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< All Candidates Ashlee Hufalar Secretrary ⭐ PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES: Do you have ideas regarding how to provide development opportunities to students (i.e. college fairs, scholarships, and campus policies to promote clubs and student involvement)? If so, explain: I personally believe that more chances for experimental education would provide students with development opportunities by allowing them to engage in hands on, real world learning experiences. Through experimental education, students are able to learn beyond the traditional classroom lecturing style. This is implemented through lab experiments, school trips, building projects, and even clubs like Robotics. I think that more opportunities like this would enhance the engagement and understanding of certain subjects, and it could also make learning the material more enjoyable because individuals would be actively involved instead of just sitting down and taking notes. Of course, experimental education varies and there are many different ways to integrate it, but in a lot of situations it does help to both practice and improve skills. EVENTS PLANNING: If you were elected to student council what school events do you deem important and why? The school events I consider important are club fairs, spirit week, and social events such as prom and sport tournaments. Starting off, club fairs are typically in the beginning of the year and it is used to promote clubs and provide students with an idea of what each club has to offer. I think that this event is really important, especially for new students who want to get involved in clubs but are unsure on how to get started or which clubs would interest them. There are so many opportunities clubs have to offer, and club fairs allow students to get more informed on those opportunities. Spirit week is another event I deem as important because it brings everyone together and it encourages students to express themselves. Dressing up for spirit week allows individuals to showcase who they are and it also builds bonds through things like similar outfits, dress up idea exchanges, etc. Lastly, sport tournaments and prom are also great events that connect students. With social events such as those, everyone is able to gather, socialize, and connect through shared experiences. PARKING: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make on the parking and car policy? I am aware that our current parking lot experiences a lot of traffic due to people getting dropped off and picked up while students are simultaneously parking or trying to get out. In order to handle this, I would try to talk with administration to get security that can help manage the flow of traffic and ensure the overall safety of students. Also, if possible, I would like to pave the dirt lot into parking stalls in order to make things more organized, however I do know that project would be pricey. ENVIRONMENT: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make to the appearance, cleanliness, or safety on campus? I believe that the cleanliness, appearance, and safety of our campus is essential and something to be maintained and monitored. One specific area that needs improvement is the overall sanitation of our school bathrooms. While we are provided with the essentials such as toilet paper and soap, a lot of the bathrooms are generally just not clean. I would like to advocate for some remodels to be done as well as regular cleaning of the bathrooms so that students feel comfortable in a well maintained area. PHONE POLICY: If you were elected to the position you are running for, how would you change our phone policy? Our current phone policy is mainly up to the teachers and staff; some teachers allow you to have your phone during class, while others do not. During class when there is work to be done, I believe that phones should not be used. While some students are able to avoid their phone and complete their work, in most cases phones can become a big distraction. However, there are some special cases where I do think a student should be able to use their phone in class. For example, if there is an emergency and they need to contact someone or if the class is more of a make up day and the student has completed all of their work. Of course though, it really depends on the teacher and the class, and the expectations the teachers have for their students. I for sure do believe though that students should have the freedom to use their phones outside of class, as it is important for communication purposes. SCHOOL LUNCH: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what would you do to improve the quality of student lunches? I know there are a lot of mixed opinions regarding the school lunches. I feel that students should be able to express their thoughts on the servings and food provided. I know that several other council candidates have mentioned a feedback system, and I think that would be great! However, I do think that it is important we all work together--students and staff--to figure out what works best for the benefit of everyone. The school has to ensure there are servings for everyone, and it is important that whatever changes are made are practical for the entire school community. Previous Next

< Back Senioritis More than just laziness? Bryson Aquino Student Wellness January 13, 2025 at 5:44:59 PM The first use of the term “senioritis” appeared in a 1907 article published in the Chicago Alumni Magazine . It offered the first diagnosis of the condition: “When we were freshmen, we looked forward to being sophomores; when we were sophomores we desired to be juniors; when we were juniors we wished to be seniors; and now that we are seniors we long again to be freshmen.” As students step into their final year, many lack motivation and drive. They wish to go back to simpler and less stressful years. Seniors may also fear what is to come: the unknown. As freshmen, we have four years ahead of us; as seniors, we face the entirety of our lives. When senioritis hits, student grades start dropping. Ambitious students start missing deadlines, zoning out in class, and losing interest in loved extracurriculars. People usually chalk it up to laziness, but there could be a deeper reality to senioritis than we usually know. According to students, counselors, and mental health experts, there's more going on than simple slacking. Environmental Causes Some students feel like senioritis stems from mental illness. Yet, as senior counselor Darcie Webber notes, those on the outside looking in may find it “difficult to make that distinction between mental issues and laziness.” Webber suggested that some of the symptoms may be attributed to fatigue as well as connected to things in the environment. “Junior year is what should have been your (seniors’) most academic year,” said Webber. Instead, she continued, “It became your most emotionally learning year. Students were incredibly distracted due to a community torn apart, the fires.” “It's a lot to pile on a kid. It's an awful amount to pile on anyone. A lot of these responsibilities are intended to set up students, but in reality, it can really bring one down.” In the wake of the fire, many students are having to work harder than before to put themselves out there. “I wouldn't call it traditional senioritis,” said Webber. For what it is, it may be fatigue – and it's justified.” Seniors themselves at Lahainaluna are split on the issue. “Senioritis can be a lack of motivation for sure,” said senior Kayla Mabalot. But, she added, “the main factor that causes it, is the mental toll school has on us.” While senioritis lacks a formal medical definition, the symptoms of senioritis are real, says researcher Adenna Young-Jones who characterizes senioritis as the “lack of enthusiasm, fits of irresponsibility, and a generally depressed affect punctuated by occasional outbursts of irritability.” Looking at the effects of environmental senioritis, they note an optimal learning environment is critical to provide “conditions that support students as individuals,” as that will “help them feel in control of their own achievement and more likely to achieve academic success.” Science teacher Jackie Ellis notices that “seniors typically will have more of a sense of urgency.” Acknowledging the variety in students' personalities, she continued: “you have a mix of students that are usually scrabbling to make sure they have enough credits to graduate. Then you have the students who are already set – that tend to think about the minimum effort they can do to get by. That tends to be the laziness.” Senior Tyzo Kaska agrees. He feels like he has what he needs to graduate. “I don't think my lack of motivation is from something deeper than anyone thinks, I'm just lazy.” Kaska explained, “I’m not that pressured, as long as I'm getting decent grades.” “Senioritis is caused by laziness and a lack of motivation,” said senior Dhennico Cabading. “But I think it has to do with fatigue from school for me. I am just tired of constantly doing work.” Causes Senior Vi Nguyen goes back to the fire to explain the seniors’ lack of motivation. “In terms of workload, everything was a little bit postponed because of the fires.” But getting back to normal is a struggle. “Now we’re at a normal pace, …some seniors might be struggling with keeping up because we were so used to slowly getting back into things and now that we are, it’s like we’re still trying to find that normalcy that we used to have.” “I’m still displaced and I am still trying to find a stable living situation, which causes a bit of anxiety and unrest within me,” Nguyen stated. “On top of that, I have to focus on schoolwork and college applications.” “It's definitely laziness and a lack of motivation but it can go deeper than that,” said Senior Alexa Torres Perez, who said that seniors may feel “We aren't given the same opportunities as the class of 2024, which unmotivates people to complete things like senior projects--especially since we were also still suffering the effects of the fire.” Cures? It's important to be able to differentiate between laziness and deeper issues stemming within when it comes to senioritis, as well as understanding why it happens without undermining the consequences. While not a formal diagnosis, the fatigue, anxiety, and motivational struggles are real. With the help of a support system, consisting of counselors, teachers, and peers, students can find strategies to manage stress and maintain focus. Dhennico adds, “I noticed the amount of effort I have put in has decreased over the four years, but being surrounded by friends and making my family proud have kept me going.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Bryson Aquino is a senior at Lahainaluna. He’s a student reporter interested in shedding light on and writing about problematic issues on campus. He likes to interact with school institutions. A movie that he really resonates with him is called Not Without My Daughter because its main idea is how one person will go so far just for someone they love. A funny fact about him is that high blood pressure is hereditary in his family, so don’t make him mad!

< Back How We Believe The World Sees Us Samantha Monnett Painting The Work In today's society with the growth of social media also comes higher beauty standards. For this sustained investigation, I wanted to show how I could use art to interpret how I think the world perceives me as a person through hallucinations that we all make up in our minds, how we tend to feel all these eyes on us from people judging our looks and every physical change that we make. With all of the artworks, I am investigating how we all tend to be self-critical and create illusions to match what we think others are thinking of their experience of us. During the beginning of the sustained investigation, I wanted to focus on the idea of reflecting our self-perceptions as seen in mirrors, highlighting how we are often our harshest critics. However, while experimenting with various paints and materials to depict these reflections, my investigation shifted towards portraying hallucinations of distorted images that reflect how we believe the world sees us. As I came towards the end of my sustained investigation, the hyper-realism didn't really matter within the projects but rather the message that was portrayed behind it that everyone experiences. About the Creator Samantha Monnett graduated from Lahainaluna in 2024. Previous Next Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Send Email

< Back Panliligaw Lyndsay Sultan Sculpture The Work My theme is about Filipino courtship, called panliligaw . Panliligaw is the process where a man tries to woo a woman into dating, eventually leading to marriage. There are many different customs and disciplines that are part of Filipino tradition. Usually, the man tries to show his commitment by giving gifts, writing letters, and even performing harana. The woman remains disciplined, showing no emotion until the man demonstrates an act of true love. In my theme, I often showcase harana because it is very common, where the man sings to the woman outside her balcony or window. I chose this theme to highlight more of my culture. During an art comic project I created in my sophomore year, I watched a documentary about harana. I learned how older generations still remember the songs they sang to their significant others. However, they mentioned how panliligaw has largely faded because our generation is more reliant on technology. I wanted to illustrate the contrast between the past and present in Filipino courtship. The Harana The Harana project is made out of cardboard, modeling clay, ribbon, colored paper, and acrylic paint pen. I was trying to interpret how harana is shown as (without the balcony). I wanted to interpret how harana is shown. Fun fact, there is an option to have either one or two friends to play an instrument while the man can sing to the girl who he is courting. The harana project is made out of cardboard, modeling clay, ribbon, colored paper, and acrylic paint pen. I was trying to interpret how harana is shown as (without the balcony). I wanted to interpret how harana is shown. Fun fact, there is an option to have either one or two friends to play an instrument while the man can sing to the girl who he is courting. The Bulaklak Shop The Bulaklak shop is made out of cardboard, acrylic paint, air-dry clay, ribbons, and marker. I wanted to make this project to create a small replica of the flower shops in the Philippines. I traveled to the Philippines this summer and saw multiple bouquet shops stuffed with flowers. I decided to look more into the costs and the translation to have it put onto the display. The Bulaklak shop represents a good place to get flowers for the person you are going to court. The Aroma The Aroma is a project I made out of modeling clay, cardboard, ribbon, colored paper, paint, and an acrylic paint pen. I wanted to show a girl receiving a bouquet, which is one of the acts of Filipino courtship. I learned that it is one of the ways, and I wanted to show it in a little showcase box. She is leaning closer to the bouquet to smell the aroma. Maniligaw For this project, I decided to go back to using traditional clay. I used the pinch technique on most of the parts and blended them together. I added more clay to sculpt more of the head. I wanted to show the top part of the man wearing traditional clothing. I also wanted to use traditional clay to emphasize the “traditional” aspect. I aimed to create a head sculpture with the top part featuring the man’s traditional clothing. Online Ligaw I decided to make a present project showcasing how dating is now in the present. I used air-dry clay, watercolor paper, ribbon, cardboard, and acrylic paint. Online ligaw means online dating. I wanted to showcase the connection between two phones connecting across the earth, especially with the two points of view where the girl is talking during the day and the guy is talking at night. I was also trying to interpret what long-distance relationships are like. About the Creator I am a Lahainaluna student who strives to think outside the box. As an artist, I experiment with new mediums such as ceramics, drawing, painting, and more. I enjoy exploring different techniques to create art pieces with meaning, often showcasing that meaning indirectly through my work. My goal is to become an animator and share my culture with the world. Previous Next Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Send Email

< Back Love on a Budget Why $0 Might Be the Magic Number. Brielle Em-E-Li Ramelb Student Life February 13, 2026 at 6:05:50 PM As Valentine’s Day approaches, students are looking at a familiar dilemma: is love a matter of how much you spend, or is it the thought that counts? Recently, some students notice a pattern in their classmates’ approach gift-giving and showing affection. “One of my classmates wants someone with money,” said freshman Brenda Cuando, who worries that the true meaning of love is under attack. “They shouldn’t only focus on the money,” she added. According to junior William Alden Palacio, the right gift isn’t necessarily about the price tag. “I don't really care if I spend money on my partner,” he said. “It’s just picking out the right things for her. The only thing that I care about is putting in enough effort.” While some prioritize effort, others struggle with the reality that sometimes they simply can’t afford to spend. In fact, 36 percent of respondents to a recent Ka Lama Hawai’i poll reported feeling direct pressure to spend money on their partners for the holiday. This pressure is significant since many students may not have the financial means. Moreover, according to Lahainaluna’s Title I data for the 2024-25 school year, more than half of the student body qualifies for low-income programs such as free and reduced lunch and Upward Bound. Title I is a federal program that provides funding to schools with high percentages of low-income students to improve their academic performance. “...sometimes I can’t afford it.” While some students earn an income on their own time, not all students are employed. “It is hard for me to spend money since I don’t have a job,” says Cuando. “I am a big gift giver, but sometimes I can’t afford it.” Like many students in February, Cuando admits to feelings of guilt when she finds herself unable to give her partner the "perfect" gift. "I'd be taking them on dates if I worked a job,” said freshman Harana Peralta, who noted she would be “spoiling my partner if I had money.” Despite these regrets, poll data painted a much more confusing picture. Among respondents, the average suggested amount that a “good partner” would spend was approximately $40. This data was distorted, however, by the fact that many said $0, and one respondent suggested $300. "Struggling with someone by your side.” “Building a relationship around money and gifts isn’t going to work out in the long term since people's feelings will get hurt and expectations won't be met,” said social studies teacher Sarah Eubank. She believes that materialistic values shouldn’t dictate relationships, as focusing strictly on money can have negative consequences. In fact, most respondents saw financial struggle as something that produces closer relationships. As one respondent wrote, "Struggling with someone by your side is better than struggling alone." Other students claimed that a "deep feeling of care," "natural connection," and "choosing someone over and over again” are of greater worth to them than financial output. According to 91 percent of poll respondents, money has nothing to do with showing true affection. “It doesn't have to be about money,” said sophomore Hazzylyn Manuel. “It’s just how much love you put into your gift, and how much effort you put in there.” This shows how the connection between partners is often prioritized, proving affection and love aren't confined to monetary displays. Palacio agrees, noting there’s more value in a connection that survives without money. He feels his girlfriend is “the type of person that would stick next to you, even when times get tough.” “...a lot more meaning…” One of the most common responses in the survey pointed to the value of homemade gifts. “I use things that I have at home to make something for my partner when I don’t have money,” says Cuando. “I like seeing my partner happy,” she added. “Money shouldn’t matter; it should be about the love and connection you have with them.” Other respondents echoed this, noting that “handmade gifts have a lot more meaning” and that “commitment and time to the other person is the least you can do.” As one student put it: “Affection can be shown through handmade gifts, which can be free if you're using materials you have at school or at your house.” “...it's the meaning behind it” “High school relationships should be about fun, I don't think that it should be about gifts and materialistic expectations,” says Eubank, emphasizing that the price of a gift shouldn’t determine who you're with. Sophomore Mei-Lin Aipa agrees. “No matter the price, it's the meaning behind it.” According to most students interviewed, employment status isn't a requirement to be a good gift giver, and, as Aipa notes, “Money doesn’t change how I see someone. It doesn't get to decide who I love.” This Valentine’s Day, Lahainaluna students will be celebrating with the knowledge that love costs nothing—or it costs somewhere around $40. “Love will teach you a lot of things,” said Palacio, “financially and in general.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Brielle Ramelb is class of 2029’s stuco treasurer. She loves playing music, playing the guitar, and collecting vinyl records.

< Back Forward > Wrestling At King Kekaulike Samantha Shibao Previous Next The wrestling season is coming to a close, and the Lunas are locking in. In their 6th tournament of the season, the Lunas will soon face off against other MIL teams including Baldwin, King K, Maui High, Kulanihako’i, Hana, Maui Preparatory Academy, Seabury, Moloka’i, Lana’i, Kamehameha. This will be a tournament that determines who will advance and secure a spot at State. The last couple of tournaments were rough. The Lunas lost multiple practice days, and some wrestlers were sick or injured. Nevertheless, the Lunas toughed it out this past weekend, scoring multiple wins and getting them pins. Kden Pu, in his 7th year of wrestling, competes in the 215 weight class. Pu said that his personal goal for these upcoming tournaments is to beat Baldwin High and earn more team points. He added that these tournaments will show "everyone that our team has something to prove." "The girls are good. I think they’re gonna get some wins hopefully," said Izaac Pacheco, who is in his 3rd year of wrestling and wrestles in the 165 weight class. Pacheco claims that the biggest challenge he and the team are facing is psychological. "There’s the challenge of regret—regretting not giving it your all." Pu also said, "It’s a mindset game, you have to push yourself and do every conditioning but can’t quit." Jackson Hussey offered some general advice for other athletes: "If you have a bad mindset coming into any sport or anything in life, it’s gonna go down, but if you have a good mindset you’ll do good." Jackson Hussey has been a wrestler longer than any other on the team. He offered some insight on how his own season has been and what the team has prepared for these tournaments. "I don’t want to sound cocky but I know my wrestling ability, and over here on Maui the competition isn’t too bad." Pu added, "I predict Jackson is gonna win all of it," and emphasized the importance of their longtime coach, Terry Shibao, for the team's success. To prepare, many of the wrestlers are sticking to a conventional training regimen. "I just run, but also wake up in the morning to lift then see trainer Mike," said Pacheco. Hussey remarked on how the Lunas "condition hard, practice hard, and practice the moves that work the best for us." The stakes for these upcoming tournaments are huge. This will be the tournament right before The State Championship. In order for any of the wrestlers to qualify, they will need to pass through this weekend's tournament. So come to King K’s home gym this Saturday at 10 am to support the Lunas wrestling team as they face off against all MIL teams. Go Big Red! Heading 6

< All Candidates Lake Tavernese President ⭐ PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES: Do you have ideas regarding how to provide development opportunities to students (i.e. college fairs, scholarships, and campus policies to promote clubs and student involvement)? If so, explain: My main idea to promote student led activities would be to start a volunteer program where students can use their time during lunch and/or after school to assist in a campus cleanup to make our campus cleaner and safer. EVENTS PLANNING: If you were elected to student council what school events do you deem important and why? If I was elected into the student council the main school events I would deem most important would be graduation, senior ball, and senior luau. These are the most impactful events the senior stuco hosts almost every year and I find it very important to plan these events to make our final year of high school as memorable as possible. PARKING: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make on the parking and car policy? I do believe that the parking situation is very out of hand, my plan would be to talk to admin about regularly enforcing the parking pass policy in which the punishment for parking in the main student lot would be a detention hour. Students pay for the parking pass and they should be secure in the fact that if they arrive at school on time, there will be a spot for them to park. ENVIRONMENT: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make to the appearance, cleanliness, or safety on campus? If I was elected as class president I would start organizing student led clean-up crews during lunch periods or after school. If possible, I could also communicate with admin and see if these campus clean-ups can also be used to get rid of detention hours as a way to incentivise students. PHONE POLICY: If you were elected to the position you are running for, how would you change our phone policy? I wouldn't change the policy much, I believe that if the student is being productive or has all work done they should be allowed to have downtime on their phone; as many teachers allow. SCHOOL LUNCH: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what would you do to improve the quality of student lunches? For school lunches I would improve them by seeing if we could lead a school wide fundraiser to allow for more funding towards school lunches specifically. If our school had a large budget set aside with the sole intention being to improve the food quality the produce and meat used could go up in quality and encourage more students to eat lunch daily. Previous Next

< Back Kids in the Cafe “a relaxing place to be” Jean Martin Alternado Education May 8, 2024 at 9:44:24 PM As I walked through the double doors leading to the LHS cafeteria, I saw at least 20 to 30 students inside. Many of them were spending that time playing games or doing things not related to school. It led me to worry about our education. Everyone's goal is to graduate high school and succeed in life, but how will we do that if we aren’t learning anything or getting the knowledge we need? Most people assume that a student’s absence will affect their grade; does a teacher’s absence have the same effect? Ms. Heinlein, a Vice Principal at Lahainaluna, determines which classes are in the cafeteria and which get a substitute. She says that anywhere from 60 to 75 students are in the cafeteria on any given day of the week. On rare occasions, 9 or more classes (135-180 students) may be there. Some students choose not to show up to the cafe at all. They can be found scattered around campus. A 2021 study conducted by researchers Hansen and Quintero shows that the absence of a teacher will reduce student’s knowledge in the related subject by at least 3%. Sofia Nebrida, a current senior at Lahainaluna High School, agrees. For her, the absence of a teacher affects students' ability to learn and develop skills because “We use the time in class for instructions and to work on things we need to improve on. Without the time with a teacher in a classroom, we will slowly lose what we learned.” Researcher Marie-Antonette Bone notes that the students who participate in class with an in-person teacher "more likely to remember a greater portion of the information" and to improve their critical and higher level thinking skills. Ms. Liza Buchter, a teacher at Lahainaluna, agrees that it is beneficial to be in a classroom because “There are too many distractions in a cafeteria.” She added that “[students] aren’t equipped with the right technology to learn. It is a bigger place compared to a classroom causing distractions. Also, the mix of other teachers and classes is making it very hard for students to focus.” Once students are in the cafe, they “revert to chit-chat and cause noise. It’s hard for a teacher to bring their class management and their student’s attention. Nothing gets accomplished when we’re in the cafe.” Ms. Buchter worries about student behavior and doesn't usually see students engaged in learning. Instead, they often watch videos or play games. She said that she often encourages people to become substitutes so that fewer students end up in the cafe. Not everyone thinks that the cafeteria is bad for learning. A few students say that being in the cafeteria benefits them because it provides a study hall in a familiar space. Azana Tolbert, a sophomore student at Lahainaluna, states that students in the cafeteria “get to learn at their own pace, and they get to catch up on work that they are also missing from classes. It’s a relaxing place to be and an efficient place to get work done.” Kamalani Kaili, a sophomore, says that she will do her work in the cafe, but “it depends on the class I have. I don't do the work they post on Google Classroom when I'm in the cafe. I use it as time to myself because it's the only time I get most often.” On whether or not doing the work affected the way she learned, Kaili said that it didn’t: “Time in the cafe is just a little break.” There is support for this idea. According to The Education Resources Information Center , students are more likely to get work done when around an environment they’re comfortable in. Students are more likely to have fewer behavioral issues if they are in a comfortable place. They may perform better in spaces where they do not feel as much pressure to perform. In the cafe, students are more relaxed and some are hard at work. They don’t seem pressured, just sitting silently and learning at their own pace. Many students there use their peers for help, while some goof off. We know that students grow smarter and more skilled in life when we are taught hands-on with peers and teachers to guide them. Many of us as students don't see the importance of this topic, but it is really something we should all take into consideration. Previous Article Next Article Copy link Jean Martin Alternado is a contributor to Ka Lama Hawai'i and was a junior at the time he wrote this.

< Back Haunted Halls The Haunted History of Lahainaluna Kristina Meguro Student Life September 30, 2025 at 8:20:21 PM Stories of the supernatural are unsurprisingly common among students and staff at Lahainaluna, which is nestled at the base of Puʻu Paʻupaʻu (Hill of Struggle). Founded in 1831, Lahainaluna High School has been around for nearly two centuries, a span of time in which the campus has shifted and expanded. Nevertheless, something has stayed the same, unaffected by the construction of new buildings that occur from time to time. Spooky stories are a legacy as strong as the traditions we pass down from generation to generation. But are they more than stories, or are we just superstitious? According to various accounts from students, staff, and alumni, several areas of our old campus are rumored to be “haunted” or “spiritually active,” as Librarian Tara Nakata corrected me. “The campus is a little bit up in the mountains, right?” she said. “It’s not odd to believe there is paranormal activity.” When asked, staff and students had lots to share. At the top of their lists were the Hoapili & David Malo dorms, Samuel Moʻokini Music Building (band/choir room), the Hale I Luna (aka J-Building), and the MacDonald Building. There have also been spiritual sightings from the cafe. “...something was watching.” Ag teacher, Nathan Pallett, tells a story about a felt presence outside the MacDonald building. As he describes, it was late at night, around 10PM sometime during the 2018-2019 school year. Pallett was in the MacDonald building, thinking about working for another hour when suddenly a feeling of dread came over him. As he describes it, the feeling was telling him “it’s time to go home.” Listening to the feeling, he decided to leave. After cleaning up, he headed over to the box on the side of the building in order to set the alarm. “As I was walking back,” said Pallett, “I felt like something was watching.” Trying to disregard the feeling, Pallett continued to walk back to the front. Still, he continued looking over his shoulder, not turning all the way, and trying to fight an almost eerie feeling coming over him. “It felt like something was gonna, like, rush from behind. I walked much faster, almost to a jog.” He kept the fast pace as he continued to feel the pressure of the entity. The closer he got to the truck, he felt the presence strengthen. He hastily squeezed through the narrow space between the building and the red gate and finally a hint of salvation occurred. The presence disappeared after passing the red gate. He describes the situation as something that you experience in films. “It felt like in the movies where the bad things are about to get the person… and all of a sudden the ghost or whatever disappears when the people turn around.” “...G-Building wasn’t blessed…” After Pallett’s scare by the MacDonald building alarm box, the presence, he said, never came back. But he did tell me about another odd incident where he stayed late on campus. At the MacDonald building again, Pallett was doing his usual routine of going down to feed the animals, when he heard a TV blaring loudly from one of the classrooms in G-Building. “I knock on the door,” he said. But “no one answers, the door is locked. I can see that the lights are flashing.” He decided to call Principal Carosso to unlock the door. Carosso arrived at the scene shortly after to shut the TV off. Thinking the problem was resolved, Pallett went back to his room to grab his things. Unknown to him, Carosso decided to check the classroom again and found the TV still on. He walked around the room, checking the backrooms to confirm there was no one in the room. A little later, the two were talking when the fire alarm suddenly went off in the cafeteria. “They (the people at the cafe) thought they could smell smoke and it looked kind of hazy… you could smell stuff.” The fire department arrived at the school and examined the building, but couldn’t find a trace of fire anywhere. “They checked every outlet, all the heat sources,” Pallett reports, “and nothing was abnormal.” Pallett spoke to “Uncle John” Alexander, our cafeteria manager, later that evening who suggested that G-Building had not yet been blessed and this was the source of the abnormal occurrences. G-Building was eventually blessed, which had been already planned, and “everything just stopped,” Pallett says. “I haven’t heard any stories since.” The Unsettling Melodies of the Band Room Students and staff often stay late at the band room playing music. But some unusual rhythms, they claim, cannot be explained. According to the Director of the Band & Choir, Jalen Baraoidan, “Mr. B,” there have been multiple paranormal encounters at the Samuel Moʻokini Music building (aka band/choir room), many of which he has experienced himself. During his four years of teaching, one of the most significant spooky events he experienced was when he heard drums, specifically Hawaiian drums. “I heard these very loud drums just playing,” he said. “I thought to myself ‘huh, Hawaiiana club practices on Sundays?” Baraoidan had been working on choir tracks and got up from his desk to check it out. Moving toward the sound of drums, Baraoidan approached the choir room. “When I walked in,” he said, “the room was pitch dark, no one was there.” He quickly thought, “maybe someone snuck into my side of the room” and circled around Kumu’s room for a bit longer before going back to his side. But again, no indication of anyone else that was there except himself. Baffled, and a bit alarmed, he thought to himself, “Okay, maybe it’s time to leave.” So he did. The drum sounds could have come from anywhere, but what about an unsettling melody from a piano? According to Isikeli Tafea (Assistant to the Director of BAC), a former student, Carlito Justin Luben, “CJ” (Class of 2015 Alumni), and Baraoidan, they once heard the band room piano playing when no one was around. Years ago, said Baraoidan, he decided to give the school’s grand piano to Maui High School choir, replacing it with a smaller piano. Though the piano was gone for a short duration, students often reported hearing it play in the area it was once located, and he also heard it from time to time. Isikeli heard the story from boarding students who cleaned areas of the campus after school. A group of them were assigned to the band room as their area to clean. According to them, they could often hear the piano being played, but when “they would look, there’s no one inside. The band room’s pitch dark…” According to Luben , multiple people have reported hearing “like a trickling on the piano… It would usually be at night with all the lights off.” Until the new piano was installed, the melody continued. All three interviewees claim that there is a little girl spirit attached to the piano. Baraoidan said “...a girl spirit, a ghost spirit LIVES in the piano and when I got rid of it, she got agitated.” These encounters with ghosts at the band room are odd as it is more modern compared to other buildings. The band room finished construction in 1977 and has only been around 48 years since Lahainaluna has been here. Nevertheless, many say the band room is one of the most haunted spots on campus and, one reason, apparently, is the water. Lahainaluna Campus map drawn by Robert Andrews, son of Rev. Lorrin Andrews, the first school headmaster, circa 1840. There were multiple waterways. While many were demolished alongside the sugar cane fields, some water canals remained, such as the one by the band room. According to an anonymous staff member, “water attracts spirits” and many cultures have entities associated with water. Perhaps this was a reference to Japanese culture in which mischievous water demons/spirits called “Kappa” harass people. The kappa are also sometimes saviors who save people from drowning. The staff member is not too sure, though. 2006 campus map of Lahainaluna. *Highlighted in yellow are the water ways, highlighted in blue is the band room area. “…the student she thought she saw was outside.” Many of the borders have attended Lahainaluna for generations. They have inherited a love for their school as well as stories about their predecessors’ experiences: the good, the bad, and the haunted. Hearing about ghostly experiences may sound ridiculous to some people, but generations of borders on campus claim that our ghosts are real. Hilinaʻi Sodetani, is a freshman border who talked about a haunting experience by her auntie, 2016 alumni. Sodetani’s auntie claims to have heard chains dragging in the halls of the Hoapili Dorm. “They say,” said Sodetani, “it’s like a legend that it’s David Malo’s dog walking down the hallways.” It is also a tradition that if you ever see a lady in white in the hallway, you must go back into your room. Although Sodetani has not encountered the spirits that her family members told her about, she says that she recently had some chilling experiences at the Hoapili Dorm when her roommate and herself were on their phones heard a knock coming from the door. Sodetani describes the situation as odd because she thought “Was I the only one hearing the knock?” Her roommate had not reacted at the time. Sodetani decided to ignore it and laid back down when the knock came again, “like three knocks. And then I opened the door, but nobody was in the hallway.” Her roommate told her to ignore the knocking, but later, Sodetani went to discuss the situation with a friend, a fellow freshman border, who also heard knocking and coincidentally her roommate had told her to ignore it too. Sodetani mentions, her father, a 2001 alumni of Lahainaluna, who claims to have heard the toilets in the David Malo dorm flushing while he was in the bathroom, but there was no one else there. LeiAloha Amram, a sophomore border, has many little occurrences to share that happened here and there. One encounter happened to her dorm attendant who saw someone walking into a dorm room. The dorm attendant thought it was one of her students but soon after leaving the dorm “the student she thought she saw was outside.” Amram also mentions that “someone’s lights were flickering and turning on at night, and there’s doors shaking, opening by itself.” She added that her friends had seen a tall, long figure in one of the dorm rooms but once they turned the lights on, it disappeared. “...things would break or the lights would fall down.” In 1990, the original Hale I Luna burnt down. Five years later, a two-story and ten classroom-building was established in order to replace it. The new building kept the name “Hale I Luna” aka J Building. Anne Cook, the English Department Head and 10th Grade English teacher thinks the fire was “kind of strange” since “they never ever found out the reason for it.” Once the new building was built, it opened up strange encounters in the classroom, claims Cook. “I was downstairs before--I was in J104. There were times where things would break or the lights would fall down.” It made her get shivers like chicken skin. Cook describes how she heard the bushes and trees rustling, "but, there was no wind. Why were they rustling?" Importantly, perhaps, Hale I Luna connects on its north side of the campus where the night marchers start their path. Yellow: Night Marchers path The stories of paranormal activity were apparently frequent enough that school leaders asked custodian “Uncle Nalu” Naleieha to perform a blessing on the building. Naleieha told Cook that the location was a hot spot for spiritual activity as it is where the night marchers would walk down the mountain. Their path apparently takes them along the old stream after they reach the front office. Sodetani adds, “They say that the night marchers' pathway goes into boarders field but one thing that they always tell us is to try to ignore them, and verbally say out loud sometimes to tell that we’re here… they only come and go…” Cook said “I felt like they weren’t harmful spirits, but there were spirits here.” Many on campus believe similarly. While there are wandering old souls and scary entities, there are also guardians that keep the place safe. According to the ELL Coordinator/Spanish teacher, Ashley Olson, two ghosts appeared to her in her first year of teaching. Working during the school day in K14 of the Hale Puke building, Olson was sure that a couple of students had walked past her door wearing rugby uniforms. She remembers wondering to herself: “Why are there students out during class?” Rushing outside to remind them to head to class, she was met with an empty field and no students. “I walked around to the back of the building,” she explained, “and there’s nobody. That happened a couple of times…” Discussing her situation with Naleieha, he told her “Those are warriors that are just keeping the campus safe.” Olson added that because of what he said to her, she made sure to appreciate them, and said thank you. “After that,” she claims, “it didn’t happen anymore.” Alexander claims that every morning, whenever he opens the gate and drives past Sue D. Cooley Stadium, he sees shadows at the fence. “I would call them like a guardian of the campus… I don’t think most of the things that I’ve seen here are evil or wicked…” Breakfast is Served!… to Nobody? Alexander has encountered many ghosts or spirits. They come around when he arrives at school to set up around four-thirty to five, and around the time he leaves campus, which is sometimes as late as 11:30 or midnight. Though the majority of his encounters weren't horrifying, he claims, there are times where he gets chicken-skin. “There are two types of encounters you can experience on campus,” says Alexander. “I would call it a presence type where you can sense and feel their presence. Then there's another one that you can feel a form of fear or borderline terror like something's not right here.” Alexander has only experienced one spirit that gave him a “I shouldn’t be here” feeling. That was when he first started working here, and at the time, there was random equipment that hadn’t been transferred from the old cafeteria (currently ʻEpekema aka H-building) to the newer cafe (Hale Pā’ina). One morning, he went down to grab some of the equipment that they needed for the day. As he attempted to unlock the door, all of the hair on his body stood up. “It was not friendly at all… my skin started tingling.” That is the only feeling of terror he has gotten from ghosts in his decade of working here, he said. His chicken-skin experience may have ended there but, at the Hale P ā ’ina, the “wandering” ghosts of the cafe continue to appear before his eyes. “I have seen shadow figures walk across the dining room and I hear chairs moving from time to time… Usually I say good morning, aloha.” Alexander explains that he does not feel the same terror with the ghosts that just wander. They are “friends of his”: “I feel that they are all very old souls… It’s not scary. At least not for me.” Again, not all ghosts are scary, Alexander insists. He explained one encounter he had experienced with “Auntie Jane” Casco, the cook for the cafe, as proof. It was a normal morning and their usual routine. Turn the computers on to check if they were available to scan for ID’s, clicked through the them and to see if the search bar was working–in case they need to find a student’s name. After this, they turned away from the computers when they heard a beep. It was the sound that was only heard when an ID had been scanned. They hastily turned back towards the screen to see the search bar popped up on the screen. And in the search bar, the initials “DM” appeared. In this brief second, they looked at each other and said “David Malo.” Alexander laughs as he explains the encounter, “It’s like ‘Oh! David’s here’... Not to make joke or any disrespect, but it’s just a thing that we’ve accepted. There are, and I truly believe there are, past spirits on campus.” “Some would say you’re never really seeing what you’re seeing, and like that’s okay,” Alexander concluded. “You don’t have to agree with me.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Kristina Meguro is a sophomore and a staff writer for Ka Lama Hawaiʻi.

< Back The Digital Leash Is Location Tracking a Sign of Trust or a Tool for Control? Ashlee Hufalar Student Life “When we got together, he was like, ‘oh, you want to have one too?,’ And I'm like ‘sure’,” says sophomore Hanan Oleiwan, explaining how she and her boyfriend began to use the Life360 app to track each other’s location. “It was first when we were [band] officers, they made a Life360 for us to join so that they'd know where we are.” Sometime after Oleiwan and her boyfriend became “official,” he suggested having a private circle just for them. “It was like a random decision,” she said. Life360 is a real-time location tracker with over 200 million downloads worldwide. Simply having the device with the app on you allows it to follow your every move. Whether you’re walking, running, driving, or even biking—Life360 detects it and puts a little icon beside your profile for others in your “circle” to see. It’s not unheard of for teen couples to use such apps to share their location. While Life360 is among the most popular, other apps include Apple Find My, iSharing, and even an Android app called Couple Tracker. Social media apps such as Snapchat, Instagram, and even location-based features on other platforms also have tracking features. While Oleiwan mentioned that her situation was simply a “random decision,” the question remains: why would couples share their location in the first place? “... you can keep track…” “I feel like it does have an effect,” says freshman Alejandro Baldez, who shares his location with his partner. He was the one who suggested it, he said, reasoning that it has made him feel closer “because, you know where they are, and that way, you can keep track or just make sure they're safe.” Oleiwan also sees the value of couples sharing locations for safety reasons. While in her case, doing this doesn’t exactly make her feel “closer” to her partner—explaining that “it's just there”—she points out that “couples might want to share their location with their significant other to make sure they're, like, okay and stuff.” “My lady and I share our location,” said John Borge, a U.S. history and participation in democracy teacher. He attributed this decision “first and most importantly” to the fact “we obviously have nothing to hide.” Knowing when his wife gets home and when he needs to leave school are just a few things he uses the app for. It “makes life much much easier,” Borge added, explaining that location tracking helps him juggle family responsibilities, especially with kids. Though the circumstances of high school couples are a little different—it is almost unheard of for them to live together with a family of their own—safety doesn’t seem to be the only appeal of having your partner's coordinates. Erica Domogma, a sophomore, doesn’t use the app herself, but she thinks that its primary value is “To know if they're cheating.” Junior Kaliyah Cutty strongly agrees, saying location tracking lets couples “see if they're like...I don't know at somebody else's house or something.” Cutty offered a short anecdote about a situation she heard of, where “this guy would have his location off when he was on island, but anytime he'd go off island he'd feel comfortable enough to turn it on.” In her perspective, she thought “the fact that he felt the need to turn it off when he was home was a little bit concerning.” “...seems like the couples don't trust each other..” While location tracking is more common with couples to ensure safety or reassurance, for some, the expectation of openness doesn’t end there. Sharing passwords, whether it’s for their phone or social media account, “is also very common,” says Cutty. “For the same reason-–like cheating-–you can access their phone and see who they're contacting and all that.” Domogma suggests that in a lot of cases, password sharing could actually lead to suspicion. She described a scenario where she might like a guy's post and her significant other sees this by logging into her account through her password. “He's gonna assume, ‘Oh, why you like that post? Are you cheating on me’.” Sophomore Tia Faiva mentions that some “people nowadays think if you don't do that (allow your partner digital sharing access), you're not really trustworthy.” She admitted that the reason she started sharing her location and accounts with her partner was only because “he betrayed my trust” “It seems very controlling,” said vice principal Nicole Heinlein. “It seems like the couples don't trust each other, that they want to check each other's messages and notifications.” “I would think,” she concluded, “that you wouldn't check each other's messages if you trusted each other.” Heinlein isn’t the only one who sees this as eroding rather than creating trust. Oleiwan mentions that she’s seen a lot of instances on social media where one person is on their partner's account, “opening every single message that they had.” “It would definitely cause a bunch of arguments, and some of them even did break up.” An anonymous junior shared that a couple sharing an account had once led to a serious misunderstanding. “Someone hacked into my [instagram] account and messaged my friend something insulting,” she explained. Her friend's boyfriend saw this and misunderstood the situation, texting an entire paragraph and calling “me out for insulting his girlfriend, even though it wasn’t me.” “It’s done and over with,” she said. Although, she mentioned it was frustrating and made it difficult for her to properly communicate with her friend, since she had already sent a message explaining that someone hacked her account before her boyfriend tried to intervene. On another note, sharing accounts could be used in a healthy way. “I know a couple that does share accounts,” says sophomore Kristina Meguro, who explained that it’s a necessary situation: “Since one of them lives in an area with poor connection, the partner is able to message for the person.” “...stalker style…” Aria Abut, a senior, thinks that shared accounts and location sharing between couples looks “a lot like paranoia.” “I do know that some couples like to do that, um, to ensure that their partner isn't doing anything weird, but, um, it feels kind of unsafe in a way.” While not in a relationship, she mentioned that she’d be okay with her “hypothetical partner “ looking through her phone with permission, though she feels her trust would be destroyed if they went through it without telling her. “I personally take my privacy very seriously.” “If you were obsessively checking your partner's messages,” said Heinlein, “I would think that that would be unhealthy.” PE teacher Ms. Watson shares similar views when it comes to location sharing. “If you're just trying to figure out where they are, perfect. But if you're constantly tracking them, like you know, stalker style where you're trying to figure out where they are every second of the day. Then that's kind of taking it a little overboard.” Senior Lawakua Haia-Shim, who doesn’t share passwords or his location with his significant other, says he's willing to, though he acknowledges that there comes a point where it crosses the line. “I don't think it’s comfortable if she checks my location status like every what, 30 minutes to see what I'm doing,” he said. Faiva also thinks that there’s a high risk in having constant access to each other's location, statuses, and accounts. “I think it can make them overthink. Makes them more possessive. Toxic, as people say.” An anonymous sophomore recounts a time where their past partner “would keep constantly checking my location.” And at times, when their partner saw they were home, “he thinks that I'm not busy when I'm really doing my work and then keeps on messaging me even though I asked that I needed space.” Frustrated at the distraction, her partner would insist by saying, “but you're at home. So why can't you just have the time to talk to me?’” “...you don't have to share everything.” In today's digital world, students are navigating a lot of things online, especially through social media influence, comments Borge. “We really don't know fully the extent to which and how bad social media is damaging Gen Z, the first generation to grow up with unbridled access to social media.” Oleiwan sees a pattern in the need to know everything about a partner and the surveillance that comes with constant social media use. “They see people on their social media sharing everything with their friends or partner, and they're like oh that's the norm then we should do it too.” Cutty added a point about the impact of “doom scrolling”: “you'll always find a cheating scandal or story on social media. And I think that makes people worry.” Borge advises that students should “develop healthy habits on how to perceive the information you're seeing on TikTok” or other social media. “Talk about it. Make sure you're both comfortable with it. And find a happy balance. You don't have to share. Like I said, you don't have to share everything,” says Watson. For those that want privacy and prefer not sharing these things with their partner, Faiva states “it should be respected. 'Cause I don't know, what if I don't want you seeing where I am and what I'm doing? Even if I'm not doing anything wrong, why do you need to know? Why is that in the way of our trust?” “I mean, you might be in a committed relationship, but you're not married or, you know, finances that are tied together,” says Heinlein. Rather than sharing things like passwords, she highlights that “it's much healthier to just have open conversations with each other and to be honest with each other and not hide things from each other.” Many students think the same; it’s all about open conversations and mutual respect for one another. “It's just communication. Just talk to your partner. See what boundaries you guys want to set when it comes to social media and your phones and all that,” said Cutty simply. Previous Article Next Article Copy link Ashlee Hufalar is a sophomore and a staff writer for Ka Lama Hawai'i.

< Back Can we Stall Any Longer? Students Wonder When Our Bathrooms Will Become Usable Gisele Miller Student Wellness May 1, 2025 at 10:29:09 PM To students around campus, LHS bathrooms are “dirty,” “gross and unorganized,” “the most disgusting bathrooms that you can think of.” One student in particular remarked on the bathrooms as, “the single most horrific, disgusting thing I’ve ever seen.” Freshman Izaiah Kaleikini calls the bathrooms “disgusting,” and insists “I don't want to use the bathrooms here. And I bet some people actually don’t use the bathrooms here at all.” Other students mention broken locks on the stall doors that prevent privacy, unflushed toilets, trash on the floor and in the sinks—graffiti all over walls, missing toilet paper, and empty soap dispensers. While custodians do clean the bathrooms regularly, constant use by hundreds of students each day makes it hard to keep up. “Students should have clean facilities to use,” says freshman Ashlee Hufalar about bathrooms on campus. “They should feel that they’re not in an unsanitary place--just the reassurance that they won’t get, like, any germs or something.” Students are upset with the bathrooms and looking for change. But a student from 60 years ago says this is not how it used to be. “our bathrooms were clean” Sandra Braun-Ortega graduated from Lahainaluna’s class of 1964. She remembers that “our bathrooms were clean, reasonably clean. And all the stalls weren’t dirty.” But that was 60 years ago. In fact, part of being the oldest high school campus “west of the Rockies” is that many of our facilities are 20-30 years old. According to Vice Principal Christopher Webber, some buildings are even older. “We have older buildings like I-building. That building is probably 40 or 50 years old and the bathrooms haven’t necessarily been updated.” Our facilities are now old, but in the 60s, said Braun-Ortega, it was also easier to keep things clean. “If you had detention,” she said, “one of the things they (the school) would make you do is clean the bathrooms.” Mr. Webber says that this wouldn’t be an option now. “The state has decreed that that’s unfair and we can’t have students working, certainly without pay, but also if they’re underage. It’s seen as draconian if that were to take place.” Despite this, sophomore Alexa Garcia sometimes feels like she should do her part as a student and “clean it up a bit, but like, I can’t really do much either way, but just tell other people as well, like, don’t make a mess--it could just be cleaner.” Another freshman who chose to remain anonymous went so far as to say the school should cut its losses and build new bathrooms. “Burn it down, make sure there is zero existence of it and make a new one, cause you cannot save that bathroom. It’s gone. It’s so, so far gone. The Good, the Bad, and the Smelly “It smells like butt,” said one sophomore while he ranked all the campus bathrooms 1 to 11. His comment was a reference to G building which he ranked a 7. Although it is a new building, the boy’s room apparently already has a weird smell. Despite this, G-building has one of the best bathrooms with clean floors, toilets, sinks and doesn’t lack any necessary toiletries. In the final rankings, G building scored higher than 7. Generally, the scores revealed how both the girls and boys agree that R-building has the worst bathroom while G-building has the best. Girls R-Building X-Building J-Building AA-Building I-Building Construction Stadium Locker Room H-Building Cafe G-Building Boys R-Building J-Building X-Building I-Building Cafe H-Building AA-Building Stadium Locker Room Construction G-Building 1 (Bad) – 11 (Good) R-building, or the AG building, got its ranking because of how the floors are dirty. The sinks have ants crawling out of them. The toilets look too unsanitary to use. “That one is so bad. Oh that one’s terrible. Stuff all over the ground,” said one student completing the survey. “Everybody” Students understand that the causes for the state of campus bathrooms may be split between students and the school. Sophomore Shalom Rios observes that the school “doesn’t really deep clean it.” But also, she feels that “we, like, make it dirty and we don't do anything about it either…sometimes, like there’s people that don’t flush the toilet or they just leave stuff in the sink or they just don’t clean up their trash.” Webber agrees that “everybody” is responsible for the state of the bathrooms. “I think the students and the staff that use them, the custodians, the people that clean them.” Yet, he noted especially that students add significantly to the problem by defacing them with graffiti and writing. A junior, who wanted to be anonymous, agrees that students may be most responsible for the problem. The bathrooms are unsanitary, they said, “mainly because of the students who vandalize the bathrooms and like, destroy them. And also, I don't know. This campus is just not clean.” Junior Jowy Langaman thinks that student vandals are not concerned about how others feel. “The students just don't really care about it,” he said. “An endless box of money” Freshman Ashlee Hufalar thinks that “the school doesn’t have enough maintenance for the bathrooms and it’s not like cleaned as much.” Recently, according to Mr. Webber, there has been a shortage of custodians so some of the bathrooms have had to be closed. There is also the issue of vaping that occurs in the bathrooms. Students go to the bathroom and do all sorts of things from vandalism, to skipping class, to doing illegal activities such as vaping. This creates an uncomfortable environment where students don’t feel safe and clean. Vice Principal Webber explained that “If something’s vandalized then we do fix it. But we don’t have any plans right now to do major bathroom overhaul in terms of getting new facilities like sinks or toilets.” The school’s budget is stretched thin, however. More important expenses such as teacher salaries, textbooks, sports, events like dances and assemblies take priority over renovating the bathrooms. “If I had an endless box of money I found next to the road,” said Webber, “I would want to change some of the sinks in a few bathrooms and some of the tile work in need of attention.” Webber had sympathy for students. “Bathrooms should be clean,” he said. “They should be sanitary because that is not only what the students deserve, but I believe it’s something that has to happen because we don’t want to have students use a restroom that’s not clean or hygienic.” “Is that what they think of you...” If he could fix this, freshman Izaiah Kaleikini said he would “change the whole restroom so it would be all fixed. Like the toilets, the sinks, clean floors instead of mud and dirt—rearrange it and everything.” Rios would “make it cleaner because sometimes there’s people that don’t even wanna go to the bathrooms because they get disgusted.” Fewer students talked about the bathroom locks. One junior, for instance, said she would “change the locks on the bathroom in the stalls because they’re all broken and literally, like in one of the bathrooms, my friend literally has to hold the door close for me. And also, we need toilet paper because there’s no toilet paper in any of the bathrooms right now.” A freshman who wanted to remain anonymous pointed to another problem: vaping. “Everytime I walk in,” they said. “It’s like smoke clouds.” Mr. Webber talked about this, saying “We obviously can’t put restroom cameras in restrooms, that’s illegal.” But he was also “concerned about the amount of vaping that I’m told goes on in some restrooms. I’m trying to get on top of that as well.” Braun-Ortega couldn’t believe that the school was letting students use bathrooms in such a poor state. “If they let you guys use those kinds of dirty bathrooms,” she said, “is that what they think of you, you know? Since you're just high school, you don't matter? That’s what it sounds like to me.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link I am currently a Freshman at Lahainaluna High School. I am interested in a lot of things such as painting, music and surfing. I’m focused on my honors classes. I’m a dedicated student and received the Samuel Kamakau Excellence Award. Although I’m focused on my academics, I still like to have fun with my friends and family. Surfing is one of my favorite hobbies because it allows me to be in the ocean and have fun. Born and raised in Lahaina, I love the ocean and living on Maui. For the future, I want to be a lawyer and go to NYU for college.

< All Candidates Lagazo, Brianne President ⭐ PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES: Do you have ideas regarding how to provide development opportunities to students (i.e. college fairs, scholarships, and campus policies to promote clubs and student involvement)? If so, explain: Some development opportunities I would like to provide are college fairs open to all grade levels. Most college fairs where Lahainaluna offers to take and monitor students, the only students that are allowed to go are typically upperclassmen (juniors and seniors). Opening this opportunity to all grade levels would contribute to a students academic rigor, as well as guide Lahainaluna students towards a college they wish to attend or a program they wish to pursue after high school. Other events could include volunteer opportunities, such as campus beautification projects, beach clean-ups, volunteering at shelters, tutoring, and more. Allowing students to engage in volunteer opportunities will allow them to build their college resumes/work resumes, gain leadership experience, learn work ethic, and collaborate with students and adults outside of school. EVENTS PLANNING: If you were elected to student council what school events do you deem important and why? Some events that I deem important are club fairs, which allow students to explore and learn about clubs they may want to pursue throughout their high school years. It's important for students to explore different clubs to collaborate with students, teachers, and understand what contributions they can make to highlight what they are interested in--which may be appealing to colleges they wish to attend. Other school events I deem important are school/grade level assemblies, spirit weeks, and homecoming. I believe that having fun and allowing students to enjoy school is equally as important as caring for grades and focusing on classes. Providing students with fun events to unwind shows students that we care for them and wish for them to enjoy themselves during school. It also invokes a sense of pride and belonging to see students dress up and have fun with their fellow classmates. PARKING: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make on the parking and car policy? If elected for my desired position, I would want to increase faculty in the student parking lot. Many accidents have occurred, many students do not feel safe, some students are too fast getting out of the parking lot, and some parents wait too long and hold up the line. Many students who do not possess a parking pass continue to park in student parking. I believe this is incredibly unfair to those who have paid previously to get a spot, and are sometimes robbed of being able to park in student parking. Increasing faculty in the student parking lot would allow students to be and feel more safe, while faculty can keep an eye out for students who are parking where they are not supposed to. ENVIRONMENT: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make to the appearance, cleanliness, or safety on campus? If elected for my desired position, some changes I would like to make are campus clean-up activities open to students. Many jump at the opportunities to get community service hours in. Planning activities like these would also increase student participation and teach students how to cooperate well with others. Increasing trash cans in areas around campus may also prompt students to feel Safety wise, I would increase faculty in certain areas around campus during certain times. This includes the student parking lot, the cafeteria during lunch, and patrolling campus during class time to ensure students are not skipping/cutting class. Some fun activities would also include campus repainting (murals/revamps) and restoring greenery around campus, like planting native plants/flowers and yard work on areas like Boarders Field. PHONE POLICY: If you were elected to the position you are running for, how would you change our phone policy? If elected as president, if i had the opportunity to change the phone policy, I would continue to leave that decision to teachers whether or not cell phones are allowed to be used in their classroom. As I have stated, it is their classroom and I believe it should be up to teachers to decide that cell phones will assist their lesson and how they teach or if allowing students to use them is harmful to the work environment. However, I strongly believe that cell phone usage in classes can disrupt learning if students are using them ineffectively. While some students may use it for learning and personal reasons, some may use it as their personal excuse to pay no attention to teachers and what they are supposed to be learning or doing with their class time. SCHOOL LUNCH: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what would you do to improve the quality of student lunches? To improve the quality of school lunches, I believe that quantity is a big issue. Our students, many of which are athletes, require food that is substantial enough to keep them going throughout the day and throughout their after school practices. It is important that we maintain health regulations, while also increasing the proportions of the food. Many students also complain about the temperature, stating that food is often too cold and that it makes school lunches unappealing. I feel it is also important to implement local school lunches and local food dishes, as well as working with local farms and businesses. Changes like these would make school lunches more appealing to students. Previous Next