Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Wednesday, May 1, 2019
USD Finds 'Hawaiian Day' Legal
By Selected News Articles @ 4:00 AM :: 4276 Views :: First Amendment, Higher Education

USD finds admin did NOT violate policy amid 'Hawaiian Day' hoopla

  • Around a couple of months after it first made headlines, a "Hawaiian Day" party has been deemed by the University of South Dakota not to have violated school policy.
  • But the school also determined that the administration of its law school was not at fault.

by Adam Sabes, Campus Reform, April 30, 2019

The University of South Dakota determined that a student group naming its party “Hawaiian Day” did not violate the school’s policy.

USD finished looking into whether a student organization's “Hawaiian Day” party name goes against its policy, and if a law school administrator acted out of line by advising the organization change the party name, according to The Argus Leader.

The investigation found that USD’s Student Bar Association didn’t violate any policy, and neither did the interim law school administration.

In March, the Student Bar Association at USD was set to host a “Hawaiian Day” party, where leis would be handed out to partygoers, as Campus Reform reported.

However, a student was offended by the party and submitted an essay to the USD law school, which subsequently advised the SBA to revise the party name. The student complained that the theme was culturally insensitive to Native Hawaiians, and even claimed that the theme went against the university’s inclusion policy, according to The Daily Republic.

USD spokeswoman Michelle Cwach told the Argus Leader that the interim law school administration had advised the SBA not to hand out leis at the party because it could be perceived as inappropriate, given that leis are items of cultural significance, but that students were not forbidden from wearing them.

Since the ultimate decision not to distribute the leis was an agreement between the SBA and the student who complained, no violation was found on the administration’s end. However, USD President Sheila Gestring told the legislative Government Operations and Audit Committee that the email advising the SBA to not distribute leis was poorly worded and could have easily been read as a “directive.”

"Words matter, and the wrong ones were chosen for this communication," Gestring said, according to the Argus Leader. "Without the language of the meeting preceding it, the language reads more as a directive, which they had no authority to issue.”

Gestring told the committee that this is a teaching moment for the university and that employees should better explain to student groups the positive and negative elements to each side to a situation, rather than giving them “an out” to a given situation.

After the initial backlash, Hawaii state Republican Rep. Bob McDermott wrote a letter to the editor of USD newspaper The Volante, arguing that usage of leis is honorable, not offensive.

“The lei is a symbol of our Aloha spirit in Hawaii, inclusive and welcoming," McDermott said. "One individual’s objection to its use at a festive event is both patronizing and an insult to our island tradition."

---30---

Background:

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT