Posted on: Monday, August 25, 2003

Letters to the Editor

Kamehameha should help all children here

Seventh-grader Brayden Kekoa Mohica-Cummings is attending Kamehameha Schools. The student, his mother and his fearless attorney deserve great praise and admiration.

The silent majority of students and a good number of adults in this community sympathize with the position of this youngster. They remain silent because of the potential of a few mean-spirited, shouting parents now encouraging their children to wave signs, too.

Our two-tiered system gives us the highest private school attendance in the country. This hurts children of Hawaiian ancestry in larger proportion than it hurts all other children. The Kamehameha Schools only improves schooling for a few students of Hawaiian ancestry. Kamehameha Schools could help end all that by partnership with the public school system in some way that helps all the children of Hawai'i. Then, this could be one of the premier school systems in the county, instead of what we have now.

Since the U.S. Constitution applies to this de facto public institution anyway, Kamehameha might as well stop overtly discriminating and take a leadership role in helping all the children here.

Protesters have some questions to answer

Young Brayden Mohica-Cummings' situation is appalling, and the way he and his mother are being treated by Kamehameha Schools trustees, officials and alumni is most disturbing.

This child wants to do something that many kids are not willing to admit to, and judging by Hawai'i's lackluster scholastic achievements compared to the rest of the nation's schools, I would be more than happy to have a child who has all of the credentials in my school. The argument made by the trustees and others is also quite disturbing and nothing more than an excuse for racism and discrimination.

Someone needs to remind these protesters and their ilk that the past plights of Hawaiians are in no way, shape or form comparable to those of other ethnic groups who have had to play a much more unfortunate hand of cards dealt to them.

I would like the protesters to answer some questions: When were Hawaiians ever enslaved? If they were, did it span 400 years? Were they purposefully infected with smallpox via blankets or put on reservations? Were they locked in concentration camps and told to eat soy sauce with their pancakes and syrup with their rice? Have they ever been subjected to the conditions in Auschwitz or had barns full of their children burned with them in it just because of their religion? Are they pulled over by cops and beaten by brazen policemen in front of cameras? Experienced lynchings? Jim Crow? Did the Ku Klux Klan ever burn crosses in front of their homes?

Sexual orientation isn't a matter of choice

Mike Gabbard still doesn't understand that a person's sexual orientation is neither a choice nor a behavior to be governed by his "moral" codes. Whether a person is homosexual or heterosexual is a product of his biology; choice doesn't enter into it.

I never chose to be a heterosexual. I am simply attracted to women by my nature. I never deliberated the options, and neither did Mike Gabbard or anyone else.

In fact, humans are incapable of choosing their preferences. Think about it. I prefer muted over bright colors, dissonant over consonant tones, savory over sweet flavors. I prefer many things without making cognitive choices.

We can choose whether to wear sneakers or slippers, walk or drive to work, or whether or not to join a church, but these are decisions, based on our deliberation of the circumstances. I prefer broccoli over peas, but this is not a choice I made; I simply do not like the taste or texture of peas.

Mike Gabbard needs to get down from his pulpit of perceived superiority. He's no better than any homosexual. Heterosexuals need to begin openly supporting equality for all citizens, including those who prefer peas.

BRT would compete with private industry

Ironic that the city is pushing its Bus Rapid Transit plans with TheBus strike looming. The city cannot afford current operating and maintenance costs for TheBus, yet pretends it can afford the BRT capital and operating and maintenance costs.

Residents have been duped for years now by Mayor Harris, who has reduced services to the local residents while actively courting the tourism market for a transit ridership share.

The mayor seems to be oblivious that it is against federal law for the public sector to compete directly against private enterprise. The city has banned private motorcoaches from servicing Hanauma Bay while boosting its own service to the popular visitor site.

The in-town portion of the BRT further courts the tourist. Waikiki is not a main destination for most local commuters. Instead of really offering commuters alternatives, the BRT basically duplicates the popular "City Tour" and would stop at many visitor attractions currently served by private tour and taxi operators.

Union bosses forcing the bus strike issue

It is sad to monitor how desperate people are trying to avoid a possible bus strike.

The city is broke; raising fares is a hot potato and very questionable; selling ad spaces and fighting abuse of the system are laudable steps but eventually nothing but Band-Aid solutions.

The real issue is: As long as the average bus driver makes $1,000 per year more than the average teacher in Hawai'i, the threat of a strike by the union bosses is like adding insult to injury.

I have no trouble with the bus drivers making good wages, but they are — like the society as a whole — used and abused as pawns by the union bosses.

Long security lines at airport also unsafe

The long security lines at the airport are not only inconvenient, but unsafe.

My three young children and I were in a line that stretched the length of a football field, and after one and a half hours, we were still not through the line.

Without air conditioning, in the early afternoon on a humid and hot day, people were miserable and dehydration was a serious issue. The medics were attending to more than one person as a result.

Because we had a Mainland flight, they put us up to the front of the line, leaving 10 minutes to get to our flight. Try running to a flight with a 40-pound 3-year-old and a carry-on bag while dehydrated.

When we did get to the security point, we were met by rude and inconsiderate people (they couldn't have been from Hawai'i). In contrast, on our flight from Seattle, the security people were exceptionally nice and courteous.

If you wonder why people are not flying, it simply is not worth the hassles and the unsafe conditions.

We need more screeners, trained to act with aloha, who can pick up the pace. But that would require the TSA, a government bureaucracy, to think like a private employer and treat us like customers, not cattle.

Large dogs needed

I am very sorry to hear that the Wahiawa Public Library was burglarized again.

An alarm system does not prevent burglaries; most thieves know that they must get in and out quickly because the alarm will summon the police, but they will arrive after the thieves have long left — sad but true.

If the police cannot stake out the building (unlikely), get some large guard dogs in there overnight, now.

Everybody's overpaid, except the very needed

June Jones is overpaid. By the way, so are Evan Dobelle and all his friends.

I think bank presidents are overpaid. Ever have your faucet repaired? Plumbers are overpaid. Longshoremen are overpaid. Attorneys make way too much money. Fix your car? Mechanics are overpaid. So are hotel managers.

Bus drivers are overpaid. Airline pilots don't work enough hours for all that dinero they make. My CPA makes too much from me. Our legislators receive in three months what many labor a year for. Overpaid.

City Council members work all year, but for what we get in return, they make waaaaay too much. I don't know what his paycheck looks like, but I bet Joe Moore is overpaid.

My uncle and aunt are retired. They said they make more in retirement than when they were working. Obviously overpaid.

Hell, I'm overpaid.

Cops, firefighters, teachers and the brave men and women of our armed forces — now, they could use a pay raise.

New UH housing site is in works

Advertiser education writer Beverly Creamer's excellent story "UH dorm-scramble extends to Waikiki" on Aug. 17 correctly points out there are simply not enough dorm rooms for students attending the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. The article also points out that converting hotel rooms in Waikiki into student housing is, at best, a temporary solution.

There are approximately 3,000 beds available for more than 18,000 UH students. This lack of student housing creates a hardship for many students and their families, increases traffic congestion in the neighborhood, and makes getting a college education more expensive and, for some of Hawai'i's disadvantaged students, financially impossible.

For all of these reasons, we are especially proud to be part of a proposed new project — still very much in the preliminary design and planning stages — that will provide student housing for UH-Manoa.

The project — located at the site of the Varsity Theater and Varsity Office Building in Mo'ili'ili — will provide critically needed dormitory rooms for UH-Manoa students in a landscaped setting, close to the campus and classes, as well as stores, markets and other amenities students need. The site is also served by public transportation.

Our first step in designing this new project was to go out and ask the community what they want and need. We've been gathering community input on the proposed project for the last few months, and many of the ideas and suggestions from community groups and students have been incorporated into the preliminary plans and drawings.

A number of features — including plans to hire a professional dormitory management company to ensure a safe drug- and alcohol-free environment for students, as well as plans to preserve the Varsity Theater by incorporating selected architectural elements into the new project — ensure the project fits well into the existing neighborhood, and helps keep Mo'ili'ili a "place of the heart."

We believe this project will help UH attract new students, including from the Mainland and internationally. We believe there are many students who would consider attending UH if they had access to affordable dorm rooms, as well as access to good public transportation.

We look forward to being part of the solution, to helping preserve Mo'ili'ili as one of O'ahu's very special communities, and to helping UH become a truly world-class university.