A Student Publication of the University of Hawai`i • Honolulu Community College • December 2012

Poet's corner

Read a selection of po-etry written by students in Eric Shaffer's creative writing class.

Page 6

New citizens

Instructor Marty Nikou, who grew up in Iran, addressed a group of immigrants who be-came U.S. citizens.

Page 2

Twilight time

Even if you're not a fan, our reviewer says you might want to check out the latest film in the Twilight series.

Page 8

Ka La has been voted the best college newspaper in the state

by the Hawaii Publishers Association.

Off limits Vandals, trash cause lounge closureBy Mathew UrsuaKa La editor

After being shut for two weeks because of trash and vandalism problems, the Student Lounge in Building 2 was reopened for activ-ity on the day before Thanksgiv-ing break.

Student Life and Development workers said they planned to keep it open, despite finding new evidence that somebody left gum on one of the chairs.

Student Life employee Javele Kaneakua said that her office decided to give students a second chance to prove they can treat the lounge better.

Kaleo Gagne, ASUH-HCC stu-dent president, took pictures with his iPhone in early November as Student Life officials showed him the damages.

The pictures show felt-tip pen graffiti on new furniture, food crumbs scattered about, and food wrappers left in the open.

MELE major Tyrell Cherry, who knew about the circumstances behind the closure, said that the decision was “drastic but neces-sary.”

“I didn’t like it,” he said. “I was

trying to do my work with the wind blowing outside.” Cherry said the lounge is his “chill spot.” Gagne was instrumental in the decision to shut down the lounge, along with Hillary Brown, who was the acting leader of Student Life while Director Emily Kukulies was out on leave.

Special fall arts section inside -- pages 3-6

Ka La photos by Kaleo Gagne The Student Lounge was dark and off-limits to students for almost two weeks af-ter students vandalized new furniture and repeatedly left trash in the area. Below, a detail of the vandalized furniture

Still the president One day after getting a vote of confidence from UH regents, UH President M.R.C. Greenwood visited Honolulu Community College. During the visit, Greenwood mostly ducked questions from TV reporters about the so-called Wonder Blunder in which UH officials were scammed out of $200,000. Greenwood said she is putting that in the past and is ready to continue her duties at the school.

Ka La photo by Mat Ursua

KaLĀ • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai`i December 20122

Ka Lā is the campus

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Community College. Ka Lā

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Ka Lā and all campus

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sion of the HCC Student Media Board:

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Matthew Ursua

Editor

Ieva Bytautaite

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December 2012

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New citizens share ties with othersBy Mathew UrsuaKa La editor

A dim auditorium beneath the chambers of the state Senate last month was transformed into District Court, mak-ing room for nearly 150 spectators who were there to watch friends or family members raise their right hands and take an oath that would seal their citizenship, but not their destinies.

Honolulu Community College art professor Moana “Marty” Nikou addressed the nearly 100 newly naturalized citizens Wednesday and talked about fleeing post-revolutionary Iran for a better life stateside.

Nikou said that Iran

offered culture and a rich history. “All that was taken away from me after the 1979 Islamic Revolution,” he said.

Those naturalized last month -- the youngest was a 19-year old girl from the Philippines and the oldest was an 81-year-old woman

from Australia, became citizens of a nation still reeling from the great-est economic downturn since the Great Depres-sion.

“Perhaps like many of you, I too grew up under dictatorship, tyranny, and socio-economic hardship,” Nikou said.

Nikou said that as he walked into the Senate auditorium and saw the faces of the soon to be new Americans, he was reminded of his own naturalization ceremony 18 years ago in San Fran-cisco.

Nikou recounted what happened to him in the years before he took his oath.

“A hateful, militant

government took over the lifeline of my country, oppressed its beautiful people, and corrupted its socio-economic structure, so I had to leave in order to breathe and survive,” Nikou said. “America in-vited me in and provided me with the tools I badly needed to live on.”Many of Wednesday’s

naturalized citizens came to America seeking a bet-ter lot in life. Toetu Fuatiga brought his family to Hawaii in 1999 after finding little in the way of permanent work in Samoa. Fuatiga’s son Tala was waiting for his dad, who came out with his citizenship papers and hugs for the entire family.

Ka La photos by Mathew Ursua

Family members and Friends watch as their Loved Ones become U.S. Citizens at the State Capitol. Below, HCC instructor Marty Nikou shared his experiences as an immigrant from Iran with the group.

School statement adds a new mission By Ieva BytautaiteKa La Editor

Honolulu Community may be the third oldest community college in the state, but it is second to none when it comes to standing up for its students. After three years of going from committee to committee, a revised ver-sion of HonCC’s mission statement was approved by the school’s Planning Council, and voted in unanimously. The change

in the mission statement included only a sentence added to the last para-graph. But that sentence carries immense weight for many students. The mission state-ment now mentions that HonCC will “promote and maintain a multicul-tural environment where gender diversity and other aspects of personal identity are appreciated and respected.” The change to the mis-sion statement was quite

significant because it reflects the views of the college as a whole. Freshman Maureen Chong-gum said that the change “is good because although those things should be common sense, some people think differently.” Chong-gum said that adding the last part added to the mis-sion statement will make people feel like they are supported by the school regardless of their race, gender, or sexual orienta-

tion. Freshman Evan Ishi-moto disagreed say-ing that “the school shouldn’t have to write that out. People should know that already and it is not going to change the way people think.” Perhaps not all stu-dents will notice this change, but it will defi-nitely send a message to students who sometimes feel like they have no one to turn to.

Self Portrait | Jose Corpus

The Arts IssueKa La Recognizes Honolulu’s Up and Coming Artists

Breyan GodoyMotion Blur

KaLĀ • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai`i December 20123

KaLĀ • Honolulu Community College, university of Hawai`i DeCember 2012

PhotographyBreyan Godoy

Stop Action

John KapuaRule of Thirds

Ryan GasconStop Action

Chandler MitchellPanning

Dianne HornMotion Blur

Self Portrait | Kealoha Moody

KaLĀ • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai`i December 20126

The Great King David by David Anthony Dunlap

King David conquered the giant Goliathalthough people tried to talk him out of it.David graduated high school andenrolled in college even thoughhis grades were average.

Kind David was the second and greatestking of Israel. David was the second sonand the biggest baby weighing in at 10 lbs, 4 oz.

King David armed himself witha slingshot and five smooth stones.David exudes confidence and isn’t afraid totake charge and make decisions.

King David knew there would always be giants blockingthe path, but he gatheredstones and went to battleDavid is a leader whoappeals to everyone.

King David was told he was too small to slay Goliathbut in the end, his faithand perseverance led him to victory.David considers the impacthis decisions will make on the people around him.

David means “beloved.”He wakes up every morningwith a smile on his face knowing he is loved by manyand named after a king.

I am Kimo and Jamesby Kimo Wilcox

There is an instant shift as a man wakes up in the dark.James takes over the body, and Kimo grumbles quietly in the back of the mind.James sits up as quietly as he can and swings his legs off the side of the bed.Kimo pushes against his mental barrier, but responsibilities come first.James lightly cups his face in his hands trying to clear his head.With a deep breath, James stands and makes for the bathroom.

Kimo is the name a woman whispers in the dark.And Kimo is who James wants to be.James must get up and shower.Kimo wishes to go back to bed.James focuses on the task at hand.Kimo and James wipe off the steam from the mirror, and both stare at a shared face.

James dresses quietly and quickly.Kimo longs for the bed and the warmth a woman offers.James looks at the time and curses before running to the car.Kimo complains about traffic.James focuses on the road and moves the visor to shade eyes from the sun.Kimo daydreams about nothing and laughs at an old joke.James and Kimo park the car and stare at the grey building.

Kimo yearns for a doughnut offered at the front door.James barely looks at the pastry and continues walking.Kimo sits down and wants to lean back.James leans forward instead and starts typing.Kimo looks at the clock with disgust and how slow the minute hand moves.James shares the same look.Kimo saves the documents, and James shuts the computer down.

James and Kimo get into the car and drive home.Kimo and James make dinner and wait on the coach.James lets Kimo take control and works quietly in the back of their mind.Kimo laughs and eats dinner with the girlfriend.James thinks about love.Kimo makes love.James and Kimo fall asleep, one holding a lover, the other thinking about tomorrow.

DavidBy Angelo Del Rosario

If my name was David, I’d be getting straight A’s. I’d be the MVP throughout my three years at St. Elizabeth middle school and the four years at Aiea high school, where getting together with Jasmine Satinni was as delightful as the red velvet birthday cake that came with a Lamborghini. I would drive that car to an interview and acceptance to Harvard University. I’d be earning a full cholarship soon to be revoked due to poor grades. AP Physics and Calculus were so overwhelming that comfort could only be found through bittersweet Smirnoffs. The Smirnoffs made the road spin, and I totaled the Lamborghini and the patrol car which collided, obligating officer Rodriguez to perform an escort to the state prison. The steel bars were as cold as the nights after Jasmine stopped visiting All I had left was the company of a “far too friendly” room-mate name Butch

PoetryFROM THE COLLEGE’S CREATIVE WRITERS

KaLĀ • Honolulu Community College, University of Hawai`i December 8 20127

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BDP2 is the best Twilight film yet By Hillary BrownKa La staff writer

Creating a spoiler-free review is what I am aiming for, but you don’t know how hard it is because I want to tell you everything -- absolutely everything -- about Breaking Dawn, Part 2, the final film in the Twilight Saga.

Those of you who know the story so far can skip to the next paragraph. For the rest of you, here’s a short recap: Twilight is the story of young woman, Bella Swan, meeting and falling in love with a young man, Edward Cul-len, and then subsequently dis-covering that he is a 170+ year old vegetarian vampire. His family recognizes themselves as vegetar-ian vampires because they only drink the blood of animals. Who would have thought it? Through the previous four films they struggled to be together and deal with the many obstacles they face from the vampire community. In the last film, Breaking Dawn Part 1, Bella and Edward tie the knot, consummate their marriage, and she ends up surprisingly pregnant. Bella dies bringing their daughter into the world, and in her death

throes Edward converts her into a vampire.

The new film begins with the moment when Bella wakes from her two-day conversion and begins her life anew as a vampire. This plot line revolves Bella’s new-born life and the family’s struggle protect their baby, Renesmee, from the Volturi .

So with you all caught up, let me get to the great part about this film. The actors have all grown into the parts quite well, so unlike the first few films, there aren’t too many scenes where you cringe because of exaggerated perfor-

mances. Fans of the books will be happy with this film. There were some changes, but for the most part the film mimicked the book well enough to pass. A co-worker of mine who isn’t a fan of the books was even more ecstatic then I was about how the film turned out. The changes weren’t too out of line with what would work best with the plot and continuity of the previous films.

The pace is quick, and there aren’t many down-time moments where the audience is sitting in the theatre thinking “can we get back to the action” or “damn, this film

is dragging. “ I would say from the moment when Bella opens her eyes, the audience is right there and the film moves through the plot like lightening…one min-ute there, the next minute gone. I didn’t realize how fast paced the film was until the end scene rolled around and I was thinking, “damn this movie is short,” only to realize I had been watching for 1 hour and 35 minutes. It only felt like 30 minutes had passed.

The only weird thing was baby Renesmee is a little scary. I don’t know what to call the movie magic used to animate and create a baby with a full mouth of teeth, but I was a little put off. I got over it quickly, but, yeah, for a second I had a what-the-hell? moment.

Fans of this movie won’t be able to stay away, but even those who haven’t been following along will enjoy this film. The commercial I saw this morning claimed that Breaking Dawn Part 2 was the best Twilight film thus far, and I would totally have to say with a raised voice, fist in the air, and probably throwing in some surrounding cuss words : HELL YES! Noth-ing is perfect, but was darn lose. I would give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Fans of this movie won’t be able to stay away, but even those who haven’t been fol-lowing along will enjoy this film.