Posted on: Friday, September 12, 2003
UH supporters a vocal minority
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By Stacy Kaneshiro
Advertiser Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — It seems USC knows where to stick it to Hawai'i as tomorrow's football game at the Los Angeles Coliseum looms.
At the campus bookstore on USC's sprawling campus, a glass pane window has black lettering that reads: "Beat Hawaii!!"
The Trojans knew where to pierce the hearts of Hawai'i fans. After all, the stairs fronting the bookstore is the preferred hangout for USC students from Hawai'i. Everyone on campus seems to know that. They even know about a "Hawai'i club" for USC students, adding that the bookstore is where they often meet.
"Hawai'i's down there," said one student, pointing toward the bookstore.
"That's where Hawai'i (students) hang out," said another non-Hawai'i student.
Among the 30,000 students attending USC, 474 list Hawai'i as their home, according to the university's information office. And not all will be Trojan fans tomorrow.
"I'll be cheering for UH," said 2001 Iolani School graduate Cameron Kadooka, a junior business major from Honolulu who will sit among USC supporters tomorrow. "I'm a diehard Rainbows fan whatever school I go to. I'll still cheer when UH makes a touchdown."
Fittingly, Kadooka works at the bookstore. He was delivering a football still in its cardboard package that he said was intended for USC head coach Pete Carroll to sign for someone.
Not all Hawai'i Trojans share Kadooka's view.
Communications professor Ken Sereno earned his bachelors (1956) and masters (1958) degrees from UH, and his doctorate from the University of Washington. But he has been at USC for 33 years.
"I have lots of aloha for UH, but I'm cheering for USC," he said while having lunch at a cafeteria near Heritage Hall — USC's athletic department — and the Annenberg School of Communications.
Sereno, a 1952 graduate of Saint Louis School — he played center and linebacker for the Crusaders, as well as tennis — grew up near Kapaolono Park in Kaimuki. "When I watch Hawai'i 5-0 and Magnum P.I., I say, 'That's my house,' " he said, referring to background shots of the two television series that used to air in Hawai'i.
Sereno said he follows the Warriors on the West Coast telecasts and is up to speed on the status of most UH players. He is aware of the Heisman Trophy-hype surrounding UH quarterback Tim Chang.
Although he is a staunch USC supporter, he said UH still follows him.
"I get 'Malamalama' all the time," he said of the UH publication that is sent to alumni.
Sereno will have some company cheering on the Trojans, including Wai'anae resident Ryan Agustin, a 2002 graduate of Punahou.
"I'll root for USC," said Agustin, a sophomore biology major. "I'll be sitting with them (USC fans)."
Agustin said he tries to follow the Warriors through the Internet or on telecasts of UH games.
"Some of the girls here think that Timmy Chang isn't that good," he said.
But the UH quarterback has at least one supporter among the Trojan population.
"I'll cheer for Timmy Chang," Kadooka said.
Reach Stacy Kaneshiro at skaneshiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8042
