and partnerships. In this role, I work with all other organizations and communitites in the disaster area to maintain a common understanding of the issues and work collectively to find solutions. It crosses every aspect of the disaster and the community. Over the four weeks I was in Texas, every day brought new working relationships, challenges and knowledge. I was involved in donations management and multiagency warehousing, projects for tracking distribution of emergency supplies, a pilot project using new drone technology for damage assessment, finding options for pets, and more. The greatest joy came from helping facilitate the cooperative and collaborative efforts of organizations working together to serve the communities better
together than we could apart. What this meant on my first day, just 10 hours after landing would be jumping into making connections. The mega-shelter in Dallas held the thousands of evacuees from the flooded areas closer to Houston and the coast who were both stressed and bored. So despite not knowing anything or anyone in Dallas, I started with one lead and followed up with another, coordinated with shelter managers and more until I had arranged for a kid-friendly entertainer to do a show after dinner was served. This was not just for taking the kidsʻ minds off their circumstances, but it also gave parents a break to have some personal time. Every day is a new challenge I was only in Dallas that one day before going down the Southeastern Coast, and then on to Houston. There, community engagement and partnerships meant finding and meeting the other organizations operating in the region and helping align our ser-
3. Make your plans now. What I have seen in disasters and know from the research is that those individuals, families and communities that prepare for disaster in advance, survive the event and recover faster. Talk to friends and family about creating a network of support for places to stay, stockpiles of supplies, transportation, etc. vices. For example, The Salvation Army and Red Cross were both providing hot meals from trucks that would move to wherever the need was each day. It was important to coordinate efforts so that both organizations donʻt over or underserve the many neighborhoods in need. I also liason with many agencies and organizations that provided services the Red Cross clients needed, but Red Cross doesn’t provide such as tree removal, home clean-out and legal advice. Making order out of the chaos and bringing kindness to a crisis is a special way to serve. It is so rewarding to help someone during what is, or at least feels like, the worst time of the their life. For me personally disaster relief locally, statewide and nationally is one way I live my life with integrity and be the change I want to see in the world. Working with the great students and student leaders at HonCC is another.
KaLā • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai'i
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NOVEMBER 2017
Pride in paradise comes in many forms Continued from Page 1
events held this past October. There was a support rally at UH-Manoa, a Mr/Ms. Gay Pride 2018 pageant held at Hula’s Bar and Lei Stand, and a coronation ball tied in with the parade. The rally held at UH-Manoa celebrated National Coming Out Day, kicking off Pride month in the Honolulu community. The event occupied the top floor of the Campus Center and the courtyard below, populated with booths and tables run by various LGBT groups on Oahu, including The Legacy Center, The Life Foundation, Triple M Council, and Dignity Honolulu. Campus focus groups were also present. DJ Vaughan mixed music for the crowd. National Coming Out Day was created to honor those in the process of coming out to their families, friends, and peers. Robert Eichberg, who helped create the event, said, “Most people think they don't know anyone gay or lesbian, and in fact everybody does. It is imperative that we come out and let people know who we are and disabuse them of their fears and stereotypes.” The LGBT movement of the past 45 years is complex, beginning with the Stonewall Riots in 1969, when the patrons of the Stonewall Inn, a gay club in New York, fought back against the police when they raided the institution. At the time, being gay or otherwise involved with the LGBT community was considered a mental illness, and arrests were common. Police would often target gays and their sympathizers, subjecting them to bruising and bloody brutality. With no laws to protect them, the patrons and staff of Stonewall Inn retaliated with bricks, bottles, and anything else they could throw at the police. Three days of rioting followed, which would later set the ground-
Ka LĀ photo by Larry Medina
Gay pride events commemorate the original Stonewall protests in New York City, top. Above, the Mr/Ms. Gay Pride pageant at Hula's Bar & Lei Stand.
in the country and around the world including Hawai'i. One LGBT event held annually in October is a coronation by the Imperial Court of Hawai'i, where an Emperor and Empress are voted in. The Imperial Court system was created in the early 60’s by “Mama Jose/Empress I,” also known as Jose Sarria, who ran for the Supervisor for the City and County of San Francisco in 1961, becoming the first openly gay political candidate. These LGBT events serve to bring in the community and pay tribute to the ground breakers of the past who paved the way for LGBT people to live freely, with laws to protect them, and opportunities to help others.
work for civil rights for gay people and LGBT people it became more inclusive. The riots of ‘69 were commemorated the following year
with a parade in New York City. Craig Rodwell, his partner, Fred Sergeant, Ellen Broidy, and Linda Rhodes began the tradition, which would lead to many pride parades
Jonz Stoneroad holds past titles awarded by the Imperial Court of Hawaii: Gay Ambassador of Aloha (1994), and Crown Imperial Prince for Life (2011). He was also elected Mr. Gay Pride 1995.
to be fabulous! Saturday morning, I donned my long, luxurious rainbow wig, copious amounts of glitter, tinsel eyelashes, and fluffy tutu, and then it was off to Magic Island for staging. The atmosphere was electric! Everyone helped decorate floats, spread cheer and glitter, and of course lots of bottled water and candy was thrown around. About twenty minutes before the start of the parade, we lined up and waited for the signal to begin. As we drove out onto Kalakaua
Avenue, I could hear and see people cheering and waving signs and flags in support of love and equality. I drove a blue buggy with a gigantic “S” made out of balloons as part of “HULAS” that rode out in front of the float. The feelings of love, kinship, and aloha I felt while driving through Waikiki that day will live within me forever. I saw a lot familiar faces, and many strangers who waved, smiled, and threw up shakas as we moved along the parade route. It was an incredible, emotional,
fulfilling experience that I will never forget. I was honored to be a part of this year’s PRIDE parade because I was able to ride for my Uncle Johnny, who died from complications of AIDS in 1994. He lived in fear and shame, and didn’t get to experience life-saving medical advances, marriage equality and so many other hard fought battles over the past twenty years. He didn’t live to see how far we have come, but I know he was proud of us all that day.
Why I was proud to be in the Pride parade By Steffanie Sobitz Ka Lā staff writer
While I have attended several Pride events in various states over the past decade, this year was the first time I was asked to participate in the parade. A dear friend and coordinator with Hula’s Bar and Lei Stand asked me to drive one of the buggies for this spectacular celebration. I accepted and began planning my costume immediately. I knew if I was going to put myself out there, I was going
KaLā • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai'i 5
The annual Gay Pride Parade in Waikiki showed off the state's diversity with hundreds of people of all colors and style turning out to show their pride and aloha. Other events during the month included the National Coming Out Day Rally, held at UH-Manoa, and the Mr/Ms/Miss Gay Pride Hawai'i Pageant, held at Hula's Bar & Lei Stand in Waikiki.
Ka LĀ photos by Jonz Stoneroad
November 2017
Ka Lā • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai'i 6
November 2017
Talking to a literary master at HonCC
This is the first in a series of interviews with Honolulu Community College Language Arts instructors who have won the prestigious Elliot Cades Award for literature, the highest honor local writers can receive. The other winners, Associate Professors Eric Shaffer and Brenda Kwon, will be featured in upcoming issues next semester.
By Larry L. Medina Ka Lā staff writer
Christopher McKinney has served as an English Professor at HonCC since 2000, the same year he received the Elliot Cades Award for Literature, the most prestigious literary honor in Hawai'i. He sat down after class with Ka Lā and talked about his writing, his teaching and winning the award. What did the Cades Award mean personally to you? At the time I suppose it was validation. I had won the award and I only written the one book. My first book The Tatoo had been probably out a year or so before I won the award but I didn’t write much else besides that. What the award meant for me was encouraging; it encouraged me to continue writing. I had just graduated from UH with a Masters in English. The experience of writing and publishing a book was all new to me, so this was world I was not schooled on. I didn’t even know the award existed until I was lucky enough to be a recipient of it. Was writing something you always wanted to get into? Absolutely not! I had no clue what I wanted to be as a kid as far as what I wanted to be when I grew up. It wasn’t something I really considered or discovered until I was 23. Previous to that there was no singular focus as far as what I wanted career-wise. I was pretty aimless. Was growing up in Kahaluu an influence on you becoming a writer? Growing up in rural Hawai'i will always be a part of me. But in terms of influence? “None whatsoever.” I had not even met a writer until college. Why Mililani Mauka as the setting for your book of the same name? At the time my older brother had bought a house there. When I used to go visit him, I had never been really immersed in suburban oahu culture, and Mililani Mauka just tripped me out, man! I felt like a subdivision from Iowa crashedlanded in Central Oahu. To me it was fascinating, it was cul-de-sac living. It was like watching people on stage trying to live what the American suburban dream is supposed to be. And then there’s these contrasts - it is a totally
Ka Lā photo by Larry L. Medina
After writing more than six award-winning novels, Language Arts professor Christopher McKinney says he is now turning his attention to script writing. cookie-cutter subdivision and yet the streets all have Hawaiian names. How do you go about authoring stories? To put the time and energy in writing a first draft of a book, I am my own audience. One of the ways I’ve been fortunate with the books is that I’ve been given pretty much free reign to do what I want so it gives me the opportunity to experiment. How do you deal with your own publisher/editor criticism? Occasionally there are things we agree to disagree on. Everything they say is valid - these are smart people. These people are professionals at what they do. I never take criticism as crazy or “out there.” There’s always some logical validity to what they’re saying. More often than not, it’s helpful. I’m thankful for them for pointing out something, an idea that would improve the quality of the book. But why not exert that same guidance and influence on your students? I’m aware of the possible sensitivity that the students have to criticism. The creative thing isn’t really painting by numbers. There isn’t one tried-and-true formula or organized format that says it has to be done (in a certain way). Another thing that is often tricky in that class as far as skill level that each student is bringing to class - there’s a wide range. I’m not going to try to turn that person within one semester into a professional-level writer. All I want to do is make them understand what the process is; how to do it better than how they’re doing it now.
What have you done to encourage students to write? I talk about how what you write, your credibility, and how seriously people take your opinion for what you’re trying to voice. It can only be taken seriously if you demonstrate some level of expertise. And to obtain expertise you need to have read deeply about what you talking about your topic. You can’t write something meaningful with just some simple Wikipedia-level education on it.
What about Facebook and Instragram? It’s a different kind of reading. With this generation, they know a vast scatter of categories, a little bit about everything. That’s how information is consumed: it’s often brief and it’s not in depth; it gives a rudimentary education on a specific topic. Overall in terms of taking in words (texting), they are probably reading more, but I wouldnt say that what they’re reading is better. What’s in the works? I’m shifting more towards screenwriting now. Me and my production partner are trying to sell my last novel as a limited series, "Age of Calamity."
KaLā • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai'i
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November 2017
Beyond turkey
Around the world there are many ways to give thanks for what we have By Steffanie Sobitz Ka Lā staff writer
We have all heard the story of the Pilgrims and Native Americans breaking bread together and sharing a meal we celebrate as Thanksgiving. That was what we call The First Thanksgiving, but did you know that the holiday we know today as Thanksgiving began as a Harvest Festival? Prior to that special meal shared hundreds of years ago, days of giving thanks for blessings such as a good harvest or military victory even pre-date modern Europeans. Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. was proclaimed a federal holiday of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens," by President Abraham Lincoln in 1864. Here are some stories of Thanksgiving and Harvest Festivals around the world.
native Hawaiian foods prepared for this festival include pork, dried fish, taro or poi, and sweet potato. The Makahiki festival ran from October – November through February – March, and there are celebrations marking this season still today. One that you are probably familiar with is the Aloha Festivals. In Israel, there is a celebration called Sukkot, or The Feast of the Tabernacles. It occurs every Fall, You can celebrate Thanksgiving after the Jewish new year and this anyway you like, whether itʻs with a Hawaiian-style meal, above, or a slice year was celebrated from sunof pumpkin cake down on October 4 thru the 11th. It is celebrated by praying, giving thanks, and restricting work, as In ancient times, Hawaiians well as a meal on the final day. celebrated the harvest season and One of the common foods eaten new year with the Makahiki fesduring Sukkot is kreplach, which tival. Long ago, during Ka Makaare triangles made of dough, and hiki offerings were made to the filled with ground beef. royalty, and the people feasted, Thanksgiving is also celebrated gave thanks and played games in Liberia, which is located on and performed hula. This was a the west coast of Africa. Liberian time of reflection, gratitude, and Thanksgiving is celebrated on a hope for the future. Traditional Thursday in November, just like
in the U.S., but on the first Thursday of November. This is because Liberians celebrate this holiday to honor the United States for granting freedom to slaves and giving them land in Africa to live as free men. They celebrate much the same way we do by cooking, giving thanks, music and dancing, and spending time with family. A popular dessert for this annual celebration is pumpkin cake, similar to the American favorite, pumpkin pie! Above is a tiny sampling of festivals of thanks around the world, but there are hundreds more throughout the globe. If you are interested in learning more about unique ways to spice up your Thanksgiving, we suggest you start by looking for different holiday recipes and activities from various countries. You can try something new while learning about another culture, and that’s something to be thankful for.
KaLÄ â€˘ Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai'i
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November 2017