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< Back The Boardersʻ Clock Marking a Change in Time Chantei Dela Cruz Lahainaluna freshman boarder, Haro Akiyama, woke up to a loud commotion and someone asking “Eh, who get watch – what time now – I think we late.” He and other boarders ran down to the gym floor to look for a clock which read 6:10 before all of them rushed down the hill to clock in for work. They noticed no one else standing around the large time clock and assumed that everyone was at work already. Work usually started at 6AM. At 6 every day, the boarders would stand in line to put their narrow punch cards into the clock. As they were about to punch in, they read the time clock’s time: 2:30. They were not late and were relieved to relax an extra couple of hours. Akiyama was a freshman in 1944. He graduated in 1948 having been a boarder for four years. The time clock had only existed for three years when Akiyama had his scare. It's housing was constructed in 1941 by Mr. Herbert Wright, the school's carpentry teacher, and his students. The time clock is located near Hale Pa’i (house of printing) and is below the bus stop at Lahainaluna. In order to get there, take the side road that branches out from the main road and near the staircase, there will be a shed that contains the time clock along with a plaque. It became a way to keep track of the amount of hours worked by boarders on campus. In the early 20th century, boarders had to work for their room and board daily. The purpose was to teach them responsibility, self-discipline, and good work habits. Boarders would punch in at the clock every morning and every night until the clock broke in 1976. Life as Boarder Former boarder, Richard “Noosh” Nishihara, noted that boarders’ lives revolved around the time clock. According to previous Lahainaluna Boarders’ Handbooks, boarders had to punch in their assigned number slot at the time clock by 6AM and punch out at 7AM before school started on weekdays. After school, boarders had to punch in again after the 2PM bell indicated school was done. They had to work another two more hours until they could go back to their dormitories or attend athletic activities. Weekends were slightly less rigorous. Boarders were allowed to “sleep in” until 7:30 AM before punching in. Weekend morning shifts were three hours instead of two. Morning work earned them free time afterward. If an individual boarder was late to punch in, they had to work overtime. All hours of work done were recorded on the narrow timesheets or punch cards. “Chief” Earl Kukahiko who was the farm foreman at the time described the effect that time clock had on some boarders. The clock, he suggested, had the biggest effect on those who were late and had to work overtime. “The fear of the punishments (added work hours) for being late,” he said, “struck the fear of God into all of us.” In 1976, the time clock was deemed unserviceable. The only repairman who was familiar with the clock passed away sometime before 1976. At some point between 1976 and 2009, the Lahainaluna Classes of 1949 and 1950 began looking for ways to fund the clock's restoration. They would eventually find help from the Maui Carpenters Union and Maui International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 1186. The clock was restored and a large wooden shed housed it. The effort was headed by George Kawamoto (Class of 1952) and other Lahainaluna boarders. New Era, New System Nowadays, boarders just go to the time clock for headcount and don’t need to punch in. Senior Alana Hernandez, a current boarder at Lahainaluna, briefly explains the boarders’ daily schedules and how “We don’t use the time clock, we just go there.” As soon as the work is done, the boarders just return their tools to the shed and go back to the dorms. “We don't have to like ‘clock out’ or anything,” Hernandez said. Being an upperclassman gives boarders an advantage. Upperclassmen do “less labor intensive jobs or ‘opala truck,” said Nanea N. Sproat-Armitage who was interviewed by Doctor Ty Kawika Tengan and others for the Lahainaluna Native Hawaiian Boarding Students Oral History Project. In addition, Hernandez adds, “sometimes us uppers [juniors & seniors] give our tools to the unders [sophomores & freshmen] to take back.” Alumni boarders mentioned that a similar job an upperclassman boarder could have was working at the time clock or helping kids check in to work. Working at time clock was a simple job so most boarders wanted to have it. “I worked at time clock,” said former boarder Monica Kalikimaka Akamu who was also interviewed for the oral history project. “Working at time clock was super easy and all it meant was that I got to cruise in the truck with Coach Watson.” Former boarder Sherman Kealoha Maka was envied by his fellow boarders because he was given the job. “I had bad allergies. . . they had me in the orchard. So he [Kukahiko] took me out of orchard, and he put me in a time clock with him.” Symbol of Responsibility Using the time clock was an efficient way to keep track of over a hundred boarders’ work hours. During Eddie Espritiu’s time as a boarder, the clock was crowded each morning with over one hundred boarders. “—I mean. . . you can imagine 122 guys rushing back to their dorm, everybody going shower and get ready for school. . .,” said Espiritu. This sight is currently unimaginable. In 2025, about 30 students are boarding at Lahainaluna. “There used to be a lot more boarders back then, so using the time clock was an efficient system to keep track of who showed up to work,” said Hernandez. The size of the program has made it much easier to count and keep track of boarders who did not check in to work. The clock is now preserved as a historical structure and is no longer used by current boarding students. It holds a lot of meaning to boarders from classes of 1941-1976. The Lahainaluna time clock is a small structure, but was a big part of boarders’ daily routines. Their lives revolved around the clock. To many, the clock is now only a symbol of good time management, responsibility, and discipline. To others, like Eddie Espiritu, it was a symbol of “punctuality, responsibility, and respect for ourselves. . . it helped mold us and prepare us for our future.” (NOT?) Boarder's Clock.jpg Library of Congress. Pioneer Mill, Time Clock, Lahainaluna Road, Lahaina, Maui County, HI. HABS HI-38. Historic American Buildings Survey. Library of Congress, n.d. (NOT?) Boarder's Clock.jpg Library of Congress. Pioneer Mill, Time Clock, Lahainaluna Road, Lahaina, Maui County, HI. HABS HI-38. Historic American Buildings Survey. Library of Congress, n.d. 1/1 Bibliography Young, Peter. “Student Farmers.” Images of Old Hawaii . 23 September 2015. https://imagesofoldhawaii.com/student-farmers/#:~:text=Between%201941%20and%201976%2C%20Lahainaluna,with%20the%20clock%20passed%20away .) “LHS Weather Vane finds new home.” Lahaina News . 11 March 2022. https://www.lahainanews.com/news/community-news/2022/03/11/lhs-weather-vane-finds-new-home/ Tengan, Kawika et al. “Lahainaluna Native Hawaiian Boarding Students Oral History Project.” ScholarSpace . https://hdl.handle.net/10125/110110 Library of Congress. Pioneer Mill, Time Clock, Lahainaluna Road, Lahaina, Maui County, HI . HABS HI-38. Historic American Buildings Survey . Library of Congress, n.d. Miyahira, Stan. Na Leo (Voices) From The Past: Boarders of Lahainaluna High School . Chihara, Walter. “Many hands fix historic symbol of Luna boarders.” Lahaina News . 10 April 2009. Previous Next

< 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.

< All Candidates Mina Nagasako Secretrary ⭐ PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES: Do you have ideas regarding how to provide development opportunities to students (i.e. college fairs, scholarships, and campus policies to promote clubs and student involvement)? If so, explain: I think some opportunities to develop the students could be more promotion of clubs. I know we have one club fair but I think there should be more involvement in advertising them. I think it would help with student engagement. When kids feel like they belong somewhere, they gain confidence and I think by promoting our clubs we can increase that. We could do it by informing pookela teachers to tell the students in pookela. Some teachers don't watch the announcements and some kids don't take the time to read flyers so I think it would be effective for either pookela teachers to announce it or maybe even have club leaders go to pookelas. Or, maybe even have a club assembly where they can demonstrate what they do in the club. EVENTS PLANNING: If you were elected to student council what school events do you deem important and why? Some school events I would deem important if I was elected into council would be grade assemblies. I think they help with grade bonding and it's a good way to recognize students. I think we could take it even farther to work as a grade to plan things together, not just with the council. We could ask for ideas then make plans as a grade. This could help with academic aspects, environmental aspects, and social aspects. PARKING: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make on the parking and car policy? A change I would want to make on the car policy is the way that students are dropped off. I dont think students should be dropped off while people are simultaneously trying to get in and out of their spot. Maybe the students could get dropped off on the tree loop right under student parking. ENVIRONMENT: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what changes would you want to make to the appearance, cleanliness, or safety on campus? I want to make our campus being clean a more positive thing. Most people are too lazy to throw their trash away. Especially during lunch time. I was thinking maybe occasionally we could do lunch time competitions and students for each grade would have all of lunch to fill up a trash can and the grade who cleaned up the most would be the winners for the day. It would be difficult to have a reward system but its just an idea in the process. By making things a competition, I feel like it gets people motivated to take action. PHONE POLICY: If you were elected to the position you are running for, how would you change our phone policy? I think our phone policy is good but I think teachers need to make more of an effort to say something if it does bother them. I like the fact that teachers usually hold their students accountable and if they weren't paying attention, then that's their fault. SCHOOL LUNCH: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what would you do to improve the quality of student lunches? I am not sure how I would do this but I would definitely allow for student feedback and probably working with the lunch staff or whoever controls our school lunches to see what improvements could be made. I think that the proportions of our lunch are uneven sometimes, I'm a pretty small person and even I think there isn't enough food all the time. So I would try to make an effort to hear new ideas as well as take action to working with staff to fixing the problems students may have. Previous Next

Explore the latest sports updates from Lahainaluna on our news magazine page. Stay informed with engaging content on all things sports at Lahainaluna. Sports at Lahainaluna Football Wrestling Wrestling At King Kekaulike Read More Lahainaluna vs. Leilehua Lunas Ready for Playoff Clash Against Leilehua Read More Lunas v. Maui High Sabers If they win, the Lunas have a chance at the state championship. Read More Lunas’ Fighting Spirit Overcoming COVID Challenges Read More

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

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

< Back Do you have a work of art or a piece of writing to share? Write for Ka Lama Hawai'i Ka Lama Hawai'i Education May 11, 2024 at 12:30:21 AM Submit an article to our Student Life & Academics section, a piece of written or visual art to our Back Page section, or a short opinion to our Talk Story section. Have something important to share about Lahainaluna sports? Submit an article to our sports section. We will consider all submissions as long as they are: student-authored, appropriate, and, for articles, in some way relevant to student life. All submissions to Ka Lamaʻs Campus Life section: must report rather than make or advance opinion; must begin with an engaging lead; must be focused on something relevant to campus or student life; must be grounded in the voices of/interviews with LHS students and community members. Topics are not limited and may be focused on art, entertainment, education, school administration, etc. All articles are subject to a thorough review process. Any submission may be rejected if it fails to meet quality standards established by Ka Lama student staff and faculty advisors. Submit to the contact form on this site or send it to kalamahawaii.info@gmail.com . Previous Article Next Article Copy link This was posted by the editorial staff of Ka Lama Hawai'i.

< Back "Cruelty is the Point" Inside Maui Prep's Anti-Transgender Policy Brianne Lagazo Student Wellness April 30, 2025 at 10:17:41 PM On the 21st of April, a deadline passed by which time Maui Preparatory Academy was asked to respond to the ACLU. On the A CLU Hawai'i website, the high school was asked to “rescind” their new anti-transgender policy, as it violates current law that prohibits gender identity discrimination. From the Maui Prep Handbook, the new policy read as follows: “Maui Prep recognizes biological sex assigned at birth as the basis for determining participation in athletics, overnight stays, and access to facilities such as bathrooms and locker rooms.” According to a staff attorney at the ACLU, Maui Prep has not responded to, or even acknowledged receipt of the ACLU letter. Maui Prep continues to receive strong backlash for implementing a policy many say harms students. “bad parenting” In September, Tim Hehemann, Maui Prep Board President, proposed that the school would only permit students to wear clothing, enforce bathroom guidelines, and participate in sports teams according to their birth gender. In their post, the ACLU states that Hehemann described transgender identity as a result of “bad parenting” and as a form of behavioral misconduct. While these policies will not be implemented until the 2025-2026 school year, many people worry about the emotional harm this may cause to students. It is also important to mention cultural as well as legal incompatibility of such a policy in Hawai'i. According to the ACLU of Hawai'i, Maui Prep’s policy is in direct defiance of a current law that prohibits gender identity discrimination by any school that receives state funding. Should Maui Prep fail to comply, the funds that the school receives from the State Department of Human Services, the State Department of Education, and allocations from the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools program will most likely be rescinded. Because of strong backlash from parents and community members, the West Maui school agreed to respect student’s personal pronouns, but will continue to enforce strict bathroom and sports guidelines. Hehemann’s plans leaked to the larger community in December. Yet, it had been discussed in private throughout the summer of 2024. Once Hehemann and Jim Bozich, a major donor at the school (Maui Prep’s gym is named after Bozich) pushed the policy publically, the school’s nondiscriminatory policy was removed from their website. Board members who opposed it resigned or were forced out. “Those māhū’s were our protectors.” The problem is much larger than the legal battle. The issue of trans rights closely connects to an important social and spiritual identity in Hawaiian culture. According to Kumu Hina, a famous Native Hawaiian māhū kumu hula, the word “māhū” can be used to describe someone who is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. The tradition was recorded by missionaries when they first arrived in Hawai'i. The word was used to describe a person who embodies both male and female spirit, also known as the gender “in-between”or “third gender.” Despite the term being used in a derogatory way, the word “māhū” in Hawaiian culture means something important to Hawaiians. Hina explains that māhū were known as caregivers and teachers of ancient traditions, keepers and teachers of hula. However, when white colonists arrived from Europe and America, they were repulsed by māhū-identifying people, who they interpreted as immoral and unnatural. A local community member with connections to Maui Prep who we will call Mele, voices her opinion on the cultural aspect and the school’s impact. In terms of culture, Mele states that “growing up here, it is normal even though people may not agree with it.” She told a story about growing up with māhū kane nearby, and how “when we were in the bathrooms, they were in the bathrooms with us and keeping the boys out from causing trouble.” “Those māhū’s were our protectors,” she said. “It is kind of weird for me to hear them [Maui Prep] say that because I feel like they’re almost ignorant or scared of something they don't know,” added Mele who believes that Hawaiian culture, including the concept of māhū, taught people discipline, respect, and the meaning of ohana. By contrast, she said, American culture lacks discipline and can ultimately lead to disrespect and ignorance. “I think it’s interesting that a school here in Hawai'i is so happy to ignore the traditional Hawaiian māhū culture that has existed here as long as people have lived here,” said Kumu Kaui Spitalsky who teaches in Lahainluna’s Kaiapuni (Hawaiian immersion) program. “I suppose I don’t find it very surprising that Maui Prep is the school that would want to ignore Hawaiian culture and exclude those that they don’t agree with," Spitalski continued. "They are a private school. The point of a private school is to exclude the public - to exclude those that don’t fit into their view of the world.” Sentiments are similar among students like senior Kaui Wright Smith who proudly claimed her Hawaiian ancestry during our interview. “It's a very harmful way of thinking, this Western concept of homophobia that was brought on by colonization.” Mina Nagasako also thinks that “This organization is making a decision that excludes a whole group of people and others should know what this organization is doing.” While Maui Prep often integrates parts of Hawaiian culture on campus, Mele noted their tendency of “picking and choosing bits and pieces [...] that they want to incorporate at their school, which does not sit well with me right now.” “Māhū was a very important value,” Nagasako said. “To exclude that and continue to use Hawaiian language terms in your school is so disrespectful.” “cruelty is the entire point” Many Lahainaluna students seem to understand this point, though they may not speak about māhū culture directly. “This being a policy in Hawaii honestly makes us look bad knowing that we’re LGBTQ+ friendly,” says Annika Yu-Cua. Similarly, freshman Ako Peralta thinks that the policy "might be really unfair on their students" and that all this does is make people “feel like they dont belong there.” “We shouldnt be excluding people just because they’re part of the community.” Similarly, as an anonymous freshman noted, the policy “disregard[s] a whole demographic of students.” The school is “wrong in a multitude of ways,” says history teacher Sara Eubank. “It seems like they [Maui Prep] realize that trans and gender nonconforming people exist and they would rather reject and discriminate against them instead of accepting a child for who they are.” If anything, she suggests, the policy will only promote the “internalization of transphobia,” which “causes a lot of harm that can possibly last for years to come if not addressed.” Therefore, Eubank concludes, “It’s an attempt to force people to be ashamed of who they are and to bully them into conforming. The cruelty is the point.” “It is not a step in the direction that fosters acceptance.” says Biology teacher Arica Lynn. She agrees and notes that “these policies do not support a positive learning environment for our student population.” “If a student feels uncomfortable in their surroundings they won’t be willing to learn,” adds sophomore Jaylee Vierra. “I have friends and family that align themselves with the community and it harms their sense of self,” says Senior Kayla Mabalot. Freshman Elijah Cabanilla agrees. “People should also be aware that this hurts the student’s mental health because they can’t get the help they need at school.” “...they can do what they want…” In the spring of 2024, it is possible that Maui Prep approached the MIL asking if they could withdraw from competition with MIL teams with transgender participants. Yet, this cannot be proven and no one is able to confirm this story. Yet, Carosso confirmed that the MIL informed Maui Prep that they cannot withdraw from competition against an MIL team because of their transgender participants. This is due to the MIL’s responsibility of coordinating game and travel schedules. In this one case, said Athletic Director Jonathan Conrad, “They're basically in a situation where they [Maui Prep] need to conform.” Yet, as it is with their general trans policy, “they’re a private school and they can do what they want.” “If they [Maui Prep] are actively violating an MIL policy,” added Conrad, “then they’re not allowed to play.” Richard Carosso added that “we don't have the right to change their [Maui Prep's] policy.” But “if you [Maui Prep] want to play with us, you have to accept MIL rules.” “Fractures that feeling of ohana” A letter sent to all Maui Prep faculty memebers by a concerned Maui Prep parent pointed out that faculty members who have been a part of the community for years will not be returning next school year because of the new policy. According to the letter that Ka Lama obtained from an anoynymous source, Maui Prep’s college counselor, all four preschool teachers, and 17 teachers and faculty, will not be returning next year due to the Administration’s recent mistreatment. Concerned with how alienating and firing teachers will ultimately benefit their children, the parent group also claimed that the school lacks transparency. They criticised the school for failing to explain the changes. Former teacher Vashti Daise was reportedly fired for openly defying the anti-transgender policy. She had emailed faculty and staff stating that “if we are going to enact a discriminatory policy against trans children or any kind of children, I would no longer be able to stay at the school.” Sometime after her email, she told Maui News Now, she was called into the office, where staff informed her that “it was time for us to part ways.” Maui Prep’s administration informed the Maui News that they would not comment on Daise’s unemployment. “This policy has literally fractured that feeling of ohana,” Daise continued. “People are really experiencing low morale and fear.” Carosso says he doesn’t think that an anti-trans policy is “in the best interest of educating kids academically and emotionally. We need to always lean in with aloha and acceptance first [...] and I don't think this policy reflects that.” “The trend of us becoming a kinder, gentler world continues to progress,” Carosso added. “To some extent, this policy is a step back.” While some in the present may not agree with it, said Mele about the long-lived presence of māhū culture in Hawai’i, “we are always accepting. If you don’t like it, maybe you shouldn’t be here.” 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.

< Back Forward > Lunas v. Maui High Sabers If they win, the Lunas have a chance at the state championship. Samantha Shibao Previous Next This week, the Lunas play the Maui High Sabers. After their loss two weeks ago against their rival, the Baldwin Bears, the Lunas need to push through with a victory this game to keep the season going. If they win, the Lunas will face the Bears again in a playoff game leading to the state championship. Team captain and offensive lineman, Kawika Kaili, expressed how important this upcoming game is and offered his predictions about the outcome. “I think that we will be slow in the beginning because of the jitters,” he said. “But as the game continues, we should be able to score a lot and win the game.” Hoken ‘Samurai’ Hironaka, a running back and defensive end, also added, “Even though the stakes are high, I predict we will win.” According to Kaimiloa Kaluawehiokealiiokalani Kaina, the team has been preparing mentally for this high-stakes game throughout the week. Fans of the team say that Kaina is a really fast player who is notably agile. A senior who has been playing since freshman year as a wide receiver and defensive back, Kaina talked about how this win is important and how “We’re probably gonna have a slow first quarter, then destroy Maui High after.” Other than the nerves from such an important game, Kaina says that he's excited for the game--as well as senior night. He added his excitement about OC16 (Spectrum Sports) being there to broadcast the game. The Lunas face off against the Sabers at Sue D. Cooley Stadium in Lahaina tonight at 6 PM. It will be their 9th game of the season and also a closing to the MIL season. They aim to secure that win so be sure to show up wearing red and white to support our boys for their senior night and end of the season game! Heading 6

< Back Between School and Extra Curriculars Finding a Balance Jersea Borneman Education January 13, 2025 at 5:55:44 PM Every year, students sign up for extracurricular activities including band, color guard, water polo, swimming, wrestling, football and more. Lahainaluna’s school website lists 23 clubs and 21 sports. Many of them take up time after school and even during weekends. For instance, water polo. This can fill up a student’s schedule as long hours are spent practicing five days a week. Games are on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays. The hours students spend on sports and extracurriculars could be spent with family and friends, doing homework, or sleeping. But for some reason, students commit to their extracurriculars. “I forget all about it” Researcher Erin Massoni finds that extracurricular activities have a positive impact on mood , behavior, grades, and school and assignment completion. For Massoni, extracurriculars encourage the development of skills that help teenagers take more initiative and socialize. Yet, what happens when extracurriculars take more than they give? What happens when extracurricular activities negatively impact school performance and home life? Students are outspoken on the benefits of extracurriculars to their mental health. “Wrestling helps me relieve my stress because, like, after school, I'll be all anxious,” says sophomore Safirah Ladore who gets stress from school. She describes feeling “like, oh, I need to go home, I need to do this, I need to do that. But then when I go to wrestling, I forget all about it.” Similarly, dancing after school helps freshman Eli Hegrenes “release emotions in a positive way.” Hengrenes uses his dance time to “express how I feel [...]. I can use different shapes to express my feelings.” Being a part of a team or club can also give students a safe place and sense of belonging. At a new school this year, sophomore Isabella Higgins reflects on how being part of a team helped her fit in. “The team was very kind, and they welcomed me.” Striking a Balance Junior Cora Gruber agrees with this idea, and said “I love the girls, and the team is like another family to me.” Yet, Gruber worries about finding a balance between school and extracurriculars. “I get stressed out about performing physically and mentally, like in my sport and in my school,” she admits. “Academics and grade checks make it more stressful.” According to Lahainaluna’s grade check policy, students cannot participate in games or meets with an F or a GPA below 2.0. Students who do not meet these requirements will be in Academic Review Status (ARS) and will have to attend study hall on Wednesdays until they bring their grades up. “There's only a few that don't pass grade checks,” says Sabine Armstrong, the school's Athletic Department Assistant. “It's not because they're not smart students. It's because they don't manage their time well.” Students may have a lot of things they need to balance, Armstrong says: “They want to practice, and they have maybe a job, and they have school, and then they don't hand in their assignments.” Time management gets easier, said Armstrong. She pointed out that “Those people that are on ARS, most of them, a good percentage of them, are freshmen.” She added that this may be because they are new to high school and “don't know, and they–it's overwhelming.” In contrast to Freshmen, Armstrong said, “seniors take us more seriously, because they know it's time for college or time for trade school, and they need, you know, everything. So they have their time more managed than the freshman for sure.” “When I get off of school I feel very stressed out because I just have a lot of homework, and when I have to go to wrestling after, it just makes it very hard to do my work and get it done,” says freshman Reef Harris. Despite the stress, Harris is confident that “I can get my grades up in time whenever there's a grade check. But sometimes it stressing me out.” Junior Ozzy Serle says that “The hard thing is just balancing it, honestly.” Serle, a basketball player, explains that “Our day starts from 7:45. We don't get home to, what, like eight? Seven? Then you have to eat, shower—then you have to find time to do your homework.” Serle finds that when it comes to homework “you usually do it all [on] the weekends or during school. It's mainly about just managing your time.” Losing Sleep Over It Sophomore Jenna Basto commits two to three days a week to her color guard practice, which lasts 4-5 hours. Despite this commitment, she still manages to find “like an hour or two” for her homework. Hegrenes finds that he spends “more time dancing than doing homework.” He spends three hours doing his homework, which he compared to the two to six hours he spends at dance. Dance can be very stressful, he admitted, since “It takes up so much time.” “I usually go to bed late because of my homework. I usually go to bed around 12 or 1am.” Gruber finds that she gets less sleep during water polo season because she often won’t get home until 8:00 - 8:30, “and I still have to eat dinner, get ready for bed, do homework, and get ready for bed the next day.” Importantly, the CDC recommends that teenagers aged 13–18 years sleep 8–10 hours per 24 every hour period. Yet, the students interviewed reported an average of 6 hours per night. Figure 1 When the average day is calculated, (figure 1), students without extracurricular activities have 4.3 hrs of unused time. Yet, when practice time is added (figure 2) students only have 1.5 hrs of unused time. We might image unused time as open time that students could spend doing things like eating, talking to others, or taking care of an unexpected event or an emergency. Students in extracurriculars may not have this time or may need to lose time for eating, resting, or, again, sleep. Figure 2 Despite the time crunch, sophomore Safirah Ladore tries to stick to her sleep schedule. Safirah is a wrestler. “I try to just cut my line and go to sleep at nine or ten.” But for her, she added, “honestly, that's late for me, because I go to sleep at like eight o'clock.” One reason she is able to go to bed early the way she manages her time. She says she does homework for “like an hour to two hours like a night.” This depends on how much she is able to finish before her practice begins. “If I'm more productive after school,” she added, “I'll get, like, another hour or 30 minutes.” “...that’s every other kid…” While students like Safirah are able to balance work and play, many other LHS students struggle. During the 2024 fall season, for instance, JV football was affected by player injuries but also time management issues when critical players were unable to pass their grade checks. “It got so bad,” said sophomore Corbin Sales, “that some people just gave up completely and just accepted the fact that they won't be able to play.” JV had to forfeit their game because of “grades and injuries” Sales says. “We didn’t have a lot of people in the first place. It really just messed everything up.” “There was injuries,” says Armstrong. “A lot of people had injuries, and a lot of people that didn't make the grades. So the combination between both of it, I think, was then we didn't have enough players for a JV team.” She was sure to clarify that “it wasn't just the grades, or it wasn't just the injuries, I think it was a combination of both things that then resulted into the team that having enough players to safely play.” Freshman Cruz Dagupion played JV football this fall. “I couldn't really manage it,” he said. “It was just too hard.” Dagupion found “there's no time for anything because, like, once you're out of school, it's like, either weightlifting or you're just in the locker room waiting.” It was also hard because “when you get home, it's around like nine o'clock.” During the season, “I couldn't get my grade up in time,” Dagupion said, who thinks that the homework load is “Kind of too much for me. But I think that's good, because it kind of helps you learn what you can perform.” Junior Daniel Bandayrel doesn’t play any sports but still struggles with time management. “I just space out bruh,” said Bandayrel, who believes “The damn truth is that’s every other kid.” “I ain’t gonna lie,” he emphasized, “like have you ever noticed your classmates spacing the &@#% out?” “I manage my time by putting school first, before anything else,” said junior Timote Lino. Timote has become one of the student musicians that leads the alma mater at practice and assemblies. Despite this commitment to practices and performances, he believes that “education is most important.” Lino says managing his time becomes difficult when “I’m starting to run gigs with my band.” To fit everything in, Lino has to “time crunch everything to finish school work and then get to the gig right after.” Commitment or Excuse? History teacher Sarah Eubank thinks that “most of the time, the kids are using sports as an excuse to not do things that they don't want to do.” Eubank notices “When the sports over, they just continue to not do it, but now they don't have an excuse.” She feels that “they could get work turned in,” but “most of the time it’s a kid who doesn't really want to do a thing because it's hard to choose to do the thing that's that not that fun.” Eubank sometimes notices that students “might be tired, and maybe sometimes quality drops a little bit because they don't have as much time to put towards the thing.” Eubank notices a trend when the sports end. “The emphasis is to make sure you're passing so that you can play the sport, and then when the sport is done, a lot of the times boys grades do drop off a little bit.” After the season, “They struggle because they no longer care.” Differently, sophomore Basto insists that when students prioritize sports they are standing on business. “I do it because I was like, committed to like doing it.” “And, like, I don’t think I could like, back out.” Jenna is also committed because “I think the experience is really nice.” “I feel very stressed by dance,” Hegrenes said. “It takes up so much time, but since I’m so passionate about about it, I don’t want to let it go.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Jersea Borneman is a staff writer for Ka Lama Hawai'i.

< Back Forward > Lahainaluna vs. Leilehua Lunas Ready for Playoff Clash Against Leilehua Samantha Shibao Previous Next This week is a very special one! The Lunas are set to play against Leilehua after defeating Baldwin with a score of 7-3. Although it was a tough game, the Lunas managed to push through and make it to the playoffs against other D1 teams from all across the islands. If they manage to grab this win, it will push them up a bracket for states, and they will be up against Konawaena. Team captain, senior, Michael Rayray, stated that this game will be a “we go home or they do” type of game and that they simply have to win this. Junior team captain Joe-boy Archangel agreed and added that it is a very important game as it pushes them to the next level in the playoffs. Rayray predicts that this game will definitely not be easy. “It’s gonna be a well-fought game,” he said. “It’s not gonna be easy, but I feel like if we work together and minimize our mistakes, we can end up on top. It’s about how we start and finish the game.” Archangel also added that he anticipates “a hard time with our offense because we have a lot of packages and we do a lot of motions as well.” Yet, he added, “Our defense has been solid all year as well, so I'm excited to see their offense match up against us.” For those unfamiliar, the term "package" refers to a specific grouping of players designed for certain situations or plays. Archangel also predicted that they will win (“knock on wood”) and that “Leilehua will go back and forth. Our team has lots of heart, so in the end, I think we’ll come out with the win.” Team captain, Kawika Kaili, says the Lunas have prepared for this. “We have been watching a lot of films on them, learning what they are going to run, what formations they are going to do, and relaying that on the field, just practicing to win the game.” Collage of photos from the recent game against Baldwin Bears. Lunas won 7-3. Pictures taken by: Samantha Shibao Kaili has been playing football since he was 5 years old. He is now a senior who is notable for having played the most games consistently over his high school career. On the coming game, he thinks that “whoever makes the least mistakes and becomes the most disciplined team will win the game.” The Lunas will be playing at our home stadium, Sue D. Cooley Stadium, this Saturday against the Leilehua Mules at 6 p.m. It will be their 11th game of the season and second game for the playoffs. So be sure to come up and support our boys as they fight for their spot in the next round of playoffs! Go Big Red! Heading 6

< Back Monique Blando Custodian For Monique “Mo” Blando, a custodian at Lahainaluna High School, her job is more than a way to earn a living—it's a way to connect with her roots. A proud graduate who was born and raised in Lahaina, Blando followed in the footsteps of her mother, who was also a Lahainaluna alumna, and her uncle, who previously held a custodial position. "I'm proud to be from here," she says. "I look forward to making him proud." Her passion for family is clear. The seventh of many siblings, Blando has embraced her role as a doting aunt. “I have all older brothers and sisters, and I don't have any kids, thank goodness, so I just take care of theirs,” she shares with a laugh. Her day begins with a clear routine: “take the doggy for a walk, make sure my mom's got her meds and eats a little bit,” and then it's off to work. Once on campus, her goal is to “make sure that everything’s around is clean, looks good and safe for you guys.” This sense of responsibility extends beyond her official duties, as she also tries to “make sure the students are in the right areas.” While she likes her job, she finds that “communication between the generations is probably the most difficult.” She's learning that kids on campus today are different from when she was in school. "We got to learn how to talk to you guys differently," she says thoughtfully, "because you guys don’t always respond the way we were taught to.” Blando's deep community ties are meaningful, but there are some drawbacks to being so connected. A self-described "big talker," she says she's always trying to "make sure I don't embarrass any of my nieces and nephews while I'm working.” Jersea Borneman is a staff writer for Ka Lama Hawai'i.