< Back Valentine's Day High Hopes, Low Expectations Bryson Aquino Student Life February 7, 2025 at 7:37:48 PM “Valentine's day is absolutely horrible,” said sophomore Marcus John Palacio on the upcoming holiday. Explaining his feelings, he admitted that his dislike is entirely personal: “I am very jealous and very envious of all the people that get to experience love in this young, innocent, and youthful way.” As Valentine's day approaches, students at LHS have mixed feelings about the holiday and the dating culture on campus. We wanted to talk to them about dating on campus and the expectations they (and their fellow students) have for their relationships. Here’s what we found. “...a great day to bake cookies…” While some students may envy the happiness of others, some students still appreciate the 14th of February. Senior Dylan Paul Lat said, “I love Valentine's day! It's a great day to bake cookies and show love to everyone, not just in romantic relationships.” Similarly, Junior Brandon Gonzales said “I feel like it’s good that love is in the air.” Yet, other students may doubt whether anyone really cares about the holiday or takes it as seriously as they should. Freshman Mele Fita Feleta, believes that Valentine’s day has lost its significance and that “not many people really care about the day anymore–no one really does anything.” Similarly, sophomore Lucia Mejia noted that “it doesn't seem like a big deal to guys. I don't really see guys going up to girls and asking them to be their valentine anymore.” Expectations in relationships Despite their feelings about the holiday itself, LHS students are still looking for romance, though many of them have different ideas about what that looks like. “I imagine the perfect guy,” says an anonymous sophomore. “Then when I talk to an actual guy. He’s not what I pictured and it disappoints me.” According to Dr. Lina Guzman, teens tend to begin with high standards for relationships. Nevertheless, she finds, “they don’t always expect to find those qualities in a partner” because they have a pessimistic outlook when it comes to relationships. The teenagers interviewed for Guzman’s study knew few adults “whose romantic relationships were worthy of emulation.” The absence of healthy relationship models creates a cycle, she suggests, in which young people feel resigned to unhealthy patterns. For Guzman, “relationship habits formed in adolescence shape future adult relationships.” In contrast to these findings, students like sophomore Annika Yu-Cua have pretty practical expectations for a teenager. She wants a partner who has “actual goals in life and a plan to succeed.” Freshman Avery English is also just looking for “the minimum effort.” Though, she added: “I don't want you to be mean.” Some students feel that finding a relationship in a small community like Maui can be challenging. Faleta put it simply: “it’s hard to find someone here–especially if your standards are really high.” Sophomore Mia Lee admits to having fairly unrealistic expectations about her future person, though she claims that her ideas are learned. “I'm just way too delusional,” she joked. “My expectations are way too high because of the books I read and the movies I watch.” Sophomore Lucia Mejia also observes a common trend in student preferences: “Everyone here looks for a tall guy.” Gonzales suggested that some student relationships seem temporary or insincere. Among students, especially freshmen, “I see a lot of them dating for a week and then breaking up.” Social Media and Dating It is possible that our dating patterns and expectations may be influenced by the technology that has become such a big part of our reality. Dr. K. R. Subramanian argues that the decrease in face-to-face interactions due to social media use has led younger people to prefer isolation and spending time in their own “imaginary world.” Stuck to their phones, young people sacrifice time with their family, neighbors, and “real friends.” Cameron Leslie agrees, saying, “I judge more because social media makes things look different from reality.” Social media has played a significant role in dating. It has “changed people’s perceptions of what a relationship should be. They see a nice couple on Instagram reels, now they're looking for the perfect person, and think they're entitled to it,” says Senior Tyzo Kaska. Leslie agrees: “I feel like people just start to slip away from, like, the respect part of it because they just fantasize more of the idea of having a relationship.” “People need to be reminded that relationships take work. Some only focus on the good and ignore the hardships,” says Aunty Cass. Senior Jericho Yagin also notices that social media “makes it easier to start conversations with people rather than talking to them in person,” which creates virtual relationships that don’t work in reality. Student Activities Coordinator (SAC), Aunty Cassie Jacinto thinks so too. She warns that “since the internet makes it so easy to connect, it also makes it easy to jump from one person to another, which can create trust issues in relationships.” Mejia points out that a lot of what we see online is not even appropriate or relevant for younger people in relationships. “Everyone online talks about ‘red flags,’ but we’re literally teenagers—were still growing and developing.” V-Day Event Despite these challenges, some students remain hopeful, while others are content with celebrating love in all its forms, not just romantic relationships. Aunty Cass as SAC plans events based on student council input. But, she adds, it is also important to “make the events for the date inclusive,” for those looking for romance as well as those who simply like baking cookies. 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 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.

< Back 5% Proficient in Math, 100% Concerned Keyla Jimenez Education March 15, 2025 at 6:53:35 PM From the 2020-2021 to the 2023-2024 school years, Lahainaluna students' proficiency rates in math and reading dropped. Math declined from 14% to 5%, and reading from 57% to 28%. Many at LHS agree that there’s a learning issue on campus and that something should be done. However, no one can definitively say why. Was it COVID-19? An overall decline in motivation? Are these scores just inaccurate? Is it the way we gather data? Perhaps it’s a combination of factors. “How are you gonna, like, achieve stuff?” Many are concerned about the drop in reading specifically. English scores in the 2022-2023 school year decreased to 49%—a drop that we might connect to the effects of COVID-19 and remote education. But the 28% drop for 2023-2024 is more concerning. The decline immediately after COVID was only 8%. The problem is getting worse, not better. Freshman Wendy Moore thinks, “Literacy is a really big thing to understand for your future. If you don’t even have a bare understanding of it,” she added, “how are you gonna, like, achieve stuff?” Brianne Lagazo agrees: “I think being able to analyze what you're reading and understanding what you're reading is really important, especially at a young age—to be able to understand what you're reading and expand.” Ending on a sad note, she admits, “A lot of people my age are not able to do the same thing.” Sophomore Jaylee Vierra suspects that LHS students, per our StriveHI scores, “aren’t reaching our full potential, like we could be doing a lot better.” Without reading comprehension and basic math, we essentially lose “a key function in adulthood.” Yet, she also guessed that LHS students struggle with “these basic concepts because we don’t care to learn them.” “Being able to think deeply about information, and maybe not even deeply, but critically about information is really important because you guys are making decisions based off of information that you're gathering,” says librarian Tara Nakata. “It's different for everybody.” Math scores were even worse, and some students are concerned about what this means for those leaving high school to look for jobs and greater levels of education. Thinking about her classes, sophomore Yaretzi Flores observes that students “don't really truly grasp [the subject being taught].” She thinks that students are being promoted without the skills their teachers need them to have. Flores notes that teachers often have to reteach material because students didn’t learn it the first time. "If you can't learn one topic,” she explains, “like, there's no way you can hop on to another and, like, fully get the concept of that.” This situation presents teachers with a dilemma. They can move their classes onto the next subject, leaving students behind, or they can reteach. In both cases, students are negatively affected. Describing this situation, junior Shalany Hadley says, “It’s a little disappointing.” Students who are ready to learn “won't grow” when teachers have to reteach. Yet, Hadley empathized that “It's different for everybody.” Personal experiences or mental health issues may affect those who benefit from reteaching. “If something's going on in your personal life, it does make it harder for you to focus and, like, truly give your full attention to what you're trying to learn.” Presented with the data, junior Gonzalez Cruz related to those who are struggling. “I'm in Algebra Two. I was learning this one equation, and I couldn't figure it out, because all the kids remember it from last year, or, like, the years before, and I didn't really fully get the concept down that year.” Systems and School Funding Cassie Jacinto or “Aunty Cass” is our current Student Activities Coordinator, though she used to teach math at LHS. “There are so many people that are under, like, the poverty line at Lahainaluna,” she said, referring to the fact that poverty can contribute to less parental involvement and a shift in priorities for some students. The problem with priorities, in particular, presents the possibility that the scores themselves are not accurate. Pointing to testing culture, she asked, “How many students actually think that those test scores matter?” Even students who are well-off may see no value in the test if it doesn’t gain them anything. “There's no accountability anymore,” said Jacinto. “Like they just take this test? Are they even gonna really try?” If it doesn't matter to the students, she reasoned, then how accurate is the statistic in the first place?” “They don't care. It's not tied to a grade,” she said. “That's what motivates people most of the time, right? Yeah, like, 'Oh, does this test affect my grade?' No, okay, so are you really going to try then? Does it matter? Right? The answer is no, right, it doesn't matter to the students.” “How do we make test scores better?” Jacinto questioned. “Like, well, why are test scores so important?” The answer: “Because it's tied to funding. Where are our priorities?” Priorities Since 2020, educators and officials have accounted for low test scores by blaming the pandemic, but it’s been three years since then, and the problem is only getting worse. “I think we can only blame COVID for so long, you know, I think we're cycling out of that group of kids that were affected by it,” says English teacher Jennifer Ariemma. Instead, she thinks the problem could be our low expectations. “I don't think we hold ourselves to a high enough standard for kids. We have a tendency to pass students who shouldn't really, necessarily, be passed.” “Some students know more than the test gives them the capacity to show,” says Ariemma. “If we had a different way of testing our students, if we had a different way of monitoring their progress, I think we'd be able to help them a little bit more than taking a test.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Keyla Jimenez is a former staff writer for Ka Lama Hawai'i. She is ajunior and currently the president of the Lahainaluna Newswriting Club.

< 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

< Back In the Nation's Spiritual Center Lahainaluna’s Annual Celebration of Lā Kūʻokoʻa Grayson Guzman Coleman Riddell Traditions November 7, 2025 at 7:44:18 PM For the students and staff at Lahainaluna High School (LHS), the annual celebration of Lā Kūʻokoʻa (“Hawaiian Independence Day”) is far more than a simple history lesson. It is a powerful act of spiritual and political reclamation celebrated in the former center of the Hawaiian kingdom. Lā Kūʻokoʻa began on November 28th, 1843, commemorating political recognition from major powers Great Britain, France, and the United States of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s sovereignty. It was celebrated in the Kingdom for five decades until the 1893 overthrow, when it disappeared from calendars for nearly a century. As they prepare for the 4th annual Lā Kūʻokoʻa celebration on Boarders' Field (November 24th), students prepare to enjoy food, games, and art as well as a greater feeling of connection to their history. “...a forgotten holiday…” Lā Kūʻokoʻa’s return in 2022 began with a collaboration between Hawaiian studies Kumu Eva Palikiko and P.E. teacher Cliffane Casco. With the celebration’s absence, Palikiko saw an opportunity. After the overthrow, said Palikiko, “People kind of forgot about what Lā Kūʻokoʻa [was] and it became a forgotten holiday.” The effect, she added, was felt “especially in our education systems.” She described how students following the overthrow were physically punished if they celebrated Hawaiian holidays. In this environment, Lā Kūʻokoʻa was silenced until the start of the Hawaiian Renaissance in the 1960s. Even to this day, Lā Kūʻokoʻa is still not a state-recognized holiday. Palikiko noted that there was no Lā Kūʻokoʻa celebration when she arrived at Lahainaluna, though she was familiar with the celebration from the school she had transferred from. It was convenient that Casco had already incorporated the Makahiki games into his curriculum. It was even more convenient to revive Lā Kūʻokoʻa since it was so connected to Lahaina. “...the mana…has still always stayed here…” Palikiko said that the celebration is special in Lahaina, as it connects the school to the enduring spiritual power, or mana, of the area. “Lahaina remains the nation's spiritual center,” said Palikiko, “because this is where the piko was, where Mokuʻula is, that used to be the capital of Hawai'i before it moved to Honolulu." And, while the capital eventually moved (in 1845), “the mana, the spiritual, has still always stayed here... The bones of our aliʻi are still here and all that mana that was established here is still here in Lahaina." Sophomore LeiAloha Amram explained Lahainaluna “is so cultural and has so much history behind it.” As a boarder, she said, “I always feel mana around this school. It’s just so spiritful and I feel like we have a unique kind of people and things that we do that makes us different.” “When we all gather as a school to honor and celebrate these significant historical milestones and figures, I feel both pride and mana coming from everyone who acknowledges the complex history of our Kingdom,” said sophomore Ka’iulani Balinbin. “The power and beauty of it emerges when we all come together as one.” “...we're still our own country…” "It's fitting that our Hawaiian independence Day be returned back to Lahaina,” Palikiko added. “especially since the people who were very crucial in Lā Kūʻokoʻa, like Timoteo Haʻalilio and Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli)—they are Lahaina people." Timoteo Haʻalilio studied at Lahainaluna, was a historical writer of the first historical society in Hawai’i—‘Ahahui ‘Imi i nā Mea Kahiko (The Royal Historical Society)—and was a government official through membership in the Kingdom's House of Nobles. He was raised alongside and became the personal secretary of Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli). In 1842, Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli)** commissioned three diplomats, messengers—William Richards, Sir George Simpson, and Timoteo Haʻalilio. The delegation traveled to Europe and North America to get the signatures on a letter of recommendation, called Palapala, otherwise known as the Anglo-Franco proclamation for Hawaiian Independence in 1843. The mission was motivated by a fear that Hawai'i would fall to a foreign power, as had nearly happened during the Laplace Affair in which the French military threatened war on the Hawaiian Kingdom for their discrimination of Catholics. Haʻalilio was even offered as a hostage. The Hawaiian Kingdom hoped that the overseas diplomatic mission would prevent future conflicts like this. Because Lā Kūʻokoʻa was historically suppressed by the occupying government, students feel strongly about the importance of keeping such traditions alive. "Hawaiian Independence Day reminds us of the things that these foreigners came to do to Hawai’i... it was literally a stand for our people,” remarked junior ‘Āina Kapu. Sophomore Pililani Wilsey-Bothelo celebrates Lā Kūʻokoʻa with her Kula Kaiapuni (immersion) class and believes that in “Hawaiian eyes, we still are an independent nation, and we don't believe we are part of America, only because they illegally overthrew our queen.” Senior Maluaka Wilsey-Bothelo thinks Hawaiʻiʻs political status should be a part of why we celebrate such holidays. She contended that "technically,” Hawai'i is still “an illegal[ly] occupied nation.” Yet, “by heart,” he added, “we're still our own country, so we should all definitely still recognize Lā Kūʻokoʻa.” “...to make it a little bit more special.” "Every year our goal is to add just one little more thing... to make it a little bit more special," Palikiko stated. The celebration on November 24th is designed to give every student an opportunity to engage with their history. The event is a community fair packed with fun and learning—sharing the mana with everyone. Students can check with their Po’okela teacher if their class is planning to go. Casco will have Makahiki games, traditional Hawaiian sports. Including ʻulu maika (stone rolling), moa pāheʻe (sliding darts), uma and pā uma (arm wrestling), Haka moa (chicken fighting), Huki huki (tug of war), and konane (Hawaiian checkers). Drawing and Painting students, led by art teacher Micah Kawaguchi-Ailetcher, will run a live screen-printing station where students can bring their own shirts or tote bags to be printed with a Lā Kūʻokoʻa design in honor of the school’s historical role as early printmakers in Hawaiʻi. Kula Kaiapuni ʻo Lahainaluna, Hawaiian Immersion, is planning to provide food for the event and will be sharing information about important historical figures for Hawaii’s independence. There will also be lei making with plants provided by agriculture teacher Bradley Mason. “Papa hula o Lahainaluna has been working on a mele named ‘Eia nō au ‘o Timoteo Haʻalilio,’ that we will be performing” shared Balinbin. “We will be performing this to honor Timoteo and his historical significance.” Boarders are also planning to work on community service activities, such as cleaning up historical sites. “We might be planting some things up at the grave [Lahainaluna Mission Cemetery],” boarder Aiyana Kimokeo reported. “Or we might be cleaning up places…like the [Ka Pa Kalae] stage,” this stage at Boarders' Field representing our recently passed kupuna, “Aunty Lori” Gomez Karinen. Lahainaluna’s modern Lā Kūʻokoʻa traditions are planned to go beyond our campus. “Last year we invited Kulanihākoʻi… we're gonna invite them again… we’re [also] inviting Fourth to Eighth grade Hawaiian Immersion [students],” Palikiko explained, “give them a spark.” “...we’re thankful and grateful for being Hawaiian.” Celebrated annually on the fourth Thursday of November, Thanksgiving and Lā Kūʻokoʻa often fall on the same day. This creates an interesting cultural contrast. While students like Kyren Malacas Bagoyo view Thanksgiving simply as a day for family and food, “Oh, we eat. We just go eat,” Hawaiian Independence Day provides a necessary political counterpoint, reminding everyone of Hawai'i's ongoing history and the ongoing fights by its people. Mike Landes, Modern Hawaiian History teacher said, “I love Thanksgiving…And what [it] has come to symbolize with the gathering of family. But the story behind Thanksgiving that we are sold at a young age--the happy pilgrims and Native Americans holding hands and sitting around together in life being beautiful--is certainly not reflective of the reality of the time. It's a nice way to gloss over forced removal, the genocide of the native population, and the colonization of their lands.” Palikikoʻs ʻOhana celebrates both holidays "but we put a bigger emphasis on Lā Kūʻokoʻa,” she said. “We make an imu, still do the turkey, but we fly our Hawaiian flags… We take that same premise of Thanksgiving, of being thankful and being grateful—but for being Hawaiian [and] for living in Hawaii.” Micah Kawaguchi-Ailetcher believes both celebrations can coexist, “I feel that having them all around the same time lends itself to this extra feeling of festivity.” “...it is not something that we will keep quiet of” “It’s important that no matter who we are, that we try to understand the history of the place where we live, and the people who are or were indigenous to that place,” Landes states. As Lahainaluna lights and passes our torch, we hope to see more recognition and celebration for Hawai’i’s historic Lā Kūʻokoʻa. “We should never give up on what we do because no matter what, this is our home… It's still Hawaii,” said Pililani. She continued, “there's a lot of wrongdoing Americans did to Hawaii, and that is something that the Hawaiians will not stand for even today…We all still fight for our water, we all still fight for lands. And Lā Kūʻokoʻa is just something to remind us that it is, it is our Hawaiian history—it is not something that we will keep quiet of.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Grayson is the current 2028 student council Vice President and is running for a second term as sophomore Vice President. Coleman is a staff writer for Ka Lama Hawaiʻi. He is currently a senior at Lahainaluna High School.

< Back Replanting Our Legacy Boarders Replant Liliʻuokalani's Famous Palm Kristina Meguro Keiko Wegner Traditions November 7, 2025 at 9:05:57 PM On November 2, 1906, Queen Liliʻuokalani visited Lahainaluna to plant a tree. “This popular lady, though out of office, still reigns queen in the hearts of her people,” reported Maui News in its coverage of the event. Event Agenda in Maui News article, Nove 2, 1906. Queen Liliʻuokalani was here for Arbor Day and to witness one of Lahainaluna’s specialties: the throwing of poi. As Valerie Monson wrote for Maui News a century later, “the students would lop up poi on a finger or two and fling it into the bowls on the table.” Apparently, our students did this with “such speed and accuracy” that they “never spilled a drop. Their talent became something to see.” While the Lahainaluna “boyʻs string band” performed “a number of pieces,” the royal palm was planted “by Her Majesty’s own hands” on the spot in front of what is now the principal’s cottage. “Its verdant leaves,” the reporter concluded, “will help to keep ever green, in the hearts of her people.” Today, there are at least 22 royal palms spread out around campus. Some of the most significant areas where you can find these magnificent trees are the pathway leading up towards the main office near the bandroom and boarders field. But none of them are believed to be the queen’s royal palm. Around 2007, the queen’s royal palm, it is suspected, was knocked down. Yet, no one is certain about that. Tara Nakata, the librarian and member of the Archive committee, says “because the royal palm was never properly documented, we could only theorize what might have happened to it”--or where it even was. “...it would be an honor to replace it.” To restore the palm and connect to this important legacy, the Lahainaluna Boarders Alumni Association, Lahainaluna Boarding Department, Kanaeokana, and Kamehameha Schools Kaiāulu are working together to hold the Lahainaluna Boarders Ho’ike. This event will take place on November 22, at our very own Hale Pā’ina from 2 to 8 pm. The Boarding Department will plant a few royal palms to honor our history with Queen Liliʻuokalani. A new tree will be planted and the history will be covered in depth. According to Holly Chandler, Vice President of Boarding Operations, the event has a deep purpose. We can’t preserve what is lost, or even really confirm that the tree was removed, she suggested, but “it would be an honor to replace it.” “Aunty Jane” Casco, a cafeteria staff member, agrees. The revival of the royal palm story and its ties to the Hawaiian kingdom will do us good, she said, because we are able to better acknowledge the rich history of the school. Casco added that “The royal palm is a way for us to mālama, y'know take care, the land. It is a way for us to teach the younger generation to care for each other. Technology doesn’t do that for us.” “There is a saying”, said Agriculture Teacher, Nathan Pallett: ”the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago so you may bask in its shade today.” Pallett admitted “I do not know of any significance royal palms have to Lahainaluna,” but if he were to “guess,” he added, “they have become a symbol of our school due to their regal appearance and age. So many have seen the palms over the many years that it seems everyone may recognize them as a symbol of our school similar to the torch in our school seal.” Some other students think that the history of the royal palm makes is really why it's worth planting them. Annette Kohlepp, a freshman student thinks that planting could become a “tradition to bring back the history,” a reminder of Queen Liliʻuokalani’s legacy. Jaiden Rante, another freshman student, says “I come to Lahainaluna, I see these royal palms the most.” After being informed of the history, Rante exclaims “it’s really cool that Queen Liliʻuokalani planted one of these before and that makes it even better that these are called ‘ royal palms.’” “...most of it is all just either dirt or dead.” Senior border Kden Pu, thinks that there are more obvious reasons for an event like this. He mentioned how the area where the planting will take place “is all just either dirt or dead.” For this reason, he sees replanting “all the natural plants back and everything” as an act of “trying to give it back.” The campus, although filled with an abundance of plants, can be brighter. Pu believes that they are “doing it to try to revive what is mostly there. And try to make it green again.” Kaimana Borges, a sophomore, also agrees with Pu. Borges says replanting the royal palms can “add some color, as long as you guys water, keep on check.” Pallet, who again, knew very little about the event, notes that there are real benefits to this kind of thing. “Planting trees, or any plant, in a space with intention and for a reason allows others to later benefit in many ways,” he said. “Productive landscapes can feed, heal, and create a source of income. Forest rehabilitation with native plants on a macro scale can fight the impacts of climate change, reduce soil erosion, and provide habitat for wildlife.” “...I hope that they will grow also, strong and noble…” On the original Arbor Day event, the queen, after the planting ceremony, allegedly turned to the principal, then C. A. McDonald, and said, “Tell the boys that as that tree grows up in strength and beauty, so I hope that they will grow also, strong and noble, and that they will be a pride to their parents, to the school, and to the country.” This November we stand as proof of those feelings and as the school who has inherited this important legacy. Previous Article Next Article Copy link Kristina Meguro is a sophomore and a staff writer for Ka Lama Hawaiʻi. Keiko is a staff writer for Ka Lama Hawaiʻi. She is currently a junior at Lahainaluna High School.

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< Back Devaki Murch Accidental Archivist Kristina Meguro Arts and Entertainment March 11, 2026 at 7:37:27 PM “In order to acknowledge a story or experience, you need to understand its boundaries.” Devaki Murch recently said this to a room of Lahainaluna students, admitting that she lacked this knowledge when she started her first project. Murch tours schools and colleges discussing Operation Babylift, a military operation authorized in 1975 to rescue orphans from Vietnam, and her search for details within archives. According to Murch, most of the knowledge she gained about her history found her, rather than the other way around. She claims these accidental discoveries directed her path toward different goals for her first project. Murch described how her first project, which she called “The Secret Ability to Fly,” was about showing gratitude to her caregivers: “I wanted to write letters to all these people that have influenced and supported me.” She did this until she realized that not everyone was as fortunate as she was. “Number one,” she said, “when I started talking to people, [I realized] regarding the letters of gratitude, not everyone is grateful for being over here.” Murch talked a lot about stability and her gratitude for being raised by a supportive, loving family. As she changed her focus, she realized how important it was to have “people that will be there to catch you.” “That, to me, is the huge thing,” she added, “and I'm finding that a lot of the adoptees don't have someone there to catch them and they never have. And I didn't know that.” Her project never caught on. While everyone she talked to shared a connection to the Vietnam War, they did not share the same identity or experience of growing up. Through listening to so many perspectives, Murch realized that “gratitude” was not the right word and shifted to questions about memory and connection. “When I think about it,” she said, “what do we have to pass on and how do we relate to things?” The Details That Are Never Shared Operation Babylift was one of the largest emergency child evacuations in history, leading to the evacuation of over 3,000 children. In April 1975, President Gerald Ford authorized the operation to evacuate orphans by aircraft, sending C-5A Galaxy cargo planes to pick up infants, toddlers, and their caregivers to rescue them from the fall of Saigon. One of 314 passengers, Murch was on the first C-5A Galaxy plane to arrive in April. She and others were put in the plane’s upper level, while older children who could walk were put in the lower level. Twelve minutes into the flight, the rear cargo door blew out due to broken hydraulic locks, causing the plane to make an emergency crash landing near the Saigon River. Pieces of the plane were scattered across nearby rice fields. Only 175 out of the 314 passengers on board survived. After her first moment of good fortune, Murch and the other children were rescued a second time and eventually reached San Francisco, where they met their adoptive families. Murch’s family was from Kauai, where she would spend her fortunate childhood. Growing up on the Garden Island, Murch felt that she fitted in, at least in appearance. “When you walk around, I look like all the other kids. We donʻt have a lot of Vietnamese in Hawaii... people just always thought I was like a Filipino or something just like that." This sense of belonging provided the comfort and stability every child needs. “In order for you to question your history and your origin,” she said, “you have to have a place to stand on. If you don't have a place to stand on, you have no bandwidth for uncertainty.” "Records are Alive" Later in life, Murch used her extra “bandwidth” to reflect on the difference between who we are born to and who raises us. She now prefers the term “First Family” over "birth family" because “it might not be birth. It might be truly this collective larger multi-generational family that you were raised [in]... it's much more encompassing.” As Murch got older, the pieces of her past seemed to be drawn to her. A friend’s dad found an old newspaper article in an attic. A reunion attendee gave her a piece of the metal from the plane crash. “The newspaper article found me. The piece of the plane came and found me… it was not me searching out any of this. But to me, records are alive and they came and found me.” She described that it was kind of weird but it was all those pieces that urged her to tell her story. Murch’s good fortune has not ended, though it’s not always as obvious as something that was handed to her like the newspaper piece. For instance, before interviewing Murch, my research lead me to an interview she had done with Thoa Nguyen on PBS. This led me to wonder if she ever looked back to past interviews or thought about what she would have said differently. Murch said that she does not look back at interviews often, but she does take feedback from her audiences that help tell her story more effectively. “The way that I present, the way that I share the story has completely changed from yesterday to today,” she said. She had spoken at UH Maui College the day before she visited Lahainaluna, and says that she had prepared a completely different slideshow, based on feedback from the students at UHMC, for when she came to Lahainaluna. Yet, to her disappointment, the USB she used contained an outdated presentation, so she wasn’t able to put the advice to good use. And yet, it could be argued that this was another lucky break since, without the new slides, she was caught off-guard and forced to speak from the heart about her unique story. Murch could’ve decided not to present her ideas at all, but her choice to present, even with the wrong slides, may have changed the performance and gave he more to reflect on. To her, these opportunities are always not a one way street at all. She had taken from them "not only what I need to communicate, but the perspectives and the impacts that we have, [...] understanding what we can actually do to make change, [...] the power that all of you have by doing these interviews and making change and recognizing our past, and where we're going with what you're learning and what you are recording.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Kristina Meguro is a sophomore and a staff writer for Ka Lama Hawaiʻi.

Want to Advertise on Ka Lama Hawai'i? PRICING COPY: YOUR $50 ADVERTISEMENT TEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXTTEXT TEXT TEXT TEXT. Shop Now In 1834, only three years after the creation of Lahainaluna, its principal, Lorrin Andrews, started a student-run newspaper called Ka Lama Hawaiʻi , or “The Hawaiian Luminary.” The paper’s first issue explained the importance of knowledge. “In enlightened lands,” wrote its editorial staff, “it is believed that the spreading of knowledge is a good thing. When wise people ponder and come upon good new thoughts not known before […] they then desire to disseminate it abroad, and not hide it, so that all men may know” (61). Andrews described Ka Lama’s purpose in three goals. The first was to “give the scholars of the High School the idea of a newspaper [and] to show them how information of various kinds was circulated through the medium of a periodical.” The second goal was, generally, “to communicate to them [students] ideas on many objects.” Thirdly, it was designed as a “channel through which the scholars might communicate their own opinions freely on any subject they chose" (Qtd in Silva 109). Almost two centuries later, Lahainaluna’s current principal, Richard Carosso, sees Ka Lama as a space where students are “discussing among yourselves,” or where student voice is amplified. “It’s one of our only resources for students to voice their opinions and to get the input from, you know, their classmates about what's going on at school,” said Carosso, adding that the paper also brings student voices to the school’s administration so the school’s leadership “can tell what matters to you guys.” Historians remark that the original Ka Lama was mostly a way to send messages from missionary leaders to students; in 2025, it does the opposite. Both then and now, though, Ka Lama Hawai’i has encouraged discussion and literacy on campus while letting students engage with unfamiliar topics. Our History When the missionaries first arrived in Hawaiʻi in 1820 during King Kauikeaouli’s reign, they intended to use literacy or a knowledge of reading and writing to introduce Christian ideals. When they did that, though, they turned literacy all around the islands into a form of power. Ka Lama Hawaiʻi began under the control of missionaries at Lahainaluna Seminary with questionable intentions. Nevertheless, it created an important tool for promoting literacy: Hawaiʻi’s first newspaper. It was run by students of the seminary out of the printing house in the admin parking lot, Hale Pa’i, right here on our campus. On the 14th of February, 1834 Ka Lama published its first issue. It was only four pages written in Hawaiian, and, like every issue after, it contained an illustration by Alonzo and Mary Anne Chapin. The “Elefani,” or elephant, was the picture featured in issue one. Below it, Andrews and his students provided facts about elephants, their diet, habitat, and lifespan. The descriptions depict the characteristics of an elephant in an interesting matter, but they could only compare it to things people back then were familiar with. The elephant's nose is described as “being as long as a tree branch” (15) and its height is described as “if a man should stand upon the head of another, then their height would be that of the Elephant’s” (13). Presenting this content, historian Helen Geracimos Chapin writes that all the paper’s issues “delivered new and exciting information” to the students of Lahainaluna who had never known animals like that. The pictures, carved by Chapin, a physician at the seminary, brought “an air of immediacy about the world thousands of miles away” (16). As Chapin describes, Ka Lama , and all early Hawaiian papers, helped to colonize Hawaiian people with non-Hawaiian values by presenting such new and attractive information and images. Sometimes the captions and notes to Ka Lama’s pictures “spoke to the "superiority" of American culture, the Christian religion, and the Protestant work ethic.” “By such ʻtruth in an attractive formʻ,” writes Chapin, “were Hawaiian readers indoctrinated into the new culture” (16). Students printed the original Ka Lama and contributed to it. For instance, among them was the famous Lahainaluna graduate and royal advisor, Davida Malo, who published a song titled “He Kanikau No Kaahumanu,” in Ka Lama ʻs August issue (Silva 110). It was written in honor of the ali‘i wahine Ka‘ahumanu. While students were allowed to contribute to Ka Lama , missionaries controlled the paper and used it to spread their values. Most of the content discussed religious topics. An article not written by a student in the paper’s first issue was titled “The Reason For Ignorance.” It connected knowledge to religion and argued that “Sin is the reason for ignorance.” The authors of the article were “not identified” but they concluded that “returning to God with a new heart is what is needed” (Antonio 66). Articles like these were written by the missionaries, says Chapin, “to bring enlightenment to those they considered benighted,” or ignorant and unenlightened. Despite this, according to people living at the time, “upon receiving their copies, students would immediately sit down to read them through” (Chapin 16). In a recent documentary on literacy in Hawaiʻi, University of Hawaiʻi Professor, Puakea Nogelmeier describes the coming of the missionaries and their impact on Hawaiian society. He describes how literacy was encouraged because "High-level government positions often went to English-speaking foreigners because this interaction was critical for national continuity.” English literacy was recognized as important not just because of the opportunities that arose from being fluent but because of the opportunities that were being taken away by not being literate in the English language. As Nogelmeier describes “When Hawaiians questioned why there were so many foreigners in government, the King wrote back, saying they needed that interface until they could improve the pool of Hawaiians they could draw from” (Lihlihi). This is exactly why Kamehameha III “announced a mobilization of literacy ," Nogelmeier adds. "He was already literate, so he wasn't just aspiring; he was sharing. Everyone took pride in learning to read and write, and it became a national project.” English was a form of power that Kamehameha wanted everyone in the islands to have (Lihilhi). Ka Lama only lasted one year, but the papers that followed still give historians insight on public perspectives during Hawaiʻi's history. While missionaries did abuse their influence and power, according to Noenoe Silva, the newspapers served a further purpose for Hawaiʻi’s people. “While the common denominator of the early newspapers discussed here is the desire that their editors had to convert Hawaiians to a radically different system of beliefs and practices,” she states, “the opening up of spaces for written expression, coupled with the Hawaiian embrace of reading and writing, made the newspapers a vital arena in which crucial questions about culture, knowledge, and politics could begin to be publicly debated” (3). Ka Lama Hawaiʻi built the foundation for all other newspapers in Hawaiʻi. One of them, Ke Kumu , was published out of mission headquarters in Honolulu right after Ka Lama ʻs first run. It lasted from 1834 until 1839 and was edited by missionary Reuben Tinker. The name of the paper, Ke Kumu , or “The Teacher,” signaled its focus on educating through missionary voices rather than having the focus be on student thoughts. The content of Ke Kumu “was mainly evangelizing by missionaries, with some letters from students and community members” (Silva 18). In this way, Ke Kumu was not so different from its predecessor, Ka Lama . According to Silva, Ke Kumu Hawai’i was used to represent “the broad aim of the Mission to create a nation that was not only Christian in name and spirit but also intelligent and industrious” (112). Most of its articles were written by Tinker’s fellow missionaries, writes Silva, but “it did not take long […] before both ali‘i and maka‘äinana began to use the publication space for their own purposes” (112). During its run, Ke Kumu featured approximately 146 writers, including Davida Malo (112). In his contribution, he wrote about his relationship with religion, combining Christian and Hawaiian terms. “Jesus, have mercy, Or I, your servant, will die. [I am but] the dust on your shoe. The grass upon your path. If you leave us forever, That will be our death forever, Death in the pö, Under continual darkness” (10). Ka Nonanona soon followed in 1841. It was run by missionary Richard Armstrong who had been a part of the printing staff of Ke Kumu . Its first issue declared that it would focus on “news; support for school children, teachers, school directors, and parents; a bit of assistance for the pono of the ali‘i, in publishing new laws and new positions in the government, as well as… point out the things that will be pono and the things that will harm the government.” The paper had a larger audience and covered larger topics than Ke Kumu . As Silva states, “Its primary intent was to be a newspaper that carried news from the capital, Honolulu, to all the other islands.” She adds, however, that it was “still in the hands of missionaries and still evangelical in some ways” even though it had “greatly expanded its scope in content as well as in intended readership.” Ka Nonanona , for Silva, marked the shift of newspapers from tools of missionaries to sites “for public debate and discourse” (118). Ka Elele Hawaiʻi started the same year. It was less focused on religion and more on government. It helped inform the public on Hawaii’s rapidly changing society and “served as a site of public debate over the role of foreigners in the government and the sale of lands to foreigners” (Silva 21). Ka Eleleʻs focus allowed citizens to express their opinions on the changing laws surrounding owning land and kept them informed. Ka Elele was a new kind of newspaper. Its format was “opening up of spaces for written expression,” argues Silva. “Coupled with the Hawaiian embrace of reading and writing, [ Ka Elele ] made the newspapers a vital arena in which crucial questions about culture, knowledge, and politics could begin to be publicly debated” (3). This is the purpose Ka Elele Hawaiʻi had up until 1855, when the paper stopped publishing. Hawaiʻi’s first four newspapers all served their individual purposes and proved important to how society interacted with each other. Early newspapers led to a burst in literacy in Hawaiʻi. Katherine H. Au and Julie Kaomea report that “by the late 1800s, the literacy rate in Hawai‘i compared favorably to that of any nation in the world, an accomplishment much to the credit of the Native Hawaiian teachers in the common schools” (6). They Learned by Their Mistakes For over a century since Ka Lama , Lahainaluna seems to have had no school newspaper. Then, in 1928, Ka Nani ‘O Hawaiʻi (“The beauty of Hawaiʻi”) appeared under the guidance of Miss Maurine Watson and Miss Margaret Chapman. Miss Watson also ran a journalism club in 1950 that seems to have had no direct connection with Ka Nani . The early issues of Ka Nani are lost. Yet, the issues we have show us small pieces of life on campus in the 20s. An issue published in July of 1928 contains an article where an anonymous alumnus reflects on her days at Lahainaluna. “It was customary to have people carry away bags full of mangoes on every commencement day,” she says, unaware that a century later the only thing people would do with the mangos is step over them. In the June issue of 1929, students of the glee club found it important to talk about the success of their musical performance, Pickles . It was, they claimed, “a great dramatic and financial success.” The paper’s establishment was purposeful and was announced by Principal Alton Rogers who wrote in a December 1928 issue about “School Publications” and their importance above all other school publications. “School publications, and especially the newspaper, are among the most worthwhile school activities,” he wrote. “Because of their function of carrying news, encouraging enterprises, and representing the entire school and its activities, they are of inestimable value in unifying the school.” Rogers was sad to say, however, that problems often blocked the creation of a high school newspaper. Instead of a regular newspaper, “[f]rom lack of skill,” or literacy, students “are prone to make the annual (yearbook) like all others.” By this time, Ka Lama , had become the name of Lahainaluna’s yearbook. The solution, Rogers thought, required students and advisors to be consistent and constant with their work, to “impress all with their uniformity rather than individuality.” Ka Nani was short-lived. It started and ended between 1926-1929. In 1929 it was taken over by Mrs. Margaret Tompkins who also wrote that year about newspapers, and described the passion needed for good journalism. “Journalism in the Islands is a bit of a crusade,” she says. “Those who rally to its banners must of necessity have stout hearts, imagination, patience and a goal.” For Thomkins, the school newspaper was mostly useful for the language training it gave students: “Any medium which will help us to use Better English consistently has much in it’s favor.” She complained about the challenges faced by the faculty advisor. At the end of the day, “before an issue comes out, the poor instructor with the large glasses and the red pencil rewrites paragraphs." This was one of the last things Ka Nani would publish. Ka Nani finished a year later, starting another 30 years before another school paper was published at Lahainaluna. Yet, in its last year, the paper’s staff coined a motto, “Hitch your wagon to a star.” The first issue of Lahainaluna’s third newspaper, Ka Leo Luna (Ka Leo means “The Voice”) ran in 1952 under the direction of English and “publications” teacher Alma Kaiama. Like other the other papers, Ka Leo announced its simple mission: “To inform the students and teachers of the activities of our school.” An issue printed in its first year reported on the activities of the “Future Homemakers, Leaders Today and Tomorrow,” Hawaiʻi chapter. They were set to hold their “annual territorial convention at Camp Erdman, Oahu, from April 5-8.” Staff included a list of delegates who would be representing our school. On the same page “Morikawa, Kozaki To Reign Over Junior Prom” titled a plan for the “Orchids in the Moonlight” prom. “Strands of vanda orchids streaming down on kahilis,” are imagined by the student writer alongside “colored balloons giving the room a gay, festive air; soft lights and a centerpiece of a vanda-filled pond.” All this, the writer said, would “transform the gym into a moonlit paradise.” Two years after starting Ka Leo , Kaiama left the school to educate others on Maui and eventually got hired at Maui’s community college. In 1980, she became the provost there. Ka Leo ran for 64 years, under the direction of fifteen advisors until 2017 (see figure below). Kaiama influenced advisors after her to keep student journalism going. She was born in Hana in 1930 and picked up a wide range of talents during her life. She taught at nearly every grade level, from elementary school to college (Rupenthal). After leaving Lahainaluna, she worked from her position at the college to get the school funding and joined a push for its transition from a technical school to a “community school” in 1967. Probably because of Kaiamaʻs early influence, Ka Leo Luna gradually became associated with a unique motto that appeared regularly in the English Department’s section of Ka Lama , again, the school’s yearbook: “They learned by their mistakes and tried very hard to make the next issue a better one.” The Voices According to the school’s registrar and the paper’s second-to-last advisor, Shanda Sasai, Ka Leo Luna was “all about wanting to know what people thought and then sharing that out and getting that out to people." To accomplish this, Ka Leo Luna covered school news, features, and sports. The feature that stood out to her the most in all her years of being an advisor for Ka Leo was titled “You know you’re from Lahaina if…” that featured student commentary on living here. She recalls how she loved the concept of it as it allowed for positive discussions on student life. This was a reference to Jeff Foxworthy’s famous saying “You might be a redneck if...” Sasai went on to describe the process Ka Leo students went through. “Every student wrote,” said Sasai. “They had to get interviews, they had to get pictures. We ran through drafts like crazy. --the highest drafts was like… twenty-eight.” Sasai was Vice Principal Debralyn Arellano’s advisor when Arellano worked on the paper. Arellano managed the ads that went through Ka Leo in order to pay for printing. In her role, she had to “cold call” businesses downtown in order to sell ads. ”The paper did not have a budget,” she said. Ka Leo was exclusively a paper newspaper and Arellano noted how they had to print out issues on the mainland since it was more cost efficient. “We would stay up till like 10 at night in there. Just we knew it was deadline day, so we'd go run down and get our frappuccinos snacks and head back up and we'd just work on drafts and drafts and drafts,” said Arellano who looked fondly on her late nights in J-201. According to Arellano, Ka Leo journalists “were given that creative freedom to just pursue and talk about the columns that existed. And it was just fun. It was a lot of fun.” She added that, “in terms of creativity, that was nurtured and encouraged, and so it was just a great space.” Ka Leo Luna published its last issue in October of 2016. For 8 years, Lahainaluna students were silent. Then, in August of 2024, Ka Lama Hawaiʻi , now an online publication, published its first issue. Its first story, a feature on the endangered Kāhuli (snails), was written by Trinity Guiza. Ka Lama Hawaiʻi (Again) Ka Lama Hawaiʻi was named in honor of the first newspaper in Hawaiʻi by a small group of students, The News Writing Club, under the direction of its current advisor in Spring of 2023. The News Writing Club did not produce much content, though over the course of several meetings, they determined the paper’s layout, its sections, and that the name should point to the school’s history as the birthplace of the news in Hawaiʻi. They also planned the paper’s purpose, which included the amplification of student voices as well as the voices of people at Lahainaluna that students rarely meet–such as the custodial staff and office workers–a “We <3 LHS Staff” for student-generated profiles. Much more writing for Ka Lama was produced after it became a class. In the Fall of 2024, the school offered Journalistic Writing and enrolled a small team of student reporters who spent their year learning interview techniques and practicing an objective reporting methodologies. They covered school policies, student wellness, sports, and student life. Since its first issue, many have recognized Ka Lama’s significance to not only our school but to the state. Jean Martin Alternado, currently a junior, thinks that the paper points to the fact that “we are the most historic school in the state.” He thinks that the paper may help to spread awareness about Lahainalunaʻs legacy since “there's only a few students who really care about it.” Alternado published a story about students being held in the cafeteria and the issue of teacher shortages in Ka Lama’s first year. “[ Ka Lama Hawaiʻi ] is for people to share stories, to keep people updated, to see different perspectives of things that people didn’t really have resources to know,” said Alternado. Freshman Grayson Guzman, also a contributor to the paper, thought that Ka Lama was “important back then and now as we hold this legacy of having the first newspaper in Hawaiʻi published here by students.” Students recognize Ka Lama not just for its historical important on campus but for its impact on students' engagement with difficult topics, which is something that Ka Lama continues to do to this day. As Guzman notes, “today we still have this with students publishing articles giving voice to important topics.” “Our school newspaper is important so students can shed light on topics within our school and enlighten others.” Alternado has seen what the newspaper can accomplish, referring to recent coverage of sensitive student issues. “It spoke a few words that some people were too scared to say,” he said. “If we don’t have a voice, then what are we really going to change?” Student Stephanie Rubio Aguirre agrees: “Student voice is important because we want to hear the opinions on what students think about certain opinions.” She continued, saying “I feel like [ Ka Lama ] is something that students can look forward to whenever someone wants to read something about our school.” Current sophomore class president, Brianne Lagazo, comments on how when articles come out she “usually skim(s)” because as she states, “I enjoy reading what’s being presented and I am impressed by how these students are so good with writing and journalism itself.” Lagazo recently published a story about a controversy at private high school in the Lahaina community. Nicole Heinlein notices the usefulness of Ka Lama as “we don't necessarily have like, a comment box where students can voice their concerns.” The Future of Journalism at Lahainaluna Ka Lama brings attention to the fact that our campus has problems, and that we must acknowledge them to fix them. The newspaper's legacy, and the legacy of literacy in Hawaiʻi that it created, is carried by this new Ka Lama . There’s no way to measure if we’re doing it justice, but we do know that with it, students are being heard. Or, to leave with something that Aguirre said: “I feel represented.”

< 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 Students are Feeling a Chill What Lunas think about the possibility of immigration officers on campus. Trinity Guiza Politics April 30, 2025 at 10:58:07 PM On February 4th around third period, an Instagram post created by a student at Lahaina Intermediate spread through our school: “ICE immigration is at lis today and are supposed to come up here to lhs tomorrow. don't get deported” (sic). The caption appeared on top of an unrelated image: a glass cylinder sliding away from a student’s hand across a counter in a science class. The message was quickly dismissed by some as entirely fabricated. Yet, many were concerned and still are. “I heard a rumor about ICE going to lis but I don’t know if it was actually tea or not” said a sophomore who chose to remain anonymous. They will be referred to Anna below. “The scary thing,” Anna said, “is that it’s easy to believe something like that can actually happen because it is something that is happening on the mainland. I think we’re lucky to live in Hawaii where we aren’t as affected but I definitely worry about my friends and family on the mainland.” Recent events suggest that these worries might come closer to home than Anna and others may think. In March, an elementary student was removed from Konawaena Elementary in an immigration operation. The boy's father was detained due to immigration violations. With no one to pick him up, officers delivered him to his father. To concerns in the community, Lucia Cabral-DeArmas was sure to mention that “the two were never separated, other than during school hours.” Principal Richard Carosso sent an email around this time containing state guidelines for responding to ICE on campus: politely inform them that they are not allowed access to any information or room and call and wait for an administrator to handle the situation. What is ICE? According to the US Immigration and Customs Website (ICE), the agency’s mission is “To Protect America through criminal investigations and enforcing immigration laws to preserve national security and public safety.” Students and teachers shared different impressions, however. History teacher Ruth Mathis described ICE simply, as “an immigration system that gets people without their own proper documentation, and they send them back home.” “It’s a federal agency that investigates people if they are here in the country illegally,” said Junior Aleksandr Lucas. “Search their background and identify them. Eventually arrest them, interview and most likely deport them.” “It’s a government group coming and taking illegal American citizens of this country,” said Koryn Moury. “Their job is to find some illegal immigrants,” offered Science teacher Jacquelyn Ellis. ICE will “detain them or find out any more information about them and then they help with the deportation part of it as well.” A bit different, math teacher William Tatro thinks ICE’s primary focus is on “people who are convicted or charged with severe criminal activities.” “It's a private space” Talk about immigration on campus comes after Donald Trump’s recent executive order allowing immigration officers to conduct enforcement actions in or near sensitive areas such as medical facilities, places of worship, and schools. Following these announcements, Maui teachers looked for guidance on what should be done if ICE agents come to campus. The Hawai’i Teachers Association (HSTA) coordinated an information session with the Maui immigrant advocacy group, Roots Reborn, at Kulanihako’i High School in February. Leading the session was Aparna Patrie, an immigration attorney on Maui who works closely with the organization. “These are folks who are really important and essential to the fabric of our community,” said Patrie, who understands that a large percentage of Maui is foreign born. “They are terrified, and we've seen folks be afraid to get health care, afraid to go to school, afraid to go to church, afraid to go to the store and it's really unfortunate.” Ellis was one of several teachers who attended the information session. Afterward, she said that it was “useful” and that “it just helps you know what your rights are, because even immigrants who are here, not legally, have rights through our constitution and that's an important part of our nation.” Reflecting on what she had learned, Ellis described what she would do it ICE came to her classroom. “I would tell them that it's a private space. They cannot come in here and they need to go to the front office with any of their questions. I would never tell them a single thing about a single student in my classroom” Carol Holland, a History teacher at Maui High, also attended the info session. According to Holland, she would go to extreme measures to protect her students such as locking them in the bathroom to protect them. “The bathroom is a private space,” said Holland. “They cannot get into it without permission, so I will squeeze them all in there in my personal teacher bathroom, lock the door, slide the key under the door so it's inside the bathroom, so there's no way they can get in there.” “I would just wanna see their papers [warrants] and examine it,” said History teacher Ruth Mathis at the session. “People need to be educated in here, and you can’t come to my room. You can't take a child out of this room.” On the possibility of ICE agents on campus, Tatro, who was not present at the info session, “would have to ask them ‘did you go to the administration first?” However, he added that there are situations in which you might want ICE agents in your room. Tatro painted a scene in which there is somebody “holding somebody hostage or somebody’s in here with a gun, threatening us. I’d want them to come in.” Yet, he circled back, noting that “if somebody comes in and it's not that threatening a situation, I would say ‘did you go to the administration first?’” He insisted that, minus the hostage scenario, he would “be a little bit uncomfortable with that particular circumstance.” “I Know My Rights” In a hypothetical situation if ICE were to arrive on campus, Principal Carosso said, he would “not give full and unfettered access to our campus.” Instead, in accordance with state policy, he would hold them at the admin building and “call our superiors, our complex superintendent.” It is likely that the majority of students on campus, like Moury, “wouldn't know what to do.” Junior Angel Sana says that she has “only heard of ICE through online. I have never seen them in real life, which I would be afraid to.” “I wouldn't say anything,” said junior Val Medina-Tellez. “As somebody whose parents immigrated here, there would be no point in saying anything. They would automatically assume you are illegal, [and say] ‘I'm gonna detain you.’ They wouldn’t actually care.” Some students were more assertive. “I know my rights, I would only say what is needed to say and stay silent,” said junior Aleksandr Lucas. “I would never help an agency that does horrible stuff to innocent individuals that only try to make their own lives and their children's lives better.” “For some reason citizenship doesn't mean anything to them.” said freshman Mele Faleta. “There are many requirements that have to go with living in the US” yet “people still don’t think that it's enough for people to stay here, then i think maybe just get something else to worry about.” Dezmond Jace “Dezzy” Longgay, a senior, said “I'd actually lowkey be afraid.” The reason he’s afraid is “because of the fact that even though I am a United States born citizen, because of my race, I will be deported back to the Philippines.” Longgay believes the possibilities of ICE coming to camps are high because “Hawai’i is one of the well-known diverse states in the U.S., other than like California.” Since we're all isolated on one small island Longgay thinks “they might see it as an advantage to find people.” “They're clearly not looking for criminals” Tatro believes that there are people who come to “destroy” the country he loves. He mentioned how in the last four years crime rates and violence have risen because of illegal immigrants. “I'm talking about the violent illegal immigrants,” he said. “I’m talking about the ones that have a history of crime.” Offering an example, he encouraged me to imagine “a group of individuals from a country that is in conflict with us, and you see single men 26 years old with their backpack and their jeans and their sneakers, their $200 sneakers. You wonder what they're coming here for–especially when you see many who look like this, no family, just themselves. Charged with various heinous crimes, you know what they're coming for?” He answered his own question: “they're coming here to bring destruction and chaos to our country.” “ICE in the past, or at least the last administration was supposed to be just targeting the top people with any criminal records, right?” said Ellis. “If Donald Trump is letting them come to schools, they're clearly not looking for criminals. They're looking for any and everyone.” Holland (who said that she would lock her students in the bathroom), agrees. I sat with her in a nearly empty Kulanihako’i cafeteria as teachers had begun to leave, most of their questions answered and some of their anxiety eased. Soft spoken, yet bold and confident with her words, Holland talked about this common connection between crime and immigration. “Less than one percent of the crime in this country is committed by immigrants” she insisted. “So the statistics and the facts don't back up that.” referring to others opinions on immigrant crime rates. According to a 2024 report on crime rates in Texas, a border state, the National Institute of Justice found that immigrants did in fact have a lower crime rate than citizens. Using FBI data, the American Immigration Council also notes that the idea that immigrants bring crime to America is a myth. The results from the population data in relation to crime rates showed “no statistically significant correlation between the immigrant share of the population and the total crime rate in any state.” They conclude that: “higher immigrant population shares are not associated with higher crime rates” Sana sees some of this and thinks that ICE is “sending people home where they are from because of their colors or race.” Yet, she still thinks that “some immigrants did come here without papers and still yet committed crimes, including rape, murder, theft, and other crimes. I would be very much happy if they sent those people who committed crimes.” Sana added, however, that, “for others who came here with papers and have the right of residency, and yet still getting sent home is far too much.” “I think that it is being used to push certain agendas and deporting people like Kilmar Garcia who have little to no criminal record,” said Anna. “To me it shows that the government doesn’t need a reason to take someone you love who might not be a white person and send them to a federal prison in a whole other country.” Lucas thinks ICE “has really turned into a whole racist organization,“adding that it’s “despicable and shameful to the country.” Ellis thinks that ICE “should never be a worry for these kids who are at school to learn. It should be a safe space.” “I feel like ICE shouldn't even exist,” said Holland. “The whole principle of the country of America is built by immigrants, so the fact that a bunch of xenophobic old men are trying to hold onto their privilege by implementing immigration policies is an affront to everything this country stands for.” Mathis offered similar sentiments. “It's always been discriminatory from the beginning,” she noted. “[N]ow the situation has changed in the country where the minority groups–they come together to become the majority, and the people who are the majority now they become the minority. It's the fear, the fear that all these people would come together and maybe they will take over.” Angel Sana is a junior who thinks the situation is “messed up.” For Angel, ICE is just a group trying “to take advantage of humans that are not Americans.” They “do whatever they want,” Sana continued, “but they do it in their own way. They don’t follow the rules.” “Honestly because they put a bunch of racist, bigoted people in charge and we’re just seeing the effects of our country’s ignorance,” said Anna. “It’s important to understand the impact that they have on our communities and the actual threat that they pose,” she said. “I have friends and even family members who are immigrants who are worried about this kind of thing and it’s horrible to see.” “I think everybody wants it good for the country” “I think everybody wants it good for the country, so nobody is gonna take over, so let it be cool on immigration and encourage ingenuity of the immigrants," said Mathis, who offered a history of immigration in America that “dates back to the coming of the settlers. Everyone that came from Europe, especially the United Kingdom, were immigrants.” “Immigration is very important. We have to support it and not discourage it. Because that's how we got all these brains that we have, all the inventions, everything. It's immigrants' knowledge that built this country and you can't do away with immigration.” Mathis went on: “These children, one of these children, they could help you tomorrow. That's the blessing of immigration. We all have different skills. So no ICE person can come to my door and take anybody.” Holland hoped that our generation “would live in a world where you didn't have to fight these struggles anymore.” She said “you guys are gonna have to stand up. You're gonna have to resist, you're gonna have to push back against tyranny, against authoritarianism. Against the rise of fascism again.” “It's time for people to stop being ignorant about important issues like these,” said Lucas. If you are feeling distressed about current events, the Ka Lama staff recommends you seek out your grade level counselor. Previous Article Next Article Copy link Trinity Guiza is a staff writer at Ka Lama Hawai'i.

< Back The Future of Student Voice Will Student Government Survive? Brianne Lagazo Student Government May 2, 2025 at 5:47:08 PM Once a cornerstone of school leadership, the student council is now struggling to attract members. Student council applications were opened for the 2025-2026 school year in February. Students interested in being a part of student government were encouraged to join. As the deadline approached, excitement gave way to silence. Only a small handful of students picked up an application. This left many to wonder: why don’t students care? Of the 11 freshmen who picked up an application, 4 dropped out; Of the 11 sophomores, 1 dropped out; 9 juniors picked up an application but 2 dropped out. Student Body applications were postponed due to lack of applicants. At the moment, we have 5 and 3 remaining vacancies. The same lack of involvement can be seen in voting as well. Out of 190 students in the class of 2026, only 71 voted in the recent April election. For the class of 2027, 93 out of 211 students voted. In the class of 2028, 83 out of 181 students voted. Many at LHS agree that this lack of involvement has become a problem, but we cannot definitively say why. Cassie-Anne Jacinto, out Student Activities Coordinator (SAC) states that “With less applications, it provides less choice for students during elections.” As a result, she worries, “there may be less diversity in student voice.” “Student Voice” According to The Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals “the organization of Student Council grows out of the desire of the educator to make principles of democracy operative in the school.” For this reason, researchers Smith, Miller, and Nadler defined a functioning student government as something that can “provide important outlets for students to be engaged in making decisions for the welfare of the entire campus.” Student Council is designed then to train students “to bargain, negotiate, and advocate for others whom they represent.” Student Council, says sophomore Xeila Santiago, is “a group of students elected by their peers who plan events, represent the school, and try to make their school environment a better place.” For years, we acknowledged the importance of the student council at Lahainaluna. But what will happen if students and educators no longer have this desire? “Student Council is not listening…” For some students, the dismal turnout may be connected to student distrust. “If students don't feel like their voices will actually be heard or that their participation will make a difference,” says senior ASB President RJ Arconado,. “They may not be motivated to get involved.” An anonymous freshman thinks that students may distrust the Council, under the assumption that they, the Council members, “are not being effective in making a change.” He thinks they may be “too lazy to make a change.” Similarly, junior Aden Ross thinks that “people are very bored and people won’t be interested in joining or participating.” This, he added, could come from “students feel[ing] like Student Council is not listening to their ideas.” Recently, Jersea Borneman reported on the student council’s ability to make changes. Emma Batson believes the Student Council lacks transparency and does not let students know what is truly going on. “They’re saying they're gonna communicate with us,” says Batson. “I've never heard any of them coming around, talking to any of us, getting our opinions on things, asking us.” “The possibility of failure” Sophomore Mina Nagasako offers a different view of the problem. She feels that students are either “not committed in general or may be intimidated by competition.” The publicness of StuCo may make students “afraid to be judged by their fellow classmates,” says senior Sarah Cariaga, adding that a student may be judged by “their ideas or just receive comments from students.” “Students are afraid of the possibility of failure,” thinks sophomore Keyla Jimenez, who imagines that challengers have a harder time since “they have to get people to remember their name while the person they are running against is already known on campus.” While this was true for 5 races across grade levels, interest was so low this year that many of the spots lacked an incumbent. Because the Student Council pushes people out of their own comfort zones, intimidation can also stem from public speaking and the possibility of being a known leader on campus. Lahainaluna’s Principal Richard Carosso comments that “there is an amount of courage required to put yourself out there. It’s a little harder for kids to take that step outside of their comfort zone and lead.” “People are just lazy” There are less interesting reasons for the decline in participation. For instance, some students may be lazy or lack the initiative to do something. “Student council can be a very stressful position if you don’t have the correct people helping you,” says junior Aden Ross.“No one wants to spend most of their days planning events, people are just lazy.” “Perhaps students feel overwhelmed with their workload between school, outside work, and outside activities,” biology teacher Arica Lynn suggested. “It might be a challenge for them to stay involved in student council and even other opportunities here.” “The lack of wanting to join comes from laziness,” offered sophomore Kaliyah Cutty. This is less about students and more about timing, she says, since the race “happens towards the end of the year when most students are drained and don’t feel like doing any additional work.” While it is possible that this is teenage “laziness,” students may just believe that someone else will take on the job, meaning they don’t have to. Our student Activities coordinator (SAC), Cassie-Ann Jacinto, believes that student turnout can be chalked up to the“bystander effect,” or a situation in which someone does nothing because that person “expects someone else to step up.” “People would rather just watch people do things,” she added. “We’re still recovering” Jacinto points out that she has learned while talking with other Student Activities Coordinators that “there has been a decrease in engagement, not just at Lahainaluna, but also at other schools” She notes that the recent fall in participation may have started with COVID, but , at our school, it may have been drawn out by the 2023 Maui Wildfire. “We’re still recovering from the fire, and people are trying their best to come to school, go home and keep the cycle going,” Arconado says. “Some don’t even live in Lahaina, so student council is a hard thing to commit to for those not living in town.” Similarly, teachers are also preoccupied with current struggles to the point where they cannot engage with students as much as they used to. Carosso says, “it’s harder for everybody. For all of our kids, our staff, and our families to get involved. It’s just harder all around than it was.” “Like minded individuals” Offering incentives to encourage involvement may play a key role in increasing interested applicants. Recognition, acknowledgement throughout the school year, and celebration of student council members may seem miniscule now, but may go a long way. Arconado adds that one benefit to joining student council is “that you are surrounded by like-minded individuals that if you keep them close you will soon then call your best friends.” “The school can encourage student council participation by recognizing their efforts and planned events,” said an anonymous senior. Moreover, if students see that Student Council is not only working, but also something enjoyable, students may feel more inclined to join. This comes from a council’s ability to effectively plan events that make students feel welcomed. Conversely, if the Student Council appears ineffective and dysfunctional, “our legacy as a student council will go down to the dump,” says Arconado. Carosso says he has “confidence and faith that Lahainaluna–being Lahainaluna–-is the one place that can restore that kind of drive.” “We couldn’t do much this year,” said Arconado, “but I hope that in the future we can get cooler events to showcase what the Student Council has to offer.” “So fun” Because student council is the backbone of school-sanctioned events, such as homecoming and spirit weeks, a lack of involvement may cause planning and organizing conflicts. A year of this may make the situation worse, creating more challenges with filling positions or having dual positions,” said sophomore Treasurer Lucia Mejia. If this current trend were to continue, students who are overly-involved may also experience burnout as they take on more responsibilities. “Events like lip-sync are so fun,” Science teacher Jacquelyn Ellis lamented. This past year, student engagement was so low that lip-sync and assemblies had grade levels forfeiting, or events were canceled altogether. “It used to be a really big deal,” said Ellis, “and it’s been sad to see less students participate.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Brianne Lagazo is a sophomore at Lahainaluna. She is currently the president of the class of 2027, attempting to shed light on issues inside and outside of her school. She enjoys working with others, being a part of student council, giving back to her community.