1,100 UH-Manoa students weather strike, get degrees
By Walter Wright
Advertiser Staff Writer
Almost 1,100 University of Hawai'i-Manoa students graduated with bachelor's degrees yesterday, some by the skin of their teeth because of a faculty strike that cost them 11 days of instruction.
Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser
"I was prepared for the worst," said graduating senior Brannon Kennedy, a Hawai'i wide receiver who left school in 1995 to spend two seasons with the Washington Redskins but came back to earn a degree in conflict resolution.
Amanda Jane Paterson proudly showed the audience the arts and science degree she received during University of Hawai'i undergraduate ceremonies yesterday at the Manoa campus' Stan Sheriff Center.
It would have cost him $5,000 out of pocket and another year of full-time employment as a building maintenance worker if he hadn't completed his degree this spring, said Kennedy, who hopes to work for the National Labor Relations Board.
"I don't hold anything against the faculty," he said. "I'm glad they got a settlement, and I'm glad they got it in time for me to graduate."
There's no doubt the strike created stress for many students. But the university has said that only 125 students asked for tuition refunds for various reasons out of an estimated 45,000 systemwide.
Michael Weinstein, an associate professor of sociology, said he got "stink-eye" from a few in the audience when he showed up for the ceremonies in cap and gown with his "I am UHPA" strike button, referring to the Professional Assembly, which is the faculty union.
"Several of my students weren't able to come back from the strike, and I gave a number of incompletes," Weinstein said. "But many others used the strike as a learning opportunity, about the necessity to stand up for yourselves when you have to."
