ISLAND VOICES
Students stranded by strike

Aislinn Hernandez is a senior at Sacred Hearts Academy.

To say that the bus strike on O'ahu has proved to be an inconvenience for many people is a gross understatement.

As Teamsters walked the picket lines demanding higher pay, job security and better benefits, people have been forced to make drastic changes in their daily routines, including students worried about how to get to school and home again.

Imagine beginning your junior year in high school. It's supposed to be a time of excitement and preparation for becoming an upperclassman. Such was not the case, however, for one student.

"Because I live on the North Shore, I catch the bus to school every day," said junior Leah Fukuyama. "Then, I heard there might be a bus strike. My parents and I were really worried since they can't take me to school from Kahuku every day. I felt like I was going to be stranded and wouldn't be able to go to school with all my friends.

Fukuyama was, indeed, stranded when the strike began. Because of the strike, she has been forced to move in with her auntie, who lives closer to her school, Sacred Hearts Academy.

Other students were not so lucky. Many showed up late for school when the strike caused massive jams on the streets of Honolulu as parents were forced to drop their children off before going to work themselves.

Some families were waking up hours earlier just to get everyone where they needed to be — sometimes causing kids to be in school before the sun even came up.

Others couldn't go to school at all. Biance DelPrado, a senior at Kapolei High School, said, "One of the girls who goes to my school lives in Kalihi. Because she doesn't live with family, her only way to get to school was by catching the bus. Now since she can't do that, she doesn't even come to school."

Countless other students across the island are in similar situations.

Fukuyama said, "This is not how I saw myself starting school this year. School is usually fun. It means friends, new classes and new activities. I know sitting in traffic for one hour is not fun."

Indeed, the bus strike has created untold havoc and disruption. It has forced the rearrangement of normal routines for thousands of islanders. People are frustrated at the very least. No one expected any of this. The sooner it is over, the better.