Here is what I wrote for my blog post that day
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2004/12/i-graduated-earlier-this-morning-i-have.html
I also wrote a Ka Leo editorial that month about the experiences as an undergraduate student at UH, which was re-posted on my blog at http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2004/12/my-last-editorial-on-ka-leo-i-will-be.html
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5 years later, in 2009, I wrote a blog post titled "5 years since my U.H. graduation" which explained more about my experiences as an undergraduate student at UH
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2009/12/5-years-since-my-uh-graduation.html
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Now fast-forward another 5 years ............today!
I am at UH-Manoa again, this time as a graduate student working on my master's in Library and Information Science (LIS)
I'm about 2/3 of the way through the LIS program.
That being said, I have noticed some changes on campus since my undergraduate days.
Social Atmosphere
Biggest change I noticed was the social atmosphere.
Back in my undergraduate days, there was a lot of drama and craziness on campus. Our campus newspaper (Ka Leo O Hawaii aka "The Ka Leo") was edgy with lot of controversial opinion articles that became a major topic of conversation on campus. I know, because I wrote some of them.
However, since The Ka Leo has become a dull, politically correct newspaper that suppresses any opinion article with edginess, non-literal statements, and anything provocative. I mentioned this issue at
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-ka-leo-lost-its-way.html
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/10/problems-at-ka-leo-again.html
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2014/02/ka-leos-free-speech-forum.html
The Opinions section used to make the news, with it's edgy articles and fighting spirit provoking angry members of the community!
With no edgy stuff to read in the Ka Leo, there is less funny things to talk about on campus! That is very sad for a college campus, which is supposed to be the center of edgy, provocative debates!
A whole generation of UH students have gone through their time on campus without any memory of all the drama Ka Leo used to provoke on campus!
I'm not saying people should just say stuff just to offend! I'm saying we need something to break the monotony on campus, which was what the Ka Leo Opinions section used to do.
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Another change I've noticed was the decrease of UH sports spirit on campus.
Throughout my entire time as an undergraduate student at UH, the football team was coached by June Jones. Though I was gone before Colt Brennan came along, the football team had a reputation for their swagger, warrior spirit, wild hair, and WINNING SEASONS!
I remember school morale being lifted during my freshman year, which was June Jones 1st year as coach! A former losing team became a winning team, lifting school spirit BIG TIME!
Even when we had QB Timmy Chang (former high school star with consistency issues at the college level), the team still find a way to win, with dynamic receivers , rugged running backs, strong linemen (some of whom later played in the NFL), and a very fierce defense!
The team not only won games, they won fights! That's right, UH football gotten into fights with their opponents, giving UH students something exciting to talk about!
We also had Vili the Warrior, the biggest and baddest mascot EVER!
(read more at http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2012/08/vili-warrior-retired.html )
But now with Norm Chow? A joke, just like Fred von Appen!
The problem doesn't just infect the team, it infects the campus atmosphere as well! Back when June Jones was coaching, the campus was hooked on the football team! The team lifted our spirits with every win, every news of craziness, every dramatic turn! But now? Apathy!
And now I'm being told that Norm Chow will be coaching during my final semester as a graduate student! Not just another year of losing, but another year of non-existent football spirit on campus
So, all my graduate school years will be with Norm Chow as coach! Now I know how the students of the Fred von Appen era feel!
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We also had a men's basketball team that made the NCAA tournaments, and a men's volleyball team that won the NCAA championship (with a player later deemed ineligible). Both has gone through serious decline in the last few years.
The Wahine teams are still doing good, though the volleyball team has just completed a re-building year! The Wahine basketball have a great coach and great potential! Now, the men's teams need to step their games up!
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Facilities
On the bright side, the campus facilities are slowly being upgraded! The More information technology, cleaner rooms and innovative classrooms!
The recently built Information Technology Center (ITC) has very fancy facilities, which I took a tour of in the Spring 2014 semester!
I had a class at Sakamaki Hall this past summer and the moveable tables and chairs were GREAT! I noticed the same for the newly renovated Gartley Hall too!
Soon, Keller Hall and the Physical Science Building will have renovations! Their classrooms still have chalkboards (eek..............chalk dust!). Don't get me wrong, I like some of the retro vibes of those buildings, but they should at least replace the chalkboards with the whiteboards!
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Personal Changes
Within the last 10 years, I had to go through some changes as well.
Whereas I could get away with some edgy humor as an undergraduate, a lot of that went out the window as I became a substitute teacher. I was now supposed to be a role model! To add to the pressure, there isn't much job security as a substitute teacher, so you need to really work on being a great Role Model if you're a substitute teacher.
As I mentioned in "What is an Adult?, (part 2)"
http://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2013/09/what-is-adult-part-2.html
For me, when I became a substitute teacher, I had to unlearn some bad habits. I had to distance myself from inappropriate jokes that once entertained me. I had to learn other ways to deal with stressful situations other than the "flight or fight" impulses that most of us relied on as teenagers. I had to reduce my use of profanities. I had to be super-careful in dealing with the opposite gender.
Please read that paragraph again!
So yeah, having to go through those changes means I had to present myself in a more mature manner!
(for example: no more poking girl's sides for fun this time like I did in my undergrad years.)
However, coming with more maturity also means some social akwardness when dealing with younger college students who never had to deal with the great pressures of maturity I had to go through when I worked as a substitute teacher!
But you know what? I have to be the example! That means not joining in with peers who want me to take a step backwards in maturity! Walking away and looking for the nearest exit becomes an important life skill!
However, I can still have fun! I still like music, still like UH sports (but not Norm Chow), still like toys, still like YouTube comedy skits, still like riding bikes.
I still like nightclubs, which can present serious temptations to lose your maturity.
In an environment where some girls just come up to rub against you, you cannot assume all the girls nearby want to be rubbed against!
Telling the difference is easier said than done!
I do NOT drink alcohol (NEVER DID!) but I still got to be careful!
I still want to enjoy the nightclubs since I have many fond memories there! I just have remember that in the era of smartphones, I want to recorded in a positive light, not a negative one!
The same goes for every other situations.
