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Ian Lind online daily from Kaaawa, Hawaii

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← Sunday…chasing June Jones, Yamashiro bankruptcy, calendar cats Aloha it is →

Monday…JJ’s last stand, and can (should?) we really afford a top-tier football program?

January 7th, 2008 · 6 Comments

The problem with the way the June Jones saga has unfolded is that it encourages people to think that the football program is unique with its inadequate facilities and unfulfilled promises, when in fact it is just offering a window into life at the University of Hawaii more generally, where things don’t get fixed, festering problems are ignored, money remains tight, management systems are absent or obsolete, and the ranks of well-paid administrators continue to grow.

Take the beautiful renovation job that was done on Hawaii Hall, one of the original buildings on the Manoa campus. Now that the building’s like new, the academic programs were moved out and replaced by administrative offices, while across Varney Circle one building has been emptied after being allowed to totally deteriorate and the library seems to be in chronic crisis. Hawaii Hall now stands in the center of campus much like Baghdad’s Green Zone, a comfortable administrative enclave in the midst of widespread campus problems.

But to understand what’s underlying current UH money woes and those of several decades to come, fingers need to be pointed at the politically-driven plan to build a new and much expanded West Oahu campus. This was not an plan driven by educational needs or dreams, but rather by politics, shoved down the throats of a UH administration too passive or compliant to point out its long-term financial impact.

West Oahu is creating a financial sink hole that’s going to suck up resources from the rest of the university system for decades for marginal, if any, educational gain. It won’t be long before another generation of legislators is going to be surprised to discover how much it really costs to hire six hundred or more staff, then operate and maintain another whole campus when we haven’t been able to catch up with a decade or more of deferred maintenance in the rest of the system, much less attend to current and future needs.

If Coach Jones is able to create an oasis down in the old Manoa quarry, more power to him. But don’t think it’s going to solve the many real and more fundamental problems facing UH.

And, as to football–isn’t it just possible that the state, much less the university, really can’t afford a competitive, top-tier football program? Is that possibility one that should be on the table during this media-driven negotiating blitz? And if football is a priority, is it the only priority? The top priority of the entire university system? It would seem like these are issues that need to be faced.
Sunday

On a more pleasant note, the rain that swept through Kaaawa on Sunday morning gave the early light it’s own special texture. Just click for a larger version of the photo.

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Tags: General

6 responses so far ↓

  • 1 schultz // Jan 7, 2008 at 7:30 am

    Bravo!!!
    Wouldn’t it be nice if people rallied around the university itself, rather than only its football team?

  • 2 dminter // Jan 7, 2008 at 8:17 am

    Fabulous picture! Already added to the screensaver folder - with credit to you tacked onto the file name. Mahalo!

  • 3 ongre08 // Jan 7, 2008 at 8:48 am

    Here on Maui, people say Clyde Sakamoto has an edifice complex. They have built gigantic buildings with expansive roofs that cost a fortune to maintain and cool. (I remember Hawaii Hall well. The KTUH studios were there before moving to the Student Union Building. I haven’t been to the UH campus for years.)

  • 4 Carrie // Jan 7, 2008 at 9:28 am

    Wow Ian — you nailed what I was ranting to my husband about yesterday. Jones is the high profile example of what’s been happing to the faculty at the UH for YEARS. You ask for support, you don’t get it, you make it known that you are looking for another position at another University, and no effort is made to keep you at UH until after a job is accepted. Then there’s a scramble to offer you something to keep you at UH. Too little too late. That scenario has repeated itself at least three times in the past 8 years that I know of, myself included.

    I couldn’t care less if we have a great football team or not. But I do care if we have quality educators and a quality UH. But again, Jones’ treatment is par for the course — and people wonder why we are a support economy?

  • 5 Mike Middlesworth // Jan 7, 2008 at 12:08 pm

    While you’re right on the money once again, the chances of anybody who can do anything about it paying attention are slim and none.

    That may sound cynical, and it is, but it’s based on 34 years of watching our “leaders” make the wrong choice at nearly every opportunity.

    As one example, if anyone at the top had had the courage, moving the entire Manoa campus to Barbers Point when the Navy gave it up would have put UH in a great position to move forward.

    A state as small as Hawaii does not need two campuses for its major university on the same island. What’s needed is a master plan to grow the university system statewide. That, however, seems highly unlikely.

    aloha,
    mike

  • 6 Joe // Jan 9, 2008 at 4:37 pm

    The idea is that the football team is the main revenue generator that supports all of the other college sports teams. You splurge on football, and the spoils will trickle down to the other sports.

    I’m not sure if that’s necessarily the case in Hawaii though, where there are no major professional sports teams for thousands of miles, and where I’ve seen over 10,000 people turn out for a collegiate volleyball game.

    There’s also the intangible benefit of Hawaiian pride, which swelled immensely before the playing of the Sugar Bowl. Once you’ve tasted a little bit of that, it’s hard to go back to being a bottom of the pack WAC team again.

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