Is Wiercinski Qualified
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THE VOICE follow our TWITTER :@KALEOOHAWAII A for BREAKING NEWS, EO UPDATES, WEB EXCLUSIVES MONDAY, MAY 26 TO SUNDAY,K JUNE 1, 2014 Serving the studentsL VOLUME 109 ISSUE 85 of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. www.kaleo.org & VIDEO COVERAGE. REPUBLISHED FROM THE HAWAI’I INDEPENDENT WITH PERMISSION FROM WILL CARON Is Wiercinski qualifi ed to lead UH? KRISTEN PAUL BONIFACIO Opinions Editor The search for the next University of dates for the position. While Lassner is serving Military Academy at West Point in New York. Hawai‘i Army Museum Society. Hawai‘i System President isn’t going smoothly. as the interim president, many are wondering if He is recognized as being one of the fi rst Combat Although Wiercinski’s military achieve- Both fi nalists for the job, retired Lt. Wiercinski, who doesn’t even hold a graduate Brigade Commanders to have entered Afghani- ments are outstanding, numerous UH students, Gen. Francis “Frank” Wiercinski and cur- degree, meets the minimum requirements to stan shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. faculty members and alumni are unhappy that rent interim president David Lassner, are oversee an academic institution. He served in the Army for 34 years, where he is a candidate for UH president. They argue trying their best to convince the public that he has commanded at every level and earned that his lack of experience in higher education they are perfect for the position. GENERAL ISSUES numerous foreign awards and honors. makes him unqualifi ed for the job. In fact, one Both also have backgrounds that, under A Pennsylvania native, Wiercinski grad- Since February 2014, he has been a mem- of the current minimum qualifi cations stated the rules set by the Board of Regents before the uated with a bachelor of science degree in ber of the Board of Governors for Chaminade online for the position is a doctorate or terminal search began, should disqualify them as candi- engineering in 1979 from the United States University and the Board of Trustees for the degree-neither of which Wiercinski has. Page 2 | Ka Leo | Monday, May 26 2014 Twitter @kaleoopinions | [email protected] | Kristen Paul Bonifacio Editor Opinions Wiercinski has academic Achilles’ heel Ka Leo O Hawai‘i from cover story University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa If selected, he will become the fi rst UH presi- to reference the overwhelming majority of in- is the reverse acceptable?” 2445 Campus Road Hemenway Hall 107 dent without a doctorate degree since 1914. Cynthia state students in the UH system. Wiercinski is a highly reputable person Honolulu, HI 96822 Franklin, a professor in the English department, The Lieutenant General’s association with the with an impressive background, but his exper- Newsroom (808) 956-7043 along with other faculty members, have started an military also connects him to an entity that contin- tise and knowledge is in the wrong fi eld. Advertising (808) 956-7043 online petition asking the Board of Regents to reject ues to stir controversy among numerous groups He does not have the first-hand experi- Facsimile (808) 956-9962 Wiercinski as a candidate for UH President. represented both across the state and at the univer- ence of being connected to the issues and According to the petition, “(Wiercinski) is sity, from Native Hawaiians to environmentalists. concerns of college students, faculty mem- E-mail [email protected] clearly unqualifi ed to lead the University of Hawai‘i Wiercinski has also tried to dismiss his lack of a bers and the rest of the UH institutional sys- Website www.kaleo.org in a way that is consistent with the University’s core graduate degree, saying the Board of Regents isn’t tem. This lack of involvement in the academic mission, including its commitments to developing “asking (him) to be a professor,” but rather “a presi- world will make it difficult for him to run a EDITORIAL STAFF fi rst-rate research, to enabling high-quality teaching dent or a CEO of a corporation, of an organization.” public educational institution. Editor in Chief Alex Bitter and to operating as an educational community that The fact remains, though, that Wiercinski Although there is certainly precedent for Managing Editor Fadi Youkhana foregrounds Hawaiian values.” Chief Copy Editor Wesley Babcock The petition has received more than 680 Assoc Chief Copy Editor Zebley Foster signatures, including UH alumni living as far Design Editor Lilian Cheng away as Michigan and Alabama. Web Editor Alden Alayvilla News Editor Noelle Fujii Features Editor Brad Dell ʻTHE JEWEL OF THE PACIFICʼ Opinions Editor Kristen Paul Bonifacio Despite all of the criticism, Wiercinski is Sports Editor Nick Huth staying positive. Photo Editor Antoinette Ranit Assoc Photo Editor Shane Grace During a public meeting at UH Hilo on May Online Photo Editor Tien Austin 9, he insisted his distance from the UH system is Comics Editor Nicholas Smith a good thing, arguing that he will turn the nega- Web Specialist Blake Tolentino tive images of the university into positive ones. Aloha Nights Director Veronica “I bring open and wide, clean view. I don’t Freeman have the burden of the legacy of how past deci- sions have been made,” he said. ADVERTISING He repeatedly spoke about turning UH into E-mail [email protected] the “jewel of the Asia-Pacifi c,” employing a term Ad Manager Gabrielle Pangilinan otherwise used to describe the military’s shift in PR Coordinator Bianca Bystrom Pino focus toward growing powers in Asia. Ka Leo O Hawai‘i is the campus newspa- per of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. Wiercinski’s supporters cite his extensive It is published by the Board of Publications military record and history of leading complex or- three times a week except on holidays and ganizations and his powerful personality as attri- FILE PHOTO/KA LEO O HAWAI‘I during exam periods. Circulation is 10,000. Ka Leo is also published once a week dur- butes that could make him a great system leader. ing summer sessions with a circulation of A Hawaii News Now article published on- is in the running to lead an academic organi- non-academics taking on leadership roles at 5,000. Ka Leo is funded by student fees and line revealed some of the professional refer- zation where the great majority of faculty have universities, the Board of Regents would be advertising. Its editorial content reflects only the views of its writers, reporters, columnists ences on his presidential application, including graduate degrees of some sort. wrong to choose someone with no experience and editors, who are solely responsible for Beadie Dawson, president and director of the While broader leadership experience could running a university to do just that. its content. No material that appears in Ka help him considerably, a life of military service Leo may be reprinted or republished in any Hawaiian Native Corporation, and the widow of medium without permission. The first news- late U.S. Sen. Dan Inouye, Irene Inouye. has not familiarized him with the intricacies of stand copy is free; for additional copies, a university or academia in general. Candidates to face please visit Ka Leo. Subscription rates are And while he stated that that lack of familiar- $50 for one semester and $85 for one year. THE ACADEMIC ELEMENT BOR at meeting ©2012 Board of Publications. Wiercinski makes his vision for the University ity allows him to bring an “open and wide, clean clear, but he is not qualifi ed to be the UH president. view” to university’s issues, his lack of credentials The Board of Regents will have a pub- One of the duties and responsibilities listed for in the academic fi eld seems more likely to be the lic meeting tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the ADMINISTRATION the position is to “advance the University’s strategic source of mistakes and uninformed decisions. UH Information Technology Center The Board of Publications, a student with both UH president candidates, organization chartered by the Uni- commitment to Native Hawaiians and other indig- In the letter introducing the faculty pe- versity of Hawai‘i Board of Regents, enous and underrepresented peoples.” tition, Franklin rightly questions this mis- David Lassner and Lt. Gen. Francis publishes Ka Leo O Hawai‘i. Issues At his fi rst public appearance at Mānoa, matched background. Wiercinski. The board will then meet or concerns can be reported to the board (Alex Kasula, chair; Mechelins though, Wiercinski stumbled over some basic “Would it even be thinkable to suggest on the Monday, June 2 at 1 p.m. at the Iechad, vice chair;) via [email protected]. UH statistics, saying that Hawaiians make up that a highly-respected university administra- same location to offi cially vote on the Visit www.kaleo.org/board_of_publications 85 percent of the university’s population. He lat- tor be appointed as a general of the US Army next UH president. er corrected himself, explaining that he meant with no military experience?” she says. “Why Twitter @kaleofeatures | [email protected] |Brad Dell Editor Page 3 | Ka Leo | Monday, May 26 2014 Features Art + Flea finds new home on Cooke Street WKH:H% (',7 7+(25< PHOTO COURTESY OF CHRIS KAM @8;4*<* @.+.-2=8; CHRISTINA YAN FOR CREATIVES, BY new experiences, but sometimes /8;4*5.8 Contributing Writer CREATIVES new job opportunities. “It’s a destination for creatives, “We’ve even hired someone ,*69><;-1.6.7@*B1*55 On Cooke Street sits a ware- by creatives” is the slogan on to join our team just because !!" e@@@4*5.88;038+< house that exceeds its original func- sprawled across Art + Flea’s popu- he became a regular and we tion, transforming each month into lar, ever-growing website.