Today, I had an editorial criticizing plans to expand UH-West Oahu on Hawaii Reporter
http://www.hawaiireporter.com/story.aspx?10953863-82d7-4492-aa59-fdfd7286e091
A Pie in the University of Hawaii Sky
By Pablo Wegesend, 3/19/2004 7:44:13 AM
In 1976, the University of Hawaii-West Oahu was opened. That small campus is located near Leeward Community College, which is somewhere near the border of Pearl City and Waipahu. The reason that campus was opened was because of the increasing population growth in West Oahu. Since then, the population increase within West Oahu has been increasing even more rapidly. This brought about proposals for the expansion of U.H.-West Oahu. One expansion proposal is to move the West Oahu campus to Kapolei, where there is more room.
To commute to U.H.-Manoa from West Oahu, one must sit in traffic jams. This motivated a few letters to the daily papers, screaming in anger about the opposition to an expansion of U.H.-West Oahu. I remember one letter screaming "how would you feel if you had to sit in those traffic jams, hunt for parking in Manoa, etc., etc."
These letter writers can feel all the emotion they want. But when it comes to government funding, logic must rule over emotion. When one looks at our state's financial situation logically, one will find that the state doesn't have enough money to build a new campus in Kapolei. In fact, the state doesn't have enough money to open a public library in Kapolei. Yet, people demand that we build a new university in Kapolei with its own libraries, lecture halls, science labs, computer labs, parking lots, campus eateries, and athletic facilities out of the same state budget. Plus, add to the fact that building a West Oahu campus will drain money out of the Manoa campus. Some programs might be moved to the West Oahu campus, forcing Honolulu and Windward residents to commute. And they say that a West Oahu campus will reduce traffic jams? I don't think so.
Some people look at government as a bottomless pit of wealth that is able to fund everything. But it can't. Governments get their money from taxes on income, property values and sales. That money is limited, especially in hard economic times. Of course, some will propose raising taxes to pay for a Kapolei campus. But raising taxes will just be like over-eating. Whereas over-eating saps the energy of our organs, excessive taxation will sap our economy to the point where more people will seek greener pastures elsewhere, even if "greener pastures" are in mainland desert states with lower taxes, (i.e.. Nevada and Arizona). Because that is happening, the rest of us who remain in Hawaii are stuck with the burden.
While West Oahu people complain about long commutes to the Manoa campus, people from Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai have to uproot their lives and leave their island just to earn a university degree. In fact, the island of Maui has more land space than Oahu, yet it doesn't have a public university there, just a community college.
Fortunately, some refuse to be intimidated by the "we want a Kapolei campus now" posse. In fact, U.H. Board of Regents member Ted Hong even proposed shutting down U.H.-West Oahu. Hong called U.H.-West Oahu a "pipe dream." Hong's unwillingness to bow down to the politically correct "we want a Kapolei campus now" posse might've been the reason why his appointment as a state judge was rejected. After all, a large number of West Oahu state senators rejected Hong's appointment.
At this point in time, it will be too late to shut down UH-West Oahu since some people depend on it. But Hong is right in calling any U.H.- West Oahu expansion a "pipe dream." Which is why Ted Hong should continue to be a member of the U.H. Board of Regents.
And check out www.hawaiireporter.com and http://www.grassrootinstitute.org/ for a non-liberal Hawaii perspective!
