Spring 2017: February 13th Issue 3
Letter from the Editor In Chief
Aloha Mai Kakou
Heart-shaped boxes of candy on sale? Giant stuffed teddy bears, bouquets of roses, and cards that have god-awful romantic puns written all over them? Sounds like Valentine’s Day to me!
Indeed, tis the season of love – or lack thereof, for some. However cheerful or (jaded) you feel about this day, we’re sure you’ll relate to at least some of the responses to our News Writer, Lexi, who interviewed a variety of students to get their thoughts on what Valentine’s Day means to them.
Okay, maybe you really don’t give a f#ck about Valentine’s Day and just want to move on with your life. Maybe you’d rather drown your sorrows in a nice cold drink? If this sounds like you, then what if I told you there was a way to do just that, and also enjoy a memorable learning experience? (Who’d have thought that booze and education would go hand in hand?) As our writer Alyssa explains, this is actually doable: on February 22, Hilo Town Tavern is hosting “Astronomy on Tap,” which includes “games, prizes, and space-themed drinks.”
On the other hand, perhaps all this talk about Valentine’s Day goodies and drinking has you feeling empty, and you’d rather do something more healthy and proactive like hit the gym. In that case, our News Writer Gina has a story you won’t want to miss: she recently interviewed Valerie Yamaki, fitness coordinator at the Student Life Center (SLC) on campus. The center is touting this semester’s schedule of classes, ranging from hula to yoga, as well as “Fit as a Fighter.”
As important as it is to love and take pride in yourself and your community, there is plenty of self-reflection to be done. Ultimately, honesty is a must – even if that means having a conversation with others (or yourself) about issues on which you may disagree. Ke Kalahea is no exception – that’s why we welcome student and community feedback, even when there is dissent among our colleagues. After publishing an editorial on the subpar condition of the soccer fields at UH Hilo last month, the university’s athletics department respectfully approached me to explain their version of the story. As Editor-in-Chief of our school’s official student news publication, it is this very exchange of ideas and information that I so look forward to facilitating.
Likewise, I enjoy giving students who are not on staff at Ke Kalahea a chance to express their views through our medium. (After all, it’s your paper, too!) This includes individual contributors, as well as student organizations like the University Radio Hilo (URH), and the UH Hilo Student Association (UHHSA), who wish to increase their profiles and spread awareness about their latest initiatives.
Intended to serve as our student government, UHHSA’s mission is supposed to reflect the general will of the Vulcan community, and what they do with their time and money has the potential to affect all of us on campus. As of late, a leadership crisis has engulfed UHHSA; Ke Kalahea is eager to update students on UHHSA’s challenges in a future issue.
In the meantime, just sit back, relax, and enjoy an evening with your Valentine, on February 14 and all-year-round. Or, you can always just binge-watch your favorite show on Netflix while inhaling an entire pizza. (Guess which one of these I’ll be doing tomorrow?)
Mahalo Nui,
Brian Wild
Editor-in-Chief