A recruitment ad for the University of Hawai'i-Hilo ran in the paper this week. It was a testimonial from a transfer student who will graduate from Hilo in spring.

"My first year of college was at a university in California because I wanted to get off of O'ahu and not be too far away from home.

"Even though that university was small and well known, I did not like it because the student body was a very homogenous crowd of affluent Caucasians."

Whoa!

UH-Hilo's office of media relations got a "handful of calls" regarding that ad. It has since been pulled and will not run again.

"The university does indeed regret being insensitive, and for the negative impact it had on its readers" a UH-Hilo representative said.

Look, when a large state institution admits an "oops" and moves quickly to fix it, it's time to applaud, not pile on.

But before this gaffe fades from memory, it bears a bit of examination, not so much because it appeared in print, but because it brought into the open a sentiment that, to some extent, exists in our community.

You know you've heard stuff like this before.

Local kids pack up and come home from Mainland colleges and say similar things, and relatives know exactly what they mean.

Too bad, because going to college with people unlike yourself is a part of the educational experience. If you want to hang out with people just like you, stay home with mom and dad.

It wasn't too long ago that being the "only one" in a homogenous crowd of wealthy white college students was considered a triumph for minority students. It proved that intelligence and hard work was the great equalizer. We used to chafe when rich haoles wouldn't let us in. Are we now complaining when they do?

Generations of Mainland-educated Hawai'i kids love telling stories of culture clashes and rich roommates. The moral of these stories is always the same: Those people never met anybody like me before, but in the end, it was cool. We all learned something.

Kids don't always pick a college because of academics, though you would hope that would be the primary factor. Sometimes, being close to home wins out.

UH-Hilo can stand on its many academic strengths and the number of innovative programs it offers. It doesn't have to play up the "close to home" factor to be a good choice.

And students should consider that "not fitting in" and being the diverse part of diversity can be an opportunity for learning — and teaching.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Reach her at 535-8172 or lcataluna@honoluluadvertiser.com.