Grateful for respectful youth
Grateful for respectful youth
I teach at Kealakehe High School to kids filled with aloha. I chaperone our Kealakehe High School dances. The most recent dance was our Winter Ball at the Sheraton. A waiter told me that our Winter Ball students said “thank you” when plates were cleared and water was poured. He said they were more polite than most adults. I also walked up to a girl who showed up late to tell her I liked her dress. She said thank you and then said, “I decided to dress conservative” and she added, “I think conservative is the real sexy.” I started laughing as I agreed with her.
My 11th- and 12th-grade students are so good and respectful that I tell them they improve the planet just by breathing. A few months ago, a boy ran through Wiki with a big green sign that said “Smile Big.” He would flash it long enough to get a smile then he ran on to other people. I told my students that he was promoting world peace.
I also saw a mom and dad dropping off their two teenage boys. Mom was driving and as they drove away dad leaned out of the jeep and yelled real load, “I love you boys!”
I asked the boys if that happened every morning and they smiled and said yes. How nice it is to teach at this school. I learn from the students and they learn from moi. I have been teaching here for 14 years and I deeply appreciate the students and teachers I work with. Mele kalikimaka kakou.
Debra Zager
Kealakehe
Show some humility
Did you know that building TMT on Mauna Kea is a desecration of epic proportions? The claim that the State of Hawaii owns Mauna Kea is wrong. It is not only morally wrong it is legally wrong. Even if people with guns say the state owns Mauna Kea, it does not make it so.
It is said that the Joint Resolution gave Mauna Kea to the United States, which gave it to the state, which gave it to the university. As a matter of law that is false. It is a lie. The university has no power over Mauna Kea. It cannot build, it cannot give permits, it cannot arrest Hawaiians.
Power alone is not sufficient to legalize the seizure of Mauna Kea from the Hawaiian people. The courts and the police and the U.S. military do not have legal or moral jurisdiction over Mauna Kea. The Hawaii people have the legal and moral authority and jurisdiction over Mauna Kea.
Just because the United States stole these lands from Hawaiians does not grant them ownership. Ever. It certainly does not give them the right to desecrate and violate the aina or the Hawaiian people. What Keck and the TMT supporters have so cavalierly forgotten is that they must ask for permission to do anything on Mauna Kea. And if the answer is no, they must find another mountain to do their research.
One does not go into the home of another and destroy things with the excuse that it furthers their knowledge and makes the world a better place. I am not Hawaiian. I just understand that I am a guest in their land. And I am very grateful that they have allowed me to stay. Perhaps Keck could learn some humility. Money and power do not make their actions pono.
Tom Beach
Waimea