Name: Jung, Seowon
Class: HWST107-WI
Instructor: Luukia Archer
Date: 8/14/2008

Every U.S citizens have the right to be educated without any charge and discriminations. The government would budget to educate them at primary, middle and high school. Indeed, some parents want their children to be educated by better environment, school, and teachers; so, they would send them to the private school that the tuition is very expensive. A few days ago, one private school in Hawaii has been a major issue again that four non-Hawaiian students are suing Kamehamaha School for reason of racial discrimination after they were denied admission. (KITV, 2008)

Kamehameha School is one of the most excellent schools in Hawaii that everything is free for the students who are qualified as native Hawaiian including royal families that the students must be 25% or more blood quantum. Therefore, every native Hawaiian including who has been living with difficulty more than before, can be educated high standard compared with other public schools. In other viewpoint, the royal families of the Hawaiian Kingdom are victims as an overthrown of the Hawaiian Kingdom by invasion and exploitation from the western culture. Therefore, the ancestors of the royal families of Hawaiian Kingdom thought that their descendants needed to be educated in high standard; and In 1883, Bernice Pauahi Bishop directed that the remainder of her estate, inherited through her cousin Princess Ruth Keelikolani, be held in trust “to erect and maintain in the Hawaiian Islands two schools… one for boys and one girls, to be known as and called the Kamehameha Schools.” She directed her five trustees to invest her estate at their discretion and use the annual income to operate the schools, and also to devote a portion of each years income to the support and education of orphans, and others in indigent circumstances, giving the preference to Hawaiians of pure or part aboriginal blood. (Kamehameha School, 2008). This school is absolutely operated by individual property for native Hawaiian; and non-native Hawaiian is not eligible to enter this school.

Nevertheless, the reason of suing by four non-native Hawaiian students was that the prohibited enrollment of the non-native Hawaiian was wrong for equal opportunity to an education and racial discrimination. In the past, a lot of poor people could not go to school because they did not have money. These days, however, nobody says that they can’t go to school because they don’t have money. That’s why the government has supported education of the citizen until high school. Of course, the four students are not from low-income families, and they just want to go to the school that has better environment to study. However, Kamehameha School is for native Hawaiian, not public school. Maybe, this might be planned lawsuit to make a lot of money. Because, according to KITV, “It was more than a year ago the estate settled a similar lawsuit over its admissions policy which gives preference to Native Hawaiians. The school paid out a reported $7 million (KITV, 2008)”. Indeed, his problem was complicated because, his mother had been adopted by a Hawaiian family, therefore, his mother said his son was Hawaiian. (Rick Daysog, 2003)

My view on this issue is that I agree to the policy of Kamehameha School because, the policy that admission is allowed only native Hawaiian is kind of compensation of national self-respect and pride as native Hawaiian. Maybe, the U.S government might rather have to maintain the unique characteristics of Hawaii than native Hawaiian. Therefore, native Hawaiian needs to educate their descendants to know who they are, where they are from, and what they are going to do.

However, the exclusive policy could make people to split into petty factions. Moreover, the policy could make inharmonic relationships between native Hawaiian and non-native Hawaiian. Eventually, non-native Hawaiian could probably discriminate native Hawaiian in public service. Kamehameha School paid $7 million dollars and they might have satisfied that they could keep the policy but someday they will have to solve this problem. Therefore, they have to make a settlement again in someday without discrimination, money, and, lawsuit; and I suggest three solutions. First is, Kamehameha School had better establish an exceptive clause on the policy for non-native Hawaiian who has the potential to become like leaders in their respective communities and also Hawaii. Of course, Kamehameha School is going to break their tradition but, they could make a great contribution for people between Hawaiian and non-native Hawaiian. Second is operating another school for non-native Hawaiian. Even though Kamehameha School is for native-Hawaiian, the reason of many students want to enroll this school is that this school provides better environment than other public school, even private schools; and everything for their students without any charging as I know. Last one is to register such as a special school in Hawaii government in order to inherit that Kamehameha School needs to teach unique Hawaiian culture, language, and spirit to their students. Therefore, Kamehameha School will have different purpose from other schools. Finally, I strongly believe that between Kamehameha School students and non-native Hawaiian people will be living together in harmony.

Work cited:
Kamehameha School. “Questions and Answers about KS Admissions Policies”,
Aug 6 2008, Honolulu HI,

Rick Daysog. “School lets non-hawaiian stay”, Honolulu Star-Bulletin Hawaii
News, Dec 2, 2003.

KITV. “Kamehameha School Faces Another Lawsuit”, Aug 6, 2008.