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Is Wiercinski qualifi ed Is Wiercinski qualifi ed to lead UH?to lead UH?

KRISTEN PAUL BONIFACIO

Opinions Editor

The search for the next University of Hawai‘i System President isn’t going smoothly. Both fi nalists for the job, retired Lt. Gen. Francis “Frank” Wiercinski and cur-rent interim president David Lassner, are trying their best to convince the public that they are perfect for the position. Both also have backgrounds that, under the rules set by the Board of Regents before the search began, should disqualify them as candi-

dates for the position. While Lassner is serving as the interim president, many are wondering if Wiercinski, who doesn’t even hold a graduate degree, meets the minimum requirements to oversee an academic institution.

GENERAL I SSUES A Pennsylvania native, Wiercinski grad-uated with a bachelor of science degree in engineering in 1979 from the United States

Military Academy at West Point in New York. He is recognized as being one of the fi rst Combat Brigade Commanders to have entered Afghani-stan shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He served in the Army for 34 years, where he has commanded at every level and earned numerous foreign awards and honors. Since February 2014, he has been a mem-ber of the Board of Governors for Chaminade University and the Board of Trustees for the

Hawai‘i Army Museum Society. Although Wiercinski’s military achieve-ments are outstanding, numerous UH students, faculty members and alumni are unhappy that he is a candidate for UH president. They argue that his lack of experience in higher education makes him unqualifi ed for the job. In fact, one of the current minimum qualifi cations stated online for the position is a doctorate or terminal degree-neither of which Wiercinski has.

REPUBLISHED FROM THE HAWAI’I INDEPENDENT WITH

PERMISSION FROM WILL CARON

OpinionsPage 2 | Ka Leo | Monday, May 26 2014 Twitter @kaleoopinions | opinions@kaleo.org | Kristen Paul Bonifacio Editor

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Wiercinski has academic Achilles’ heelWiercinski has academic Achilles’ heel If selected, he will become the fi rst UH presi-dent without a doctorate degree since 1914. Cynthia Franklin, a professor in the English department, along with other faculty members, have started an online petition asking the Board of Regents to reject Wiercinski as a candidate for UH President. According to the petition, “(Wiercinski) is clearly unqualifi ed to lead the University of Hawai‘i in a way that is consistent with the University’s core mission, including its commitments to developing fi rst-rate research, to enabling high-quality teaching and to operating as an educational community that foregrounds Hawaiian values.” The petition has received more than 680 signatures, including UH alumni living as far away as Michigan and Alabama.

ʻTHE JEWEL OF THE PACIFICʼ Despite all of the criticism, Wiercinski is staying positive. During a public meeting at UH Hilo on May 9, he insisted his distance from the UH system is a good thing, arguing that he will turn the nega-tive images of the university into positive ones. “I bring open and wide, clean view. I don’t have the burden of the legacy of how past deci-sions have been made,” he said. He repeatedly spoke about turning UH into the “jewel of the Asia-Pacifi c,” employing a term otherwise used to describe the military’s shift in focus toward growing powers in Asia. Wiercinski’s supporters cite his extensive military record and history of leading complex or-ganizations and his powerful personality as attri-butes that could make him a great system leader. A Hawaii News Now article published on-line revealed some of the professional refer-ences on his presidential application, including Beadie Dawson, president and director of the Hawaiian Native Corporation, and the widow of late U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, Irene Inouye.

THE ACADEMIC ELEMENT Wiercinski makes his vision for the University clear, but he is not qualifi ed to be the UH president. One of the duties and responsibilities listed for the position is to “advance the University’s strategic commitment to Native Hawaiians and other indig-enous and underrepresented peoples.” At his fi rst public appearance at Mānoa, though, Wiercinski stumbled over some basic UH statistics, saying that Hawaiians make up 85 percent of the university’s population. He lat-er corrected himself, explaining that he meant

to reference the overwhelming majority of in-state students in the UH system. The Lieutenant General’s association with the military also connects him to an entity that contin-ues to stir controversy among numerous groups represented both across the state and at the univer-sity, from Native Hawaiians to environmentalists. Wiercinski has also tried to dismiss his lack of a graduate degree, saying the Board of Regents isn’t “asking (him) to be a professor,” but rather “a presi-dent or a CEO of a corporation, of an organization.” The fact remains, though, that Wiercinski

is in the running to lead an academic organi-zation where the great majority of faculty have graduate degrees of some sort. While broader leadership experience could help him considerably, a life of military service has not familiarized him with the intricacies of a university or academia in general. And while he stated that that lack of familiar-ity allows him to bring an “open and wide, clean view” to university’s issues, his lack of credentials in the academic fi eld seems more likely to be the source of mistakes and uninformed decisions. In the letter introducing the faculty pe-tition, Franklin rightly questions this mis-matched background. “Would it even be thinkable to suggest that a highly-respected university administra-tor be appointed as a general of the US Army with no military experience?” she says. “Why

is the reverse acceptable?” Wiercinski is a highly reputable person with an impressive background, but his exper-tise and knowledge is in the wrong fi eld. He does not have the first-hand experi-ence of being connected to the issues and concerns of college students, faculty mem-bers and the rest of the UH institutional sys-tem. This lack of involvement in the academic world will make it dif ficult for him to run a public educational institution. Although there is certainly precedent for

non-academics taking on leadership roles at universities, the Board of Regents would be wrong to choose someone with no experience running a university to do just that.

The Board of Regents will have a pub-lic meeting tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the UH Information Technology Center with both UH president candidates, David Lassner and Lt. Gen. Francis Wiercinski. The board will then meet on the Monday, June 2 at 1 p.m. at the same location to offi cially vote on the next UH president.

Candidates to face BOR at meeting

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FeaturesPage 3 | Ka Leo | Monday, May 26 2014Twitter @kaleofeatures | features@kaleo.org |Brad Dell Editor

CHRISTINA YAN

Contributing Writer

On Cooke Street sits a ware-house that exceeds its original func-tion, transforming each month into a destination for creativity and cul-ture. Art + Flea brings food, small business vendors, music and art to the nine-block Kaka‘ako area for lo-cal residents and tourists alike.

SUPPORTING LOCAL VENDORS Previously located at the Pinch of Salt warehouse, Art + Flea’s new warehouse is rede-signed monthly with graffi ti on the walls and food trucks parked all around to refl ect the theme of the month. Art + Flea is now held on the third Thursday of every month at 449 Cooke St. “It ’s made a huge differ-ence in customers and getting noticed,” said Ashlee Affonso, jewelry maker and local owner of DearAshlee. The goal is to create an open forum for local creators to be able to showcase their talents, whether with jewelry or performance art. “Art + Flea is a co-op of artists who share the expenses, which has opened a platform for artists to retail their own goods without sac-rifi cing the profi ts. The beauty of Art + Flea is that I control my own business,” said Ann Kwak, owner of SaltWaterSwim. “You can expe-rience seeing what the consumer wants fi rst-hand. Art + Flea is grow-ing, which allows my business to grow with them.”

FOR CREATIVES, BY CREATIVES “It’s a destination for creatives, by creatives” is the slogan on sprawled across Art + Flea’s popu-lar, ever-growing website. Art + Flea has taken advantage of its popular-ity online by creating weekly posts on its website and blog. “It was cool getting my picture taken at Art + Flea. The photogra-pher was really hip and dressed the part,” said student Shanbria Oglesby. With videos and pictures of the events, attendees are encour-aged to login to the website to view them. The website encompasses “Style Snaps,” bloggers who write on Hawai‘i’s diverse fashion tastes and “A+F Featured Artist,” which showcases local artists that will be attending the event. “We can keep the uniqueness and authentic creativity alive in the islands,” said Kwak.

CUSTOMERS OF ALL TYPES With well-known brands such as San Lorenzo Swimwear and Scoop, both local residents and tourists have begun to fl ock to events, which brings attention to lesser-known vendors. The organization describes itself as an urban scene, but with the number of families who enjoy their events, it’s adapted to satisfy every-one with friendly music and vendors who sell anything and everything. “My customers are as young as middle schoolers all the way to mid-dle-aged women and men. As long as the customers fi nds what they are looking for, it doesn’t matter what age, local or mainlander,” said Affonso. Art + Flea not only brings in

new experiences, but sometimes new job opportunities. “We’ve even hired someone to join our team just because he became a regular and we liked his personality,” said Chad Maluyo, owner of Crappy Kids, an apparel vendor.

OUR KAKAʻAKO Our Kaka‘ako, a non-profi t or-ganization, run by Kamehameha Schools, provides the new ware-house space for the market. The organization plans on redeveloping a vital part of Honolulu over the next 15 to 20 years. Our Kaka‘ako’s ultimate plan is to become Hawai‘i’s fi rst urban mixed community. By planning a mixed-use and mixed-income neigh-borhood, the developing area will no longer be a sore sight to visitors, and will instead be a hub for urban cul-ture in its convenient location near Waikīkī and UH Mānoa.

Art + Flea finds new home on Cooke StreetArt + Flea finds new home on Cooke Street

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS KAM

NewsPage 4 | Ka Leo | Monday, May 26 2014 Twitter @kaleoohawaii | news@kaleo.org | Noelle Fujii Editor

A new era of Hawai‘i sports merchandisingA new era of Hawai‘i sports merchandisingPAIGE TAKEYA

Senior Staff Writer

For the past five years, Rain-bowtique, the University of Hawai‘i’s merchandising and re-tail arm, has been losing money. When athletics director Ben Jay arrived at UH in 2012, he asked if he could take over Rain-bowtique and bring it under the athletic department’s purview. “Rainbowtique has built a good base, but you need to have bigger vision. You need to have ideas. You need to have a real business plan for how to grow the business,” Jay said. He’s confident that he and his team can generate a $500,000 first-year net profit. As UH Athletics prepares to turn Rainbowtique into H-Zone, its plans include a centralized hub of athletic apparel and activity at Ward Center, a unified network of satellite stores – and a fresh start for the struggling department.

ONE CENTRAL HUB The first and main H-Zone store will open its doors at 10 a.m. July 1 at Ward Centers, in the old Sedona space near Bed, Bath & Beyond. Associate athletics director of external affairs John McNamara describes the vision for the new store as “sort of like a sports bar motif without a liquor license.” H-Zone will be twice the size of the existing Rainbowtique out-let at Ward Center, doubling from 665 to 1465 square feet. There will be “no carry over” in merchandise from the current Rainbowtique stock – all designs will refl ect the upcoming 2014-2015 season – but McNamara cautions that fans should not expect drastic changes in types of apparel offered. H-Zone, however, is planned

to be more than just a retail store. “It also will allow us the op-portunity to do radio shows live from the store to help drive traf-f ic, as well as have autograph sessions with our coaches and student-athletes, coaches’ pre-sentations and other special events at the location – all with the idea of being a satellite loca-tion for the athletic department and, really, the university,” Mc-Namara said. Jay confirmed that deals with radio station ESPN 1420 have already been arranged to broadcast certain shows live from H-Zone. He also believes that the location of the store – in Ward Centers as opposed to on campus – is crucial. “The H-Zone is a much big-ger store in a very visible part of the Ward Center. There is easy, convenient parking. That was a downside, I think: We had too many small stores, and they weren’t easy to find,” Jay said.

ʻGAME -DAYʼ STORES H-Zone’s second emphasis is on “game day” stores at athletic facilities. The existing Rainbow-tique in Stan Sheriff Center will be rebranded and continue to operate, but new kiosk displays on SSC’s concourse and at Les Murakami Stadium are also in the works. The SSC display will be locat-ed between gates A and B, across from the concession stand. Mc-Namara detailed a “wall” of mer-chandise for fans to peruse be-fore they head into the arena. “The store is more you’re going actually looking for some-thing, whereas the kiosks and concourse display is about basi-cally catching someone’s atten-tion (for the impulse buy),” Mc-Namara said. These offshoots of H-Zone

are envisioned as part of one unified network. McNamara ex-plained that the athletics depart-ment will set up an overarching merchandising system that will maintain inventory in real time, allowing location stock and item popularity to be analyzed effi-ciently even between venues. He also said that the athletic department has acquired two mobile trailers in the transition process, and H-Zone hopes to send them out to softball games and community events. There’s even been talk of investigating the viability of sending H-Zone on the road to sell merchandise to mainland alumni. But all these initiatives aren’t rolling out on July 1. The SSC concourse display will open with women’s volleyball season, and the LMS branch will roll out with baseball next spring. The trail-ers will surface as need arises. “We’re really interested in

taking a very business-like ap-proach, where we crawl, then we walk, then we run. We don’t want to come out of the gates with too much too fast,” McNamara said.

THE BOT TOM L INE The biggest change H-Zone brings is simply that the depart-ment will receive all profits gen-erated from the sale of apparel and merchandise. Previously, the Office of Auxiliary Services operated Rainbowtique, and even as fans bought T-shirts in support of UH teams, Jay ob-served that the department was reaping none of the reward. “It ’s pretty obvious that the folks who go and buy that shirt or those shorts or that jacket or hat – they think that they are supporting the athletic depart-ment,” he said. “But up until now, it really wasn’t.” Drastic changes necessitated a total rebranding. The department

chose to go with “H-Zone” because it incorporates the green “H” logo. “It was probably a little prob-lematic from a marketing stand-point that the primary UH brand was not anywhere in the Rain-bowtique logo, nor was it in the name. … We have Rainbow War-riors, we have Rainbow Wahine, we have ‘Go ‘Bows’ – what’s the one brand that unifies our men’s sports, our women’s sports? It ’s the H,” McNamara said. But the name change is more than just practical – it’s symbolic, according to Jay. “For us, it ’s about getting a new start. And this department needs a new start in the worst way. I don’t want us to be the department that I came to 16 months ago. We are different. We are marching forward. Our sights are all looking forward to-ward a better department: Better financially, better facility-wise, better success.”

H-Zone debuts July 1H-Zone debuts July 1

Grand openingWhen: July 1 at 10 a.m.

Where: Ward Centers

H-Zone will not be carrying over

any product from the current

Rainbowtique stock. Older

merchandise will still be available

from the UH Bookstore.

KINSEY JUSTAKA LEO O HAWAI‘I

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Page 6 | Ka Leo | Monday, May 26 2014 advertising@kaleo.org | Gabrielle Pangilinan Student Ad Manager

SportsPage 7 | Ka Leo | Monday, May 26 2014Twitter @kaleosports | sports@kaleo.org | Nick Huth Editor

DAVID MCCRACKEN

Senior Staff Writer

Sixty-seven. That is the combined number of goals scored by American forwards Jozy Altidore, Clint Dempsey, Chris Wondolowski and Aron Johannsson during their careers with the U.S. men’s national team. These are the for-wards that were selected to the 23-man roster for this summer’s World Cup squad in Brazil. Here’s another number: 57. That is the number of goals scored by Landon Donovan – the most prolifi c scorer in U.S. history – who was not selected by head coach Jurgen Klins-mann to represent his country in what would have been Donovan’s fourth World Cup. Donovan, widely considered the best male player in the history of United States soccer, was cut from the World Cup team on Thursday as Coach Klins-mann trimmed his f inal roster down to 23 players. Donovan is responsible for 57 goals and 58 assists in 156 international appearances under his belt in addition to three World Cup appearances.

In his prime, Donovan possessed great fi eld vision, elite quickness, an eye for the counter attack and a fl air for the dramatic. These skills were evident in his heroic late goal against Algeria to send the United States to the second round of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. But that was four years ago, when Don-ovan was at his physical peak. Fast forward to 2014, and Donovan is 32 years old. He’s back in the U.S. full time, playing in MLS for the L.A. Galaxy, where he has failed to register a single goal in his last seven games. He came into camp in sub-par physical condition. Still, it was a surprise to those monitoring the U.S. na-tional team closely that Donovan was left out of Klinsmann’s most important squad. Even to those who pay attention to soc-cer only when the World Cup is imminent, Donovan’s exclusion was a national debate that once again gave rise to the suspicion of Klinsmann’s tactics and selection pro-cess. Klinsmann had openly questioned whether Donovan’s commitment, fi tness and skill had gotten to the point that less

experienced forwards like Wondolowski and Johannsson were more deserving to make the World Cup squad. Klinsmann won’t regret his decision to exclude some veteran players. He has proven that youth and energy are neces-sary in building not only a squad, but also a team that can contend in such tourna-ments down the road. In 2006, as the head coach of the German National team, Klinsmann received signifi cant criticism for his decision to bench goalkeeper Oliver Kahn in favor of Jens Lehmann. Kahn is regarded as the greatest German goalkeeper in history, and benching him in favor of a younger Lehmann to promote the youth movement in Germany was received with anger from the German public and media. But when Germany fi nished third with that squad in the 2006 World Cup, Klins-mann was viewed as a national hero for his young team’s effort and success, which gave further rise to the German youth movement in soccer. The success from 2006 has led to them becoming one of the favorites to lift the trophy and dance the samba in Brazil, in an

attempt to become the fi rst European team to win a World Cup on South American soil. Klinsmann continues to answer questions about Donovan’s exclusion from the squad, and he continues to be adamant that he did the best thing for his team and their chances for success. Donovan isn’t the player casual fans think he is, nor should he be viewed as the fi g-urehead of American soccer. Outside of timeless goalkeepers, play-ers that are 32 years old or older don’t of-ten get selected for World Cup squads. Just look at the host nation, Brazil. Ronaldinho Gaúcho, the legendary Brazilian midfielder, was also excluded at age 34 from the Brazilian squad, even though he played a large role in Brazil’s victory in the 2002 World Cup. Former FIFA World Player of the year, Ricardo Kaka, was also excluded from the Brazil-ian squad in next month’s tournament and he is 32 years old. It ’s nothing personal, Donovan, it ’s just business. America doesn’t need you to win this time. Klinsmann has this team under control.

A new chapter for American soccer

Why Donovan’s exclusion is not a problem for U.S. at World CupWhy Donovan’s exclusion is not a problem for U.S. at World Cup

SCOTT STRAZZANTE / MCT

Landon Donovan U.S. has played for the Los Angeles Galaxy, and San Jose Earthquakes, as well as Great Britian’s Everton.

SportsPage 8 | Ka Leo | Monday, Monday 26 2014 Twitter @kaleosports | sports@kaleo.org | Nick Huth Editor

KEN REYES

Senior Staff Writer

If one were to judge Conner George purely on his perfor-mances on the fi eld, it would do him a great injustice. While he is the only senior this year that has lettered all four years with the University of Hawai‘i, the six-foot-fi ve-inch outfi elder hasn’t exactly graced Les Murakami Stadium with nu-merous hits or any remarkable records in the stat book. But what sets him apart from the rest of the seniors is his char-acter on and off the fi eld that out-weighs all of the could-haves and should-haves in his career as a Rainbow Warrior.

DEALING WITH CHANGE While George is the longest tenured player in the senior class, his struggles at the plate have been evident this year. As of May 23, he is only batting .136 in 44 at-bats while having only started in 11 games. Throughout his collegiate ca-reer, his roles on the team also shifted. George played at short-stop and third base his freshman year and moved to first base in the following year. In the last two years, the Oregon native found himself in the outfield — primar-ily as a right fielder. Instead of complaining about the transitions he went through, he chose to embrace the beauty of having a versatile role on the team, whether it was big or small. “Those are the cards I was dealt and I’m not going to sit here and pout about it,” George said. “I’m going to take it as my role and make sure that every time I have my opportunities, I can do whatever I can for the team.” Head coach Mike Trapasso also observed that trait in him, which translated into the kind

of work ethic he commended. “The thing about him is that he hasn’t had a tremendous career on the field, yet he has been a leader in our clubhouse,” he said. “He’s never, never com-plained. He just works harder.”

SENIORITY MEETS MATURITY Unlike his junior college counterparts, George has also tasted both the sweet and the bit-ter seasons of college baseball in having been a part of the 2011 and 2012 teams, which were the West-ern Athletic Conference Champi-ons (2011) as well as having won 30 or more games. “I was part of two teams my

freshman and sophomore year that were both good,” George said. “We won over 30 games both those years and I was fortunate enough to play with Kolten Wong,

Lenny Linsky and some big-name guys who made the team environ-ment very competitive.” Playing with the more ten-ured athletes on the teams also instilled a value for leadership and tradition, and he attributed

his growth in character to the program and the game itself. Trapasso, who has coached the outfi elder for his entire collegiate career, had nothing but praise for

the kind of athlete — and person — George has become. “We’ve seen this guy come in as a young high school senior coming in as a freshman,” Trapasso said. “We’ve seen him over four years gain about 40 pounds and just grow

into a man and mature as one of the single best character human beings I’ve ever been around.” The head coach added that “there is no question” about George’s leadership abilities. But for the outfielder, play-ing baseball goes beyond being productive within the confines of the team — it transcends into his personal life. “I feel like I’m a different per-son from four years ago, mentally and physically,” George said. “This game humbles you and you go through the ups and the downs and the emotional roller coaster of baseball. The more you play, the more you learn how to handle those things.”

Commendable George enduresCommendable George endures

He’s never, never complained. He just works harder.

– HEAD COACH MIKE TRAPASSOR

SHANE GRACE/ KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

The ‘Bows concluded their season Saturday with a victory over Riverside.