Posted on: Wednesday, May 4, 2005

Letters to the Editor

UH should deal with more pressing topics

While attending the meetings on the proposed Navy University Affiliated Research Center, it's been interesting hearing the diverse faculty, students and community members who have spoken out against the UARC at the University of Hawai'i. Faculty from the sciences, humanities and arts have spoken out against UARC at a time when others may feel intimidated, and they should be applauded for doing so.

Those speaking for UARC have been mainly those who would directly profit materially.

It is understandable that everyone, including vital social services, is scrambling for funding. Yet, we must think of the future, not just short-term gain.

We need to say, "No, clean up the mess already made" and deal with more pressing problems such as rising tuition costs and the recent rapes on campus.

Massie case book is indeed insightful

Your reporter's one-sentence comment in a recent Sunday paper didn't do justice to Cobey Black's riveting book "Hawaii Scandal," an in-depth account of the Massie case.

"A marvelous book," according to a five-star review on Amazon.com. "Next to James Michener's magnificent story, 'Hawaii Scandal' is probably the most insightful book about how the islands became what they are today."

We agree.

Charter schools are doing more with less

Parents are voting with their children in favor of charter schools. These schools have experienced steady growth in the past few years, and the growth is expected to continue for years in the future ("Charter schools see major growth," April 22).

One school even has more prospective students on its waitlist than the number of students enrolled in the school.

The Legislature designed charter schools to be as independent as possible from the Department of Education. Each has its own school board that sets school policy. Each board typically includes teachers and parents of students at the school. As a result, teachers, parents and even students have more power to determine how the school operates.

This bottom-up approach to educational administration is the complete opposite of the administrative structure of the traditional public schools, which is heavy with bureaucrats in the central office.

The Advertiser article indicates that although charter schools receive less money per student than traditional schools, the student-teacher ratio is lower. Furthermore, charter school teachers are more enthusiastic than their counterparts in traditional schools. In short, charter schools are doing more — with less.

Nevertheless, the DOE is unwilling to expand charter schools. The DOE believes that the traditional schools can be turned around under the existing organizational structure. But 40 years of experience says otherwise.

Minimum-wage hike will cause trouble

I have been fearing the passage of the minimum-wage increase and the effect it will have on my family's business. Small-business owners have a good grasp of their overall operations but must scramble to readjust and recalculate to make sure they'll survive every time the Legislature tries to "help" out.

Any increase is sure to have an effect on other wage levels as well — not only the lowest levels as they assume. Each 50-cent increase has a much larger effect on the overall picture and forces yet another level of small-business owners to reconsider whether or not it is worth it to continue on.

I employ a large number of immigrants whose English is very limited. I will need to assess the need for these workers (along with all the added costs for benefits). I will need to automate as much of my operations as possible and reduce my labor force. Most machinery, by the way, must be purchased from outside of the Islands.

Although I can speak only for our company, I'm sure there are many more who will be making the same adjustments as we are.

Funding advances for our wounded warriors

The April 25 story "Disability insurance urged" accurately describes legislation promoted within the U.S. Senate to provide traumatically injured military personnel with anywhere from $25,000 to $100,000. The purpose of the money is to help with the costs families have when a wounded warrior is in the hospital. I am pleased to report that legislative effort has been adopted by the Senate in an $81 billion emergency supplemental just passed by the Senate.

With all the good news, there is one correction needed to the Advertiser's story. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho, who serves as chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' affairs and who sponsored the legislation, is a Republican, not a Democrat as identified in the story. Sen. Craig proudly serves with Sen. Daniel Akaka of Hawai'i, who is the leader of the Democrats on the committee. Sen. Akaka is a co-sponsor with Sen. Craig on that important legislation.

Audit UH management before raising tuition

Before the regents take a vote on the request of a tuition hike, the University of Hawai'i's system should be audited.

It is likely that mismanagement of funds underlies the call for tuition increases and to give raises to the UH interim president, faculty and staff, all of whom want a bigger piece of the pie while students have to suffer from poor instruction by certain teacher aides and the unavailability of some tenured professors to meet with their students in favor of their pet projects.

If we are running out of water, why ... ?

Will someone explain to me why, every year, we are told we are having a drought and we need to conserve water?

If we are running out of water, why are they building another 500 homes down the street from me? From what I understand, thousands of homes will be built on O'ahu over the next 10 years.

If we are running out of water, why is the state trying to attract an aircraft carrier that will bring another 5,000 sailors and their families to this parched part of the Pacific?

If we are running out of water, why is more and more tourists visiting a good thing?

If we are running out of water, why do the state and city still water the roads? I'm assuming they are really trying to water plants, though I may be wrong.

Until the government starts behaving as if we don't have water, my guess is there is plenty of water for everyone.

Excuse me, I've got to go turn off my sprinkler. I think it was on all night. Then, I'm going to wash my car.

Add nonstop links to ferry proposal

Mayor Mufi Hannemann has proposed an intra-island ferry between Kalaeloa and Honolulu Harbor. I'd add a nonstop link between Fort Weaver and Pier 5, Fort Weaver and Waikiki, and Hawai'i Kai to Pier 5. The system is called "Honolulu 50-knot Transit."

The ferry system would have four of the USN/ONR X-Craft currently being delivered, configured for passenger comfort. This vehicle is a double-hull catamaran with diesel engines, gas turbines for upper speeds and water jet propulsion. Ride control at speeds up to 54 knots is by two seafoils and two interceptors.

The 50-knot Transit would cost one-third of rail, finish much sooner, be operative gradually and cause less disruption.

Congratulations, Chad

I just want to congratulate Chad Owens on his sixth-round NFL pick. He is very deserving of this chance and honor. He is a hard worker and has shown his determination with all that he has accomplished. Right on, Chad. Good luck, and I hope everything goes well for you.

Qualified administrators for public schools needed

With the new teacher contract, the future for public schools appears much brighter. However, we must now look at a definite problem in many of our public schools: the search for qualified administrators.

Anyone who knows anything about education knows there are a number of administrative vacancies in our public schools. The future does not look so bright for those who are to lead our public schools to success.

The Board of Education will soon vote on a number of issues that address the changes in our public schools. One issue will be to hold administrators accountable for their performance. This is obviously a step in the right direction if we are talking about accountability. But how is this going to impact the need to fill those administrative vacancies?

Many qualified public school teachers are being asked by administrators to step into administrative roles, an obvious temporary fix to this growing problem. These chosen teachers, who often help as acting vice principals, are also seeing the true challenges our public schools now face.

To fulfill many of the federal and state mandates, the race for administrators to get their schools performing is now on. Many might think it is about time. However, it is much easier to stand on the sidelines and point the finger than to take an active role in making things better.

Everyone needs to play a part in improving our public schools. I commend both Gov. Linda Lingle and Superintendent Pat Hamamoto in their efforts to improve our public schools. The proposed new contract for teachers is a great step in the right direction.

But now it is time that we all take a part in improving our schools. Principals will need our support too. Get involved by participating in School Community Council meetings. Volunteer at your local public school. We will all need to work together to improve our public schools.

'Traditional gender roles' unfair

Regarding the April 16 letter on Title IX, by Gerald Nakata: I didn't know of Title IX until now. I did know that UH-Manoa doesn't have a men's soccer team.

I thought it was unfair that there was a soccer team as well as a variety of athletic teams for women only. I guess I just got used to things being unfair for guys in favor of girls.

I searched the Internet to learn about Title IX, and I was surprised about the arguments feminists claim for taking so much away from boys and young men. They basically claim that it's payback for years of oppression women had to endure because of men. Well, I don't know who is responsible for "traditional gender roles," but those roles don't only oppress women — men are bound to them as well.

Feminists focus too much on the "privileges" that men had due to "traditional gender roles," but they ignored the obligations bound to these roles. It has always been the man's responsibility to protect family and country. Men were obligated to fight in wars, and men continue to die doing so.

Take our current war in Iraq. Women, who demand to be equal, are still being protected from the dangers that men face in war. At last count, over 1,400 U.S. servicemen have died in Iraq, but only a comparative few women. The Army doesn't allow women in infantry, but women receive the same "danger pay" without having to share in the same dangers.

A couple of weeks ago, UH released a survey regarding selected violent crimes endured by students, but only women were surveyed. FBI statistics show that men are the largest victims of violent crimes (including on college campuses), so why weren't any male students surveyed? It's because men are supposed to be able to protect themselves, "tough things out" and "suffer in silence," as our government allocated $80 million "to make campuses safe for women."

A woman is allowed to get an abortion or keep a baby regardless of what the father wants, but if she keeps the baby, the man is obligated to pay child support. The woman collecting child support doesn't have to work, but the man is obligated to work or he'll go to jail. You can't say that "traditional gender roles" don't have a play in this, and you don't hear feminists complaining about "fairness" and "equality" here because it gives extra privileges to women, and therein lies the problem.

Feminists are too focused on sharing in the privileges that men have but don't want to share in the obligations. I doubt there'll ever be universal equality, but it probably would be a good thing.