Ka Leo O Hawai‘i Sports 8Features 3,7Comics | Crossword 6Opinions 4,5News 2

Inside

ACM’s ‘Reel Stories’Features page 3

February 2, 2005

WedNeSdAY

www.kaleo.orgVOl. XCIX ISSue 91 The uNIVeRSITY OF hAWAI‘I AT MANOA

The Voice of Hawai‘i

Myuh down six days for updates

CampusBeatStaff Writer Jill Bona compiled these

reports from the Campus Security log.

Tuesday, Jan. 254:05 p.m. — A guard reported a vechicle accidentally hit a parked car in front of Hamilton Library on Maile Way. There was no damage to the vehicle, but a note identifying the driver was left on the windshield.

Wednesday, Jan. 261:49 a.m. — A woman reported someone throwing bottles out of Hale Wainani I tower.

1:46 p.m. — A man reported a bur-glary at Lyon’s cottage G. The Honolulu Police Department was notified.

2:11 p.m. — A person reported an attempted burglary at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.

Thursday, Jan. 278:25 a.m. — A staff member reported her black Honda moped was tam-pered with the day before while parked in front of Miller Hall. She was informed her moped was involved in an accident. She declined to file a report.

Friday, Jan. 2812:24 p.m. — A backpack was report-ed stolen from Snyder Hall 211 by a student. HPD was called.

1:10 p.m. — A man reported his bag was stolen from a locker at the University of Hawai‘i Bookstore. HPD was called.

3:08 p.m. — A guard reported a woman in a Mazda swore at him and drove off.

9:21 p.m. — A Professional Patrol Service guard reported a black Chevy pickup ran a roadblock. The car had

five cases of beer in the back.

Saturday, Jan. 2912:53 a.m. — A resident advisor requested assistance with a possible argument on the fourth floor of Hale Aloha Lokelani.

8:14 a.m. — Campus Security found graffiti in a Holmes Hall stairwell.

6:37 p.m. — A Hale Aloha Lehua staff member reported that a student with a trespass warning was seen in the Hale Aloha cafeteria. The man left the area before Campus Security arrived. He was last seen walking toward lower campus.7:22 p.m. — A staff member informed a Maile Way Gate guard that three juveniles were making a mess by the Saunders Hall vending area. Campus Security checked the area and found whipped cream on the vending machines and a derogatory word written on the ground.

7:40 p.m. — Two men were in the Webster Hall parking lot. They were both stopped, identified and a report was filed.

Sunday, Jan. 3012:39 a.m. — Campus Security con-fiscated a marijuana cigarette from a Kapi‘olani Community College stu-dent and a Mililani High School stu-dent in the parking structure. The students were issued a trespass warn-ing.

1:35 p.m. — A Maile Way guard reported that a man said he was almost hit by a white car at the corner of Maile Way and East-West Road. The man declined to file a report.

3:05 p.m. — A Hale Laulima resident reported his bicycle was stolen from the Sinclair Library bicycle rack.

By Alice KimCampus News Editor

MyUH “Academic Services” will be down from tonight at 7 p.m. until Feb. 8 at 8 a.m., which will pre-vent access to online services such as unofficial transcripts, class list sum-maries and student registration. The rest of the MyUH portal will still be available with services such as the calendar, e-mail and “My Courses.” Students needing academic services can still go to the student services center. The Banner system needs to be upgraded from Banner version 5x to Banner version 6x immediately so that Financial Aid Services will be able to award financial aid for the Fall 2005 semester. The United States Congress con-stantly adjusts the financial aid rules, and the University of Hawai‘i fre-quently receives updates that are incorporated into the Banner system. UH must now update to Banner ver-sion 6x in order to continue receiving financial aid updates. Sungard SCT

corporation, the company that devel-ops, distributes and supports Banner, no longer gives any updates for ver-sion 5x. Larry Wiss, communications officer for the UH Information Technology Services, said that this week was chosen for the five-day upgrade. This will minimize the impact on UH students since it is after the registration period. The upgrade was delayed until after the 50 percent refund period ended on Monday. ITS announced the unavailability a week ago through e-mailing admin-istrative Banner users and technical support staff in the UH system and putting an announcement on the MyUH portal entrance and the ITS home page. The MyUH portal was first avail-able to students in April 2003 and the MyUH registration system was first used at UH Manoa in Fall 2003, replacing the Pa‘e registration sys-tem. The Banner system enabled the 10 UH-system campuses to have one integrated information system. UH

Manoa students can now register for UH-system community college class-es without having to apply separately to those other campuses. The Banner system also enabled having one information system repre-senting most services on campus. Students now only have to look on MyUH for information from different entities such as financial aid, registra-tion and the UH libraries. The Banner system also saved time for financial aid recipients. Before fall 2003, students had to stand in line outside the student ser-vices center to claim their financial aid awards. The Banner system enabled aid to be dispersed automati-cally to student accounts, and the leftover money is now either elec-tronically deposited in the student’s bank account or mailed to the stu-dent. Though MyUH will be down for six days, the new version of Banner will make things much easier on all who use the Web site.

By Mike JacksonThe Dallas Morning News

(KRT)

Lance Wiley paid about $400 in tuition this semester to attend com-munity college. Then he went to the bookstore. “I spent another $400 on textbooks for my courses,” said Wiley, 19. “It’s outrageous that textbooks cost that much.” Wiley, a student at Collin County Community College, seems to speak for the masses when it comes to col-lege textbooks. Wholesale prices have increased 33 percent since 1998 and will continue to rise, according to a survey by the National Association of College Stores. Students have long complained about the costs, but the hue and cry peaked recently when Congress held hearings on textbook prices. The Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, began its inquiry into textbook pricing last semester. Publishers and college administrators said they are working on ways to offer more affordable books. But high-dollar texts are likely to remain on the shelves for a while. At community colleges, where students flock for inexpensive educa-tions, they’re feeling the pinch. On average, full-time students in the Collin County Community College District pay about $500 in tuition for one semester, said Thom Chesney, interim vice president for academic

affairs. Their book bills often top tuition. “Even before they enroll, they see tuition, fees and books as being too much,” Chesney said. “We know that some students try to get through the courses without the books.” After Richard Abney enrolled his daughter, Sasha, 18, at Collin County Community College, he expected to spend about $120 on books, he said. He figured wrong. “When the cashier rang it up, she said, ‘$560,’” Abney said. “I said, ‘What? Can I take out a loan?’” Students complain that cheaper used textbooks aren’t always avail-able. They say they’re often forced to buy the publishers’ new editions. “Textbook publishers put new editions on the market frequently — often with very few content changes — making the less expensive used textbooks obsolete and unavailable,” said a report by the California Student Public Interest Research Group. Members of the U.S. House of Representatives referred to the report during hearings last summer. The report also criticized publishers for adding “bells and whistles that drive up the price of textbooks.” Textbook publishers acknowl-edge the expense but say the com-plaints aren’t new. “Everybody who ever went to college can remember saying that their textbooks cost too much,” said Bruce Hildebrand, execu-tive director for higher education with

the Association of American Publishers. But publishers argue that the books, unlike popular novels, often require the work of dozens of experts in specialized fields, which is costly, Hildebrand said. And publishers can’t rely on high-volume sales to drive down prices, he said. “Textbooks are incredibly expensive to produce and may only sell in the thousands,” Hildebrand said. “A 40,000 seller is a best-seller. Mass-market novels are inexpensive to produce and frequently sell in the millions.” Hildebrand disputed the criticism that new editions are put out frequent-ly and with very little new material. New editions are typically published every three or four years and contain updated information necessary to their fields, he said. Students and administrators have also complained about books that are sold in bundles for specific courses, which drives the prices up. For exam-ple, a package of books for an advanced biology class costs $215. Hildebrand said publishers bundle books based on orders from professors or college committees. Publishers and administrators have been toying with affordable alter-natives. Used textbooks are still a good option, said Dave Husted, director of Collin County Community College’s

high textbook prices prompt govt. inquiry

Breaking away

See Books, page 2

Rainbow Warrior Julian Sensley

drives to the basket on a fast

break in the first half of hawai‘i’s

game against Rice Jan. 27.

Sensley had 31 points and 19 rebounds last

weekend as the ‘Bows swept their home-

stand, topping the Owls and

the Tulsa Golden hurricane. The

‘Bows next head on a two-week,

three-game road trip, start-ing in San Jose

this Saturday.

TONY BlAzeJACK Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

Page 2 | Ka Leo O Hawai‘i | Wednesday, February 2, 2005 | NeWs

Books: Textbooks more costly to produce

From page 1

Bill to protect protesters’ rights By elizabeth ChernowU-WIRE (DC Bureau)

(U-WIRE) WASHINGTON — Imagine spending nine hours in a room the size of a walk-in closet. That was exactly what George Washington University senior Beth Pellettieri faced after being arrested in her student center for protesting the treatment of university workers

last spring. “It can really make you under-stand the power dynamics involved in being in a holding cell,” said Pellettieri, whose charges of unlawful entry were later dropped. “To do anything I was either on lock down or had to ask per-mission. It was the oddest power dynamic I’ve ever encountered.” However, following a recent settlement, D.C.’s Metropolitan

Police Department may be more care-ful when arresting non-violent pro-testers. The District agreed last week to pay $425,000 and provide personal apologies from Police Chief Charles Ramsey to seven protesters taken into custody without probable cause during a mass arrest in 2002. Arthur Spitzer, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of the National Capitol Area, one of the protesters’ legal representatives, said other conditions of the settle-ment include police providing detain-ees with a handout explaining their rights and releasing them as promptly as possible. “D.C. now realizes that they’re not supposed to arrest someone unless they broke the law,” Spitzer said. Nonetheless, two days after the settlement, District Mayor Anthony

Williams refused to sign a bill adopt-ed by the City Council last month that would limit officers’ investiga-tions of protesters’ activities. Since the mayor did not veto the bill, it will undergo Congressional review. The bill will be adopted into D.C. law if Congress approves it. “All the bill does is require police to follow the law and not arrest people before they’ve done something wrong,” said Mark Goldstone, chairman of the Demonstration Support Committee of the D.C. Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a progressive nation-al legal institution, who testified in favor of the bill. “We’re not asking anything more of the police than they should have been doing all along.” Protesters can take certain pre-cautions to defend their first amend-ment rights to gather, engage in free speech and petition the government.

Spitzer said protesters should find out whether the demonstration has a permit prior to attending. He added that once there, police will typically warn demonstrators if they are planning to make arrests, so those in attendance should heed offi-cers’ warnings. “Go with a friend or with an acquaintance,” Goldstone said. “Bring a camera. Bring a piece of paper and a pen. Be aware of your surroundings and be prepared to doc-ument anything that doesn’t look right or doesn’t feel right to you.” Goldstone said documentation is particularly important in cases involving undercover officers. He added that detainees do not have to speak to police and can request to speak with a lawyer. “The best thing to do is allow an arrest to occur even if it’s an unlaw-ful arrest,” he added. “Don’t get into confrontations. You never know who is detaining your friend.” If arrested at a protest, attorneys said while providing identifying information such as a name and address is not required, it is the only way to ensure a more prompt release. “You don’t have the right to be released as John Doe or Donald Duck,” Spitzer said. Pellettieri said her arrest has not deterred her from attending other protests, but she makes sure to carry identification and write a lawyer’s phone number in permanent ink on her arm. There are different forms of protesting, she said, such as boycot-ting a product or writing a letter to an editor, but she said she prefers to be a presence. She said, “A protest or demon-stration is just using your body as a representation of what you feel.”

bookstore. They make up about 25 percent of the store’s sales, he said. Students can also buy or sell directly to one another. “It’s an important part of our business,” Husted said. “It saves stu-dents money. It’s good for everybody.” Publishers and bookstore managers have also talked about more basic texts — published only in black and white and without photographs and graphics that drive up production pric-es. “If it contained the same material, I think students would choose the cheaper, no-frills books,” Husted said. Some publishers have begun breaking up textbooks into parts, Hildebrand said. One publisher’s cal-culus text, for instance, runs about $130, but it is used over three semes-ters. To reduce the cost, the publisher breaks it up into three books and sells them in softcover or in a spiral note-book. Publishers also offer some elec-tronic texts or abbreviated versions, he said. “If there is a demand for modified texts, we provide it,” Hildebrand said. “We’ll drive the cost down as far as we can.”

© 2005, The Dallas Morning News

FEATURESWednesday, February 02 2005 | Page 3Editor: Marlo Ting Associate Editor: Kimberly Shigeoka | (808) 956-3218 | features@kaleo.org

Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

ACM to show five ‘Reel Stories’By Julia Wieting

Ka Leo Staff Writer

The University of Hawai‘i’s Academy of Creative Media is showing five student films that were originally shown at the Honolulu International Film Festival. These films run the gamut from documentary to gritty realism to psychological thriller. They will be shown on “Hawai‘i’s Reel Stories,” an OC16 program that allows the people behind the films to explain the process of making a short film. They explain changes that had to be made to the script and filming schedule, emphasizing the problems that were overcome. It airs today at 4:30 p.m. and Thursday at 12 a.m. The overriding issue that all the filmmakers had to deal with was how to tell a story with a limited budget and a short running time. In “The Learning Process,” documen-tary filmmaker Chrystal Jameson had to figure out how to tell the life of a real person, teacher-in-training Thomas Anthony Penna. The result has served to inspire her even more to explore the documentary format. Similarly, Kaliko Palmeira found that piecing together his father Steve Ma‘i‘i’s experiences as a musician in the 1970s in the doc-umentary “Steve Ma’i’i” showed him that people tell their stories differently to different people. It has given him the drive to improve his interview technique to pay even more attention and listen more closely his interviewees.

Seong Kyu Whang makes the jump from real to fictional charac-ters with “dniweR,” a self-directed and self-acted piece about a guy coming to terms with his special powers and the responsibilities they entail. Whang’s experience making the film is similar to all low-budget filmmakers: sacrificing story devel-opment for time restrictions, prob-

lems with scheduling, and finding innovative solutions to create spe-cial effects. Low-budget has its advantages, though, as Andrew Ma explains, regarding his film “Game Over.” Digital cameras can give a sense of immediacy that works well for the short story format. Ma likes the way a short story lends itself to ambigu-

ous endings that ask the viewer to decide what actually happens. For the most technically involved film, “Gemini Effect,” Andrew Gregor stresses the impor-tance of the planning that goes into filmmaking. His film, reminiscent of Japanese psychological thrillers, makes use of real hospital rooms and the University of Hawai‘i’s president’s house to develop an atmosphere of eerie realism. Support of local student film-making is crucial, not only to recog-nize the students themselves but also to show what is possible for

students anywhere who have an idea and some inspiration. We shouldn’t need the imperative of a class to let our voices and those of the people around us to be heard. Toward that end, “Hawai‘i’s Reel Stories” does an admirable job in getting the word out about local filmmakers. Their hard work and dedication have allowed these fellow students to create films that continue to be recognized by the wider community. It will be inter-esting to see where they go from here.

CouRTESy PhoTo

Short film makers say digital cameras give a sense of urgency that works well for the format. here, actress Cathy Tanaka poses with her director.

have already ruled out the possibility that something so complex could simply exist as its own cause with no further explanation. At some point, you’ll need to fol-low one of two paths: You must either admit that complexity can arise on its own without requiring any further explanation (in which case intelligent design theory becomes superfluous), or else you’re going to need a theory (like evolu-tion) to explain how complex orga-nized systems could arise from a mess of disorganized chaos. For this reason among many oth-ers, most scientists and intellectuals today are firmly convinced that intelligent design is nothing but a desperately contrived piece of pseu-do-scientific drivel. I tend to agree. For those whom are similarly con-vinced, it is clearly upsetting that intelligent design is being taught in some of Pennsylvania’s public

schools because we don’t want to be forced to supply the funds or send our children to an institution that is going to give authoritative scientific validity to a view that we find to be patently false. But imagine how parents who believe in intelligent design must feel. Evolution, which they believe to be a despicably false theory, is taught as fact in public schools not just in one state but in every state. As it stands, the tax dollars of mil-lions of intelligent design adherents are being used to finance the spread of an ideology that they deeply oppose. Now, even those of us who would like nothing more than to see intelligent design theory disap-pear should be uneasy with our government taking sides in this ideological dispute. First of all, in today’s evangelical political cli-mate many state schools could

very quickly and easily become much more hostile to evolution. As such, it is dangerous to make the state the arbiter of what our children should be taught. But beyond this, it’s just not right for the state to impose compulsory schooling that uses public funds to push one side or the other in any ongoing controversy with such deep scientific and religious con-sequences. If schools were converted to a voucher system or, better yet, priva-tized completely, parents could choose from a competitive variety of schools with different approaches to this topic as well as other controver-sial subjects such as sex education, literature and politics, which cannot simply be cut out of the curriculum altogether. Short of this, it is impos-sible to avoid embroiling the power of the state as a partisan force rather than a neutral referee in our soci-ety’s intellectual milieu.

By Anthony DickCavalier Daily (U. Virginia)

(U-WIRE) CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A school district in Pennsylvania recently made headlines by becom-ing the first to require the teaching of the intelligent design theory in biology classes as a possible alterna-tive to Darwinian evolution. Similar plans have drawn attention in Georgia and other states where reli-gious parents worry about their chil-dren being taught an accepted scien-tific theory that they nevertheless find to be both untrue and offensive. Given the nature and intense feroci-ty of this dispute, it is interesting that one aspect that gets little atten-tion is the way it illustrates a prob-lem with public schooling in an intellectually diverse liberal society. It is a core tenet of liberal politi-cal theory that government should remain neutral in disputes that arise between competing philosophical or religious ideologies. This concept inspires the First Amendment’s con-tent-neutral protection of free speech and free exercise of religion, as well as the idea that church and state should be firmly separated. By extension, this paradigm includes a moral right that parents have to raise their own children as they see fit with respect to political, philosophi-cal and religious instruction. But with children from different families attending the same regimented pub-lic schools, the state’s ideological neutrality becomes difficult, if not impossible, to maintain. Intelligent design is the theory that holds that the universe, due to its intricate complexity, must have been created by some powerful and purposive creator. This idea is dubi-ous, not only for its lack of empiri-cal support but also because, after a few moments of reflection, it just doesn’t make any sense. The theory posits that only a divine creator could account for the complexity of the world around us, but it offers no satisfactory account of how this cre-ator itself is supposed to have come about. Presumably, any creative entity

OPINIONSPage 4 | Wednesday, February 3, 2005 Editor: Christopher Mikesell Associate Editor: Leah Ricker | (808) 956-3214 | opinions@kaleo.org

Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

Evolution debate not for govt.

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Ka Leo O Hawai‘i is the campus newspaper of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. It is published by the Board of Publications five times a week except on holidays and dur-ing exam periods. Circulation is 14,000. Ka Leo is also published once a week during summer sessions with a circulation of 6,000. Ka Leo is funded by student fees and advertising. Its editorial content reflects only the views of its editors, writers, column-ists and contributors, who are solely responsible for its content. No material that appears in Ka Leo may be reprinted or republished in any medium without permis-sion. The first newsstand copy is free; for additional copies, please come to the Ka Leo Building. Subscription rates are $36 for one semester and $54 for one year.

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with divine powers is at least as complex as the world it creates. So if you’re starting from the premise that high-level complexity can’t arise on its own, you can’t just say that God created the world and leave it at that. Nor can you say that God has always existed, since you

EditorialCartoonist

KRT Campus

Putin a model leader on terrorOPiniOns | Wednesday, February 3, 2004 | Ka Leo O Hawai‘i | Page 5

By Rory WalkinshawKa Leo Staff Columnist

“Our allies are few. Our ene-mies, everywhere. They’re all around us. There’s some scary stuff out there people.” So says CIA trainer Walter Burke in the espionage film “The Recruit.” The exact same thing could be said of Russia, a country that has been making the news on and off for the last ten years, more or less, due to its involvement in what will probably go down in his-tory as the most unquestionably brutal and devastating conflict of the 21st century, Chechnya. Two wars in the last 10 years that have seen hundreds of thou-sands of poorly-trained, ill-equipped, often underage Russian conscripts, under the command of incompetent, often criminal offi-cers, sent into a war zone that makes Vietnam look like a walk in the park. Suicides among Russian sol-diers are everyday occurrences, and an unbelievably large number of soldiers are either alcoholic or drug-addicts. Officers routinely sell their weapons and military equipment to criminal racketeers for profit or, more commonly, badly-needed food and provisions. The average Russian conscript is lucky if paid $1 a month. Mass executions, detentions and torture of Chechen civilians are so commonplace that they have drawn the attention of the international community for the last 5 years. Under such conditions, it is sur-prising that the Russians have held on as long as they have. So, who are the heroes of the Chechen War? The Islamic/crimi-nal guerrillas who are still actively waging a war against both Russian troops and civilians? Give me a break. With a threat such as the Islamic rebels in the break-away region pose, Russia can hardly afford to withdraw their forces at this critical time. Be under no illusions: the guerrilla forces fighting the Kremlin government are religious extremists who have no problems with engaging in — and routinely participating in — the murder of innocent Russians and pro-Kremlin Chechens, taking schoolchildren hostage, executing prisoners of war with blatant disregard to the Geneva convention, and threaten-ing to turn the entire region into, at best, an anarchic state and, at worst, a Taliban-style Islamic dic-tatorship where women can be legally raped and men murdered if their beards are not long enough. So, again, who is the real hero of this war? My answer: Vladmir Putin. That’s right! The man whom the entire Western world, it seems, has implicitly, if not explic-itly, condemned as an undemocrat-ic dictator who ruthlessly crushes his opponents and prosecutes a brutal conflict in a remote region of the country. Why do I think he is a good leader? Well, probably because he’s exactly what Russia needs right now if they are ever to bring some semblance of order to Chechnya. How do I base my support for Mr. Putin? Simple, through anoth-

er very famous man by the name of Niccolo Machiavelli and a very famous work he wrote entitled “The Prince.” Machiavelli, who lived in 16th century Italy, felt that in order to expel foreign armies and govern-ments who were literally raping and pillaging the country, the Italians needed a strong, if sometimes ruth-less leader who would drive out the enemy and establish a fair and respectable government. Many of Machiavelli’s ideas are relevant even today. Machiavelli probably would have felt, as I do, that persons belonging to such groups as “Not In Our Name” were little more than whining cry-babies whose usefulness on the stage of world politics was just north of a pile of cow turds sitting in a field. He probably would have felt that Putin was exactly what Russia needs right now to ensure its sur-vival. If one were to ask the folks

at Not In Our Name what they would do to alleviate the terrorist presence in Russia, I’m sure it would involve something complete-ly stupid, not to mention unwise, like ... peace. Sorry people, but as a Marine Corps maxim goes, “sometimes violence DOES solve everything.” Sometimes, the cannon and the sword are the best ways to go. Putin, as a leader, has had far more success in pressing the war in Chechnya, which still retains a large amount of support in the nation. Unlike his incompentent predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, Russian troops, particularly Army Spetsnaz and paramilitary special forces units, have experienced previously unheard-of degrees of victory in what was once thought to be a hopeless war. Rebel leaders are being killed on a regular basis. Guerrilla training camps, bases, and logistics lines are

being raided and cut daily. The numerical strength of the guerrilla movement is a shadow of what it was with the first tanks rolled into Chehcnya in late 1999. Of those fighters left, many of them are not even Chechen, but for-eign fanatics such as those found in the ranks of al-Qaeda. Thanks to Putin, badly-needed, however small in amount, funds are finally being diverted to help pay for new mili-tary equipment, training programs and manpower retention. Much of the disruptive elements left in Chechnya come in the form of criminal gangs or unexploded landmines buried underground by the millions. Putin has recognized that Russia cannot afford to allow a terrorist presence to continue in Russian territory and has vowed to crush it, no matter how long and hard the road may be. If the current military reforms continue, Russia may eventually succeed in smash-

ing terrorism, regain its former mil-itary prowess, and begin to tackle its other number-one national prob-lem, organized crime. This is not to say that Putin is without his faults. A former KGB (Central Security Directorate) offi-cer himself, Putin is most certainly an authoritarian. Long-standing problems such as police brutality and corruption remain, although efforts are being put in place to stem its influence. For all his faults however, which is better for Russia in the long term — a patriotic, if somewhat dictatorial, president, determined to stop terrorism and safeguard Russians, or a weak-minded leader who would allow the Caucasus to become a terrorist haven and Russia to disintegrate?

Putin

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COMICS & CROSSWORDPage 6 | Wednesday, February 2, 2005 Editor: Koren Kuranaga | (808) 956-7043 | comics@kaleo.org

Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

SOLUTIONS FOR 1/31/05

Air Force ROTC puts ‘service before self ’

By Janet MockKa Leo Staff Writer

One finds rows of sculpted divers saturated in chlorine water, football players drenched in post-tackle sweat, and kinesiology majors carrying pur-ple yoga mats at lower campus. For many University of Hawai‘i at Manoa students and faculty, however, lower campus is only visited to park in the “Lot Full” structure. But UH’s Air Force ROTC, Detachment 175, bask in their habitat of study and formation in a group of portables across the baseball field. It’s also where they hold “Operation Give Back,” a cadet volunteer project, each semester. The project shows their appreciation for UH and the community. A group of 55 cadets from UHM, Chaminade, Hawai‘i Pacific University, Wyland Baptist University and the community colleges, are hud-dled together under the burning 3 p.m. sun, ready to embark on an hour-and-a-half lower campus beautification project. The project takes place on the grounds around their portables, Varsity Circle and the dormitories. “This shows the community that we want to be good neighbors,” Col. Bibina Laborte, commander of the detachment, said of his cadets, who are clad in a gray shorts-and-shirts set marked with “Air Force” in bold type across their chests. “Not only do the cadets clean the campus, but they cleaned the Veteran’s Memorial, helped with the Hamilton flood clean-up and will visit children at Shriner’s Hospital tonight,” Laborte said. At Shriner’s, the cadets will help the kids make Valentine’s cards, according to Cmdr. Melissa Ingram, the event coordinator. As the cadets are ready to pick up the various cigarette butts, tree foliage and used Ka Leo newspapers from the lower campus grounds, each “flight,” a group of cadets, roars their unique chant, reminiscent of a home-coming pep rally, which gets them ready to tackle today’s duties. “Operation Give Back is not a required activity for any of the cadets, but more than three-fourths of our cadets participate, which displays a camaraderie among the cadets and an appreciation to the community,” Ingram said. Cadet David Fuller, a UHM senior studying political science, whose uni-form is drenched in sweat after an

hour of bending over under the sun picking up garbage, said, “It’s all worth it because its for a good cause.” Fuller said: “Hopefully events like this shows the community what we are really about and combats the military stigma. In the Air Force, we put integ-

rity first, service before self and excel-lence in all we do.” So, as the unforgiving sun contin-ues to highlight the grounds of lower campus, the cadets’ white garbage bags fill, creating a spotless and untar-nished UH.

ROTC Cadet Micah Benavitz, a freshman in history at Chaminade picks up trash around the Varsity gate dur-ing an ROTC-sponsored trash cleanup around Varsity Circle.

TOny BlAzeJACk Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

FeATuRes | Wednesday, February 3, 2004 | ka leo O Hawai‘i | Page 7

SPORTSPage 8 | Wednesday, February 2, 2005 Editor: Stefanie Nakasone Associate Editor: Scott Alonso | (808) 956-3215 | sports@kaleo.org

Ka Leo O Hawai‘i

SportsBriefsWarriors move up one in poll

The University of Hawai‘i men’s volleyball team improved from fourth to third in this week’s USA Today/CSTV Top 15 Coaches Poll released yesterday. UCLA moved to the top of the poll, collecting 15 of the 16 No. 1 votes. The Bruins split their series at Brigham Young last week. No. 2 Pepperdine

received the other first place vote. BYU dropped to No. 4. Hawai‘i’s opponent this week, Stanford, lost both of its matches last week and dropped one spot to No. 10.

‘Bows smash school records

Redshirt freshman Ku‘ulei Karratti set new school records as the Rainbow Wahine track and field team opened

the indoor season last weekend at the University of Washington. Karratti recorded a time of 7.98 seconds to set a new UH record in the 60-meter sprint on Saturday. The next day, Karratti lowered her time even more, finishing in 7.97 seconds. Also knocking down records was UH junior Tasha Monroe, who set new school times in the 200 (25.66) and 400 (57.13). She then ran the first leg

of the ‘Bows’ record-setting 4x400 relay. The team consisted of Monroe, Dana Buchanan, Ashley Monfort and Kelly Young. Earlier in the day, Young also beat the old UH record in the 800 by four seconds, winning in 2:08.46. Sophomore Patricia Gauthier also jumped a record mark of 3.56 meters, while freshman Meghan Weaver set a new school mark in the shot put with a throw of 13.37 meters.

Commentary

Road to Super Bowl not so superBy Neil Hayes

Knight Ridder Newspapers

(KRT) — The playoffs have served their purpose in one sense. They have identified the NFL’s two pre-mier teams. The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots could compete with great teams from any era, and that hasn’t always been the case in the recent past. These are not one-year wonders. The Patriots and Eagles are old school. There are no worst-to-first story lines this time. Both teams have played in a lot of big games in recent years. These two franchises have earned this. So far these playoffs have pro-duced two great teams but no great games. The biggest losers haven’t been the San Diego Chargers, who fin-ished the regular season 12-4 before bowing out in the first round. It’s not the Indianapolis Colts, whose high-octane offense stalled against the Patriots for the second straight year. It’s not even the Pittsburgh Steelers, who lost the AFC Championship game for the fourth time since 1994. The biggest losers have been those of us hoping to be entertained. Bay Area fans didn’t have a root-ing interest. They can thank the Raiders and 49ers, who finished a combined 7-25, for that sad fact.

That means they’re not fans of any particular team or player. They’re rooting for a reason to spend the afternoon on the couch. Unfortunately, they’ve had more reasons to paint the ceiling and grout the tub. Even the two games decided in overtime haven’t quali-fied as must-see TV. Did anyone else go to bed last Saturday night dreaming about a classic playoff game played in the snow? In no other sport does weath-er play such a prominent role. Watching players line up in their stances with their breath billowing from their mouths like smoke from a factory chimney is the epitome of playoff football. The Snow Job game between the Patriots and Raiders in 2001 was a game for the ages. Jim Kelly and John Elway always seemed to be sealing their playoff fates amid falling flakes. We’ve all seen that classic clip of Jerry Kramer taking out Jethro Pugh at the goal line in the Ice Bowl. The conditions were ideal for last week’s championship tilts, but the games themselves were anticlimac-tic. The Eagles exposed the Atlanta Falcons and the Patriots destroyed the Steelers in games that were less than compelling. The Falcons have an athletic quarterback and solid running game and defense but no consistent receiv-ing threat. Does that sound familiar?

At times it seemed as if the Eagles were playing their former selves. A Super Bowl win would cap one of the greatest playoff runs in history for the Patriots. First they held Peyton Manning and the league’s highest-scoring offense to a field goal in a convincing 20-3 win. Then they ran roughshod over the Steelers’ top-ranked defense in a 41-27 shellacking. If they beat the Eagles decisively, they can rank themselves among the all-time greats. Maybe that’s the problem. The Patriots and Eagles are too good. What has been the best playoff game so far? The St. Louis Rams’ 20-17 win over the Seattle Seahawks might have rated a men-tion if it weren’t so obvious that nei-ther team belonged in the playoffs in the first place. We kept waiting for Brett Favre to produce some fourth-quarter magic against the beatable Minnesota Vikings. He threw an interception instead. Even the two overtime games were plagued by conservative play calling. Nothing ruins a playoff party like a coach trying not to lose instead of trying to win. That’s exactly what Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer did when he played for a field goal late in a wild-card game against the New York Jets. Schottenheimer got what he richly deserved when his rookie kicker missed a field goal — another early playoff exit. The Jets benefited from Schottenheimer’s mistake, but they didn’t learn from it. Coach Herman Edwards and offensive coordinator Paul Hackett have been ridiculed, and rightly so, for using the same strategy the following week. They had a chance to stun the Steelers but played for the field goal. Poor Doug Brien. The former De La Salle High School and Cal kicker missed from 47 and 43 yards in the final 2 minutes, and the Steelers survived. Last week’s title games told the story of these playoffs. The Patriots and Eagles were well on their way to victory before halftime. Two of the last three Super Bowls have been decided by 3 points, but it seems unlikely this year. Every indication points to the Patriots defeating the Eagles with ease. With or without Terrell Owens, the Eagles will have trouble scoring against Bill Belichick’s defense. Hopefully, we’ll be treated to a magic moment or a frantic finish. At least then we could say we saw one great playoff game this season.

USA Today/CSTV Coaches Top 10

Rk School (No.1 votes) Pts1. UCLA (15) 2392. Pepperdine (1) 2133. Hawai‘i 2034. BYU 2015. Long Beach State 1736. Penn State 1587. UC Santa Barbara 1558. Cal State Northridge 1189. Pacific 11510. Stanford 95