Ke Alaka'i - Feb. 5, 2016

F e b r u a r y 4 , 2 016 路 Vo l u m e 113 : I s s u e 9

THE LEAD ER

3D ISSUE glasses inside

Page 8-9

Page 10-11

Page 18-19

Ibuki Kishi finds talent in

Veteran fire knife

Ono grindz

balloon twisting

dancer of 28 years

on the North Shore

February 4, 2016 • Volume 113: Issue 9 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ADVISOR

E m i ly H a lls

Le e A n n Lambe r t

MULTIMEDIA

COPY EDITORS

JOURNALISTS

Jare d R o be r ts

Rachel Reed

A ly ssa T royan e k

Matthew Roberts

Samo n e Yu e n

Eric Hachenberger

Kevin Brown

Leiani Brown Megan Church

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Alex Maldonado

Ke lsie C arlso n

Alyssa Olsen

Lexie Kap e lie la

Taylor Polson

A u stin En ge man n

Danna Osumo

Sto p K h e mth o r n

Michael Morton INTERNS VIDEOGRAPHERS

Samo n e Yu e n

C a m ro n S t o c k f o rd

He cto r Pe r iqu in

Jo s h u a M a s o n D o ro t hy C h iu

ART & GRAPHICS A n dre a Marsh all

ART DIRECTOR

Macke n zie McLe o d

H e c t o r Pe r i q uin

Yu k imi K ish i

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ON THE COVER: A sign hangs on a wall in the marketplace around Shark’s Cove in Pupukea.

Photo by Stop Khemthorn

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KE ALAKA I

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ABOUT US The Ke Alaka‘i began publishing the first year the university was started and has continued printing for 60 years. The name in Hawaiian means “the leader.” It began as a monthly newsletter, evolved into a weekly newspaper and is now a weekly news magazine along with a website,YouTube channel, Facebook page, Twitter and Instagram.

Today a staff of more than 30 students works to provide information for the campus ohana and community.

TABLE OF

CONTENTS

FOLLOW US AROUND THE WEB Facebook: KE ALAKA’I

4

The Zika virus epidemic has been named a public health emergency by the World Health Organization

5

The summer palace of King Kamehameha III is now a hiking attraction

6-7

Maui local, Bubba Au, shares his story of education near and far

8-9

Meet the balloon artist from Japan: Ibuki Kishi

10-11

Fireknife veteran, Kap Tafiti, spreads the Samoan culture to tourists and BYUH Samoan students alike

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Pidgin is an official language of Hawaii as of November

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The Iosepa is a traditional Voyaging canoe parked at PCC

14-15

Surfing legend Eddie Aikau has become a symbol of Hawaii

16-17

BYUH Professor tells how medicinal remedies can be found in everyday Hawaiian plants

18-19

Food trucks dot the North Shore, bringing tacos and sandwiches to Shark’s Cove

Website: KEALAKAI.BYUH.EDU

YouTube: KE ALAKA’I NEWS

20 Instagram: @KEALAKAINEWS

BYUH dance classes performed “Dancing through life,” dancing various numbers to represent different emotions

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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Zika virus alert raised worldwide Virus is causing birth complications throughout Central and South America B Y MEG A N CHU R C H

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he Zika virus, a mosquito-transmitted virus active throughout parts of South and Central America, has been reported to cause pregnancy and birth complications, according to the World Health Organization.

The Aedes mosquitos responsible for transmitting the Zika virus are the same mosquitos that transmit diseases like dengue and chikungunya viruses, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention on its website. The Zika virus has not been actively transmitted in the United States but has been found in travelers returning from Zika-infected areas, most especially Brazil, reports the BBC.

Hospitalization and death are uncommon with the Zika virus, which has symptoms similar to the flu and last up to a week, reports the CDC, and there are no vaccines or medications available to combat the Zika virus. The CDC reports women with the virus who are pregnant have a low chance of passing the virus onto their children, however other problems have been found regarding the Zika virus and pregnancy.

Microcephaly is a major birth defect scientist are seeing strong ties to the Zika virus, according to the WHO and CDC. Babies with Boys ride a scooter through the streets of Recife, Brazil, which is reportedly the center of the outbreak in the country.

The Zika virus outbreak is most intense in South and Central America with the most cases being reported in Brazil.

Photo by AP

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microcephaly are born with an abnormally small head, usually due to an underdeveloped brain. Brazil, one of the places hit hardest with the Zika virus, has seen approximately 4,000 cases of microcephaly since October, according to BBC.

On Feb. 1, WHO Director General, Margaret Chan, declared the Zika virus “a public health emergency of international concern.” The WHO is putting the Zika virus in the same category as Ebola due to its rate of transmission and damages to newborn babies.

The WHO has estimated the Zika virus could infect up to 4 million people by the end of 2016. This might be an overestimate, as the link between microcephaly and the Zika virus has yet to be scientifically proven. The WHO felt the danger of waiting too long to take drastic steps regarding the Zika virus was great.

Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of Wellcome Trust, an independent, international charity that aims to improve global health, said, “There is a long road ahead. As with Ebola, Zika has once again exposed the world’s vulnerability to emerging infectious diseases and the devastation they can unleash. Alongside the emergency response that Zika necessitates, we must put in place the permanent reforms, health systems strengthening and proactive research agenda that are needed to make the global health system more resilient to the threat of future pandemics.”

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, praised The WHO’s decision to take a hard stance on the Zika virus because it’s the “official global sounding bell that governments and others need to start to really paying attention to this.”

The WHO has declared a disease a public health emergency of public concern only three times prior to the Zika virus. The first was in 2009 during the outbreak of H1N1 influenza, the second was in the late Spring of 2014 when polio was found in parts of the Middle East, and in the late Summer of 2014 when Ebola in West Africa was spreading quickly and dangerously.

Old Pali Road hike leads to royal site King Kamehameha’s III former summer palace is short historic hike B Y R ACHEL REED

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ff the Old Pali Highway and a 10-minute walk through a bamboo forest and trees lies the Kaniakapupu ruins, or known also as King Kamehameha III’s summer palace. With crumbling remains of four standing walls, the original doorway stands at the end of a stone pathway. It stands open, inviting any wanderer to come in and imagine what happened over 100 years ago.

In front of the ruins is a plaque that informs the casual visitor of the site. It informs them: “Completed in 1845, it was the scene of entertainment of foreign celebrities and the feasting of chiefs and commoners. The greatest of these occasions was a luau attended by an estimated ten thousand people celebrating Hawaiian Restoration Day in 1847.”

Visitors who come said they experience the feeling of mana that remains at the site. “I liked how secluded it was,” said Vicki Hext, a senior studying hospitality and tourism management from Arizona who visited the ruins. “It was quiet. There was a reverent feeling to it.”

Near the plaque may be offerings to the sacred site, ranging from food to leis that are placed in front or on top of the plaque or rocks in the site. Though it is not enforced, respect for this site is encouraged and expected. Visitors should leave rocks where they lay, not vandalize, and be careful not to climb onto the walls.

Not popular, this site sits in silence, occasionally visited by tourists who found a blog that wrote about visiting the ruins. McKenna Kummer, an undeclared freshman from Colorado, learned about the site from a friend. Having hiked Manoa Falls the same day, she said her friend mentioned the ruins was on the way home. “We stopped as a side trip,” said Kummer.

Finding out about the luau held there in 1847, Kummer said after she visited the site, “I work at the PCC at the luau. It was fun to imagine the same thing [that happens at my work] happening in more of a historical setting.”

To get to the hike, visitors have to get onto the old Pali Highway from the current Pali Highway. Driving they will reach a tunnel of trees and will have to park at the western opening of the tunnel. Walking down the road, there will be walls of leaves and a view of the mountains before there is a large opening in the road leading to the trail.

Visitors need to go down the trail, climbing over a tree and take the first left (in the bamboo forest) that they come across.

They will then have to walk for a few more minutes before they come to the clearing where the ruins are.

Talking about the hike, Hext said she visited the ruins when it was raining. “It was super muddy but not hard,” she said.

Previous hikers, such as Kummer and Hext, suggest for future hikers to bring a camera, bug spray, and shoes they do not mind getting dirty. Hext also suggested visitors bring a picnic lunch if they wanted to stay longer.

“I highly recommend stopping by and going to see it,” said Kummer. “I wouldn’t do it as your main day hike, but as a side hike.

It’s worth it if you do.”

The original doorway of King Kamehameha III’s summer palace remains standing today.

Photo by Kelsie Carlson FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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BUBBA AU draws strength from stalwart parents, Hawaiian roots and political science education B Y L EI A NI BRO WN

Alumni Bubba Au, a recent political science graduate and only child from Maui, said his parents taught him to be “stubborn in a good way.”

“Sometimes you gotta put your foot down for what you believe is right in spite of what others may say,” said Au of his parents’ teachings growing up. Just a little over half Hawaiian, he also listed Chinese, French, German, and Portuguese as part of his conglomerate cultural heritage.

Au attended the same high school his parents did—Kamehameha Schools—a private school designed to foster a greater knowledge among native Hawaiian students of their Hawaiian ancestry.

“Everyone there was Hawaiian in some form. If you were to ask you'd say, ‘Well, they don't look Hawaiian,’ but they were,” said Au. “I've come to associate Hawaii with the gospel. Even though we don't look the same, act the same, talk the same, in spite of that, we’re still the same.

We’re still one people regardless of all the eccentricities history has impressed upon time. In spite of all the identities we take upon ourselves, we are still one in some form.”

His last two years at Kamehameha Schools set in motion a love for film and editing, because he chose the Arts and Communications Academy at the school as his emphasis. Currently, Au interns at BYU-Hawaii’s Media Production Services, where he worked during the majority of his university schooling.

Through his time working there, Au said he has filmed devotionals, live broadcasts, Seasider basketball games, been tackled by basketball players in the process, and learned how to handle complicated, expensive equipment.

“I enjoy it because it helps you understand how constructed our world is,” said Au. “Everything we see comes from a perspective, all sorts of different things. There's always a specific point of view. And in political science, too. I learned in my major that a lot of things are artificially constructed.”

Troy Smith, professor of Political Science, and one of Au’s teachers, said upon meeting Au, he thought he was shy, but through more interaction discovered him to be intelligent and very thoughtful. “I admired his intelligence, his steadiness. Bubba is someone you can rely on. He’s quiet, he doesn’t need a lot of attention, but you give him an After finishing his BYUH Media Service internship, BYU-Hawaii alumnus Bubba Au said he plans to attend graduate school to further his education. Photo

by Emily Halls.

assignment, and he takes care of it,” Smith stated. “Get to know him. He is a great guy.”

Political science was a choice, Au said, highly motivated by its lack of mathematical curriculum—or at least that was his reasoning behind the initial decision. But after reading, taking the classes, and having the opportunity to spend a week in Washington, D.C., he came to understand that it’s “complicated to try and understand humanity.”

Au said he found life in D.C. to be a very fast-paced, different way of life, and enjoyed being able to interact with legislators and political science students from other BYU schools. “Politics in general is difficult to understand because there are so many things going on,” said Au. “At its most basic level, it deals with the concerns and needs of people, and when you have a country with over 300 million people, it’s difficult to satisfy everyone.”

Going to D.C. was one opportunity BYUH offered him, but another was a 3-month trip teaching English in Thailand. “I learned I can’t be quick to judge a situation or circumstance,” said Au, who described living with a family in a small village with dirt roads, in a house that wasn’t fully constructed and sleeping with bed nets, using squat toilets and water that, despite being drinkable, appeared slightly yellowish.

“Despite all those difficulties, they had satellite TV, a fridge, a government health clinic just down the road, and basic Wi-Fi that you had to huddle close to for it to work. In spite of all these difficulties, they lived happy lives. It made me feel more grateful for what I have, having been born in a first-world country. I learned that I can tolerate a lot more than I thought I could.”

Au had difficulties of his own and admitted the past decade has been the hardest 10 years of his life. “A month and a half before graduating high school, my mother suffered a stroke,” said Au. “And this is my mother, my mother who is knowledgeable and faithful –so to see her slowly degrade over the years has been very sad.”

Both of Au’s parents are living in care facilities back in Maui.

His father is a retired veteran. Au joked about how his parents, despite always teaching him to be a good person, also taught him through example what not to do. He said he learned to “magnify the best in them, but stay away from the bad parts.”

“In whatever difficulties I’ve encountered in my life,” he continued, “they have always shown me the deepest devotion and love, and I'll always appreciate them for that, as much as any child would hope to.”

Au said his parents transferring him to Kamehameha Schools in 3rd grade, was their way of teaching him appreciation for his culture.

“It helped to establish the lineage I come from,” said Au. “It’s a very special culture. I come from a culture that explored the Pacific Ocean. It was the world’s largest expanse of ocean, and they explored it.

I hail from that culture. They were highly intelligent in what they were capable of. They used advanced astrological navigation in their sea voyaging and constructed great works of architecture.”

Au said he looks to the future, hoping to attend graduate school in the mainland but said it can sometimes be daunting to think about. “It has been difficult and it continues to be difficult,” said Au, “because it’s getting out of the house and trying to figure out what kind of person you are, and realizing you got a long way to go. And every day is different. But in spite of all this, I can still be content.”

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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Ibuki Kishi Balloon Artist Extraordinaire Japanese student serves as local entertainer with his lifetime of performing experience B Y A LEX MA LDONAD O

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buki Kishi is a master in the art of balloon twisting, and that’s just the tip of his talent iceberg.

Kishi has practiced magic, juggling, and countless other performing trades throughout his life growing up in Kumamoto, Japan.

“I grew up with a big family [of 10 children] and was surrounded by a lot of unique talents. Since I was little, I loved to entertain people. I learned how to juggle from my younger brother and learned magic from my elder brother,” Kishi said.

While he was serving in the Japan Nagoya Mission, Kishi met Masashi Yahagi, a street performer who Kishi regarded as “the best balloon artist in all of Japan.”

Yahagi was serving as the branch president in Kishi’s final area of Ise, Japan, where he taught Kishi the basics of balloon bending.

After completing his mission and returning home, Kishi returned to his mission area to live with and train under Yahagi for another two weeks. Then he went home to stay, continuing to refine his abilities on his own.

Initially, Kishi said he would practice several times a week for up to three hours a day.

Over time, he polished his skills to the point where now he only needs to practice when he is learning how to perfect a new design.

Kishi’s wife,Yukimi, said, “I’m impressed with how diligent he is at improving his skills. He doesn’t [look at it like] he is practicing. He sees it as just having fun.”

Kishi said, “I can create almost anything. I can make little things like poodles, doggies, teddy bears, and flowers. If I spend a little more time, I can make [bigger things like] rainbow hats, Super Mario, the Pink Panther, or anything.”

The most complex piece Kishi makes is a green Chinese dragon with blazing red eyes and yellow spines down its back. It measures in at nearly 8 feet long.

Upon request, he can even make large balloon archways that can take about an hour and well over 200 balloons to create.

When Kishi first moved to Hawaii in early 2014, he started advertising his abilities on Facebook and would contact people to see if they would like him to make an appearance at their parties.

“The first time I was asked to go to a party to create balloons for children was a few months after I had moved to Hawaii. I wasn’t used to speaking English or using it as part of my act, so if I talked with an adult they could understand, but the children could not,” said Kishi. “I couldn’t talk but I could still communicate with them when I made them a doggie or a sword. They would give me a big smile and were so happy. Even though we couldn’t have a conversation by talking, I could still feel they were happy.”

One of Kishi’s top priorities for the future is to improve his English to the point where he can entertain with the comfort of knowing his audience understands him perfectly.

After he graduates with his accounting degree next year, Kishi and his wife plan to move back to his hometown in Japan where he hopes to work in an office at Kyushu Denryoku Power Company. He hopes to use his talents as an entertainer as often as possible and eventually pass them on to his children.

To see a catalog of what Kishi is capable of or to book him for a party or event, visit his website at http://ibukiballoon.blogspot.com/

Ibuki Kishi uses a skill learned from a branch president on his mission to create a bear hugging a palm tree. Photo by Hector Periquin FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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KAP TE’O TAFITI

Keeping the cultural flame alive

BY A LYS S A O L S E N

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fter 28 years of fireknife dancing at the Polynesian Cultural Center, Kap Te’o Tafiti has been building a legacy far deeper than a performing art.Young people are captivated by the fireknife dance, Tafiti said, but “fireknife dancing draws them into their culture to learn who they are.”

Wally Sopi Seupule, a sophomore from Samoa studying business, has worked with Tafiti in the Samoan Village at the PCC for two years. Tafiti has been a mentor to him, he said, expanding his knowledge of fireknife dancing and Samoan culture. “I have learned some things of my culture that are dying today that I never knew before from Kap,” Seupule said. “There’s so much in him that is making the Samoan Village still alive and preserved like how it was back in the days.”

Samoan students who come to BYU-Hawaii can gain a deeper knowledge of their culture from the PCC. Tafiti said he had the advantage of growing up with elders in his village and learned the culture directly from them. “I was Samoan, the Samoan of Samoans. The knowledge

Kap Te’o Tafiti

gained from our ancestors can never truly be learned from a book. It is learned by listening, watching and doing over and over with the guidance of an older family member. That’s where our deepest understanding of who we are and where we come from and why we do the things we do occur,” said Tafiti.

After his first introduction to fireknife dancing at 8 years old by his older brother, Ah Chew Tafiti, he said it was second nature to him.

“I was the kind of kid who learned really fast,” Tafiti said. “That was a talent God gave me. I wasn’t ever good at school. I want to be out here and see things and learn,” he said.

What sets Tafiti apart as a performer is his personality. In Samoa, when people came to visit, his family would tell him, “‘Get up and dance.’ I always would when the other kids were too shy,” said Tafiti.

Tafiti came to BYUH in 1987 from Apia in Western Samoa.

“I’m forever grateful for the prompting to come to BYUH and the PCC. I

Kap Tafiti said his deep cultural knowledge was passed down from his ancestors. He has worked at the Polynesian Cultural Center for 28 years. Photo courtesy of Kap Tafiti

know that this is where I could share my culture and utilize all my talents from our Father in Heaven to be a positive influence to many. This was my first job. It was like coming home.” While at the PCC, Tafiti discovered he loved fireknife dancing more than all the other activities in which he was involved. “I really started to take it seriously at the end of my schooling. I really wanted to take it to the next level.” So he put in the practice, hard work and dedication of learning such an intense art.

Being a well-known and established fireknife performer, Tafiti said, “I take my work very seriously. I know that when people are watching me entertain them, they are not just seeing me or my family. They are seeing all Samoans, all Polynesians or all Mormons. People know what we stand for as members, and they know what we stand for as Polynesians. I am always aware that I’m representing more than myself.”

Tafiti considers himself to be an “edutainer,” a word to describe what he does: both educate and entertain simultaneously. He said because he lives and has a deep knowledge of Samoan culture, he is at ease speaking or teaching anyone. “I truly am grateful for the many compliments, but I know the history and purpose of the PCC.” In the 1960s Tafiti’s father in law, Matte Te’o, came to Hawaii as a missionary to assist building a school that would help to educate thousands of Pacific Islanders. “He and all the other labor missionaries selflessly gave their time and talents to leave a legacy that I directly benefited from, graduating from BYUH with a degree in Fine Arts,” Tafiti said.

In his fireknife dancing, as in his shows, the authenticity of his presentation is what sets Tafiti apart. “It’s only 50 percent performance,” Tafiti said. “If you want to do something warrior-like, be a warrior.” Tafiti continued, “I think all Samoan boys are fascinated by the siva afi [or fireknife dance]. It is at once beautiful, powerful and exciting to see.”

There is an element of fear that needs to be overcome in order to perform the fireknife dance, he said. The fireknives are made of actual metal machete blades that are cut to represent traditional Samoan weapons of war. These blades are then fitted with flammable material, soaked in gas and set ablaze. “The heat is intense and the metal is searing hot–just a slight graze from the blade will both cut and burn you at the same time,” he said. “As with other Polynesian cultures, every dance has a symbolic meaning. The siva afi depicts the fearless spirit of a warrior.”

After decades of fireknife dancing, Tafiti has endured thousands of injuries characteristic of a career so physically demanding and dangerous. “What they don’t see is the toxic gasoline fume inhalation and the effects like losing your voice from fire-breathing.”

Behind the scenes, it’s all in the balance, Tafiti said. Now at age 48, Tafiti has utilized his Fine Arts degree as a devoted painter as well.

“The paintings I am working on now,” he said, “are called Legacy, and it’s a tribute to early Polynesian seafarers, the labor missionaries and all students who have benefitted from the PCC and BYUH. Our ancestors traveled by canoe and left a legacy of strength and perseverance. The labor missionaries left a legacy of faith and selflessness and the students who have come here to be educated are spreading their legacy throughout the world. We all leave a legacy. Whether it be of light or not is up to us. I hope that the legacy that I leave will burn bright and benefit many for good.”

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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The Language of the Island Pidgin has been recognized as an official language in the U.S. B Y RACHEL REE D

MiKayla Kloeppel said she speaks Pidgin and is glad it was declared an offical language in Hawaii in November. Photo by Hector Periquin

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idgin has been an official language of Hawaii since November 2015, reports Hawaii News Now. The U.S. Census Bureau released a list of languages that were recognized in the islands of Hawaii, and Pidgin was among them. The data was collected from 2009-2013 in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Maui counties, and residents said Pidgin was found to be the first language spoken at home, according to Hawaii News Now.

“I’m glad it’s an official language, personally,” said MiKayla Kloeppel, a junior from Laie studying graphic design, “because in the language itself there is history.”

The language was born in the plantation fields as people from all over the world came together to work, reported Hawaii News Now. Their language changed and incorporated Hawaiian, Japanese, English, and more. “In order to communicate with each other, they shared different words, which is what led to Pidgin being created,” said Kloeppel.

“It’s a good thing for the locals,” said Phillips Ieremia, a small business owner who grew up in Hauula and now lives in Laie. “There’s a lot of youth and that’s part of their culture, and having it be an accepted language is good for them.” Ieremia added how it was good for the youth to learn more about their culture and all the different cultures together. “Pidgin is part of the history here.”

Kloeppel said she uses it often, talking to family, friends, and coworkers in Pidgin. “It’s part of who I am.” Kloeppel also said she loves hearing Pidgin.

Pidgin often sounds like slang or bad English to visitors or tourists. Kloeppel experienced this, growing up speaking Pidgin and moving to Utah for a couple years when she was in elementary school.

She “did speech therapy because I had Pidgin words...they had to correct me because I didn’t have proper English.” When she came back to Hawaii, she spoke Pidgin again.

The opposite thing happens to those who moved to Hawaii, such as Scott Muhlestein, a sophomore from Utah studying English.

Going to Kahuku High School, he was surprised how often it was used.

“In Kahuku, there are people who can speak Pidgin, but then they turn their Pidgin off and speak more proper English. It was interesting to see depending on who they were talking to,” said Muhlestein.

Pidgin is spoken in various ways depending on where people live. “Pretty much everyone speaks normal English or tries to,” said Ieremia, who said Pidgin was more widely and strongly spoken in the ‘70s than it is today. “It’s like a bygone era that passed, and we lost some of it.”

Pidgin is not only spoken at home, but it has also been printed. The Bible has been translated into Pidgin, called “Da Jesus Book.” For Dr. Mark Wolfersberger, the dean of BYUH’s College of Human Development and who teaches English as a second language, his favorite Pidgin saying comes from “Da Jesus Book” when it talks about the 10 virgins it says the “wahine who tink” and the “wahine who don’t tink.”

Some Pidgin phrases are:

“Sole you gotz da kine,” means “Bro, do you have the thing?”

“Nah no worryz brah. Its all good!” means “Don’t worry.”

“Brah you’re so irritz!” means “you’re so annoying.”

“Choke,” means “a lot, very.”

“Ono kine grindz,” means “delicious food.”

The legacy of the Iosepa History and culture of canoe create connections among students B Y DA NNA O S U M O

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ade from all wood, the 57-foot Iosepa canoe lays stored at the Hawaiian Village in the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is used as a sailing classroom for students and brought out to the ocean every two years, according to PCC’s website.

It was stated that the Iosepa was originally carved and launched in Laie, Hawaii in 2001 as part of BYU-Hawaii’s Hawaiian Studies program. The goal as for students to learn how to sail and live as the ancient Hawaiians did.

“This makes it so significant,” said Jim Ng, a senior business management major from the Philippines. “The fact that it was made as a way for them to relive the past, pass on their culture, traditions and teachings to the youth is amazing.”

Ng explained that part of the pride of the Iosepa was that the Hawaiians were really good navigators. “They used the currents, winds, and the stars as a compass,” he shared. “I always feel like there is so much to their culture, and I feel that connection with them especially since I am from Asia, in an island too. This makes me respect and enjoy their culture,” Ng continued.

For Eegii Tsagaankhuu, a senior from Mongolia majoring in human resources, the Iosepa helped her feel the Aloha Spirit. “I love the word ‘aloha’ because ‘Alo’ means share and ‘Ha’ means breath of life. I

think the Iosepa symbolizes that because it shares the Polynesian voyaging story with the rest of the world.”

With her experience as a tour guide in the PCC, Tsagaankhuu learned the aspects of the Iosepa that stayed true to Hawaiian traditions.

She explained the canoe is constructed with twin-hulls where one hull is for males and the other for females, which is a Hawaiian tradition. “This structure shows how we need both the male and female to work together to survive in the ocean and go the distance. I think about my family and how we need everyone in each family. The focus on families is my favorite part of the Hawaiian culture,” continued Tsagaankhuu.

The name Iosepa which means “Joseph” in the Hawaiian language was meaningful to the Hawaiian LDS members because according to LDS news, “the name has special significance Joseph F. Smith, sixth president of the Church and one of the early missionaries in the island.”

Because of this, Rachel Chambers, a freshman general education major from Utah, feels the love the church has for Hawaii. “President Joseph F. Smith was such an important part of BYUH and Hawaii with all that he had done for the people here. With the Iosepa, it shows how we are prepared for our own voyages in life. And that all President Joseph F. Smith’s dreams and aspirations for this place can come true. I feel great to be a part of that.”

Rika Ni, a psychology freshman from Japan and a tour guide at the PCC, explained the Iosepa is hand-carved out of dakua wood transported from Fiji and involved community members in the canoe-building process. “It goes out to the ocean every two years and many people continue to support the voyages. It is amazing how it connects BYU-Hawaii, the PCC, and the entire Hawaiian community,” she said.

The Iosepa was showcased to the public at the PCC on June 28, 2008. According to PCC’s website, there is a presentation twice a day where visitors learn about how a celestial navigation compass is used, how the canoe is prepared, and the activities the crew will perform during an ocean voyage.

The Iosepa canoe is housed at the Polynesian Cultural Center but is sailed by faculty and students at BYU-Hawaii. It is planned to go for an ocean voyage during the Spring 2016 Semester Photo by Stop Khemthron

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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E D D I E A I K AU B Y E RI C H ACH E N B E RGE R

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Family man, courageous surfer, relentless lifeguard and selfless crewman

he life, death and legacy of Eddie Aikau includes his dedication to family life, humble lifesaving and fearless surfing. It has left an everlasting impact on the Hawaiian community and the BYU-Hawaii ohana.

A canoe capsized leaving a crew hanging on during a stormy cold night. Launched flares went unnoticed. With no sign of help or improvement, Aikau, the experienced and fearless lifeguard he was, knew what he needed to do. With confidence, he took off on a surfboard to paddle 12 to 15 miles to the nearest island for help.

Aikau, born in 1946, grew up in a time of racial tension in Hawaii, as depicted in the movie, “Hawaiian – The Legend of Eddie Aikau.” At that time, locals were not welcomed near the new tourist hotels and Hawaiian culture was in a deep depression.

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Nonetheless Aikau grew up in a warm environment. “His family was LDS,” said Isaiah Walker, professor of History. “His father was raised in the church and most of the Aikau family are members. But his mom was Catholic so his dad had him go to church with [her]. Still, because of the LDS influence, they had very tight family bonds.”

Seeking his place in a changing world, he was drawn to surfing early in his life. The ocean was where the Hawaiian culture could still survive. The Waimea waves could give Aikau the chance he was looking for. Soon he was known as the fearless Hawaiian, dropping with his red gunner board into 30-to-40-foot waves.

“He respected and learned about the ocean,” said Tey Hali’ilani Wilson from Laie, who is working for the Science Department.

“That gave him all this passion and the love for this place. It is scary those waves he caught, but he was natural at it.You could just tell.”

A local acquaintance of Aikau recounted in the movie, ”I got out of school, caught the bus up and I was rounding that corner on the top there [at Waimea] just in time to see Eddie take off on a 40-foot wave, freefalling about 20 feet down and having the worst wipe out I have ever seen.”

Walker said, “Eddie’s life goal was to win the surf competition The Duke’s Invitational.” In 1973, he and his younger brother, Clyde, were in the competition together. When Clyde ended up winning, Aikau’s great personality showed. “He graciously congratulated his brother and bragged about how awesome it was that he had won,” added Walker.

Now the Eddie Aikau Big Wave Invitational is held in his honor only when the winter waves at Waimea Bay are over 20-feet high and was last held in 2009.

Despite his rising fame, he was of a humble and loving character. “He is most known,” said Walker, “for his record in saving people from drowning. He would save more than anybody else–over 1,000 people. But they said every time he would drag somebody out of the water, he would just quietly walk away. He wouldn’t talk much. It was his persona....There are many stories of people going up to him, trying to thank him, and he would just say, ‘No problem.’” It is said he would save people during swells when nobody else would go out there.

Left: Eddie Aikua was 31 when he was lost at sea after leaving the capsized Hōkūlē‘a to seek help. Photo by David Bettencourt,courtesy of http://www.eddieaikaufoundation.org/

the safety of others. He motivated me to do my

In all of Aikau’s dedication to life, best and sacrifice myself for my crew because I culture and family, he still faced great challenges. “One of the hardest things that he faced love them.”

The crew was eventually rescued later in his life is his brother dying in a car accident.

Actually at Pounders Beach, right at that corner. that day, but Aikau was missing.

Afterwards, a local newspaper quoted And you could tell how much his family meant Eddie’s brother Clyde, saying, “We want to to him, because when he lost his brother, it plunged him into a deep depression. He would check all the islands even if there is only an outside chance. We want to be able to sleep go out to the cemetery, where the brother was knowing we’ve done everything. Every rock, buried, and he would sleep on his grave. It was beach and cave has to be checked.” Despite the pretty dramatic and a low point in his life.”

Then at the age of 31, an opportunity greatest and most extensive land, air and sea arose for Aikau that he could never turn down. search, Eddie was never found again.

His mortal life might have been lost, In 1978, the Polynesian Voyaging Society was but his legacy spread far beyond his short but seeking volunteers for a 30-day, 2,500-mile (4,000 km) journey to follow the ancient route full 31 years.

“Interestingly, ultimately he rescued of the Polynesian migration between the Hawai- the canoe and Hawaiian culture,” said Walker. ian and Tahitian island chains. Aikau joined the “Because after his loss and passing, it garnishes voyage as a crew member.

Walker said, “His cultural connection a lot of support from the community. They see that because the canoe is so valuable to him, it to his Hawaiian history was through the ocean. has to be valuable to us. They paid money to He went to surfing to being a lifeguard, and fix the canoe,” remembered Walker. “Because then when the Hōkūle‘a was built, every part of that incident the Hōkūle‘a has a much of him wanted to be part of that project.” larger movement after his loss. The Hōkūle‘a

On March 16, 1978, the Hōkūle‘a left the port in Honolulu to start a journey that is currently sailing from South Africa to Brazil and is spreading Hawaiian culture throughout would change Aikau, his family and the culture the world. They still recognize his presence on he and the canoe represented forever. the canoe on this voyage. He is still spreading

A leak developed in one of the hulls within the first five hours of the voyage. The ca- the Aloha Spirit through the stories they share noe capsized 12 miles out from Molokai Island. about him.”

The image and memory of Aikau has Without success, the crew was trying to call out in many ways been deified. Walker added that for rescue. The emergency radio reached no in some ways he was a comparison to Christ. one to help. The launched flares went unnoticed by passing aircraft. For the rest of that day “That is very traditional in Hawaiian culture.”

In ancient Hawaiian culture, most of the gods and the following night, the crew clung to the were humans at one point then elevated to swamped ship. a godlike status because of their outstanding

Getting sucked out farther and farcharacter and morals. “I think we have done the ther by the tides and currents, Aikau made same thing with Eddie,” he said. a decision representative of his character. By

The story of Aikau was more than midmorning the second day with faith in himself and the ocean, he left on a surfboard to just a story of sacrifice. “When you think about what the canoe represented,” said Walker, “the paddle back to shore in an attempt to get help canoe itself was the vehicle for bringing Hawaifor his crew. ian culture back of its obscurity to a new era of

“One of the things that stood out renaissance. The canoe sinking was, in Eddie’s to me,” said Kawika Wise, a sophomore from mind, I think, a metaphor of his culture dying.”

Kapolei, majoring in Hawaiian Studies, “was

He added the fact Aikau would give this last act that he did: Leaving to go and try to save his crew on the Hōkūle‘a. I also had the his life to save the people, the canoe, and the culture and that he was never found, adds to the opportunity to sail on the Iosepa and hopefully deification. It’s “like Moses walking off into the this upcoming semester I get the opportunity mountain never seeing him again,” Walker said. to go again. Just knowing his story, willing to “Most people realize that he is gone, though sacrifice himself for others, that helped me. some like to think maybe he just paddled into When you are on the canoe, everything you do the eternity.” has a big impact on how the canoe is run and

Plants around Laie can be used for their

ALAKAPhoto I

by Lexie Kapeliela.

16 healingKEpowers.

STUDENT

GUIDE to

Hawaiian Medicinal

Plants

BY A LY S S A O L S E N

Natural medicines

can be some of the most useful and convenient, according to Professor Keoki Baclayon. With Hawaii’s endless varieties of plants, an all-natural cleanse, natural band-aid, headache cure, or even remedy for diabetes may be right beside your beach towel. The key is recognizing them and knowing their uses. Baclayon teaches Plants for Medicinal Use at BYU-Hawaii. Baclayon shared his top four most useful medicinal plants for BYUH students.

First, he explained the basics of medicinal application. He said there are two ways to utilize the plants: topically and internally. By adding water, Baclayon said, it helps our bodies to “really benefit from the medicinal properties of the plant much quicker.” For each, you simply “combine the plant in a blender with one cup of water and strain the excess plant material to drink it.” Baclayon said each mixture should be taken three to four times a day.

Nioi The chili pepper

Practically a “cure all” in Hawaiian remedies, Baclayon said it’s especially helpful for students. It can ease headaches, the flu and specifically increases circulation and oxygenation. “Students really need their minds to be at their optimum. Oxygen to the brain allows this.” Baclayon said any hot pepper will work with the steps above.

Pohuehue The raw band-aid

Also known as the Beach Morning Glory, this leafy, vined plant is growing on nearly every beach surrounding campus. The closest places to gather leaves are Temple Beach and Hukilau Beach.

The pohuehue plant can be used for cuts, broken bones, strains, and sprains as well as a natural digestive agent. For topical use, Baclayon said, “In the traditional fashion, you just take the meat (of the leaf) and chew it, and then you put it on any cuts you have. To make it stick, use some aloe and wrap with saran wrap.” For those who want to go more natural, Baclayon said using ti leaf, or any large leaf, can work to hold the pohuehue paste on the wound.

Kinehi To combat sugar

“This is an important plant because a lot of students are eating a lot of sugars and some of them are developing diabetes,” said Baclayon. It can be found near the Kahuku gas station “on the perimeter of the parking area.” It is used to treat people who are diabetic.You simply gather a handful of leaves and make the juice mixture for one serving. Baclayon said it helps to control insulin levels.

Aloe Not just for sunburns

Used for sunburns topically, aloe can also be used internally as a cleansing agent. Baclayon said people who habitually “eat poorly” often have upset intestinal tracts. Beginning with de-thorning the plant leaf by going around the sides with a knife, Baclayon described the process of removing the gel. “The aloe has a flat side and a round side.You cut the flat side of the skin off, and press your thumb really hard onto the gel until you feel the skin on the other side and scrape it off.” Add about a cup of aloe gel to a cup of water to make a mixture to drink and soothe an upset stomach.

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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Shark’s Cove food trucks Serving fresh, diverse fare to the community

B Y AL E X M AL DONA DO

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Sandwiches, shrimp, tacos and barbecue available at the North Shore Shark’s Cove is home to a blooming food market, with owners who say they want to provide a sense of love and aloha to all who pass through.

“We want this place to be somewhere people can come and relax,” said Angel Gonzales, head chef at the North Shore Shrimp Truck. “I’d rather see your face two or three times a week than a different face every 10 minutes. I would rather make a $1,000 selling to the community than a million dollars selling only to tourists I’ll never see again.”

This feeling of oneness with the community was found with the owners of the food stands scattered throughout Pupukea.

While driving from Laie, the first food stand one will encounter is the easy-tomiss Sandy’s Sandwiches, with a rating of five stars on Yelp, on the right side of the road, just before beach parking.

Owner Ryan Dack said his stand is named after his mother who had the nickname “Sandy” when she played baseball in his hometown of Santa Barbara, Calif. Dack’s menu consists of Italian-style sandwiches made from gourmet breads and fresh salads.

When asked what his key to success was, Dack said, “My business motto is super simple. It’s ‘constantly chasing quality.’ With every day, I want to make sure that I did better than yesterday. I want to make sure every sandwich or salad is the very best one I’ve ever made up until that point.”

“I once asked a friend of mine who had a boat what he would do if his boat started sinking,” Dack continued, “He told me he would tie himself to the mast and go to the bottom of the ocean with it. That’s how I feel about my business.”

About a quarter mile south of Sandy’s is a food marketplace in Shark’s Cove, home to establishments such as the North Shore Tacos truck, Kau Kau Barbecue, and The North Shore Shrimp Truck.

North Shore Tacos has its brick-andcare of his hometown and create a family feel mortar headquarters in Hauula, and parks a for those who eat at the Shrimp Truck, accordbright red truck at the southernmost point of ing to Gonzales. the outdoor food court around Shark’s Cove.

Nestled directly behind the North

Its owner, Joseph Fullmer, first Shore Shrimp Truck is Kau Kau Barbecue, opened his restaurant in Hauula seven years owned and operated by Lindsey Yasui and Max ago and eventually decided to expand his reach Uhlmann, who promised they have some of the with the food truck that now sits just a stone’s best smoked brisket and kalua pork on throw away from Shark’s Cove. the island.

Fullmer moved to Hawaii 10 years

Kau Kau is one of the newest adago as the single father of three with a burning ditions to the marketplace, having only been desire to have his own restaurant. After being open for a few months, but the duo is very on island for three years, he decided to use the optimistic about their future. skills he had as a stone mason to build his own

Uhlmann said he looks forward to restaurant from the ground up. seeing what the marketplace and surrounding

Fullmer said he created his own reci- area becomes, because “it’s really been kinda pes using traditional Mexican ingredients and run down for years, so we look forward to tryeven grows his own peppers to use in ing to help beautify and upgrade the area.” his sauces.

The four restaurants listed are just

A goal of Fullmer’s is “to be one of the tip of the iceberg as far as this multicultural the first franchises to originate in Hawaii and community is concerned. Pupukea has food for expand to the mainland,” claiming there are a all tastes, including Thai, Japanese and Peruvian. lot of mainland businesses that make their way

In the same marketplace is a surf/ to Hawaii, but there aren’t many to start here snorkel rental shop, a shaved ice stand, a jewand get to California’s shores or beyond. elry boutique, and more.

His truck in Pupukea is one of the

One last business that complefirst steps in his plan to expand in the next ments the food trucks is Nate Leclair’s “Dude, five years.

Where’s My Food?”

Just over a fence to the left of the

Leclair is a one-man delivery service North Shore Tacos truck is the 7-month-old who, for $4.99, will deliver food from several North Shore Shrimp Truck. Owned by Liam of his North Shore associates to anyone within McNamara, the North Shore Shrimp Truck is seven miles of his point of departure. wrapped in vinyl with a beach wood print on it, “Where I’m from in New Hampshire, giving the truck an old school, classic Hawaipeople like to be lazy and have their food delivian feel. The truck makes fresh meals every day ered to them. There isn’t another food delivery and customers can sit in a courtyard complete service here on the North Shore so I take full with umbrella-shaded picnic tables. advantage of that,” Leclair said. “People get

The Shrimp Truck’s head cook, Gon- really happy when they have food brought to zales, said, “We try to make sure our food is as them, and I love to make people happy.” fresh as it can be. If we have salsa left over by

Leclair has seen a significant increase the end of the day, we throw it out and make a in business lately and is even considering bringfresh batch in the morning.” ing on a second driver to help with deliveries.

Gonzales said, “With most shrimp

Leclair said, “Love being my own trucks, they season their shrimp with spices boss and that I get to live in Hawaii. I love that and dry seasonings, but I went to culinary I can enjoy the beautiful weather on my scooter school for quite a few years and I believe in every day and make people happy.” doing everything from scratch.”

Because McNamara grew up in the North Shore surf community, he wants to take

Nate Leclair started “Dude, Where’s My Food?” a North Shore food delivery service. Photo by Stop Khemthorn

FEBRUARY 4, 2016

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Dance expresses joy & sorrow of life B Y DAN N A O SU M O

After weeks of intense dance practice, students from various BYUHawaii dance classes took to stage, showing the audience how to “Dance through Life.”

Choreographed and organized by Director Nina Foster, a choreographer and BYUH dance instructor, wanted the audience to have a positive outlook on life. “Dancing through life is a choice. We can choose to be happy. Life is not perfect but it is so beautiful, and we should dance through it,” said Foster.

The show featured students dancing to express different emotions of life such as sorrow, joy and love. Foster described the show as “special” despite it being her seventh dance concert at BYUH. “The spirit here is so strong. I am so proud of the students. I feel their hard work paid off beautifully,” she said.

Foster said most of the students had never been on the stage before, so she did not expect them to be perfect professional dancers.

However, she felt blessed they gave 100 percent and delivered a great performance.

“Many of the students came up to me after the show and told me ,‘I can’t believe we did this!’ I like to see the students grow. It’s not easy, but the main thing is we learn and are happy,” continued Foster.

One of the dancers, Mikayla Rowland, a freshman majoring in exercise and sports science from Arizona, had never danced in such a production before and said she was glad all the hard work paid off. Rowland said they spent 20-to-50 hours a week in dance practice. “It feels so good to have done this, and we hope the audience really enjoyed it. It’s a fun thing for everyone to be a part of,” she said.

Several dance numbers involved Foster’s family members, including a duet with her daughter, which Foster said will be in her heart forever. “It was a precious moment, and I wanted to freeze that moment. It just reminded me that every minute brings me so much joy,” said Foster.

Audience members and dancers also enjoyed the tender moment of mother and daughter. Rowland said she found Foster’s dance with her daughter the most meaningful. Rowland shared, “To see her dance with her daughter was cool because it’s her story about how she left her family when she was 10. I’m glad that the audience got to see that part of her life.”

Audience member Erica Knight, a sophomore majoring in political science from Utah, said, “I was teary eyed because she had her kid in the show. It was so sweet having them in there.”

Knight said she saw the performers put in their whole heart and soul into their performances and was glad that, although some of the performers were more experienced than others, all of them participated and had so much fun. “You could tell that they all wanted to be there,” continued Knight.

According to dancer Edgar Cabrera, a sophomore majoring in hospitality and tourism management from the Philippines, the performance was different and fun because of the people. “We are like a family.

It’s so full of love and energy,” said Cabrera.

Cabrera said working with Foster was the highlight of this semester because he always felt so much love whenever he was around her. He continued, “She always wanted us to reach our own potential.

She told us to just enjoy ourselves.”

For Jian Wei Bench, a senior majoring in business finance from Indonesia, the dance concert was the perfect way for him to spend his last semester at BYUH. “It was fantastic to be in this production. Being my last semester, I wanted to make an impact in my life,” said Bench.

The Abliz Dance International concert occurs every three years, according to Foster, and includes dance classes EXS 186-Basic modern dance, EXS 288- Hip Hop, and EXS 289- Dance production.

Students from various BYUH dance classes participated in the Abliz Dance International concert. Photo by Stop Khemthorn

Photo by Hector Periquin Ibuki Kishi uses a skill learned from his mission to liven the atmosphere at local parties and celebrations.

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