Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 9, 1 Kepakemapa 2011 — KNOW THE ISSUE: NATIVE HAWAIIAN TUITION WAIVERS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

KNOW THE ISSUE: NATIVE HAWAIIAN TUITION WAIVERS

For more than a decade, full tuition waivers have been sought for Native Hawaiian students attending the University of Hawai'i. What does this mean and why is this important? To start let's take a look at some statistics. Native Hawaiians represent about 26 percent of the state population but account for only 14 percent of the total UH student population. Native Hawaiians have the lowest college graduation rates of all ethnic groups in the state of Hawai'i. More than 80 percent of the UH system's non-Hawaiian students return for a second year of college but the percentage of Native Hawaiian students returning is 10 percent lower. Nationwide, more Native Hawaiians have dropped out of college than have earned a degree. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, even though 25 percent of all Native Hawaiians have earned some college credits,

most have not completed their undergraduate degrees. Former University of Hawai'i Native Hawaiian student Melissa Tupa explained that Native Hawaiians represent the host culture. "The indigenous people, stewards of our 'āina, need to be educated and prepared to carry us into the 21st century." She went on to say, "Worry about paying for college should not be a barrier for Native Hawaiian students, it should be considered an investment in our future." The low numbers of Native Hawaiians with college andprofessional degrees affects the ability of Hawai'i's indigenous people to participate in the state's higher education system as professors, deans, administrators and policymakers. At UH-Mānoa, only 4 percent of all faculty positions are held by Native Hawaiians and less than 1 percent are permanent (tenured) hires. To improve these statistics, OHA continues to push for legislation that would require the University of Hawai'i to provide tuition waivers for all Native Hawaiian students enrolled in any of the 10 UH campuses. In addition to legislative and advocacy efforts, OHA is committed to youth outreach in order to inform and encourage participation from you, our present and future. We encourage you to help our advocacy efforts by signing up for action alerts. For more information on our action alerts, visit www.oha.org/leg or email me at josephl@oha.org. — Joe Kūhiō Lewis ■

Windward Community College on O'ahu is part of the 1 0-campus University of Hawai'i system,- Photo: Courtesy ofUH