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< Back Under a Cloud at Lahainaluna Vaping on Campus Trinity Guiza Student Life May 29, 2024 at 10:33:32 PM “I don’t feel pressured at all, I’m a good person, not a delinquent like them,” said a Lahainaluna sophomore when asked whether they felt pressured to vape by others. To the same question, a senior offered an anecdote: “I would get asked if I wanted to hit it but when I said no they weirdly congratulated me and said how good of a student I was while they still went on to continue vaping their flavored air.” The vaping situation on our campus has been on everyone’s minds. But students who do and don't vape have opinions on the issue that you aren't likely to find on a poster. Most students are concerned, but they aren't sure how concerned to be or whether school leaders care. NOTE: given the sensitivity of the subject, many of the students interviewed preferred to remain anonymous. I refer to students by their favorite colors rather than their given names. Lahainaluna has rules against vaping on campus. These rules are based on Hawaii’s administrative rules found in Chapter 19 of the Hawai’i Department of Education Administrative Rules Manual. Rules from Chapter 19 have been included in every LHS student planner and on the school website. Under “Chapter 19,” vapes and e-cigarettes fall under the class C offense sections of contraband and controlled substance use in this chapter. It reads that students may receive penalties such as suspension for 92 days for possession or being under the influence of controlled substances. See the whole text here . Perspectives Students who don’t vape also don't seem to care too much about vaping since, as one sophomore student, Baby Blue, said, “it’s just a normal occurrence now.” Another student, a sophomore I’ll call Rose Gold, added that they “really don’t like how it’s normalized, we even have presentations or lessons against vaping, I mean you're even writing an article on it too.” A significant portion of students shared this weariness about the prevalence of the issue. Things started looking different when students were asked how they felt personally about vaping. A sophomore named Emerald stated, “I care but not really–not enough to report anything.” They added not a minute later, however, that “it doesn’t give the school a nice environment.” Other students like Crimson, a sophomore, reported feeling “threatened” by vaping students. Simply something upon groups of students hanging out in the bathrooms seemed to be the primary cause of “awkward situations” as Rose Gold said, “so I try to run out of there as fast as possible, I don't like their flavored air.” Asked if a younger sibling or family member were to start vaping like him, Gray, a junior, replied a bit defensively, insisting that “that wouldn’t happen, they are too young for that.” “You know what, never mind, I don’t care, I’m done” they finally said before walking away. When asked why they vaped and why specifically on campus, sophomore Yellow said, “I just feel good, it’s not that complicated” and “I do it anywhere so why not.” “Most people think vaping helps with the stress,” said Purple, a sophomore. “But the reason why they vape in school is because they have a feeling, the need to do it, feening.” Yellow and Purple said that people vape in the bathrooms for the obvious reason that “teachers are in class, so they aren’t in the bathrooms, and there are no cameras either. It's the one place you have the privacy to do what you want,” Purple said. Forest Green, a senior, said that in their opinion, vaping happens more often during breaks. Who Cares? Many students are sure that there is no solution to the problem. They complained that staff don’t care or that they don’t even know what’s going on. Purple claims that she vapes, but knows “it’s a problem.” But, she continued, “they,” that is, the administration, “just simply don’t care.” Dubious stories about students getting away with vaping circulate among students, but few of them seem credible. Black, a freshman, is sure that admin doesn’t care simply because of how many students he sees vaping—8 in the bathroom daily. Nicole Heinlein, the freshman vice principal at Lahainaluna, confirmed that it is a problem they are working on. “We often get reports of students vaping in the bathrooms and students saying they don’t feel comfortable going into the bathroom because they are worried about being around people who are vaping,” she said. “I think this is affecting how other students feel about being on campus. And that’s a problem.” Sophomore vice principal, Debralyn Arellano added that she thinks “there should be no vaping on campus, if there’s even one student vaping then that’s a problem.” “It makes me wonder if they are fully informed about what they are doing,” Ms. Arellano continued, “because from what I know nobody knows the long-term effects of vaping.” “It makes me nervous,” said Ms. Heinlein, because students shouldn’t be “doing unhealthy and illegal things on campus.” “If students are breaking the law now as teenagers,” she said, “it makes me worry that they may continue to break the law later in life.” Every Cloud… On the topic of solutions, Ms. Heinlein reported that the administration had made informative posters “that we are gonna be putting up around campus and in bathrooms this summer, to educate students about vaping and options for quitting vaping. Ultimately, we are hoping that educating students on the dangers of vaping will cause them to think twice about it.” She said that vape smoke detectors had been “discussed,” but other vice principals from other schools doubted their effectiveness as well as their high cost: “if they don’t work well then it doesn’t seem like a good solution.” Solutions volunteered by students revealed a wide variation in perspectives. A sophomore student, Pink, proposed a “scared straight program” but instead of prisoners “we do a face-to-face confrontation with people who have suffered from vaping.” Their friend Emerald questioned the idea, suggesting that “helping someone who doesn’t want help is just cruel.” To this, Baby Blue said “we could just smack’em in the head.” Purple suggested taking away their phones and vapes, so they sit in class with nothing, the torture of boredom.” She also suggested “more officers or have the staff be more strict.” Multiple students suggested sensitive smoke detectors in the bathrooms, but one student was opposed to this idea. Green mentioned that “in my old school there were smoke detectors in the bathrooms but all that did was set an alarm off every week and drove students to find another way.” Another student suggested a compromise solution: a “green room” so that they can do what they want while also staying out of other people’s business. Presented with Pink’s scared straight program, Arellano and Heinlein were on board. “Educating students and empowering them to make informed decisions is the most impactful thing we can do,” said Heinlein. “It would be wonderful to welcome guest speakers from the community to come in and have some sort of public service announcement.” Both reacted predictably to the “green room” proposal. Heinlein laughed and said “no way, nope. Plus, you have to be 21 years old to legally vape and no one on campus is 21 so absolutely not, nice try.” Nobody knows when vaping on campus became a problem. Most speculate that it simply just transitioned from smoking to vaping when vapes became available. Arellano said “I started working at Lahainaluna in 2019, that’s when I learned what a vape was.” One thing is for certain, be it a student or an admin, everyone has opinions and everyone feels a responsibility to promote and maintain a safe and secure educational environment here at Lahainaluna High school. Previous Article Next Article Copy link Trinity Guiza is a staff writer at Ka Lama Hawai'i.

< Back A Step into the Mind of Peace Cath Apilado Painting The Work When I was painting it, I wanted to paint a fountain, I guess. I was looking through Pintarest to find inspiration--to see how people painted fountains. I found one. There was grass, like in my fountain picture, but the Pintarest fountain was nothing like what I painted--it was a different kind of fountain. I used watercolor because I like painting with watercolors. I painted a butterfly because I like butterflies. And I guess I just like painting nature stuff. About the Creator Cath Apilado is a sophomore at Lahainaluna High School. She has been painting for 8 years, but she sees painting only as a hobby right now. Cath's favorite kind of media is watercolor and her favorite color is purple. Previous Next Subscribe to our weekly newsletter Send Email

< 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 From the Classroom to the Polls On the Issues, Misinformation, and Parental Influence Keyla Jimenez Lucia Mejia Politics November 2, 2024 at 7:02:04 AM Most students do not meet the age requirement to vote, but this election still greatly affects us. It still “affects the whole United States,” says senior “Mary,” and “as long as you're a citizen of the United States, no matter what, you're affected by who's president.” Students will be impacted greatly in various ways depending on who wins this election. It's important for us to understand what’s going on with the people who have our future in their hands. Everyone has the right to their own opinion. The following statements from students are their own opinions that they freely offered. That’s the whole point of this article, and frankly of Ka Lama Hawai’i . Giving a voice to those who typically don’t have one is important. It gives us and others a different perspective on the topic. In the following, we were sure to respect students’ privacy by asking them if they preferred to speak anonymously or whether they wanted to be publicly associated with their opinions. Instead of using their real names, students were given names inspired by famous Americans, including US presidents. “...what are we doing at this point people?” “I love Kamala and I hate Trump,” states one anonymous freshman. We can call him “Jefferson.” “Literally, just watch the debate,” he said. “He's like a convicted felon on multiple accounts, like, how is he allowed to be our president?” “What the heck? Like, what are we doing at this point people?” For Jefferson, Supreme Court appointments are crucial. The Supreme Court, is “a lifetime position, so since Donald Trump, he appointed a bunch of Republican Supreme Court judges, they're gonna be there for a lifetime and determine the outcome for the next 50 years.“ “Donald Trump is too egotistical and a felon,” said another anonymous student, “Tyler,” who added that Trump has been “proven to be a sexual abuser and made many racial remarks against minorities. He’s just a bad person.” Tyler suspects that Trump’s policies favor the rich and, like many democratic voters, sees abortion as a crucial issue. “A bunch of old men shouldn’t have the right to control what women do with their bodies.” “If you include abortion with all that, with healthcare, it's really restrictive and only certain people can get it. I feel like everyone should be able to,” said “Martha,” a sophomore. While Martha wants Kamala to win, she thinks that “both of them have some qualities that can benefit us, but in different areas.” “Ida,” a sophomore, also thinks Harris and Trump “have their strengths and weaknesses, but because of what Kamala’s offering then I would vote for her.” The deciding issue for Ida was climate change. Describing the importance of the environment, Ida was emphatic. “Moral of the story is that we're not gonna have immigration, we're not gonna have violent crime, not gonna have anyone on this earth if we're not taking care of it.” The “OG” “Warren” also thinks that “climate change is the biggest factoring issue in today's world because of how much it affects our world right now.” Yet, when asked about his candidate, he stated, “They both suck genuinely as people,” but “Donald Trump would be the lesser evil. I feel like Kamala isn't really fit to be president.” “Donald Trump is the OG. Donald Trump is the best!” said one freshman who was “against abortion.” “That’s like killing the baby,” he said. “It’s messed up.” “I want Trump to win,” said “Caroline.” “I think he just has his facts straight. And I don't think he's trying to pretend for anyone.” “I think Kamala is just a likable idiot,” said “George,” a sophomore. “People aren’t voting for her, they're voting against Trump.” “The way the Biden and Kamala administration runs the border is very poor as thousands of people illegally come into the country every day. America has legal ways to enter the US.” While George agrees that “Immigrants don’t harm the economy,” he still thinks that “they shouldn’t be able to just walk into the country.” While George admits that Kamala and Trump are “both idiots honestly,” he nevertheless favors Trump. “We have seen Trump run already and he honestly did not do that horrible of a job.” In his opinion “Kamala just doesn’t seem to really know what she is doing and she fumbles more and more every day and it is depressing to watch.” Unlike the other students interviewed, Mary is less certain. However, she did say she was concerned about violent crime. “Everyone deserves the right to go outside safely, knowing that they're gonna come home.” Neither candidate seemed to be right for her concern and she thinks that Trump and Kamala are “both good candidates. They both have their issues. They both deserve the equal amount of respect.” Overall, she added, “This election is a very tough one.” Misinformation A freshman, “Madison,” stated “I wish there would have been, like, a little bit more [media coverage] so that more people can, like, understand what's going on, because otherwise they don't really know who to vote for, and or they just won't vote at all.” Madison added, “We should know what is going on with our country.” “As far as students are concerned, whoever has the loudest voice on social media may be able to affect the thinking process of the student,” says Math teacher, William Tatro. Like many voters, Tatro has noticed the increased importance of social media in elections. Yet, this information is not always trustworthy. Science teacher, Kevin Tennison said that “If students choose to be informed, there's plenty of information, and they can access that." Yet, he also thinks that “they're [students] more so influenced by social media.” “Politics is so extremely complicated,” says Social Studies teacher, John Borge. “If I do not spend hours and hours researching the things that I see on Instagram or TikTok or the things that I hear my community saying, then the misinformation has won.” Mike Landes teaches AP Government at LHS and says that “most people, not just students, but most people in general, are not highly informed.” Tackling this lack of information, he continued, is “part of why we have classes to teach it in school, because they know that educating people about it makes people more likely to be informed voters. We tend to get most of our information from social media and from ads, and neither of those is a good source of information or reliable.” Tennison agrees, “Schools should inform students, teach students both sides” so that they are able “to make up their own minds.” Landes argues that civic education is important because “How are we supposed to continue to have a functioning democracy if we don't know how it works?” He continued, “It's been shown statistically that the number one thing determining what your political beliefs will be is your parents’ political groups.” Rather, as Tennison notes, students mostly learn from their parents about politics when they (politics) are “discussed at the dinner table.” Sophomore George thinks that “kids honestly just believe what they see on social media” and that “kids probably age 1-10 who can’t formulate an original opinion will just agree with what their parents agree with. But as we grow we generally distance ourselves from our parents and what they agree with.” “This is the most important election of our time” “People think that their vote doesn't matter, but if everyone thinks that then we're gonna have no one to vote,” states Caroline. “A lot of impacts will eventually affect our rights when we're older.” To secure our future, she said, “It's important for everyone to know what's going on in the election.” Warren thinks that “this is the most important election of our time” because it “would affect the many generations of today and even the ones ahead of us. It could set off a really big change in the country.” “It's just good to know as a citizen, to be well informed about these topics,” says Madison, since being informed “will make your life easier.” Ida warns that “if you were to ask someone our age or 18, they wouldn't have, let's say, enough knowledge to be able to make a good decision.” “One of the greatest failures of politics is that it does not bring in that group, that 18 to 25,” says Borge. “If you do not vote, you are allowing someone else to care for you, and those people that are making those decisions are expecting you to sit down, shut up and do what you're told.” 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. Lucia Mejia is currently a junior and Treasurer of the class of 2027.

< Back Artificial Intelligence The Future is Here? Trinity Guiza Science & Technology February 7, 2025 at 5:36:28 PM “It makes my job easier,” Judd Levy, a science teacher at Lahainaluna, said about using AI to assist his teaching work. “When I'm developing lessons, I can't think of everything, but the AI knows everything.” Even so, Levy objects to students using AI as a replacement for their own work and thinks that the problem is that “we haven't taught students how to use it ethically,” and that students more often are using AI as a “cheating tool.” Coming across AI-created assignments is “frustrating,” he shared, “because I don't want to give an assignment and have to read what AI wrote, you know, from twenty different students.” Jenifer Ariemma, an English teacher, repeats this frustration. “I stand firm with my students,” she says, telling them that “I would rather them write the worst paper that was ever written as long as it was theirs.” The majority of students and staff at Lahainaluna are familiar with artificial intelligence. They all have some notion as to what they think it has done for us and for our future. Yet, many disagree on or are unsure about what that future looks like. “There is a lot of uncertainty” Vice Principal Christopher Webber thinks about AI a lot. He connects confusion over AI to the fact that “we are right at the beginning of what it might become.” “Because of this,” he continued, “there is a lot of uncertainty at school, not just our school but all schools, about how to utilize it, or if we should utilize it.” Levy says that the use of AI in schools is “a slippery slope, because the technology is changing so fast.” Despite the lack of an official policy, Ariemma says that she and others in the English Department give students a chance to redo the assignment or take a zero on the assignment. She adds that “we have a gentleman from the DOE who comes every couple of weeks telling us how important AI is and how we should have all of our students using it.” Webber claims that he isn’t sure about how AI is being used in school. “What they are using it for and how they are using it, I don't actually know. [...] It seems to be shrouded in this kind of secrecy.” But students are using it. Freshman Amaziah Irrobis noted that other students “use it a lot to help with exams and answers, but they also use it a lot to cheat.” An anonymous senior admitted that “I've used it before, mainly used it for like procrastination. I write down something fast and it writes something for me.” Many teachers assume that this is the case. Ariemma offered an example: “Right now my classes, they’re doing an assignment that's due on Tuesday,” she said as she was interviewed just outside her classroom door. “I guarantee you if I walked in there, none of them will be doing it. They’ll wait, they’ll wait until Monday night and then they go 'uh oh,' so they run it through AI. I think it’s borderline laziness.” Talaofa Sulunga, a junior, agrees, and thinks AI “is just a lazy way out for many people.” The Artificial Intelligence Race Webber has concerns that are bigger than the school. Specifically, he worries that AI is the future and that if students are not able to use it, the school is “leaving our students behind in terms of what their lives and their world’s gonna be.” While he is concerned about whether our students will need AI, he of course sees that it might be affecting our “academic rigor.” He has seen an increasing number of AI plagiarism cases, the majority coming from English classes as well as “the school’s credit recovery program, EdGenuity, where students are using AI to plagiarize their essays.” Aurora Webb, a senior at Lahainaluna, said, “I think it's awful. I think if you need to use AI to pass a class, then you should not be in that class.” Freshman Irrobis (above) has a similar opinion: “AI could help us in many different ways, but it can also harm us.” Webb mentioned that “I do think education around AI as a subject should be something people receive. We have already seen that without that sort of understanding, AI can be handled improperly.” She believes “that education should be about AI as a topic and not as a tool for other topics.” Webb agrees that AI has potential, but currently doubts students can be trusted to use it responsibly. “I think it’s really useful and 100% has a place in today's society,” she said. “But it's being used the wrong way.” “I think it would be great for analytical things,” she added. “It would be awesome if AI could do our taxes.” Given the dangers, however, Webb thinks “it should be completely banned,” or “out of the hands of the general public.” Similarly, Freshman Edger Ortiz thinks that “AI can be used to study, not used for plagiarism. You shouldn’t get a grade for something you didn’t do.” The best use for AI, Ortiz thinks, is as a tutor or a tool that will “simplify” complex ideas “to help students better understand.” Mikayla Vergara, a junior, disagrees and thinks that AI “overcomplicates the questions that it is asked. In my experience in using AI, I’ve often had to tell it to simplify the given answer in order to understand what it is trying to say.” There are other problems associated with AI. For instance, in the worst case, AI “could harm our education because sometimes it could use fake information which overall isn’t good.” Ortiz refers to a phenomenon called hallucination or artificial hallucination in which a response generated by AI contains false or misleading information presented as fact. Though many seem to share Webber’s concerns about AI’s role in the future, few know how we should be using it or doubt it is being used properly. Ariemma thinks that “at this stage of the world, where we are right now, it’s really important that we start developing critical thinking skills.” She added, “Critical thinking and AI do not go together.” Levy sees the issue differently. For him, knowing about AI is unavoidable and important. To be relevant, “Students need to know how to use it because it's going to be a part of everything they do in the future. It's gonna be everywhere.” He paints a picture for the future with the past: “There was once a time where students had to do all their math calculations by hand,” he said. “When the calculator was first invented, it was really frowned upon in school, and students were told not to use a calculator. Now it’s an essential tool that students use in school, and I think AI will be the same way, as soon as we discover how to use it efficiently and ethically.” Planning Ahead Webber is in the process of creating a new policy on AI that will be different from the DOE's current policy . “I will tell you I used AI to write the policy,” he said earnestly, “which is kinda where I am right now.” Because of how new the issue is, Webber admitted to having a hard time finding examples. “Many DOE schools that I researched simply disallow the use of AI.” The thinking behind them, he assumes, is “that students are gonna plagiarize or use it irresponsibly.” Webber said that his draft policy “seeks to be ethical” since “we want to make sure that people are not disenfranchised, that they have access to AI, but all the time keeping in mind the need to have ethical classroom experiences.” Despite these concerns, there are still hardline clauses in Webber’s policy that say you can’t use it to “take the place of original students' thought and effort.” Ariemma has other concerns. “I said in the meeting,” she said, referring to one of the meetings with the DOE gentleman (above), “that I want all of my students to write by hand, and the feedback in the meeting was that there will come a time when you won’t need to be writing anything, with your hand.” “My heart sank,” she said. “I pray that that never happens. I really do. I don't ever want to lose handwriting because that’s so unique to each of us. I may be the last man standing with all this, but I'm gonna hold on to it as long as I can until I'm told otherwise.” Previous Article Next Article Copy link Trinity Guiza is a staff writer at Ka Lama Hawai'i.

< All Candidates Grayson Guzman Challenger 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: Yes, I have ideas regarding how to provide development opportunities to students. One idea I have is to spread awareness using social media. I notice that most students don’t use/check their email very often, with students most of the time being on social media. We could post on our instagram story mentioning opportunities available. Another idea I have to create a healthy habit of checking emails. Some teachers do not put the morning broadcast on so students miss out on information given. We can encourage students to check their emails to find out about things to know. EVENTS PLANNING: If you were elected to student council what school events do you deem important and why? School events that I deem important are activities garnering student participation like homecoming and class/school assemblies. I deem these events important as homecoming important because it is an event that increase school spirit and introduce to the freshman what to expect at school. Also, for the assemblies we have, it helps to raise our spirit as well. 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? The changes I would want to make on the parking and car policy are to have regular maintenance on the parking with lines being repainted. Also, I heard from students to change where the regular student drop off is, having a separate area for it. Lastly, we should better enforce payed parking to student drivers, finding a way to increase parking and decrease traffic. 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? Changes I want to make to the appearance, cleanliness, and safety on campus are for the bathrooms and water fountains on campus. Regarding the bathrooms, they are unsanitary and need a remodel. For the water fountains, I have heard several students and staff alike say they don’t feel safe drinking from the water fountains and would like them cleaned. The pipes are old, which need regular maintenance, changing of filters, and cleaning done to encourage students to feel safe drinking from it. PHONE POLICY: If you were elected to the position you are running for, how would you change our phone policy? I would change our phone policy with letting teachers and their department set their own rules for their classroom. I think this would be the best policy to implement with teachers having their own rules and expectations for their students. SCHOOL LUNCH: If you were elected to the position you are running for, what would you do to improve the quality of student lunches? Things I would do to improve the quality of student lunches are to work with our whole council to improve our school lunches. School lunches are not only a matter for our grade level but everyone on campus. Previous Next

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