Post-strike cramming pays off for UH graduates
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser Staff Writer
As University of Hawai'i students begin to don cap and gown today, many feel relief that the "semester of stress" is over.
Stress from the 11 days of missed instruction at a critical point in the semester when professors went out on strike. Stress from cramming in those missed hours into the last remaining weeks of school. And the stress of not knowing if they would graduate.
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UH commencement schedule
Now commencement speeches will address the process of coming together during this intense period. They'll look at the positive side.
"I'm going to say that in light of the challenges, I must applaud that we all rose to the challenge ... and came together," said Ian Masterson, a Windward Community College graduate to-be.
Masterson is one of several student speakers at UH graduation ceremonies that start today for more than 3,300 students in the 10-campus system around the state.
The ceremonies cap the end of a critical semester marked, besides the strike, by the selection of a new university president and approval of a tuition increase.
"I had faith the system would work," Masterson said. "In the end it worked out well."
Nimfa Dela Cruz, a 20-year-old liberal arts student at Honolulu Community College, wasn't so optimistic.
Getting to graduation was difficult, Dela Cruz said. Some students had their studying routine thrown off and weren't able to capture the momentum again.
Others still studied during the walkout, hoping to keep up.
A few dropped out. The University of Hawai'i reports that only 125 students asked for tuition refunds for various reasons out of an estimated 45,000 system-wide, said Jim Manke, UH spokesman.
"Some students' grades dropped," Dela Cruz said. "A lot were stressed because they had job offers pending a degree. For a lot of students it worked out because of the faculty and staff."
For the past two weeks, students and faculty have been cramming in studies and meeting on weekends and evenings. Some professors even offered to put off exams until after graduation.
Christine Griffin, a 37-year-old cosmetology student at Honolulu Community College, thought she would be repeating the semester because of the strike.
She and other students in vocational and technical classes thought they'd never have enough time to make up the lost hours of practical experience they needed to graduate. The semester was extended until May 18 for students in the automotive, aeronautics and cosmetology schools at HCC.
But it was 12-hour days, Griffin said, that did the trick.
"It was very stressful," Griffin said. "I've been going to school from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. for the past week to make up the classtime. It wasn't easy to do."
But, "it had to be done," she said.
Chris Garnier, a 23-year-old senior at UH-Manoa, was worried that he wouldn't graduate this semester. He has plans for law school in the fall and airline tickets for summer travel in Europe.
His parents weren't sure if they should come to Hawai'i if there wasn't going to be a graduation for Garnier, who is also the outgoing president of the Association of Students University of Hawai'i.
"The strike was a lot harder on seniors than undergrads," Garnier said. "This was my most stressful semester and I've played football and been president of ASUH."
UH commencement schedule
Over the next two weekends, thousands of graduates in the University of Hawai'i system will accept their diplomas.
TODAY
Kapi'olani Community College, 6:30 p.m., Waikiki Shell.
TOMORROW
Leeward Community College, 5 p.m., Tuthill Courtyard.
Honolulu Community College, 5 p.m., Waikiki Shell.
Kaua'i Community College, 6 p.m., Kaua'i War Memorial Convention Center.
UH Center Maui, Maui Arts and Cultural Center, 6 p.m., McCoy Theater.
Hawai'i Community College, 7 p.m., UH-Hilo gymnasium, athletic complex.
SATURDAY
UH-Hilo, 9 a.m., gymnasium, athletic complex.
UH School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene, 9:30 a.m., Kennedy Theatre.
UH Army ROTC Commissioning Ceremony, 10 a.m., Palm Circle, Fort Shafter.
UH-West O'ahu, 10 a.m., Leeward Community College Theater.
Windward Community College, 1 p.m., Windward campus.
UH School of Medicine Convocation Ceremony, 3:30 p.m., Kennedy Theatre.
SUNDAY
UH-Manoa baccalaureate degrees, 9 a.m., Stan Sheriff Center. Speaker: Margery Bronster, attorney at law and former state attorney general.
UH-Manoa advanced degrees, 2 p.m., Stan Sheriff Center. Speaker: Margery Bronster.
MONDAY
William S. Richardson School of Law, 5 p.m., Andrews Outdoor Theatre. Speaker: Margery Bronster.
UH School of Architecture, 5 p.m., Kennedy Theatre.
MAY 20
Maui Community College, 1 p.m., Maui Arts and Cultural Center, Castle Theater.
