2014 may 7

A K LEO T H E

WEDNESDAY, MAY. 7 to THURSDAY MAY. 8, 2014 VOLUME 108 ISSUE 83

Serving the students of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

V O I C E

ALOHA

NIGHTS FLIP TO MIDDLE

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Stand and deliver JOEY R AMIREZ Sports Editor With college basketball season over until fall, the student section at Stan Sheriff Center currently lies deserted.

But if proposals from the University of Hawai‘i men’s basketball team and the Mānoa Maniacs goes through, those three sections could be overflowing with rowdy Rainbow Warrior fans come season’s tipoff.

As it is now, the student section encompasses lower-level sections JJ, G and F. Under the proposed changes, it would forfeit section JJ and gain E. Also,

it would switch upper-level section N for M. “I think it’s going to make it feasible to stuff that section again, because the season before this last one, I (saw) that section entirely full and go up into the second tier,” said Mānoa Maniacs representative Genevieve Bradley.

“We need that restructuring to happen to be the base for our ability to fill up that student section and create that really vibrant school spirit and energy in the stadium.”

The M ā noa Maniacs hope that the revised seating arrangement would help better engage students in the games, improving the overall experience.

“When you look at the Big Ten, they’re all on the

side that the ESPN cameras come on, and that’s intentional,” said Sara Sellers, a master’s candidate in Religion. “Behind the basket is the perfect place, and people need to be pushed down closer to the basket.”

However, the Mānoa Maniacs and men’s basketball team foresee potential conflicts with long-time season ticket holders over being relocated from their seats.

“The obstacle is that there would be season ticket holders that may have had their tickets for 20 years, and people don’t want to upset those people, which is understandable,” said basketball performance analyst Jamie Smith, who acts as a liaison regarding the team’s student attendance goals.

Continued on page 2

Page 2 | Ka Leo | Wednesday, May 7 2014

Twitter @kaleoohawaii | news@kaleo.org | Noelle Fujii Editor | Fadi Youkhana Associate

News Rearrangement sought for basketball student section cover story

“I would say this is going to be the most challenging thing to overcome. It’s the thing that we actually have some control over that could make the biggest impact to the atmosphere at the games.”

Another proposed change would be the relocation of the UH pep band, which occupies the first few rows of section F. “The reason it got jumbled up in the first place is because of a Big West technicality where the band can’t be on the same side as the away team. This came at us in the middle of the season,” Bradley said. “We didn’t really have a place to put the band. We want them to be as integrated into the student section as possible, so we just put them as far as we could to the other side.”

According to Bradley, moving

standing for the last five minutes of a close game, and then you’d look at the student section and people would be sitting down,” Sellers said.

“A freshman in college is not someone who’s gonna be willing to stand at a game by themselves if no one else is. But if they’re down on the riser, they’re gonna be the best fan. They’re gonna be the ones who are jumping loud and crazy.”

All of these proposals synchronize for a common purpose: Giving the students a better experience while improving the overall culture of Hawai‘i basketball.

“There’s no reason in my mind, no offense to football, why Hawai‘i can’t become a basketball school. … Right now it’s football and women’s volleyball, let’s be honest,” Smith said.

A freshman in college is not someone who’s gonna be willing to stand at a game by themselves if no one else is. But if they’re down on the riser, they’re gonna be the best fan. They’re gonna be the ones who are jumping loud and crazy.

the band into section E is the “biggest priority,” though it is unsure whether it would occupy the front or back of the section.

“I think that would really help fill up the student section again, because it’s hard to sit right behind the tuba when you can’t see anything,” Bradley said.

“The band defi nitely isn’t going to be where it was this year, next year. There will be a change.”

The potential change that Bradley ranks third on the Mānoa Maniacs list of priorities – behind abolishing the Stan Sheriff Center’s mandatory shirt policy – is removing the seats in the first five rows of the student section to create a standing-only area.

To accomplish this, the addition of aluminum risers may be implemented to encourage passionate fans to stand closer to the game.

“There were a couple games where the local community would be

– SARA SELLERS

“These changes to the student section in the Stan Sheriff Center are the infrastructure for the development of these ideas.”

For the Mānoa Maniacs and UH basketball team, these potential improvements to the student section could transform the current Rainbow Warrior fan base from apathetic to ardent.

“It was easier to get people to go to Division III women’s basketball at my undergraduate than it was to get people to come to the games here,” said Sellers, who attended the University of Mary Washington ( VA).

“It’s one thing to show up and then sit on your phone the whole time. If you’re gonna do that in class, you might as well not go, right? That’s what professors tell you all the time. Why are you going to go to a sporting event and do the same thing? Sporting events are way more fun than class.”

JESSICA HOMRICH / KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

Student residents circulate peti petition tion to curb morning football practice noise DREW DEBRO Contributing Writer A petition with 535 signatures to cease the “pump-up” noise that came from UH Mānoa football team practices at Cooke Field, which is located adjacent to the majority of student housing complexes, was turned in to campus administration and ASUH. That opposition is leading some ASUH senators to consider taking action, according to Senator at Large, Kelly Nak. This semester, the team practiced six days a week on the field. The petition, written

by UH M ā noa senior Daniel Martin, claimed that the noise includes but is not limited to shouting, music and air horns; and was heard as early as 7:15 a.m. several times a week.

UH head football Coach Norm Chow told K HON2 that the noise is necessary for athletic improvement and temporarily moved morning practices to the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex.

Chow said that the team doesn’t blow air horns, loud music and shout to be irritating.

“We’re doing it to help us,” Chow told KHON. “We need to

get better. When there’s crowd noise, you need to holler plays.

You don’t want miscommunication. You need focus, so that’s why we do it. We’re not doing it just to have fun with it.”

On the other hand, Michael Kaptik, director of Student Housing Services, said that student housing forwarded student concerns about the to noise to athletics as they received them. After noticing a steep rise in the frequency of these complaints during the weeks when practice was held, he was informed of the petition by its author, Martin, who is a student housing resident. “(I recall) being woken up at 7:15 to the sound of like a train going through my living room -- the air horn -- and having very loud music fi ll my apartment. It’s bothered many students including myself for awhile and it’s especially bad this semester,” Martin said.

As an outgoing senior, he wanted to ensure this wasn’t a persistent problem.

“We don’t want them to stop practicing football, we just need them to be cognizant of the amount of noise they’re making and the proximity they’re to the housing complexes,” he said. “All

students sign the housing agreements before moving in which not only obligates the students to minimize their own noise but also guarantees (theoretically) all students the right to peace and quiet during quiet hours.”

He said he has called the Honolulu Police Department, the RA’s and Campus Security but was only able to fi le a complaint.

“All that does is file a complaint; it can’t facilitate any actual enforcement ... because athletics are outside the jurisdiction of the housing department,” Martin said. “It’s awful and damaging to wake up to that much noise that early in the morning when you’re already taking 16 credits and working 16 hours a week which is why sleeping in until 8 a.m. really makes a major difference.”

For the last four practices of the season, the practices moved to T.C. Ching Field, which is further away from the housing complexes. “(When I) woke up, I could still hear the music but not to the point that it was a problem, it was a major difference and an effective compromise,” Martin said.

Chow said the move was an act of courtesy to the residents of student housing.

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Twitter @kaleofeatures | features@kaleo.org |Brad Dell Editor |Nicolyn Charlot Associate

Features

K A LEO Channelling Pele: Solomon’s journey to Merrie Monarch T H E

V O I C E

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E-mail advertising@kaleo.org Ad Manager Gabrielle Pangilinan PR Coordinator Tianna Barbier Ka Leo O Hawai‘i is the campus newspaper of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa.

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K AIAMA NAIHE-C HO Contributing Writer

Many college students prioritize their weekends by catching up on much needed sleep or partying with friends. However, 20-year-old Leiomālama Tamasese Solomon, a sophomore at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, spent her weekends this semester flying back and forth from O‘ahu to Waimea on the Big Island to practice for one of Hawai‘i’s oldest and most prestigious hula competitions - Merrie Monarch.

P R AC T I C E M A K E S P E R F E C T Solomon is no stranger when it comes to dancing in front of people, having danced since she was four.

She first participated in a competition when she was seven.

“I did my first solo competition on the Big Island,” Solomon said, “It was a competition run by Uncle George Naope at the King Kamehameha Hotel, and I placed second.”

In the years following, Solomon, along with her hālau, has participated in many other contests and festivals around the world, including New York, New Mexico, Tahiti and Japan, even competing in the 2010 Merrie Monarch festival with her hālau in the kahiko (ancient) and ‘auana (modern) division. Taking it a step further, she entered to compete for Miss Aloha Hula in the 2014 Merrie Monarch festival.

Though she is no beginner when it comes to practicing what she loves on stage, Solomon had to overcome many obstacles, one being distance.

Her hālau practices in Waimea on the Big Island, but she attends school full-time at UH Mānoa.

“During the week I focused mainly on school,” Solomon said, “But once Friday came around, I would drop everything school related, get on a plane to Waimea and practice by myself and with my hula sisters there throughout the weekend.”

INSPIRED DANCES AND COSTUME Through her long hours of practicing, along with some help

Solomon chose a costume that reflected the theme of her dance, which was about Pele.

PHOTO COURTESY OF LEIOMĀLAMA TAMASESE SOLOMON

from her aunt, mother and other members of her h ā lau, she finally mastered her routines for the show. Her kahiko and ‘auana sets were completely original and created just for her.

“I wanted my aunty and grandmother to create the dance because they are the masters,” Solomon said.

Solomon was raised with many

powerful woman, and I was connected to this chant about her because I respect Pele in that way, and she’s my favorite goddess,” Solomon said.

Her aunt created the choreography for her kahiko set, but Solomon did manage to input some of her own taste. One of her role models outside of the hula world is Beyoncé, whom she admires for her dedication to the message of woman empowerment.

I knew that I had to bring my best effort and just really had to trust myself in the end.

- LEIOMĀLAMA TAMASESE SOLOMON

strong Hawaiian and Samoan women as role models. Because of the strong women influence in her family, it was only fitting that a part of her set, the oli for her kahiko, which was composed by her mother and then transcribed to Hawaiian by Kumu Hula Keala Ching, be in honor of a Hawaiian goddess who is the epitome of power, grace and beauty.

“Pele is a sacred, beautiful and

She chose to honor her by incorporating a move from one of her music videos, “Run the World.” “(Beyoncé) did a move in her music video with her shoulders shaking,” Solomon said. After watching it, she fell in love with it, and, with the help and guidance, incorporated it into her hula rolls “to represent the sizzling power of Pele.”

She wore a red pa‘u skirt, with

yellow pantaloons, as well as a yellow material under her skirt, so when she turned, it resembled fire and lava forms of Pele.

Solomon’s ‘auana set was in honor of her grandmother.

“Anyone that has spoken to my grandmother can see that she exudes grace,” she said. “She is so sweet, and right when you meet her you can feel her heart and see this glow around her. It’s so easy to be mean and get caught up in all this kaumaha (sadness), but she’s always positive and just always carries herself in that presence.”

The music for her set was four mele, or songs, that were composed by her great-great grandmother and famous Hawaiian composer Helen Desha Beamer. One song talks about a garden named Moanikeala up in Pi‘ihonua on the Big Island.

“In that garden, there were white flowers,” Solomon said, so I wanted to wear all white flowers as well, like ginger and gardenia.” She wore a light blue silk dress that favored the white flowers adorning her as leis.

PERFORMING IN MERRIE MO N A RC H During competitions, participants often stress out. Solomon said the moments before going on stage are key to controlling that stress.

“I do not think about anything else before going on stage, just pure positive energy,” Solomon said.

Going into the Merrie Monarch, Solomon knew that her competitors would be experienced.

“I knew that I had to bring my best effort and just really had to trust myself in the end,” she said.

Though Solomon did not place, she was proud to be a part of something that she loves. She put her best foot forward and is grateful to play a significant role in showing the world hula. For future Merrie Monarch competitors, Solomon did offer some advice.

“Know who you are and what you’re worth,” Solomon said. “Don’t change yourself for others, be you and do the best you can.”

comics@kaleo.org | Nicholas Smith Editor

Page 17 | Ka Leo | Wednesday, May 7 2014

Comics

Page 18 | Ka Leo | Wednesday, May 7 2014

advertising@kaleo.org | Gabrielle Pangilinan Student Ad Manager

Games Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Lewis

ACROSS 1 Takes out in an arcade, as bad guys 5 Longtime AFL president Gompers 11 Rank above cpl.

14 Spread unit 15 Really enjoys 16 Quattro meno uno 17 Chinese noodle dish 20 Clothes line 21 Antiquing agent 22 “A Farewell to __” 23 1995 Shania Twain album 27 Lincoln Town Cars, e.g.

30 Highest point 31 “Jeopardy!” name 32 Hanging around 37 Org. for Hawks but not Eagles 38 Whiskas alternative ... or, literally, what’s hidden in 17-, 23-, 47- and 57-Across 40 Pivotal 41 Commonly yellow blooms 43 Clothes line 44 Not quite closed 45 WWII fleet 47 Greeter of new homeowners 52 Missouri River tribe 53 “Dies __” 54 Deluge refuge 57 Will Schuester portrayer on “Glee” 62 Was tricked by a worm?

63 Pull into, as a motel 64 Late-night rival of Jimmy and Jimmy 65 Pavement warning 66 “__ here”: “Poltergeist” 67 Expel with force DOWN 1 “The Hangover” actor Galifianakis 2 Workout consequence 3 Schoolmarmish

4 “Hold on a __!”

5 Extended attacks 6 Good __: fully restored 7 Start to manage?

8 The Wildcats of the America East Conf.

9 1940s mil. zone 10 Cattle call 11 Back at sea 12 Fairy tale brother 13 High-strung 18 Lyricist Gus 19 Champion skier known as the “Herminator” 23 Strain 24 Seriously injures 25 Overture follower 26 “Breaking Bad” setting: Abbr.

27 Beach pailful 28 Where Napoleon was exiled 29 Like The Who’s Tommy 32 River through Tours 33 Head-rotating bird 34 Source of much dorm furniture 35 “Groovy!”

36 Fitness centers 38 Magic amulet 39 Mild cheese 42 Gem surface 43 George W., to George 45 Lorre’s “Casablanca” role 46 Certain Afrikaner 47 Areas for development 48 Cybercommerce 49 Numbers game 50 Not macho at all 51 Like a loud crowd 54 “By yesterday!” letters 55 Gad about 56 Had down cold 58 FDR successor 59 Biblical verb suffix 60 Misfortune 61 They may be checked at the door

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Page 19 | Ka Leo | Wednesday, May 7 2014

Opinions

Memorializing the Tiananmen Square massacre BRIAN C HEUNG Contributing Writer A memorial museum opened in Hong Kong on April 26, which memorializes the 1989 massacre at Tiananmen Square, where hundreds of students and civilians were killed by the military.

It is the first museum in the world dedicated to the failed Chinese democracy movement in 1989. Under the current unstable political system, the movement for democracy is threatened.

J U N E 4 M A S S AC R E In 1989, college students from Peking University (PKU) gathered at Tiananmen Square to protest against the corrupt government under a single-party Communist system. Students occupied the Capitol and spread demand for democratic reform.

The Communist government, the remaining authoritarian ruler in China, bans people from talking about the democracy movement and the massacre in public. A fter the sovereignty of Hong Kong was transferred from Britain to China, the remembrance of the June 4 Massacre was suppressed.

H O N G KO N G ʼS D E MO C R AC Y

The British colonial government ruled Hong Kong for over 150 years. In the 1980s, Communist China claimed Hong Kong’s sovereignty, and on July 1, 1997, the British government transferred

Hong Kong back to China.

Before this happened, the last British governor Christopher Patten started a political reform towards democracy. After the handover, the Chinese overthrew Patten’s reform.

The Chinese government issued the Basic Law with the “One Country, Two Systems” principle, which states Hong Kong should be an autonomous region and develop democratic systems which are run

China and Hong Kong? It serves as an excuse for PKU to support or block people who run for election.

A pro-democrat scholar from Hong Kong University is initiating a protest named “Occupy Central.”

He hopes to gather 10,000 people to protest in the Central District, an important business district, for the general elections of the 2017 chief executive and 2020 Legislative Council elections. Similar to

Pro-democrats want to compel Peking to give universal suffrage to Hong Kong people, but the organizers are still arguing the details of the protest.

BRIAN CHEUNG without the Chinese government’s interference. However, Hong Kong has not held the elections that they planned even to this day.

CONTROVERSY OF DEMOCRACY The Hong Kong government is also avoiding talks about the democracy movement in China.

CY Leung, the chief executive of Hong Kong, refused to reveal his opinions of the June 4 massacre even though he was originally against Beijing cracking down on student protests.

Tam Yiu-chung, the president of the party Democratic Alliance Party, said the chief executive must “love China and love Hong Kong” to perform well and meet the needs of his responsibilities. He said if the chief executive resists the Central Government, it would be harmful to China’s safety. H o w can anyone know if a person loves

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Occupy Wall Street, pro-democrats want to compel PKU to give universal suffrage to Hong Kong people, but the organizers are still arguing the details of the protest. Some doubt the protest will be effective, and both the PKU and Hong Kong governments announced that Occupy Central is an illegal activity, making people concerned that they will be repressed.

Today, Hong Kong’s democracy process is not only stagnant, but the democratic faction is also falling apart. Facing pressure from the Chinese government and the stronger pro-establish Camp, the democracy movement in Hong Kong is getting more and more difficult to succeed.

If no strong leaders come out and carry the pan-democratic responsibility, the democracy movement may fall in the not-sodistant future.

Aloha nui kākou e nā ‘ili‘ili leo hone mai Hawai‘i nui o Keawe a hiki aku i Ni‘ihau o Kahelelani. Ua nani wale kēia kau kula i ka loa‘a mai o kēia kolamu ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i iā kākou ma kēia nūpepa nei. Ua hiki aku kākou i ka hopena o kēia puke mua, a ua nani maoli nō nā hana a kākou. Ke makemake nei kēia hui ‘o Nā ‘Ili‘ili Leo Hone e mahalo piha aku iā ‘oukou a pau a i kā ‘oukou kāko‘o nui i kēia kolamu ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i. Iā ‘oukou nō e ola ai kēia kolamu, a iā kākou e ola ai ka ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i. No laila, he leo ho‘omaika‘i kēia iā kākou a pau! Akā, he nui aku nā mea e hana ai a e ho‘okō ai ma kēia alahele a nā kūpuna i hō‘ike ai iā kākou. E noke mau kākou i ka ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i!

E laulima kākou no ka pono o ka ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i i lohe ‘ia ka leo hone a ka ‘ili‘ili no nā hanauna e hiki mai ana. Mahalo i nā kānaka i leka uila mai me nā leka ho‘omaika‘i a me nā leka kāko‘o; he mea nui ia iā mākou a pau! Inā e makemake ‘oukou, e kākau mai i kekahi mau leka a ‘akikala paha i kēia kau wela, a e mālama ‘ia ana no ke kau kula hou e ho‘omaka ana i ke kau hā‘ule lau. A inā hoihoi ho‘i e komo mai a kōkua i ka ho‘opa‘a ‘ana i ke kahua o nā ‘ili‘ili leo hone, e leka uila mai. Mahalo a nui iā ‘oukou a pau!

To view a translation, visit kaleo.org/opinion/hch.

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Page 20 | Ka Leo | Wednesday, May 7 2014

Twitter @kaleosports | sports@kaleo.org | Joey Ramirez Editor | Hayley Musashi Associate

Sports

baseball Seniors prepare for final months THE LIFE OF THE TEAM

K EN R EYES Senior Staff Writer First baseman Marc Flores stumbled through his thoughts when asked about his senior class. He chuckled and scratched his head before blurting out the words: “I think we have a pretty fun senior class.”

Ironically, the embodiment of fun was standing a few steps to his right: shortstop Austin Wobrock with his baseball glove perched on top of his head giving an interview.

If you ask the seniors what makes this class so memorable, they would likely talk about character, work ethic and fun over all the athletic accomplishments they have achieved. And in that, savoring the last few weeks of the season also becomes clearer in focus.

Tyler Young.

SHANE GRACE KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

At the beginning of the season, head coach Mike Trapasso said that he was never a “big chemistry guy,” but he was quick to admit that the ‘Bows have a bond that’s hard to ignore.

“It’s good a group of young men, from a character standpoint, that I’ve been around in a long time,” he said.

“They have an understanding of how fortunate they are to be representing the University of Hawai‘i, and they’ve done it with class and pride.

up on each other and that we have each other’s backs.”

Most of these seniors have only been together since last season, which one would not assume when looking at their camaraderie.

Despite this dynamic within the group, the seniors still managed to stay “a pretty tight-knit family” as Young pointed out.

“It might have taken some time to build that trust, but we had fall

“I feel like I’m gonna be graduating with my brothers, and I’m so excited that I got to play the last two years with them.

– AUSTIN WOBROCK

Aside from work ethic, their sunny persona and closeness is what created an atmosphere that engaged them through adversity.

“The tightness that we have as a group does contribute to our optimism, but it also allows us to have more fun and to trust one another,” catcher Tyler Young said. “Even if things aren’t going our way, we can still joke around with each other and know that we’re not giving

Austin Wobrock.

MO R E T H A N T E A M M AT E S

ball to work with each other, play with each other and just understand how one another works,” he said. “I think fall ball was enough for us to understand how we play.”

While it took time to adjust to each other’s company, adjusting to one another rarely became a stumbling block in the bond they have established as teammates.

“Even though we’ve only been together for two years, we’ve built some good relationships,” pitcher Scott Kuzminsky said. “We know every-

SHANE GRACE KA LEO O HAWAI‘I

body’s got each other’s back. It’s fun to go out there and know that they got your back and you have theirs.”

“We’re so close this year,” said Wobrock, who transferred from Orange Coast College last season.

“I feel like I’m gonna be graduating with my brothers, and I’m so excited that I got to play the last two years with them.”

M E MO R I E S T O M I S S As the season dwindles down to its last three weeks, the senior class has six more home games and three on the road to breathe in the remnants of their fi nal year.

“I’ll definitely miss the fans, the atmosphere and just going out every day and being able to play the game that I love,” Kuzminsky said. “I’ll just remember playing here at the

Les (Murakami Stadium) in front of these great fans and enjoying my last couple of weeks here.”

Putting aside all levity, they also reflected on the heavier things — the lessons they will carry with them beyond their Rainbow Warrior tenure.

“Throughout my career as a Warrior, and even throughout baseball as a whole, you’re faced with adversity every day, and even every day on the field you learn something about yourself,” Young said. “You learn that even if you do have a bad day, you’ll have another day. It’s not the end of the world or anything like that.”

“Baseball, ultimately in the end, teaches you life lessons about how to handle adversity, how to handle yourself and just move on with life.”

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