Ethnic Studies Anniversary : Celebrating 50 Years of Our History Our Way

Testimony

Do not stop-out Ethnic Studies

From: Danita Aiu on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:34 PM:

I am writing to ask the Board of Regents not to Stop -Out the Ethnic Studies program and department. Ethnic Studies is the result of a struggle by students and faculty to offer a local perspective of the development of our diverse community and honors the contribution each ethnic group, as they both assimilated and kept their cultural practices while providing labor. Ethnic Studies provides the opportunity to learn about each ethnic group and in so doing promotes appreciation, instead of racism. While our nation is trying to promote more acceptance of all races that live in America, it would appear that the stop-out of Ethnic Studies would have the university going backwards instead of contributing/leading this national effort. Therefore, I ask you to fund and retain the Ethnic Studies program, their research and their recording of precious oral histories.

Testimony AGAINST stop out of Ethnic Studies Major

From: Dean Alegado on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:47 PM:

Dear Chair Kudo,

Aloha, my name is Dean Alegado, one of the founders of the Ethnic Studies Department. I came to Hawaiʻi in 1975 and found a job as a .25 FTE in the fledging Ethnic Studies Program, being paid
$350. The mid-1970s was a very dramatic period for Hawaiʻi as the political landscape began to change, inspired primarily by the Native Hawaiian movement. But that wasnʻt the only thing that inspired hundreds of community and student activists to become radicalized and demand changes - more than 35 plantations throughout the state were shutting down as sugar and pineapple industries left Hawaiʻi and even the iconic pineapple water tower in Iwilei is gone. If you can, imagine the impact that it would have on these communities, many of whom were being ousted and evicted from their residences for real estate development and the emerging hotel-tourism industry. In response, many locals organized the anti-eviction movement, not just on Oʻahu but throughout the state and some of these radicalized community activists and students would enter the University of Hawaiʻi and would have many powerful questions such as, “Who does the university serve? How does the community benefit?” Many asked, “why donʻt we know the history and contribution of our grandparents and parents?” who were the backbone of Hawaiʻiʻs economy.

At that time, there were no classes at the University that talked about these things, and hardly any research or writings about the contributions of the local Japanese, Filipino, Portuguese, Puerto Ricans, Chinese and a strong movement began to develop demanding a program that would address these issues. But that wasnʻt the only problem. At that time, there were few local people who were tenured or held teaching status. On top of that, most of the administration were what we would call “Haole”, who really didnʻt have a sensitivity toward the desires of locals and Hawaiians to have their history and culture be taught at the University. And this is what started the movement for Ethnic Studies with the slogan, “Our history, our way”.

It took many years, but finally after many sit-ins, and a major occupation at Bachman Hall, we finally achieved a semblance of a victory – because our funding was manini (miniscule). I spent 35 years of my life at the University of Hawaiʻi, painstakingly working from being a lecturer to being the Chair of the Department. Iʻm proud to say that we built Ethnic Studies to become prominent not only nationally but also internationally as one of the best Ethnic Studies programs in the Asia-Pacific region.

Once again, because of the pandemic and the damage itʻs done to the economy and revenue, the most vulnerable programs are under attack. For example, elimination of critical programs such as Philippine Languages would be a huge mistake. These programs have a function in effective communication of health outreach and social services information. We know that Filipino communities are more vulnerable to COVID-19 and need more, not less resources from experts about these cultures. While it may seem like hard economic decisions need to be made, we have to think outside the box. I would suggest that the University make hard decisions to even go into deficit because the pandemic is not going to last forever. We need the Board of Regents to bite the bullet and sign a Social Contract with these programs to restore the funding when things get better in a few years. We can ask the Governnor to do that – because thatʻs what the State did in the 1980s when the Japanese real estate boom busted. We have to make decisions that even vulnerable programs are important. It would take a courageous stand by the Board of Regents to support these programs no matter how dire our budgets are. I challenge the Board of regents and the adminstration at the University to support these programs.
Ethnic Studies I would say has produced as many outstanding political, community, and government leaders as any other program at the University of Hawaiʻi. Thatʻs why we have the support of the community. We will also be calling on our friends and allies in the State Legislature and Congress, and the communities, the labor unions and other civic organizations to support us.

But thatʻs why we need the support of the BOR too. We need an agreement that while budget cuts cannot be avoided, funding can be restored when the economy bounces back. This is a stand that the BOR needs to make as an investment in the people, culture and community of Hawaiʻi. Thatʻs a solemn pledge you should make to the people of Hawaiʻi.

Mahalo and salamat, Dr. Dean Alegado

The performing arts are a crucial field that needs growth within our community,

From: Tsuyuno Amos on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:30 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The performing arts are a crucial field that needs growth within our community, and the UH Theatre & Dance department has done so much to develop that growth. Without UH Theatre & Dance, Kumu Kahua Theatre would not be celebrating its 50th season of local plays at extremely accessible prices for the community. Cuts to
these degree programs would have stifling ripple effects on the entire Honolulu arts community.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.
It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

To deny Hawaiian music and arts would be to deny Hawaiian culture in

From: Kawehi Apo on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:57 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

To deny Hawaiian music and arts would be to deny Hawaiian culture in our own home.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Arts are the avenue for keeping all of human cultures viable and alive.

From: Lisa Araneda on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 8:04 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Arts are the avenue for keeping all of human cultures viable and alive. With all of the unprecedented times we are all experiencing, we need the Arts more than ever. Dance has always been an intricate component of man’s existence. It is a total body and mind form of free expression. Dance defines all ethnic differences and unites them. Something our world, for the most part, is
striving to uphold. The avenue for change to make this a better world is upon us more than ever today. To make cuts that will diminish the integrity of the College of the Arts at UH is simply wrong!
Fitness and health is bigger today than ever before especially with this generation and those of the future. We need qualified teachers to guide our youth in the Arts so they can express their feelings, ideas, desires, and social and political stances without violence. The Arts, dance in particular, is one of the beautiful things we have in this world that, many times is ugly. Why would you want to take that away from our young at any time, but especially now?

Keeping the Arts alive and expanding has always been a challenge. It is worth every fight because the alternative, life without art, is unacceptable! Please rework your proposal and find your financial cuts elsewhere. UH is the example other higher educational institutions will most likely follow. Be a beacon and not a destroyer.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in
conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Ethnic Studies Stop-Out

From: Kelsea Armstrong on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:29 AM:

Aloha,

My name is Kelsea Armstrong. I am a new graduate student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Political Science Department. I am writing to you to demand the immediate withdrawal of the proposed option to “stop-out” th ES BA degree.

The Mānoa Budget Team (MBT) has targeted Ethnic Studies for an option to “stop-out” the BA program, and is recommending that the department “work closely with Interdisciplinary Studied (IS) to increase enrollment.” and if decreases follow, “an option is to stop-out the program and offer [ES] as a concentration in Interdisciplinary Studies.” (see page 7 of the CSS recommendations).

This is unacceptable and must be rejected now.

The proposed “stop-out” of ES ignores and demeans the legacies of Hawaiʻi’s multi-ethnic peoples that the department continues to uphold and pass on to new generations of students.

Considering both political and historical contexts, the option to cut UH’s Ethnic Studies department is tone-deaf to this moment of national racial reckoning. Targeting Ethnic Studies under the guise of pandemic-induced budget crisis is another reveal of institutional racism.

I must ask these questions directly of the Mānoa Budget Team: Can you provide evidence on how the option to “stop-out&rdquo ES will result in immediate projected savings? What is the estimated number amount that cutting ES will save?

Lastly, as a student of Political Science in the UHM’s College of Social Sciences, I see this as a shared problem that threatens the future of my program as well. Sticking to the theme, it is important that I use this opportunity to voice that the Political Science Department’s size and diversity is an asset, and is the highest graduater of Native Hawaiian doctoral students. Our social science programs, graduate students, faculty and integrity need to be protected during these uncertain times.

We should not need to feel the bureaucratic insecurities of dissolving and shrinking during a global health crisis.

Even the option for a “stop-out” can trigger a decrease in majors, weaken the Ethnic Studies Department, and provide no short-term cost savings for the university. We must stop this complicity with systemic racism and neo-colonialism in Hawaiʻi.

Mahalo,

Kelsea Armstrong

Don’t be the president who is remembered for killing the arts at UHM.

From: Jacob Bannerman on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:05 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Don’t be the president who is remembered for killing the arts at UHM.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

What the president plans to do is unfair and just plain unreasonable. Please

From: Molena Begay on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 4:21 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

What the president plans to do is unfair and just plain unreasonable. Please don’t cut the programs just because you don’t think highly of it.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

As a former TT faculty member in English, I strongly oppose cuts

From: Katharine Beutner Beutner on Sep, 15 2020, 4 at 32:AM :

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

As a former TT faculty member in English, I strongly oppose cuts to Theatre & Dance OR to Ethnic Studies. “Stop-out” proposals are a way to cut programs while pretending student interest has diminished. Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

BOR September 17, 2020 Meeting- Testimony Regarding Proposed Cuts to the Department of Theatre and Dance

Ethnic Studies

From: Daniel Bogdan on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:17 PM:

My name is Dan Bogdan. I am writing to you to demand the immediate withdrawal of the proposed option to “stop-out” the Ethnic Studies BA degree at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
The Mānoa Budget Team (MBT) has targeted Ethnic Studies for an option to “stop-out” the BA program, and is recommending that the department “work closely with Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) to increase enrollment.” and if decreases follow, “an option is to stop-out the program and offer [ES] as a concentration in Interdisciplinary Studies.” (see page 7 of the CSS recommendations).
This is unacceptable and must be rejected now.

The proposed “stop-out” o ESignores and demeans the legacies of Hawaiʻi’s multi-ethnic peoples that the department continues to uphold and pass on to new generations of students.
Considering both political and historical contexts, the option to cut UH’s Ethnic Studies department is tone- deaf to this moment of national racial reckoning. Targeting Ethnic Studies under the guise of a pandemic- induced budget crisis is yet another reveal of institutional racism.

The Ethnic Studies Department at UHM has long stranded for the rights and voices of those who have been historically swept asunder by the hegemonic powers of western history. Their field of work is specifically important in our day and time due to the national exposure of the realties of the threats to minority lives and livelihoods. They are at the least a symbol of the respect for that struggle and at most an important part of dismantling the disparity at its core by creating a knowledge system to draw from. As a university in Hawaii I would imagine this is extremely poignant to you and I hope you take this decision seriously and furthermore reject this proposal.

I must ask these questions directly of the Mānoa Budget Team: Can you provide evidence on how the option to “stop-out&rdquo ESwill result in immediate projected savings? What is the estimated number amount that cuttin ESwill save?
Lastly, this is a shared problem that threatens the futures of other programs within the College of Social Sciences. Sticking to the theme, it is important that I use this opportunity to voice that one of the most secure departments of this college feels the power of the same threat. The Political Science Department’s size and diversity is an asset, and it is the highest graduater of Native Hawaiian doctoral students. All of our social science programs, graduate students, faculty and integrity need to be protected during these uncertain times.

We should not need to feel the bureaucratic insecurities of dissolving and shrinking during a global health crisis. Even the option for a “stop-out” can trigger a decrease in majors, weaken the Ethnic Studies Department, and provide no short-term cost savings for the university.
We must stop this complicit act of systemic racism and neo-colonialism in Hawaiʻi.

Mahalo,
Dan bogdan

I received my MFA in dance at UH. As a student in the

From: Jennifer Butler on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:29 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I received my MFA in dance at UH. As a student in the program I was profoundly influenced by the quality dance training and the opportunity to study and perform several Asian dances. This is a unique program, offering artistic and cultural studies in Asian, Polynesian, and Western dance forms. My studies at UH prepared me to work as a professional dance artist and teacher.

Since leaving UH, I have run a local modern dance company. I am artistic director of Convergence Dance Theatre, a non-profit community dance group. We have performed all of the island and worked with various community groups on important local topics. After my MFA I was hired for a dance lecturer position at KCC. I was proud to be able to prepare students for dance studies at UH after they finished KCC and transferred. In addition, I owned a local dance studio for 5 years. All of this was made possible by the training, study, and networks I made while a MFA student at UH.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local
artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

If you think the arts are unimportant to society, please kindly delete your

From: Timothy Callais on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:47 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

If you think the arts are unimportant to society, please kindly delete your Netflix accounts. To whom are we all turning for comfort and distraction from the world during this historically low point and uncertain times? The life work of actors. Of directors. Writers. Producers.
Musicians. Designers. How many of you took in a movie on your first date with your spouse? Or maybe it was a
concert? Perhaps it was dinner and the jazz band played the song that night that ultimately became YOUR song! Our bodies allow us to dance before it allows us to put a comprehensive thought together. We sing before we can even express words. And in a world where people and human relationships are being lost to electronics, it is the actors who are still willing to be present in the grief of society. Please don’t take away the arts.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to
empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

This is an incredible program especially the Hawaiian theatre it’s amazing and needs

From: Sherri Caneda on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 7:59 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

This is an incredible program especially the Hawaiian theatre it’s amazing and needs to be kept. Their shows are sold out that Dr Tammy Hailiopua Baker put on they make a statement they share our history and needs to be continued. Aloha
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks,
however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward
establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

This program has been an essential part of my education and growth as

From: Dayna Chun on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 7:43 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

This program has been an essential part of my education and growth as an artist. Hawaii is already struggling to keep art thriving and it would be a terrible mistake to cut the program.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much
as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to
survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

It is important to respect the autonomy of the Ethnic Studies and Women’s

From: Nana Clemons on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 5:07 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

It is important to respect the autonomy of the Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies Department. I strongly oppose the merging of the 2 departments into “interdisciplinary studies.” With the current political climate and racial tensions in the United States, Ethnic Studies MUST remain its own, independent department.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the
helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Don’t let the Pandemic take away they’re rights, let DANCE be the expression

From: Mary Corral on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:27 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Don’t let the Pandemic take away they’re rights, let DANCE be the expression of who they are.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

The arts in general are extremely important to the community. They can improve

From: Sophia Cruise on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 4:45 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The arts in general are extremely important to the community. They can improve mental health and general welfare.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

It is unfortunate that UH falls to the stereotype of cutting the arts

From: Liy Crumpton on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:44 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

It is unfortunate that UH falls to the stereotype of cutting the arts first when needing to “save money”. Educational institutions have been doing this for decades and shame on you for falling in line with this thinking. I was under the impression UH Manoa was a space for higher learning, which would equate to higher thinking and in turn would do better in action. You may not understand what you
have here, so I will let you know.
As a graduate of this department, I am grateful for my experience and opportunity this program provided me. I chose this program because there are only two, 2, in the country, and UH Manoa was the only one that offers the hands on experience. The practical knowledge I gained from that program gave me the tools I needed to do my job in the field. Since graduation, 2007, I have been working successfully as a teaching artist and as the Assistant Director of Drama Education for Honolulu Theatre for Youth, in this very community that educated me. Isn’t that why you create a strong educational program at a higher level? You want to build a community that believes in fostering learning and growth.
UHM’s Theatre and Dance department is irreplaceable. This department is the only one in the United States that offers this level of Asian Theatre art forms, and that is important. Anyone can learn Shakespeare at any University, but only in this department will you have to chance to learn about, experience or perform Jing Ju, Kabuki or Wayang kulit. This kind of opportunity is priceless to people, like myself, who knew nothing of these arts and in my time I was able to open my western lens to all the beauty that lives in all these art forms.

Representation matters, giving space to other voices matter and this department is a space for those voices. Helping people understand each other, matters. When you think about cutting this program, that is what you are cutting. You are taking away voices, you are taking away representation and that is shameful. I strongly urge you to rethink this decision.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as
a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

As a faculty member at the University of Nevada, Reno, another WUE institution,

From: Cari Cunningham on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:49 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

As a faculty member at the University of Nevada, Reno, another WUE institution, I am deeply troubled by the proposed elimination of the dance program at UH with its highly regarded bachelors and masters program. Making the opportunity to study dance, both the rich cultural dance forms of Hawaii and other dance practices, as an academic pursuit unavailable to your students is, at the
very least, short-sighted and, worse, it paints your institution as deeply insensitive to the social justice issues that plague our country. I was present in March 2018 when a student from your program performed a Tahitian Dance solo at the American College Dance Association regional festival held in Arizona. It was not only an expertly danced piece, but a moving tribute to a dance legacy that has survived in large part because of the dedication of your dance faculty. It was a powerful reminder to the dance educators in attendance of the critical need to decolonize the institution of higher education and re-examine our prioritization of historical and cultural dance forms that have been marginalized and appropriated. Cutting this program suggests a lack of commitment by UH to honor this critical need at a time when it is drawing much warranted attention.

I strongly urge you to reconsider this drastic action and to preserve the rich artistic heritage and embodied culture of your institution.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in
conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

The arts are an important and vital addition to all universities. Students must

From: Noah Denker on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:39 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The arts are an important and vital addition to all universities. Students must be able to pursue all of their interests, not subject them to limited options.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Invest in our community: preserv ESBA degree.

From: pete doktor on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:50 PM:

Aloha To Whom This May Concern,
I am writing as a graduate alumni of UH in general support for ES in the system, and oppose the “stop-out” of the Ethnic Studies BA degree.
I chose to seek my MEd at UH-Mānoa because of my interest in a particular program that claimed was offered for graduate students in the 1990s. Unfortunately, the program information was false and misleading, and it turned out that they did not have the program I wanted, but I was already invested in a degree from UH. When I look at the expanded options with ES, I envy the students of today that can pull from expanded options withi ES prior to Covid-19.
I eventually completed my program and began a career as a DOE social science educator. I can attest the gap in knowledge and quality between older teachers who never had such ES options in their times, and younger teachers that had some ES background. These latter teachers were/are superior to standard public education that often alienates students from their subject of study. Teachers wit ES experience make for much more compelling social science teachers, and transform youth who hate history classes, to ones that experience the power of education in the process of self-development and social awareness required for critical thinking skills and a natural interest for learning.
It is disheartening to this proposal to cut such vital programs – I ask your reconsideration, thank you.
Ē Mālama Pono, Pete Doktor C/O 2005
Education Foundations, School of Education

When I was a student at UH I chose to take dance classes

From: Michelle Duke on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:09 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

When I was a student at UH I chose to take dance classes to help not only my mental health but also to learn about dance history of various cultures. Please reconsider cutting this major.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much
as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to
survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I was not an actor but I benefited from the uh theater program

From: Amber Eckart on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:45 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I was not an actor but I benefited from the uh theater program in many ways. After I took beginner stage craft I stayed on as a college student worker for the time I was at LCC. I met many amazing artists, worked along side then learning so many crafts. I also had the chance to learn minor trade skills with tools. I have held these skills in high value. As a now home owner I have bought my
own set of power tools and hand tools. I just got done replacing trim and siding. I have built a ladder for my kids bunk bed. I built a wall desk for my sons distance learning. I would never have been confident enough without my stage craft base taught by my amazing professor and boss Don Raney. Theater was magical as a child going to plays in elementary school at LCC. Even my kids came home wide eyed from their first experience recently. I truly home we do not cut out the fun in a time when we really need goodwill and whimsy. Please keep the theater program it does much more than provide an Outlet to entertainers.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local
artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Personally, I think cutting programs in a public university is a disservice

From: Andres Salazar Estrada on Sep, 15 2020, 10 at 55:AM :

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

Personally, I think cutting programs in a public university is a disservice to the local community as a whole: students, faculty, and staff, as well as the island of O’ahu which has its biggest campus in Mānoa.

Maybe you should consider cutting exorbitant salaries among faculty and administrators before cutting services to the community.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading
Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I graduated with my MFA in Directing (TYA) with a focus on Hawaiian

From: Todd Farley on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:00 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I graduated with my MFA in Directing (TYA) with a focus on Hawaiian Theatre. This program is unique in the world of theatre studies as it offers a perspective and theory that includes Oceania. It is why I came to UHM and is why serious theatre students from around the world would choose UHM over other world-class Universities. This
remains a vital and vibrant connection that should not be lost due to funding cuts.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.
It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I am a graduate of the UH Dance program and have made my

From: Cheryl Flaharty on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:07 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I am a graduate of the UH Dance program and have made my living as a dance company Artistic Director for 30+ years now. My company, IONA Contemporary Dance Theatre has been instrumental in providing dance training, income, and opportunities to nearly 100 local dancers and collaborating artists over the years. IONA has also spawned at least 10 other dance companies in
Hawaii and abroad.

The UH dance program is the main avenue for dancers to discover and launch their careers, like I did, and in fact many of my company members have come out of this program. Please keep funding this program! Dance is vital to a community’s physical and emotional well being!
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Additionally I also oppose similar proposed cuts to the Womens Studies, Ethnic Studies,

From: Bonnie Fox on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 4:37 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Additionally I also oppose similar proposed cuts to the Womens Studies, Ethnic Studies, Ilocano, and other programs that greatly enrich the university environment and make UHM the place it is, a place of mutual learning and understanding from multiple perspectives. The cuts to programs that enrich us culturally as a community do not send a message that UHM actually cares about its
community members. It rather indicates that UH has no material interest in real investment in our diverse communities. Please reconsider cuts to programs that send the wrong message about where our priorities lie.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive
Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

The arts are so important for students to become well rounded individuals as

From: Lili Frazier on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 5:15 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The arts are so important for students to become well rounded individuals as well as an amazing form of expression.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Opposition to “stop out” Ethnic Studies

From: Antoinette Freitas on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:00 PM:

Regents of the University of Hawai’i,

It is shocking to learn that the Mānoa Budget Team recommends writing off the Ethnic Studies (ES) BA program. I am in strong opposition to this recommendation. Withdraw the proposed option and abandon any idea that suggests that ES work with Interdisciplinary Studies to prove they deserve to exist at the University of Hawai’i.

As background, I work in Hawaiian Studies and served as its former Director. My aloha the ES department is in part due to receiving a GA under Prof. Marion Kelly. Often cited as an activist scholar, to me, Prof. Kelly was a scholar of the people. Her life’s work exposed the ways and means by which Hawaiian people were misrepresented in academics. Her history and knowledge of labor in Hawaiʻi among other things keep that important part of Hawaiiʻs history relevant to our contemporary understanding of local land use, labor, and economics. By this work, she influenced countless students such as myself to learn the hard truths about Hawaiʻi nei and know with confidence that Hawaiians and other ethnicities who settled in our islands deserve funding, positions, and degree-granting programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

As the UH takes on an increasing business mentality it has become conveniently blind to its own history of underfunding and shunning “studies” programs. Programs such as Ethnic Studies and Hawaiian Studies have always had to fight to stay alive since the very beginning. For example, in 1977, Prof. Kiyoshi Ikeda, Chairman of the Chancellors Committee on the Hawaiian Studies Project (that was tasked to examine the establishment of a BA degree in Hawaiian Studies) noted that “. . . a community and University commitment to developing the best faculty and approach to Hawaiian Studies has often involved denigration, insult, and conflict with the powers-that-be, the parties may change but the challenges remain.”

At this critical juncture in history, during a global pandemic, racially fueled public violence in the US, and growing inequality between rich and poor, the UHM budget committee is suggesting to “stop- out” the Ethnic Studies BA ES grew out of the very context we find ourselves in today, that is, the national civil rights, anti-war and student movements and the Hawaiʻi anti-eviction, land, labor, and sovereignty movements. Th ES department deserves a formative role in guiding our island society to an equitable, sustainable, and resilient future. You must reinforce this now more than ever – do not abandon course.

Me ka ʻoiaʻiʻo,

Women’s Studies and Budget Cut Proposal

From: Melanie Fujii on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 6:52 PM:

L Saraswati Hello Board of Regents,
My name is Melanie Fujii, I am currently a senior undergraduate at UHM double majoring in Psychology and Women’s Studies. Women’s Studies at UHM has and continues to provide me with invaluable skills needed to critically analyze women’s lives across contexts. Considering the times of the BLM movement and the coronavirus pandemic, it is especially important to address the interplay of race, gender, class and more to build an equitable society.
I request that you please remove Women’s Studies from the post-COVID proposal of budget cuts. The Women’s Studies curriculum provides crucial context for the increasing burdens affecting women and girls including domestic and caretaking work, spikes in domestic violence, and job losses. I believe that the work of Women’s Studies should be amplified in times like these, not undermined or disregarded.
In addition, Ethnic Studies is too a crucial field of study. The program provides scholarly history, tradition, and representation relevant to our diverse student population and state. Especially in current times, these fields of study should be valued if UHM should truly value “diversity”, equity, social justice and innovation.

Sincerely, Melanie Fujii

Please reconsider the violence against the arts and access to scared knowledge you

From: Elizabeth Gannaway on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 10:04 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Please reconsider the violence against the arts and access to scared knowledge you are planning to enact. The Theatre and Dance Department here at UHM is like none else in the world. I would not have moved half way across the world if it was not unique and perfect for my educational aspirations. Students are entitled to an
education in the performing arts. They are highly valuable
and crucial in our society. Remove the arts and watch a community crumble.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.
It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I am a healthcare provider at a community health center and I cannot

From: Coty George on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 6:49 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I am a healthcare provider at a community health center and I cannot begin to tell you what an impact my experiences in UHM theatre and dance have had on developing my ability to build rapport and offer guidance to my patients. Much of my will to continue to work (no
less survive) in the midst of this pandemic is owed in great part to the arts. I have honed my knowledge and
love for musical theatre during my brief tenure as a performer with the Earle Earnst Lab Theatre at UHM and it continues to serve me in my recent involvement in virtual performances. It has also helped me improve my speech and communication skills, which I use daily when diagnosing and treating patients (especially ones suffering from COVID-19). With the dwindling content of reality shows as the pandemic rages on, we all turn to entertainment and performance art as an escape and sometimes as a means of making sense of this unprecedented time. Cutting these programs will only cause more unrest for generations to come.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local
artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

The arts are indispensable.

From: Sarah Gibson on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:25 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The arts are indispensable.

Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I am an alumni of UH Manoa, and this is shameful, cowardly behavior.

From: Will Giles on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:21 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I am an alumni of UH Manoa, and this is shameful, cowardly behavior. I am so ashamed that you would immediately reduce these programs, and use this pandemic as an excuse to erode the Ethnic Studies programs that make the campus a community and responsible house of learning in Hawai’i.
Please also consider resigning, as you are a disappointment, and one might even say, a parasite: robbing UH Manoa of competent, invested leadership.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.
It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Haven’t you done enough to strip Hawaiʻi of Hawaiʻi. So much damage

From: Kathy Uilani Goods on Sep, 15 2020, 8 at 57:AM :

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

Haven’t you done enough to strip Hawaiʻi of Hawaiʻi. So much damage to culture under your watch. Story telling (the arts) is Hawaiian. The University of HAWAIʻI needs to be Hawaiʻi.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Ethnic Studies BA “Stop-out” Testimony

From: Jocelyn Grandinetti on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 10:58 PM:

Aloha kākou,

I am writing as a concerned undergraduate student at UH Mānoa to urge the Board of Regents to reconsider this proposed “stop-out” of the Ethnic Studies BA program. Housing the Center of Oral History, ACCESS, as well as countless other important initiatives, this department is a necessary gateway through which students are given access to knowledge systems, cultural values, as well as like-minded people that stress the extreme import of the worldʻs wide wealth of ethnic groups. Although many may not consider the study of “ethnic groups” to be of great value, this dismissive attitude is exactly why this department is so important: it broadens studentʻs perspectives of the world past the restrictive norms of the status quo, while inclusively considering alternatives proposed by other cultures and attempting to protect their agency as dignified peoples.
Although I am not in the department myself, I understand that this department represents a knowledge and community base of extreme importance in an institution that strives to be a Hawaiian place of learning and that needs to be more inclusive with its institutional focuses. Having grown up here my whole life with an extremely limited grasp on native Hawaiian culture–the indigenous culture of the ʻāina on which I was born and raised–it has been life-changing to finally take part in culturally relevant practices and give back to this ʻāina through service learning programs offered by ACCESS. Had I not joined Mālama iʻna Ahupuaʻa (MINA), one of their main programs, I would not at all be where I am today. With service learning having opened my eyes to the amazing culture thatʻs been in front of me my whole life, I feel extremely indebted to ACCESS and the Ethnic Studies department, especially Director of Civic Engagement Ulla Hasager, for redirecting me toward the academic, personal, and spiritual path on which I tread today.
This being said, I once again urge the BOR to reconsider their methods of budget-cutting. It is not fair to trample on a department that is still only just beginning to blossom, especially one that so many have worked so hard to create, and which represents the rights and agency of so many already marginalized and disadvantaged social groups.

Mahalo nui loa, Jocelyn Grandinetti

Regarding the “Stop-Out” Option for Ethnic Studies and Womenʻs Studies

From: Greg Pōmaikaʻi Gushiken on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:05 AM:

Aloha mai kākou,

My name is Gregory Pōmaikaʻi Gushiken, and I am a 2018 Kanaka Maoli alumnus of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and a current doctoral student at the University of California, San Diego, in the Department of Ethnic Studies. I am writing you today to call for the protection of Ethnic Studies, Womenʻs Studies, and Theater & Dance as well as the immediate withdrawal of the option to “stop out” Ethnic Studies and Womenʻs Studies as postulated by the University in their latest statement. Such measures have yet to have any proven financial benefits, and are but the latest in a stream of attacks on the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at the University of Hawaiʻi and globally.

It is important first to acknowledge that Ethnic Studies and Womenʻs Studies globally were created out of movements for social justice, decolonization, and liberation. Indeed, beginning with the student strikes at San Francisco State University and others across the United States, Ethnic Studies was founded by and for students aiming to articulate a way of learning, of educating, and of creating and organizing that centers our intersecting histories, presents, and futures. Indeed, bringing a uniquely Oceanic lens to social justice education, Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has a 50 year history, beginning in the 1970s with critical education that fed into the Hawaiʻi community through the many student leaders it produced, student leaders who today are our kūpuna and our community leaders. Ethnic Studies students were, indeed, at Waiāhole and Waikāne, at Kahoʻolawe, and at Mauna Kea, sometimes leading, often times organizing, and always caring for our communities. Ethnic Studies, whether directly o r indirectly, has produced a generation of community leaders in Hawaiʻi that have continued to shape what a future

g rounded in justice, aloha ʻāina, and love looks like.

Likewise, the Department of Womenʻs Studies has fostered a generation of leaders whose particular expertise in the study of gender, sexuality, and the fierce critique of heteropatriarchal structures has made them incredible scholars, organizers, leaders, and artists. A particular attention to gender and sexuality is already largely missing in our curriculum in Hawaiʻi, broadly, not just in the university but in the entire range of our P-20 educational system. To dissolve womenʻs studies into an interdisciplinary studies major would not only further deter students from majoring in Womenʻs Studies, but would also deprive the program of resources needed for it to thrive.

P articularly, in this current moment, it would be an egregious misstep to believe that directing funding away from such
p rogram that contribute critical perspectives of social problems, legislation, and other facets of our reality would benefit t he university in the long run, as these programs provide absolutely vital analysis of our current moment. Indeed, it is impossible to understand the effects of the global pandemic, climate change, militarization, colonization, and the continued anti- Black racism and violence without an analysis of race, indigeneity, class, gender, and sexuality. In other words, it is simply not possible to imagine a world grounded in justice and care without the work that comes from these programs. Given these crises, thus, Hawaiʻi as a whole must be committed to a future grounded in Black and Indigenous feminist ethics that value care, community embodied knowledges, and a fierce commitment to justice. In other words, these programs are absolutely vital in charting better futures for Hawaiʻi and the world.

To dissolve these programs and to dissolve Ethnic Studies along with it would foreclose the possibilities of these futures. Dissolving these programs would say, loud and clear, to the Hawaiʻi community that the University of Hawaiʻi does not value or care about our futures. Particularly, dissolving these programs is a further disservice to the Hawaiian community, as these programs are some of the very few spaces on campus where our voices are listened to and our organizing, art, and histories are valued. Likewise, the Department of Theater and Dance along with other arts and humanities departments, as I have written in another submission to the Board of Regents, is absolutely pivotal to our education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, particularly when Black, Indigenous, and other POC students must navigate hostile conditions on campus every day.

As a Kanaka Maoli scholar of Ethnic Studies, I urge the University of Hawaiʻi to consider the value of Ethnic Studies and Womenʻs Studies. I urge the University of Hawaiʻi, further, to take notice that a cross the US, Ethnic Studies programs are becoming
c ommonplace. Indeed, in California, the state legislature just passed a measure to mandate Ethnic Studies courses in K-12 education across the state. Elsewhere, PhD programs in Ethnic Studies are becoming more and more commonplace. Some include: the University of California San Diego, the University of Colorado Boulder, the University of California Berkeley, the University of California Riverside, and the newly founded Ethnic Studies PhD at the University of Oregon.

For the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to consider dissolving such a program actively sends a message to the academic community and to the Hawaiʻi community that the University of Hawaiʻi does not value Black, Indigenous and other POC knowledges, communities, histories, and voices. To be against Ethnic Studies and Womenʻs Studies is to actively be against Black and Indigenous peoples as well as other people of color. To be against Ethnic Studies and Womenʻs Studies is to actively participate in the ongoing violences of heteropatriarchy. T o be against Ethnic Studies and Womenʻs Studies is to disavow 50 years of
h istory at the University of Hawaiʻi, a history that has inevitably shaped not only our campus but also our community.
Mahalo nui loa for your time and consideration and, again, I urge you to immediately withdraw the option to “stop-out” Ethnic Studies and Womenʻs Studies as well as to immediately withdraw plans to discontinue of the Dance and Theater majors.

me ka mahalo,

br> Gregory Pōmaikaʻi Gushiken, M.A. (he/him/his) Ph.D. Student, Department of Ethnic Studies University of California, San Diego

The UC San Diego community holds great respect for the land and the original people of the area where our campus is located. UC San Diego is built on the unceded territory of the Kumeyaay Nation Today, the Kumeyaay people continue to maintain their political sovereignty and cultural traditions as vital members of the San Diego community. We acknowledge their tremendous contributions and enduring relations to the region and thank them for their stewardship.

As an alumnus of the University of Hawaiʻi and a current doctoral student

From: Gregory Pōmaikaʻi Gushiken on Sep, 15 2020, 8 at 59:AM :

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

As an alumnus of the University of Hawaiʻi and a current doctoral student at UC San Diego writing a dissertation at the intersections of Kanaka Maoli indigeneity, climate change, gender & sexuality, and art & writing, I find it disappointing that the University of Hawaiʻi would defund one of the most important programs on campus.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the
helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

As an alumni of UH Manoa dance department I know that the performing

From: Makena Harootian on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 6:56 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

As an alumni of UH Manoa dance department I know that the performing arts of dance and theater are an integral part of the college experience and communities beyond. To cut these programs would be a detrimental cut to the entire culture of the UH systems and would be an overall shame.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the
helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Opposition to Stop-out the Ethnic Studies Bachelor of Arts

From: Johanna Hartnett on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:32 AM:

I came to the University of Hawai’i to go to school in paradise, when I arrived it was the Ethnic Studies program that opened my eyes to what Hawai’i is truly about, taking away the BA in Ethnic Studies would be stabbing the true soul of UH. I ask the Manoa Budget Team to provide evidence on how the option to “stop-out&rdquo ES will result in immediate projected savings, maybe you can cut the Football budget instead of eliminating an educational humanitarian ideal of UH. This is an action of institutional racism and I speak as a student of UH, as a member of Social Sciences, we will not stand for this.
Johanna Hartnett

We cannot be human beings who are capable of coming up with creative

From: Michelle Herd on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 5:58 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

We cannot be human beings who are capable of coming up with creative solutions to the worlds problems, to our individual problems, if we do not have spaces to practice and cultivate our creativity. Protect dance. Protect us all.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much
as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to
survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Letter in support of Ethnic Studies

From: Patricia Penn HILDEN on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:43 AM:

Dear Regents:
I write to support, as strongly as possible, both the continuance and indeed the expansion of the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa. write from the perspective of an emeritus professor of Comparative Ethnic Studies, with specialization in Native American and Indigenous Studies, in the first such department, founded at the end of the 1960s at the University of California, Berkeley . I write as well as an historia n (PhD, Cambridge University) of race and ethnicity in both Europe and North America . For the past 2 years, and continuing this year, I have been welcomed - warmly - by the Department of Ethnic Studies at UH Manoa (as well as by faculty across the campus). I had known of the seminal
work of the first chair of ES I met, Prof. Monisha Das Gupta, who acted as my faculty
mentor for the first two years of my work here, and the equally seminal work of the present department chair, Prof. Ty Tengan, an Indigenous scholar known across the international Indigenous world of which I am also a part. Prof. Tenga n’s work had long provided me with key ideas in my" own current work but meeting him and having the chance to talk and learn in person has been invaluable. I hope that both Prof. Das Gupta and Prof. Tengan will find that the results of our interactions, which they will see in the book I am finishing, have done their work the honor it deserves!

After asking to join them as a visiting scholar two and a half years ago, I began reading the work of all the faculty in the department and quickly realized how very remarkable they all are. From the youngest faculty - Ethan Ca ldwell, Brian Chung, and Laurel Mei-Singh - to the recently retired - Noe l Kent and Jonathan Okamura - they are amazing, as I immediately told my many UC Berkeley colleagues and former students. Not only is their published work amongst the best in an outs ta nd in g field of Critical Ethnic Studies scholars, but their teaching - which I have had the joy of observing many times - leaves someone of my generation confident that we are handing on the work to thos e who will continue the work. I have both seen and heard - from students whose connections to my own students in California drove them to seek me out here - the enthus ias m generated by their participation in Ethnic Studies here. I have watched the mentoring - that goes well above the
“usual” efforts of even the best faculty. We in Ethnic Studies have a special charge, to reach communities not usually supported by higher education and to draw young people in to the significant work of giving our people - and our ancestors - a voice where they have not had any voice at all for so long. Not all faculty in the field take up this work but all the faculty here does - willingly and with great warmth and care for all the students.

As I am sure all will agree, we are living in fraught times, torn by racism and divided by violence and hate. At no time has there been such a need for people trained to study and analyze the knotty histories of these phenomena. Here, in Hawai’i, where the past has exemplified this violence and racism, such skills seem to me to be key to moving forward into a much more equitable and just society, the often-stated goal of most residents of the State of Hawai’i, including those at the university and throughout the state’s government and business community. Despite such goals, however, racism remains endemic across the islands. As an outsider, one trained to look through a particular lens at racist behaviors and attitudes, I see and hear statements and actions that reflect the extent of the often-unexamined attitudes . As a volunteer tutor for local at-risk youth, I see the stark absences in the State’s
curricula. I hear a mayor announce his amazement after he had met - evidently for the first time! - with a major part of O’ahu’s population, those non-Kanaka Maoli Pacific Islanders who include people from Samoa, Tonga, Chuuk, and the Marshall Islands. How they live, how they are policed, how they are schooled (or not), what their health facilities are, and so on were all, he explained, things about which he had known nothing at all, despite having been mayor for several years! Had he studied even one course within the Department of Ethnic Studies at UHM, he’d have known to listen to ALL the communities represented on O’ahu. Just as the Japanese­ American population had a struggle to find acknowledgement of its past - most recently internment and the “fighting 442cd” and so on and found the Department of Ethnic Studies a home for that struggle, so other populations struggle now and similar ly need a place where their histories and cultures and languages are honored and studied, not ignored.

It has been a privilege to be associated with this department, its students, its staff, and its faculty for this time I have spent amongst them. I am, frankly, shocked by the proposals that effectively cut the department just when the university should be choosing to expand it, possibly making it the umbrella for faculty from other departments whose work connects them directly into Critical Ethnic Studies work. This entity “Interdisciplinary Studies” is, in fact, a meaningless one, an empty category guaranteed to confuse undergraduates seeking to major in the kind of subjects available in Ethnic Studies. That confusion (exactly what is a student studying in “interdisciplinary studies”? “Interdisciplinarity”? A muddle of a bunch of disciplines?) will lead, I predict, to the decline in enrollments apparently desired by the cost-cutters of this administration. At the very time that Critical Ethnic Studies has a larger and larger international presence, with serious journals, international and national conferences, thriving professional organizations, this university proposes to hide the department and then, possibly, to disband it completely.
What a tragic act. What a loss of possibility for this university. It should be clear to all that the effort to move the U of H into the ranks of first rate US universities demands not a smaller , less visible department of Ethnic Studies but rather a thriving, well-supported pillar of the university’s functioning. Just look around at all the public universities rated - across the world - as “top”: all include strong and thriving Critical Ethnic Studies departments, with degrees at all levels and faculty key to every intellectual undertaking all over the globe.

Support the young faculty in their work; build the department; draw scholars from across the University into its inclusive community!

I should add that I would have circulated this letter for the signatures I know would be forthcoming from scholars across the US but given the terrible catastrophe unfolding across the western US, I decided it would be unkind to reach out to friends and colleagues who are finding breathing difficult and some watching the hills and mountains not far from their own homes on fire. Thus I remain writing in the tradition of my own people, the Nez Perce (Nimipuu) people, and I speak only for myself.

Patricia Penn Hilden (PhD, Cantab)
Professor Emerita,
University of California, Berkeley keley.edu

Testimony regarding changes made to Women’s Studies Department

From: Emily Holmberg on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:22 PM:

L Saraswati

Aloha,
My name is Emily Holmberg and I am a double major in History and Women’s Studies. I never thought that in my last semester here at UH, I would have to defend the existence of my field of study.
At an institution like the University of Hawai’i, which touts itself as a “Hawaiian place of learning,” it is essential to follow through on that claim and provide intersectional and culturally versed education to students from Hawai’i and elsewhere. It is my fear that by taking away the autonomy of the Women’s Studies Department, many students will lose out on the opportunities that I have been fortunate enough to partake in academically.
I fully understand that the current COVID situation has taken an economic toll on the State and the University. It has taken a toll on us all. But when we engage in the process of rebuilding ourselves and our communities, we must turn to more than just science and industry. Scientific fields are incredibly important resources for research and solution-based problem solving during a global pandemic as the one that we are in, but science alone will not help us rebuild. The arts, humanities and social sciences help us to understand ourselves as people and as a community. If we lose those fields, then we lose our humanity.
So I must ask, is the University of Hawai’i a Hawaiian place of learning simply due to its geographic location and the land that it occupies? Or because it gives students the opportunity to be well-rounded in the history and culture of the Hawaiian islands and the Pacific community as taught through departments like Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, and others?
Mahalo for your time.
Emily Holmberg
Phi Alpha Theta: Alpha Beta Epsilon Chapter Undergraduate President NRHH Kau I Ka Hano Chapter President
Gateway House Resident Assistant, Rainbow Villa

I have a bachelor’s degree in Drama and theatre from UH Manoa. I

From: Carol Honda on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 10:24 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I have a bachelor’s degree in Drama and theatre from UH Manoa. I have been a professional actor in NY for almost 30 years. When I went to UH, I had no idea what my major would be until I stumbled into a Intro to Drama class. That class has changed my life. I discovered that theatre is my passion. Saving the department would provide opportunities for many young people who might
be in the same position as I was- so unsure of what direction to take. I always viewed the university as a place where you can truly find your way in life. I am forever grateful for UH for the education and access I received.
Please do not compromise the dreams of future generations.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”
It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

this is a disaster decission for future Hawaii young people and students from

From: Dora Hong on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 4:03 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

this is a disaster decission for future Hawaii young people and students from all over the world. Please reconsider and stop. Education for young generation are the most important program for our commnity. Thank you!
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much
as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to
survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Humanities programs & the arts are a vital part of human civilization, society,

From: Sherilyn Hoomanawanui on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:41 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Humanities programs & the arts are a vital part of human civilization, society, and our lical communities. They contribute to the economy, and the health and well being of the community. A university is not a tech college or a STEM-only institution. It’s purpose is to support the community it serves, in this case, the state of Hawai’i and the Asia-Pacific region. In a place where performance,
music & dance is integral to diverse cultures and help make them vibrant and dynamic—which our university reflects—to cut these programs for temporary savings would be woefully short-sighted in the long run.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive
Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

The Theatre and Dance programs have been the training foundation for hundreds of

From: Craig Howes on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 4:39 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The Theatre and Dance programs have been the training foundation for hundreds of performing artists and teachers for the state of Hawaiʻi. Much of the public face of the university is provided by these programs.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much
as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to
survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Testimony in support of the BA in Philippine Languages and Literatures

From: Sharlene Insong on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:27 PM:

To whom it may concern,

My name is Sharlene Insong, UH alumni and former student of the Ilokano language program at UH. I am writing this letter in strong opposition of the University of Hawaii’s proposal to“stop-out the BA in Philippine Language and Culture”.

I know that we are currently in a pandemic and times are hard however, I do not believe cutting this program will be a good solution to this problem. From my time at UH, I have taken Ilokano language courses as well as IP classes that have always been full of students and even students being waitlisted. Full enrollment in the program’s courses shows that it is not a cost center, but rather it draws in many tuition-paying students.

Nevertheless, it is appalling to me that the budget cuts to programs in the university targeted departments that play an important role in the education of minority communities i.e women’s studies, Ethnic Studies and the Philippine language and literature program. In this social political climate especially, we should be pushing for the expansion for these programs rather than cutting them. The University of Hawaii continues to focus on money rather than focusing on the education of language, culture and histories/issues of minority communities. In a capitalist society, this is expected, but should not be accepted. I urge the board to rethink the programs they have proposed to cut.

Additionally, Hawaii has a high population of Filipinos and many students are second generation Filipino-Americans who did not learn their language of their ancestors but come to UH to do so. I was one of these students. UH is the only university in the world that offers a BA in Ilokano and this should not be taken away for the sake of the community in Hawaii who need a place to learn about their culture and where they come from. The effects of colonialism and immigration continue to affect diasporic Filipinos/ second/third Flipino Americans who do not have physical ties to their homeland. The least UH can do to fix this, is provide funding to give students the opportunity to learn their language and culture.

Lastly, there is also a larger community need for Ilokano and Tagalog speakers, particularly for professionals in the areas of education, business, health, and social and legal services trained in Philippine history and cultures. I am currently a paralegal/AmeriCorps advocate for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii where I have seen the need for Tagalog and Ilokano speakers in legal services. Many clients that I speak to are vulnerable immigrants who know basic english and would otherwise not completely understand what I am saying in english. There are other times where I have heard that it is difficult for the courts to get an Ilokano interpreter. As you can see, my experience along with the huge filipino population in Hawaii, creates a great need for UH to continue to have the BA in Philippine languages and literature.

I hope this letter gets to you well, and you see the importance of this program for our students, future generations and community.

Sincerely, Sharlene Insong

In a personal note, my time at UH Manoa, changed the course of

From: m on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 8:40 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

In a personal note, my time at UH Manoa, changed the course of my dance career.

I had the wonderful opportunity to study dance on the exchange program. It is where I discovered the Hawaiian culture through hula. It is where I learned the history of the islands and its people. It gave me a deeper understanding of the context I was in and fostered a love of which that endures to this day. For the first time I understood that culture was transmitted through dance. And I pursue this work and research to this day.
I have shared my hugely rewarding experience there with other dancers and they have pursued Hawaiian and hula studies as a result. I was later a guest lecturer at UH Hilo’s Dance Department.

And this all happened through dance and music. it is a rich and important strand of not only the university but of the islands themselves and would be an enormous loss if it were to be cut.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your
homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

As the only flagship and land-grant university serving the state of Hawai’i,

From: Tom Iwanicki on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 10:17 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

As the only flagship and land-grant university serving the state of Hawai’i, it is your obligation to provide a comprehensive higher education to the denizens of this land. University of Hawai’i should be run like a university, a source of higher education, culture, and innovation serving the public. It is not a business and its bottom line should not be the motivator for cuts to small, less “profitable” programs.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading
Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

The Performing Arts offer students unique pathways of expression, “platforms” of expression that

From: Lisa Jay on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:33 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The Performing Arts offer students unique pathways of expression, “platforms” of expression that speak to and about humanity in ways that go beyond words. Cutting these programs from the University of Hawaii will eliminate all platforms of unique, beautiful expression. A university without dance and the performing arts will be a university that lack a well-rounded, diverse curriculum.
Now more than ever, society as a whole needs the Arts. As some who obtained her undergraduate degree in Drama & Theatre and her graduate degree in Dance from the University of Hawaii, I implore you not to cut the performing arts.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these
devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Keep Ethnic Studies at UHM

From: J Jenkins on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:31 AM:

Aloha Board of Regents,

I’m writing to ask that the administration stop targeting Ethnic Studies and to immediately withdraw the option to “stop-out” of Ethnic Studies. Also, please provide evidence of the option to “stop-out” of Ethnic Studies that will result in significant savings. Please note that even if there are savings, there are none that are worth the loss of the benefit of Ethnic Studies to the community.

Mahalo, Jen Jenkins

The Importance of Women’s Studies

From: Abigail Jones on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:48 AM:

Aloha,
My name is Abigail Jones. I am a 3rd year student at UH Manoa and currently double majoring in biochemistry and Women’s Studies.
This is a plea for the UH administration to reconsider their decision to make the Women’s Studies department “work closely” with Interdisciplinary Studies. Women’s Studies (WS) strives to shed light on the aspects of history that have long been ignored. From almost the beginning of time, women and people identifying with genders or sexualites other than that of a heterosexual male have been cast to the side in written history. Society has been suppressing women and other gendered peoples for far too long. The independent and thriving Women’s Studies program has provided a much needed voice for those lost to history and represents the fight for change and equality within our still incredibly flawed
patriarchal culture.
To those insisting on a merge with Interdisciplinary Studies, I ask how this proposal would indeed (a) result in the increase in the number of majors for WS, and (b) contribute to the cost-cutting measures at the UH. As of yet, the Manoa Budget Team has provided no actual guidance on the actual impact this would have on students.
I follow up with this question, would the Manoa Budget Team be just as willing to cut STEAM programs? Would they be willing to force an unwanted merge between engineering majors and biology majors, claiming that they are both science founded and therefore equivalent?
UH Manoa claims to be an institution that values creativity, social justice, and innovation. If this was truly the case, the Women’s Studies program would not be threatened by budget cuts. If this was truly the case, programs such as WS, Ethnic Studies, and Theatre/Dance would not be valued any less than STEAM programs.
To cut funding for these programs will reveal how dedicated UH Manoa really is to social justice and innovation. If the Manoa Budget Team cuts funding for Women’s Studies (even under the guise of a merge with IS), they are no different from the societies who have snuffed the voices of women for centuries. Show us that Manoa has evolved. Show us that you care. Remove WS from the post-COVID initiative of budget cuts.

Respectfully, Abigail Jones.

Letter in support of Ethnic Studies and the immediate withdrawal of th ESBA “stop-out”

From: Aurora K. Kagawa-Viviani on Sep, 15 2020, 10 at 25:PM :

Aloha mai Board of Regents,
I am submitting testimony to call for the immediate withdrawal of the proposed “stop-out” of the Ethnic Studies BA degree. This proposal does not appear to have involved any discussion with the department communities affected and gives strong impression of a very poorly informed and tone-deaf top-down decision. It is also unclear to me how this move produces any cost savings.

Ethnic Studies - its formation, faculty, and graduates, have a rich legacy in the Hawaiian Island in terms of fostering multi- ethnic solidarity and social innovations. While they may not put energy into articulating the departments impacts, I am certain, that if given time to organize such justification for existence, a very strong case for the continued existence of the BA will surface. In fact, in these times when institutional racism and disparities have been unveiled by both COVID and police violence ESis more important than ever, and I imagine a progressive UH would take this opportunity to expandESand actively support collaboration and synergies across departments rather than targe ESfor eventual elimination.

Times of budgetary crisis, while distressing, can also be times of innovation and transformation, if done in
transparent and collaborative settings. An important first step toward this for re-visionin ESis to allow the department define its own future along its theme of “Our History, Our Way.” The proposal to “stop-out” th ESBA belies the MBT’s ignorance of the entire history o ESand its relevance to the last 50 years of Hawaii’s history- and the first step to rectifying this should be withdrawing the “stop-out.”
Thank you for your time.
Aurora Kagawa-Viviani, PhD
Instructor, Department of Geography and Environment
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Written testimony for 9/17/2020 BOR meeting

From: Sara Kahanamoku on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:40 PM:

Aloha mai,

I write as a community member, Native Hawaiian, and academic to condemn the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa’s decision to target the Ethnic Studies program for a “stop-out” measure. This action is nonsensical and, in light of current events, racist. A strong program in Ethnic Studies (ES) is invaluable to a university–though I personally work in a STEM field, I use teachings from m EScourses each day in making decisions about science ethics and my interactions with the diverse community with whom I work. By choosing to devalue the contribution of ES, UHM is ignoring the impact that this field has on all aspects of academia, and the importance of teaching about the legacies of Hawai’i’s diverse peoples to all who pass through the university.

I write with three major requests of the BOR:

 

  1. Please provide evidence re: how the option to “stop-out” Ethnic Studies will result in immediate projected savings. The BOR has not made it clear how this will positively impact UHM’s ability to respond to a COVID-induced budget shortfall over the short and long term.
    1. Stop targeting Ethnic Studies for continued budget cuts.
    2. Immediately withdraw the option to “stop-out” ES.

       

This is an act of institutional racism. In the current climate, following a long summer (and continued fall) of Black Lives Matter protests, blatant institutional racism against the Waikato 6 (Pasifika and Māori academics in Aotearoa), and the general hostility of academia to diverse scholars, students, and staff, this move will not go unnoticed. By continuing to target th ESprogram, the University of Hawai’i is sending a message that it does not value diversity in culture or scholarship. This message will be remembered by current and future generations of students and employees.

Me ka ’oia’i’o,
Sara Tenamoeata Kahanamoku, PhD candidate in Integrative Biology at UC Berkeley

br> S. Kahanamoku (they/she)
PhD Candidate, Department of Integrative Biology NSF GRFP + Chancellor’s Fellow
University of California, Berkeley

this is a good class it didn’t just teach me about theater but

From: seanpaul kaleopaa-tadaki on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:45 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

this is a good class it didn’t just teach me about theater but how to write better too.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

As one of the alumni of the UHM Theatre & Dance MFA program,

From: Bonnie Kim on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 5:05 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

As one of the alumni of the UHM Theatre & Dance MFA program, I’m so shocked to hear this unthinkable news. One of the proudest things I share with others when I work and present as an independent artist and teaching artist at various theater and puppetry events, conferences, festivals and workshops around the world is my education at UHM which offered a well-rounded and
mix of hands-on learning experiences in Asian theater and Asian & Pacific focused dances and music, different aspects of theater design, performing and research. As a Hawaii resident student who had to self-support own education and living expenses, going to grad school on mainland was not an option for me. However, what I learned and gained from my MFA studies at UHM Theatre & Dance department was absolutely invaluable and helped me find the path that I lead now as a freelance artist and teaching artist. I truly believe that our theater & dance programs are very special and unique and I personally know many folks who were in the department when I was in are making a difference and touching people’s lives in so many ways, especially in this trying time of the pandemic in many parts of the world with their art work and training. I truly hope that UHM does not becomes one of generic universities by cutting out programs that are special and unique to Hawaii.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Please do not cut these important programs

From: Megan Kloetzel on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 8:01 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Please do not cut these important programs.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I studied at UH very briefly, I was fortunate enough to to spend

From: Kaitlyn Kopetic on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:05 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I studied at UH very briefly, I was fortunate enough to to spend time at this university through the NSE program coming from my home university in NY. My time learning about Hawaiian and Pacific theatre (and other theatre as well) from Mike Poblete and his TAs was one of the most memorable experiences of my time in Hawaii. Reducing this program will be of serious detriment to the students.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading
Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I certainly hope that the teaching of Arts and Humanities including Dance and

From: Sasha Kovacs on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 4:23 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I certainly hope that the teaching of Arts and Humanities including Dance and Theater will continue to be a valued part of the curriculum at UH. I doubt that tax-payers will want to continue to fund UH if the quality of education offered continues to go downhill while the price is ever
increasing. Please be aware that many students and their families are already looking at alternatives to traditional
University for just this reason, exorbitant cost and low quality of educational opportunities being offered. I suggest that UH reconsider cutting educational programs and graduate assistantships if you want to stay in business as competitive publically funded educational
institution.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”
It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Testimony regarding reorg

From: Eomailani Kukahiko on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:39 PM:

UHM President David President Lassner

UHM Provost, Michael Bruno The Board of Regents
Dean of CALL, Peter Arnade Associate Dean of CALL, Tom Brislin
Associate Dean of CALL, Kimi Kondo-Brown Associate Chair of Theatre, Julie Iezzi Associate Chair of Dance, Betsy Fisher
Chair of Theatre and Dance, Markus Wessendorf Dear President Lassner,

I am writing to give feedback on the plans for the College of Education as well as STRONGLY OPPOSE the proposed elimination of degree programs in Dance (BA, BFA, MA, MFA) and Theatre (MA, Ph.D., reduction of MFA tracks), Ethnic Studies (BA).

College of Education
Suggestions:
Decrease the size of the college-wide PhD program (all concentrations), and graduate programs in Educational Administration, Educational Foundations, Educational Psychology, and Learning Design & Technology.
Decrease the size of the Curriculum & Instruction concentration in the college-wide PhD program. Increase the size of the EdD program.

As a graduate of the Curriculum & Instruction doctoral program, I reject the notion that this concentration and others should be decreased. First, the nature of the program attracts many Hawaiian, Filipino and other marginalized students because of the program philosophy and faculty that work in the program. Graduates of this program hold tenure-line positions across the Mānoa campus, and a student currently holding an executive management position at a UH campus.
As I have also worked with the EdD program, I can see that this is a possible area for growth, this growth however should not come on the backs of classroom teachers that may not be able to afford the additional costs to enroll in the program only available through the Outreach College. I should also like to note that the current program directors are not currently being paid any kind of compensation for their tremendous work in the program which is not a way to induce cost savings.
Reallocate faculty to the Institute for Teacher Education
Stop-out concentrations in the MEd in Curriculum Studies that do not support teacher licensure (or add-a-teaching-field), and those that do not generate tuition through Outreach College.
I have worked in the COE for 16 years preparing educators for Hawaiʻi’s educational system. A reallocation of COE faculty in general toward teacher licensure is inappropriate as many may not have the kind of classroom experience that is able to directly prepare teachers for the classrooms. Having said that. I do believe that each program in the COE contributes to the well-being of our public and private school systems. Therefore licensure and add-a-field should not be the only target as these are not requirements for public institutions.
Dean-level responses:
Consider “stop out” of under enrolled programs and some concentrations and redirect resources (e.g., faculty) to other programs (e.g., Early childhood, Hawaiian Immersion).

The US Department of Education has identified both Hawaiian language, and Hawaiian language immersion as Federal Teacher Shortage areas (See Federal Teacher Shortage Areas - Appendix A). While agree with the redirecting of resources to support Hawaiian Immersion teachers licensure, as a faculty member charged with the recruitment and retention of immersion teachers I cannot support the strategy of placing faculty that may be displaced from other departments that may have no Hawaiian language experience to be charged with this important kuleana. This is in agreement with the Hawaiʻi Board of Education Policy 105-8(4) states:
The program’s success is largely dependent on the capacity, capability and expertise of
the program’s professional staff. The Department will establish professional qualifications and develop training programs internally and/or in cooperation with stakeholder groups/universities. The goal is for program professionals to be qualified in both English as a medium of instruction and Hawaiian as a medium of instruction and Hawaiian as a medium of instruction and appropriately compensated for these additional qualifications.

Ethnic Studies & Theater and Dance
While my daily work, seeks to recruit and retain qualified teachers into the HIDOE, I would be reminisce if I didn’t recognize the important role that my early Ethnic Studies course played on highlighting the participation of Hawaiians in linguistic and cultural renaissance a foundation for the work that I do today.
In regards to the theatre program, I have also been in awe of the Hawaiian language productions that imbue a Hawaiian aesthetic in a language that our ʻohana seeks to revive through participation in Kula Kaiapuni.
These are the kinds of innovative programs that inspire students to find their voices in hegemonic curricular spaces. These under supported programs represent the content and experiences of oppressed folks across the world and stories that need to continue to be told through degrees.

As many others have suggested, instead of the elimination of these degree programs, instead, I urge: Austerity Pay-cuts for all UH Manoa and UH System administrators earning over $250,000 per year, as this measure is consistent with the pandemic response plans at other universities. (I aliʻi ke aliʻi i ke kānaka).
While I understand that the knee-jerk response will be to explain how much more financial compensation similar positions would make on the continent at another university on the continent, I counter with the knowledge that this is also the case for many of the faculty members whose programs are in the line of fire through this reorganization. Faculty members that have committed themselves to this ʻāina and its people, and should not have to fear that their programs will be terminated.

Mahalo nui,

Eōmailani Kukahiko, PhD

Eōmailani K. Kukahiko, Ph.D.
Specialist
Everly Hall 221 College of Education
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
Virtual Office: Zoom
DAVID Y. JGE
GOVERNOR

STATE OF HAWAl’I DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
P.O. BOX 2360
HONOLULU, HAWAII 96804
DR. CHRIIITINA M , KISHIIIDTD
SUPERINTENDENT

OFFICE OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

May 10, 2019

Deputy Superintendent Complex Area Superintendents Principals (All)
Personnel Regional Officers Teachers
Dr. Christina M. Kishimoto /–,::;;=:==­
Superintendent

Federal Teacher Shortage Areas

The United States Department of Education has notified the Hawaii State Department of Education (Department) that its proposal to designate the following subject areas as teacher shortage areas for the 2019-2020 school year has been approved:

Career and Technical Education;
• Language Arts - English;
• Mathematics;
• Science;
• Special Education;
• Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages;
• World Languages;
• World Languages - Hawaiian; and
• World Languages - Hawaiian Immersion.

This approval may benefit student grant and loan recipients who are qualified to teach in the academic subject areas listed above. These benefits to student financial aid recipients, such as loan cancellations, are indicated in the following regulatory provis ions:

34 CFR 682.210(b)(5Xii), (b)(7), (q), and (s) enables a borrower who had no outstanding Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program loan on July I, 1987, but who had an outstanding FFEL Program loan on July I, 1993, to qualify for defennent of loan repayment under the Stafford Loan Program anytime within the life of the borrower’s loan(s) for up to three years of service as a
full-time teacher in a private elementary or secondary school in a teacher shortage area designated by the Department, and as certified by the chief administrative officer of the particular school in which the borrower is teaching;

34 CFR 674.S3(c) enables Federal Perkins Loan borrowers who are full-time teachers of mathematics, science, foreign languages. bilingual education, or any other field of expertise where the State educational agency determined there is a shortage of qualified teachers, to qualify for cancellation of up to I 00% of the outstanding balance on the borrower’s Federal Perkins loans; and

34 CFR 686.12(d) enables grant recipients to fulfill their teaching obligation under the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant Program (regarding the requirement to serve at least four academic years, within eight years of graduation) by teaching in a “high-need field,” which includes academic disciplines/subject areas identified as teacher shortage areas at the time the grant recipient begins teaching in that field.

Stafford Loan and Supplemental Loans for Students borrowers who have questions concerning their loan(s), including the teacher shortage area defennent, should contact the Federal Student Aid Hotline at 1-800-4FED-AID.

Federal Perkins Loan borrowers who have questions concerning their loan(s) should contact the school where they received the loan.

Should you have any general questions, please contact Gabrielle Townsend, Acting Administrator, Personnel Management Branch, Office of Talent Management (OTM), at or via e-mail at

CMK:gt

OTM - Teacher Recruitment

Keep Ethnic Studies

From: Jhune Liwanag on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:50 AM:

Aloha,

My name is Jhunette Liwanag. I am an alumni of the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and heard about your plans to “stop- out” Ethnic Studies as a concentration of Interdisciplinary Studies.
I do not agree with this decision and ask you to immediately withdraw this “stop-out.” Where is the evidence to prove this will result in immediate savings?
Considering Hawai’i is one of the most ethnically diverse states and the current national reckoning of race relations, it is incredibly short sighted not to see the importance of keeping the program alive.
Even the option for a “stop-out” at this point can trigger a decrease in majors, weaken Ethnic Studies, and provide no short-term cost savings to the University.
Please opt out of the “stop-out” immediately. Mahalo,
Jhunette Liwanag

Oppose to the Proposed Option to Stop-out the Ethnic Studies Bachelor of Arts

From: Nanea Lo on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:08 PM:

Hello,

I am writing to demand that the MBT acknowledge the 50 years of leadership and accomplishment of th ESDepartment and immediately withdraw the proposed option to “stop-out” th ESBA degree.

I was a participant when doing my undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and gained a lot of connections, life skills, and knowledge being in their program that is dire to the work that I do today.

Keep this program going indefinitely. me ke aloha ʻāina,
–
Nanea Lo
Native Stories Social Media Manager, Strategist, and Podcast Host George Washington University - N.A.P.L.P Fellow - 2020
Hawaiʻi Asia-Pacific Leadership - Pacific Forum Fellow - 2019-2020 Kuleana Academy - H.A.P.A. Fellow - 2019

ʻO ke kino ka hale e noho ai ka ʻuhana o ke kānaka E ʻimi mau i ke ola kino maikaʻi
E mālamamau i ka ikaika o ke kino E ʻai i ka mea ʻai maikaʻi
E ʻimi mau i ka naʻauao - ʻōlelo noʻeau

Opposition to proposed changes to Ethnic Studies, etc

From: Kyle Malashewski on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:34 AM:

To whom it may concern,

It seems that, at this moment, across the country, simply being affiliated with anything that carries a whiff of ‘critical race studies’ – whether you’re on the street protesting injustice towards our POC brothers and sisters, or in a workplace that includes any kind of diversity or inclusivity training – is enough to get one on the chopping block, or at least to draw the ire of much of the public and the media. It’s hard to resist the urge to draw a straight line from the words and actions of the American president to the ill-considered decision to put Ethnic Studies and other programs in the crosshairs. As Ty Tengan put it so well, “At a time the nation is dealing with its greatest reckoning of racism on all fronts, and in the most ethnically diverse state, that the Ethnic Studies program is even possibly being considered for a stop-out, is really tone deaf to what is going on nationwide.”

The proposed changes to Ethnic Studies, Dance, and other majors is unconscionable and reflects a serious lack of considered thought on the part of the MBT; at worst, it represents an act of institutional racism. To your proposed changes, I ask for clarify on:
All plans for all units on our campus The authors of those plans
The data used to come up with the plans The criteria
The methodology
Any savings projected
Any policies cited, formally or informally
Anything else that faculty might need to know to assess the validity and usefulness of the admin plan In addition, I ask:
Has the Faculty Senate been consulted as outlined in the contract?
Are you sure that these changes are in line with the UHPA-BOR Agreement?
Are these changes meant to address the current fiscal situation? If so, can you share what savings are expected to result from the changes?
Are you aware of Article XVI, Retrenchment, of the UHPA-BOR Agreement? Was this reviewed and considered when these changes were proposed?
Respectfully,
Dr. Kyle Malashewski Lecturer, English Department

I think in the long run, the elimination of certain degree program such

From: Kaui Martin on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 10:56 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I think in the long run, the elimination of certain degree program such as theater and dance can lead to severe consequences in the enrollment of students. I strongly oppose this proposed elimination and I think there could be other things done to bring UH together as a whole instead of ripping it together to “save money during this pandemic”.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading
Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

The University’s program in Asian Theatre is unique and a draw not only

From: Rhiannon McCullough on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:04 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The University’s program in Asian Theatre is unique and a draw not only for students form the mainland but also across Asia. When I was a student I had colleagues who left their respective countries of China and Japan in order to study Chinese and Japanese theatre in a way that was inaccessible to them at home. Cutting the theatre
program would not only be a shame, but a detriment to the University.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.
It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Please keep the UH Theatre open as it is important for the community

From: Catherine McDonell on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 1:22 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Please keep the UH Theatre open as it is important for the community to enjoy family entertainment. It provides history of the land and all of its beauty.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

UH’s cultural theatre and dance courses, like Kabuki and Filipino theater, are not

From: Micah McPharlin on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:23 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

UH’s cultural theatre and dance courses, like Kabuki and Filipino theater, are not offered at very few institutions across the US. If not to draw out of state students, these courses drive the demand for exchange students who come to UH Manoa to take classes not offered at their home university.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the
helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Please do not cut the BA, BFA, MA, and MFA degrees offered by

From: Mareva Minerbi on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 5:36 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Please do not cut the BA, BFA, MA, and MFA degrees offered by the Dance Program. These degrees provide the education students need to become the next generation of scholars, educators, directors, creative thinkers, and dance artists in our community and abroad.
My name is Mareva Minerbi and I am an active dancer, choreographer, and educator from Honolulu, Hawai‘i. I am a graduate of the University of Hawai’i Department of Theatre and Dance where I received my MFA in Dance. I am currently a Lecturer in Dance at Leeward Community College. I have taught at numerous institutions including Kapi‘olani Community College, University of Iowa’s School of Dance, Ballet Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i State Ballet, Special Education Center of Hawai‘i, and I was also Drama Director at Saint Francis School.

The MFA degree offered by the UHM Dance Program prepared me to teach in higher education. I started with the Distance Education program at Kapi‘olani Community College. After moving abroad and living in Milan, Italy, and Iowa City, Iowa to study and perform, I was delighted to return to Honolulu to continue my studies in dance in one of the nation’s most diverse dance programs that offer courses in Pacific Island, Western, and Eastern dance forms. The Dance program provided me with opportunities to direct, choreograph, and perform in shows at the Earl Earnst Lab Theatre and at Kennedy Theatre. These experiences were formative in continuing my artistic pursuits in our community and staging works at a variety of venues including Kaka‘ako Agora, The Arts and Mark’s Garage, Hawai’i Theatre, Mānoa Valley Theatre, Blaisdell Concert Hall, Honolulu Museum of Art, and Leeward Theatre. The Dance Program also supported my research and choreographic work at international dance conferences including The Society of Dance & History Scholars Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim, Norway, and Festival À Corps in Poitiers, France. Additionally, the Graduate Assistantship that I was awarded provided me with the experience necessary in teaching in higher education.

Additionally, Leeward Community College has recently created an Academic Certificate in Performing Arts where students can choose a focus in Dance, Music, or Theatre. I see the potential for the Colleges to work with the Dance Program to recruit students. This would permit students to continue their studies in Dance without having to leave the state and face the expensive costs of out-of- state tuition, as I did.

Dance is an integral part of art and culture in Hawai‘i and the Dance Program enriches the lives of our students and our community. Please do not cut the dance degrees offered at UHM. Without art, we don’t have a culture and dance is the embodiment of culture.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The
said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I totally support the dance and all the Arts and Humanities programs that

From: Shigeru Miyamoto on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:08 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I totally support the dance and all the Arts and Humanities programs that nurture the human soul. Without the Arts and Humanities, there is no culture.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I am a MFA graduate of the UHM Dept of Theatre and Dance.

From: Karissa Murrell Myers on Sep, 15 2020, 1 at 20:PM :

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I am a MFA graduate of the UHM Dept of Theatre and Dance. I now work in Chicago professionally as an actor, producer, playwright, and casting director. I am able to pursue the career I have specifically because of the training I received at UH. Proposing to cut these essential programs is a travesty. The arts are more than necessary
and to treat them as disposal is outrageous. Do not cut these programs!
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.
It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

These programs save lives, build life long skills, and preserve culture.
Letter

From: Jarrah Myles on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:06 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

These programs save lives, build life long skills, and preserve culture.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Testimony Regarding Proposals for Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies

From: Jacob Noa on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 8:30 PM:

Aloha to the UH Mānoa Board of Regents,

My name is Jacob Noa and I am a recent Spring 2020 graduate of UH Mānoa with a BA in American Studies and a Certificate in Women’s Studies. I am a Kanaka Maoli and a proud former student of both the departments of Ethnic Studies ES and Women’s Studies (WS). As an alumni of these programs, I adamantly oppose the recent proposals to move the ES and WS departments to Interdisciplinary Studies and any potential moves to stop-out these programs. Targeting these essential programs in the name of budgetary concerns is a blatant example of institutional racism and sexism. Given the current situation regarding ongoing protests in the U.S. for racial justice, these proposals by the university are extremely tone-deaf. The departments of ES and WS must remain autonomous and exempt from COVID-19 related budget cuts––as both departments provide some of the most valuable educational opportunities and learning environments at UH Mānoa, especially for students most marginalized on the bases of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and economic status.

I would also like to request information regarding how the proposals to have Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies “partner” with Interdisciplinary Studies would result in an increase in majors for either of these programs. In addition, how would these suggestions contribute to the committee’s cost-cutting measures? I fail to understand or recognize how cutting back the autonomy of these programs would somehow lead to an increase in enrollment in either program. Further, removing autonomy and potentially cutting- back on these programs is a disservice to the many students at UH Mānoa, including myself, who have found spaces of safety, community, and academic intrigue in the Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies programs.

I can personally attest to the plethora of ways in which Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies enriched my experience as an Indigenous student at UH Mānoa. Academically, these departments housed the most challenging and analytically-rigorous courses I have taken at UHM. The faculty and their painstakingly crafted courses helped to develop both my attentiveness and motivation as a scholar whose aim is to work toward positive social change in Hawaiʻi. In addition to developing my skills as an academic, I was able to gain invaluable experiential and place-based learning opportunities due to Ethnic Studies’ heavy focus on service learning with ACCESS Engagement. Through service learning, I was able to work with amazing groups such as Mālama I Nā Ahupuaʻa and UNITE HERE! Local 5, eventually obtaining an internship with the latter. From my many experiences with Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies, they are extremely capable and functional departments, with faculty bodies that care deeply about their students and have consistently developed strong leaders in Hawaiʻi and abroad for social justice. They must remain autonomous and be supported in their efforts to graciously serve and empower students just as they have for the past 50 years.

I stand in solidarity with the departments of Ethnic Studies, Women’s Studies, American Studies, Dance, Theatre, and others in asking that the university reconsider such unfair proposals that have come about in the name of austerity and COVID-19 related budgetary concerns. These programs reflect the values of social justice, creativity, and innovation that UH must strive to uphold, especially during this difficult time.

Sincerely, Jacob Noa

I am also in the music program and think that it is imperative

From: Tiffany OʻNeill on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:08 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I am also in the music program and think that it is imperative to keep arts in this school because Hawaiʻiʻs culture and history are told and expressed through music and dance.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much
as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to
survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Testimony In Support of Women’s Studies at UHM

From: JOSEPHINE FAITH ONG on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 6:34 AM:

My name is Josephine Ong, a Ph.D. student in Gender Studies at UCLA that is originally from the island of Guam. I am writing in solidarity with the Women’s Studies Department at UHM, where my colleagues such as Dr. Lani Teves and Dr. Monisha Das Gupta teach. UHM’s leadership in Pacific Islands Studies is unparalleled in comparison to other colleges in the United States, especially when it comes to the path-breaking work of Pacific Islander feminists like Dr. Teves.

Therefore, I would like to ask if and how the Manoa Budget Team’s proposal would actually increase the number of majors for Women’s Studies and contribute to the cost-cutting measures at UH.

Furthermore, I am writing in support of an autonomous Women’s Studies status that would allow the department to maintain its currently function and growing learning environment. Building a relationship with Interdisciplinary Studies would restrict and disrupt this growth in a way that would negatively impact both departments, who have both not been provided any guidance on how such policies would influence student learning.

In addition, as a Gender Studies scholar specializing in Filipino women’s activism and care work in Guam, I am appalled at UHM’s inclusion of Women’s Studies in university budget cuts. When most of care work and crucial essential work lies upon women, it is incredibly important to emphasize and amplify the education Women’s Studies provides, rather than cut it down at a time when it is so important

Finally, I stand in solidarity with other programs such as the Ethnic Studies program, which educated my mentor Dean I. Saranillio and whose faculty Jonathan Okamura and Rod Labrador have significantly influenced my work. I hope that UHM reevaluates its current priorities to truly focus on the critical values of creativity, social justice, and innovation that both these programs advocate and practice.

Best,

br> Josephine Ong, M.A. (she/her/hers) Ph.D. Student, Gender Studies University of California, Los Angeles

UCLA acknowledges the Gabrielino/Tongva peoples as the traditional land caretakers of Tovaangar (Los Angeles basin and So. Channel Islands). As a land grant institution, we pay our respects to Honuukvetam (ancestors), ’Ahiihirom, (elders) and ’eyoohiinkem (our relatives/relations) past, present and emerging.

I, myself, was the victim of similar cuts made during my undergraduate degree

From: Victor Palmeri on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:11 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I, myself, was the victim of similar cuts made during my undergraduate degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1988. The entire arts department was cut and there was a distinct understanding that high-quality students were deciding to go elsewhere. after many years the Board reinstated the arts department and now is
considered one of the pillars of strength at my Alma Mater. Don’t make the same mistake RPI did…..
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.
It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

CUTTING THESE PROGRAMS IS UNACCEPTABLE, AND IT WILL HAVE A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON

From: Ana Pearse on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 12:36 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

CUTTING THESE PROGRAMS IS UNACCEPTABLE, AND IT WILL HAVE A DEVASTATING IMPACT ON COUNTLESS PEOPLE.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I am at pk-12 arts educator. It’s imperative that we have quality arts

From: Phoenicia Pettyjohn on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 6:04 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I am at pk-12 arts educator. It’s imperative that we have quality arts education throughout the educational sectors. This is how we grow the next generation of artists and empathetic and creative thinkers. This is the investment in the coming generations to help solve worlds problem.
This is the place where voices are cultivated so that the world can hear them and be formed anew.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading
Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

9/17/20 meeting re: Academic and Student Affairs

From: Luna Porras on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 5:19 PM:

To whom it may concern,
My name is Luna Porras and I am a junior level undergraduate here at UH Mānoa. I am writing to you regarding the
proposed merging and possible resurgence of another “stop-out” for the program of Ethnic Studies. As a student, I demand the BOR and whomever the team projecting these ideas concerning “low enrollment” programs be combined or done away with completely, meet the programs where they are at. I understand that the current COVID-19 economy has created a challenging budget for everyone, but in this climate, programs similar to and including Ethnic Studies are pivotal to a well-rounded education.
I am currently taking an Ethnic Studies class ([ES]486: People’s of Hawai’i) and thoroughly enjoying it. Professor Kajihiro is integrating creative and familiar ways to symbolize and illuminate race relations in Hawai’i. This class is fulfilling an elective credit for me but the things I am learning will not only enhance my BA in Sociology degree but also add to the experience I am having as a guest in O’ahu. Like I said earlier, classes in the Ethnic Studies realm help to educate and create conversation among groups that may not have space in everyday society, therefore it is of most importance tha ESis taken seriously.
I urge you to go forward with accountability and transparency by meeting with all involved and affected parties and providing complete and thorough reasoning and data for the proposals that may come as you navigate the budget. As society is changing, I can only hope that the school I choose to call home stands for what is pono and justice-minded.

Mahalo for your consideration, Luna Porras

URGENT: Save Philippine Languages and Literatures Program

From: Sheila Marie Ringor on Sep, 15 2020, 10 at 59:PM :

To the UH Board of Regents,

Hello, my name is Sheila Ringor, I am currently in my 3rd year at UH Mānoa double majoring in Political Science and Sustainability Studies with a minor in Filipino. Filipinos make up 25% of the population in Hawai‘i and we make up 11% of the student body at UH Mānoa.
11% of those students find themselves connected to the Philippine Languages and Literatures program either through Ilokano or Tagalog. The program itself is very important to many of us as it is one way we represent ourselves in Hawai‘i, and this is where we manage to reconnect with our roots as we are thousands of miles away from home. The Philippine Languages and Literatures program does not only teach their students about languages but this is a place where most of us learn about our history, cultures, and traditions. For example, I’ve taken FIL 401, 402, and I am currently taking IP 370. Within FIL 401 and 402, I was able to meet diaspora Filipinos who made their way up from FIL 101 to these high level courses since they were determined to learn the language, and it was a way for them to reclaim their Filipino identity. I was able to make a deep connection with the people within these courses and especially within the program, I found a sense of community at the University to which I struggled to find during my freshman year of college. Currently, with IP 370 Philippine Travelogue: Peoples, Places, and Practices, we learn about the Indigenous people of the Philippines, which is not commonly taught. This is why many are uneducated with this topic that lead to the result of othering Indigenous tribes in the Philippines from the dominant “mainstream” Filipinos. But IP 370 gave me a sense of hope that as more people become aware of the Indigenous people of the Philippines, we can put an end to the continuous battle that these tribes have to face from being looked down upon as well as being displaced from their own land.
Overall, being part of the program has made my academic career much more valuable because I felt accomplished and connected with my people. With the plan of budget cuts and the proposed “stop-out of the BA in Philippine Language and Literature”, I believe that this will bring no good to Filipinos and non-Filipinos that were able to find home within the program.
Such act also go against what UH Mānoa has been advertising towards their students which is “diversity and inclusion”, there is no diversity and inclusion in a place where departments such as Ethnic Studies, Women Studies, Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures (IPLL), and so on are continuously being targeted with budget cuts and “stop-outs”. Majority of the people within these departments are people of color, the Philippine Language and Culture hosts vulnerable communities in Hawai‘i such as Filipinos. During these trying times with COVID-19 as well as BLM movements in Hawai‘i and the continental U.S., this sudden budget cuts for these departments are almost undeniably an act of institutional racism.

Sincerely, Sheila Ringor

No Merger of Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies or Theater & Dance Programs

From: Kirisitina Sailiata on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 8:59 AM:

Dear University of Hawai’i-Manoa Board of Regents,

My name is Kirisitina Sailiata and I am a postdoctoral fellow in American Studies at Macalester College. I am writing to urge you all to reconsider merging the units of Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, as well as Theater and Dance.

In this political climate more than ever, these three units are important strongholds of understanding the shared pasts, present and future of the United States but most importantly in leading the conversations about Hawai’i and the particular formations of power that structure everyday life. This knowledge and these frameworks and these practices of social justice, art and (un)learning are integral to a vibrant, more just, and more informed community locally, nationally and globally.

What are the details involved in this proposal to merge these units with Interdisciplinary Studies? How will the Manoa Budget Team contend with the increase in the number of majors for these units? What are the numbers that this proposal is based upon? Where is the evidence that this merger will actually save money in the long run at the University of Hawai’i-Manoa and at what “true” cost?

I urge you to remove these units from the post-COVID initiative of budget cuts. These departments provide much needed context and knowledge. These programs represent multiple intellectual histories and genealogies that are not easily quantifiable but that contribute to the strength and vitality of scholarship in their respective fields as well the significance and importance of a liberal arts education.

Sincerely, Kiri Sailiata

br> Kirisitina G. Sailiata, Ph.D.
CFD Postdoctoral Fellow 2019-2021 Department of American Studies Macalester College, St Paul, MN
www.kirisailiata.com

I oppose the stop-out; Ethnic Studies Department is Essential

From: Ashley Hiʻilani Sanchez on Sep, 15 2020, 6 at 34:PM :

Aloha mai kākou,

I am a current graduate student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

I am writing to demand the targeting of the Ethnic Studies Department be ceased immediately. A weakening of Ethnic Studies and decrease in ES majors will likely be caused by opting for a stop-out, which is a major detriment to ES students, ES faculty, and the wider UH community. There is no immediate cost savings for the University of Hawaiʻi, and if there is evidence to the contrary, I ask this be presented publicly and thoroughly.

The consideration of removing the Ethnic Studies department is founded in racism, white supremacy, and an obscene lack of value toward the multitudes of ethnicities which uniquely make up Hawaiʻi. Racism and white supremacy are traditions long upheld at the University of Hawaiʻi, so while the maneuver to reduce the ES department is expected, it remains highly problematic and counterproductive to creating 1) a Hawaiian place of learning, 2) a diverse and inclusive campus, and 3) an anti-racist culture among UH staff, students, and faculty.

Diminishing the Ethnic Studies department is unacceptable and must be swiftly and wholly rejected. Mahalo for your consideration.
E mālama pono, Ashley Hiʻilani Sanchez

Arts, in all aspects beyond local Hawai’i, construct a bond. It’s an international

From: Cassandra Sanchez on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 10:15 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Arts, in all aspects beyond local Hawai’i, construct a bond. It’s an international way to commune people of different backgrounds, to one thing we love. In your case, theater and dance, the dedication your students have to these majors are undeniable and a big contributor to maintaining a cultural foundation alive and well at Mānoa.
Please reconsider your decision on these cuts moving forward.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.
It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Without my education at UH, I would not be the theatre professional I

From: Sara Savusa on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:30 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Without my education at UH, I would not be the theatre professional I am today, and it is very special the majority of my classmates are also working theatre/film professionals. Learning Western, Asian, and Hawaiian performance styles provides such a rich education and world view that mainland programs are lacking.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the
helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Dance is a vital part of the arts community that this world desperately

From: Becca Schmidt on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 8:12 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Dance is a vital part of the arts community that this world desperately needs right now.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

UHM theatre contributes boldly to the curriculum at this state school. It was

From: Ellen Schroeder on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 4:13 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

UHM theatre contributes boldly to the curriculum at this state school. It was a highlight of campus life to attend the culturally diverse performances during my years as a resident student in the early 1970s. My daughter earned her PhD. inthe dept. and is currently a professor of theater at UH Hilo.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the
helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I benefited from classes taken at the UH Theatre Department, which led to

From: Margaret Shade on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 10:09 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I benefited from classes taken at the UH Theatre Department, which led to my doing further work at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the BBC, and the National Theatre. So many of us benefited enormously from our education at the UH Dept of Drama and Theatre. We are everywhere, in every country and walk of life.
Cutting off programmes in a rare multicultural and
multiethnic education in the Performing Arts at the UH is a kind of aesthetic vandalism - as if we humans have now become so debased that the Arts no longer matter.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Letter re Ethnic Studies

From: Nitasha Tamar Sharma on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 10:30 AM:

Nitasha Tamar Sharma

To the President of the University of Hawaii and administrators,
As you can see from my signature line I am an associate professor of Asian American studies and African American studies at Northwestern University where I am also the director of Asian American studies. I write to you as a faculty member in Ethnic Studies, but my primary identity is as a girl born and raised in Manoa Valley. I am the daughter of two University of Hawaii emeriti professors: Dr. Jagdish Sharma who was in the history department for over four decades, and Dr. Miriam Sharma who was a founding director of Ethnic Studies at the University of Hawaii Manoa.

News of the misguided decisions of the University of Hawai‘I administration toward Ethnic Studies, women’s studies, and other related programs was shocking and embarrassing. Anything other than a deepened commitment to and investment in Ethnic Studies at this time is ill advised.

There systemic anti-black racism that is rooted not only in institutions of higher education and cities on the continental United States; Black Lives Matter is a movement to be paid attention to in the islands of Hawai’i as well. This has everything to do with Ethnic Studies as the head of the Hawaii police Department Susan Ballard has commented on how difficult it is to be haole in Hawaii without any understanding or recognition of systemic racism. The Popolo Project in Hawaii has also documented the experiences of Black people in the islands. The experiences of Black people in Hawaii is not a footnote to the study of Ethnic Studies in the islands. I have written a book on Hawai’i’s Black residents and this ethnography is coming out from Duke university press next year. What does this have to do with the decision to suffocate the Ethnic Studies department at the University of Hawaii?

You currently have one faculty member who focuses on the experiences of Black people in the Pacific and that is Dr. Ethan Caldwell in the University of Hawaii Ethnic Studies department. Doctor Caldwell was my PhD advisee at Northwestern University and he studies the experiences of Black soldiers and Okinawans in Okinawa. He is part of the extremely small number of Black faculty at the University of Hawaii. Other experts in the Ethnic Studies department have national and international reputations for their scholarship. The work of Jonathan Okamura cannot be replicated and his astounding rate of scholarship has informed the study of Asian Americans in Hawai’i and Asian Settler Colonialism around the world. The current chair Ty Tengan is a renowned scholar of Hawaiians in Hawaii and of veterans. He has done an unbelievable amount of service work as the chair of the department and as someone who is a frequent collaborator of award-winning journal issues and as a go to scholar for questions on race in Hawaii. Monisha DasGupta is renowned among South Asian American study scholars in the field of American studies, Women’s Studies, and Ethnic Studies writ large. Scholars I grew up with—Ibrahim Aoude, Noel Kent, Davi McGregor—have made your department a first class one who’s books we assign across the nation in our courses.

To do anything other than invest in and expand the Ethnic Studies department is a damn shame. As someone who was born and raised in Hawai’i and who has dedicated the last 10 years of her life to conducting research on Black peoples’ lives in the Hawaiian islands and as the daughter of two forty plus year professors at the University of Hawaii including the founding director of the Ethnic Studies program, I am ashamed to hear what the administration has decided.

Please pay attention to what is happening nationally and do not be fooled by the exceptionalism and distance of Hawai’i from the continental United States. Ethnic Studies at UHM—it’s faculty and undergraduate students—are respected at our universities. We must recognize and understand how race ethnicity and indigeneity operate; we have to understand the relationships between Filipinos, Samoans, Micronesians, Hawaiians and other groups and it is the Ethnic Studies scholars at the University of Hawaii who are the ones who make this legible.

A’ole to cutting or otherwise doing anything except expanding the Ethnic Studies department. Shame on you for thinking INCREASING numbers of Ethnic Studies is not what we need right now. I hope to hear that you have come to your senses in the near future

Mahalo nui loa, Professor Sharma Northwestern University
************** Nitasha Sharma
Director, Asian American Studies Program
Director of Graduate Studies, African American Studies Department

Associate Professor
African American Studies, Asian American Studies Northwestern University

The Performing Arts are treated as “electives” in our educational “system”. This attitude

From: John Signor on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 7:45 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The Performing Arts are treated as “electives” in our educational “system”. This attitude is shameful, and reveals so much about our culture. The Arts are essential to developing balance and wellbeing, both in the individual and in the community.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks,
however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward
establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Ethnic Studies

From: Amy Starecheski on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:51 AM:

To whom it may concern -

I am writing to register my dismay with the possibility that the Ethnic Studies major may be discontinued at Manoa. I have had the privilege of visiting with the faculty and students in Ethnic Studies at Manoa, and teaching one of your alums in my MA program at Columbia. As an oral historian, I want to make sure you know how extraordinary the work of this center and their students is. They are making essential contributions, in particular, to knowledge about how to work at the intersections of indigenous and academic oral history practices.
This is globally-relevant work you should be investing in, not cutting. Sincerely,
Amy Starecheski

Amy Starecheski, PhD (she/her) Director
Columbia Oral History MA Program www.oralhistory.columbia.edu
Office: @ home!

NYC Covid-19 Oral History, Narrative and Memory Archive, Co-Director
–Mott Haven Oral History Project, Founder

I am disheartened that the arts are the first thing to be cut

From: Mari Stasky on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 6:35 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I am disheartened that the arts are the first thing to be cut at UH. We have strong and popular programs that are rich in Hawaiian Culture. These programs are essential - I encourage UH to think outside the box and know that students and the community are watching.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks,
however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward
establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I beseech you…

From: Robert H Stiver on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 9:01 AM:

to withdraw any and all consideration of emasculating the mission and functions of the Ethnic Studies Department at UH-Manoa.

I have had extensive peripheral and direct interaction with th ESDepartment for more than 10 years. Both its campus presence and community outreaches (e.g., I appeared at least once on Chair Ibrahim Aoude’s ’Olelo TV “Island Voices” productions) have been for decades a solid and essential element in our “ethnic-infused” aina.

Although I don’t have full facts at hand, I’m most disturbed by one proposal: “stopping out” the Ethnic Studies BA degree. Given our ethnic diversity (is there any more “ethnically diverse” locale in the US?!), that BA degree is a magnet to young, idealistic future leaders in the inclusive America (race, gender, culture, religion, arts) I hold dear. Any bruited “cost savings” can only be considered n ot cost effective across a whole range of levels and objective analyses!

I of course accept that these are difficult days that seem destined to extend out to any foreseeable future. I’d hate to have your position and responsibilities. But cutting Ethnic Studies must not be an option!

Thank you and aloha,

Robert H. Stiver Pearl City

While the administration seems to be in “favor” of what the arts and

From: Kimberlee Stone on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 6:11 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

While the administration seems to be in “favor” of what the arts and humanities focuses can do for university life, in the abstract sense, you seem unwilling and unable to provide any resources to keep the departments afloat. In fact, you seem more than willing and able to support the idea of de-centralizing these focuses in order for them fit into the neat little boxes for GEN-ED requirements, but
don’t seem to be able to find the same support for them to retain their value on their own merit. Do you understand how concerning this disconnect in logic is? The arts and humanities help students connect with culture, offering them a window into different cultures, and encourage them to broaden their perspectives through language, creative arts and media, and performance mediums. They offer students outlets and provide communities for those who don’t feel at home in “traditional” majors. By centralizing and “streamlining” arts and humanities you are effectively stripping those communities away from those people as well as aiding in perpetuating a colonized view of what the world should look like. The arts and humanities prove that life doesn’t have to centre itself around capital to matter. That life should be about the exploration of society, culture, and though beyond textbooks and rote memorization. We understand that cuts have to be made campus wide, we understand that we are not the only departments at risk. But do you understand what a detriment this university would be at without the departments in the arts and humanities – like Hawaiian Studies, Asian and SE Asian Studies, Art and Design focuses, and even Performance (Acting and Dance). UH Mānoa has the opportunity to set itself a part from Universities on the continent with these focuses, but stopping out and decentralizing these focuses completely undermines what brings a lot of people here in the first place – which, again say it with me, a connection to culture (their own or new understandings of cultures they have never known about or want to dive deeper into).
We are a not a cost-cutting measure. We are not an opportunity to be seen as worthy only under the GEN-ED umbrella. We are a community, and we are not easily and will not be easily stopped out or silenced.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your
proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Ethnic Studies for me

From: COURTNEY Tindall on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:44 PM:

Board of Regents,

It has come to my attention that there was a possibility of the College of Ethnic Studies being “opted out.” I would like to say, that this would be absolutely heart breaking! As a person of color, our people fought and fought to have programs like these. My parents were classmates of many who fought for having Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University. Some even ended up in jail for fighting for what they believe in. I proudly attended many of the Asian American Studies programs prior to be being transferred to University of Hawaii and I know how important it is to learn our history and struggles in the United States. In fact, I learned so much about my family and what they went through in these classes. My great grandmother was born in Hawaii and moved to San Francisco after marrying her husband. They came over with nearly nothing, but through hard work and perseverance they started the very first Chinese American bakery in SF Chinatown. My great grandpa eventually started the Hawaii- San Francisco Investment Corporation.

Since much of my history is based in Hawaii- my grandma from my dad’s side was born there and my great grandma from my mom’s side was born there, I could not pass on the opportunity to move to Hawaii to finish my last two years of college in the Ethnic Studies program. Not only did I thrive as a student (my professors truly saw the best in me- I was put in the dean’s list for two semesters with one receiving a full tuition waiver), I learned so much about the history of Hawaii’s peoples, especially the experience of the Chinese in Hawaii through Professor Gregory Mark. To my surprise, after doing much needed research on Ancestry.com I was able to take some of what I learned during those years and put the pieces of the puzzle to discover new relatives I had not know about. The biggest surprise of all came a few years ago when I read through old handouts given to me in the class and one of the famous merchants Dr. Mark taught us about turned out to be my great grand uncle, Yap Yee.

So how has Ethnic Studies impacted my life? Well, for one, I always got teased when I graduated from college and was told I’d never do anything with my major. Well everyone was quite wrong. I eventually got my teaching credential and taught in a school in SF’s Chinatown. After seven years, I moved onto my current school, Marin Horizon School and this is where I have taken my knowledge from my major and have applied it to my teaching. Fortunately, my school is very proactive about diversity, equity, and inclusion. We have discovered that teachers like myself have a more personal approach to teaching about these sensitive topics, due to experiencing racism, bias, and having family members who have experienced Chinese Exclusion Act, the civil rights movement, etc.

The College of Ethnic Studies has shaped the person I am today. I am hoping that it will survive as a major as this is one way college students can learn about their family history how important it is to Hawaii and the rest of the United States.

Best Regards,
Courtney Chan Tindall, UH Manoa, B.A. Ethnic Studies 2001

The arts are historically proven to preserve the culture of a people group

From: Tahirih Toche on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 6:33 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The arts are historically proven to preserve the culture of a people group or region for generations and years; it is so imperative that these programs be offered in our universities as a way to fulfill our human duties to educate others in creative disciplines and in our quest to understand ur human nature or the world around us through art.
As a professional performer, I was greatly blessed by my institution to be instructed academically within the arts. Though I once had interest in venturing into further studies at University of Hawaii, this may never occur if these programs are cancelled.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these
devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

It would be a travesty for UH to cut it’s theater and dance

From: Laura Tomasello on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:00 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

It would be a travesty for UH to cut it’s theater and dance program at a time in which we are seeing the blossoming of Native Hawaiian theater with productions like Laieikawai and ʻAuʻa ʻia. Where else will we be able to train the next generation of Native Hawaiian playwrights and actors?
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the
helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

I am an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Nevada, Reno.

From: Rosie Trump on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 5:24 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I am an Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Nevada, Reno. I urge you NOT to cut the UH dance programs. The Masters program is renowned nationally and I have been aware of its reputation throughout my 15 year professional career. I have encountered graduates of your dance programs in the professional realm and have held your dance programs in high esteem.
Eliminating the UH dance degree options destroys a cultural pipeline to the world.

As a professor at a WUE school, my dance program could potential benefit from gaining students who would otherwise choose your university, and yet I still strongly oppose the action of cutting your dance program. The performing arts are an investment with value beyond economic trends. Embodied knowledge is not a vanity or a hobby or a frivolous pursuit. It is a rigorous, academic discipline. It is short-sighted and reprehensible that these cuts are even being considered.

As a professor at a state university, I understand first hand how our academic offerings impact and enrich out communities, regions, and nation. Your in-state students need dance as an academic option at UH. A strong dance and performing arts profile is a hallmark of a premier state university and conversely, the absence of dance degree options at UH will reflect poorly.

Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that
could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

The arts is not an area that should be cut right now as

From: Noe Tupou on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:21 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

The arts is not an area that should be cut right now as it will be what keeps our creativity alive and is much needed in the time of covid-19 we need hope and creativity.
Mahalo!
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much
as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to
survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Here’s to our dear Hawai’i, here’s to our green and white. Here’s to

From: Lindsey Wabs on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:15 PM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Here’s to our dear Hawai’i, here’s to our green and white. Here’s to our alma mater, here’s to our team with fight.

As a former University of Hawai’i cheerleader I know what is like to be part of a small but very unique and very talented group of young people. My experience as a University of Hawai’i cheerleader meant the world to me.
It gave me hope, confidence, pride in my community, my school and in myself. I know for a fact that members of other small groups such as the Rainbow Dancers, theatre groups and other performing art groups and teams within UH feel the same way. Cutting these programs will have devastating effects on the people who need them the most. Now more than ever, people need to be able to follow their passion and spread and create joy in as many ways as possible. These programs are part of what makes the University Hawai’i special to so many and beg you to reconsider. Please keep the dreams of those still wishing to attend this school because of these programs alive. Mahalo for your time, Go Bows.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the
next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Testimony against proposed cuts

From: Emily West on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 7:39 PM:

Dear Board of Regents,

I am writing to strongly oppose the proposed cuts to Ethnic Studies, Theater and Dance, Art History, the BAs in Philippine Language and Culture and German, and other programs in CALL and CSS. The targeting of humanities programs in these cuts is obvious and deeply concerning, but in my testimony I want to focus particularly on the way that this administrative action has been carried out. At the last Board of Regents meeting you received hundreds of pages testifying against the emergency resolution that granted the Board unprecedented powers to make
unilateral decisions, yet you approved the resolution anyway. This is only the latest example of administrative decisions made without respect for principles of shared governance. Having been a faculty member at UH Mānoa for just over a year, I have already seen the CALL merger pushed through despite massive faculty opposition. Now at a moment of crisis in which every employee at Mānoa is working double and triple time to keep the university running so that we can serve our students and community, decisions are again being handed down without collaboration, consultation, or even conversation; instead, they are presented as “provocations” and can thus only be confronted as attacks on programs, faculty, and students. The university community – staff, faculty, and students – has shown time and time again in the past six months that we will go above and beyond for UH Mānoa every day. Instead of working with us to collaboratively make the difficult decisions we know are necessary to allow our university to thrive in the future, we are treated as inconveniences and afterthoughts. A university is its students and faculty, and together we serve the public good. Please work with us rather than against us.

Respectfully, Emily West

br> Dr. Emily M. West Assistant Professor Department of English
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

Stop attacks on Ethnic Studies at UHM

From: John Witeck on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 4:02 PM:

The budget team at UHM recently recommended that the Ethnic Studies Dept be scaled back and/or forced to partner with other programs or Interdisciplinary Studies.
This recommendation was recently withdrawn. Still it is puzzling how this recommendation came about. The process was not transparent nor would it produce any significant cost savings or benefits.

Ethnic Studies was a response nearly 50 yrs ago to the lack of inclusive history and instruction at the UH. It would be damaging to students and our multi-ethnic and diverse community, and indeed to the University’s own image and reputation, to scale back this vital and unique program which teaches students their heritage and history and prepares them for the challenges of opposing the social and systemic inequities that persist.

In this time when we have all been urging that Black Lives Matter, it would send the wrong message to say that the lives, histories and cultures of our multiethnic and working class community do not matter.

We urge the Regents and UH administrators to halt these periodic attempts to undermine vital instructional and
research programs such as Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies, both of which have been placed on the chopping board several times in the past! People have a right to safeguard and teach their own history and culture in their own way!

Sincerely, John and Lucy Witeck, UH alumnae Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

Testimony for BOR meeting-Retain Department of Ethnic Studies

From: ann Wright on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 3:32 AM:

Dear University of Hawai’i Board of Regents,

I am a retired U.S. Army Colonel and a retired U.S. diplomat. I am a resident of Hawai’i and live just down the road from the University of Hawai’i on Kapiolani Blvd. I am on the board of Hawai’i Peace and Justice and am one of the coordinators of Chapter 113-Hawai’i of Veterans for Peace. With my U.S. government work in international relations in Asia and the Pacific with assignments in Mongolia and the Federated States of Micronesia and my work after retirement in Japan, South Korea, North Korea and Viet Nam, I have been asked to speak many times at various classes at UH-Manoa and the East-West Center.

I know you are facing an incredibly difficult situation with the declining revenues for the University due to the effects of COVID 19. You will be making hard decisions on how to responsibly balance the budget of the University.

I would like for your consideration of keeping the Department of Ethnic Studies in the university curriculum. Considering the role of the University of Hawai’i in the Pacific region with its many ethnicities represented in the student body of the University, I believe it is critical that Ethnic Studies continue as a key part of the University of Hawai’i for our UH students to learn more about the diversity of the region.

The Department of Ethnic Studies is fifty years old and grew out of the national civil rights, anti- war and student movements and the Hawaiʻi anti-eviction, land, labor, and sovereignty movements. With the additions in Black Studies, digital futures, sustainability and environmental justice classes and research foci and the relaunch of the Center for Oral History under Ethnic Studies, the Department of Ethnic Studies is extremely relevant to our State and our region. The combined Ethnic Studies and College of Education Bachelors and Masters Degrees ensures that teachers throughout Oceania and the Pacific will have a solid background in the cultures of the region.

With the challenges of racism here in Hawai’i and nationally, this is the time for increasing Ethnic Studies instead of reducing them.

Even the option for a “stop-out” at this point can result in a decrease in students declaring Ethnic Studies as a major thereby weakening the Department of Ethnic Studies and provide no short-term cost savings for the university.

I strongly support retaining the Department of Ethnic Studies as you evaluate the budget of the University.

Thank you for the opportunity of a community member to offer my views. I have signed up to give oral testimony on September 17.
Sincerely,

Ann Wright, US Army Colonel (Retired)

2333 Kapiolani Blvd #3217
Honolulu, HI 96826

Tel:
–

Support the BA in Ethnic Studies

From: Erin Kahunawai Wright on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 2:40 PM:

Aloha mai,

My name is Kahunawai Wright and I’m a faculty member in Educational Administration in the College of Education. I would like to submit my testimony in support of keeping the BA in Ethnic Studies and against the MBT recommendation for Ethnic Studies to “partner” with Interdisciplinary Studies.

Although I am an alum of this department and firmly believe in their critical importance to the university and Hawaiʻi (especially at this time), I’d like to speak from my perspective as a faculty member.

Recently, my department partnered with Ethnic Studies to create a Bachelors to Masters Program (BAM or 4+1). We have welcomed our inaugural cohort of four students just this Fall and we already have twice as many interested for next year.

This program partnership demonstrates the ways in which Ethnic Studies continues to find innovative, transdiciplinary student-centered ways to engage in the work of social justice and human rights with attention to advanced education and career. Through our BAM program, students are offered a direct pathway between their undergraduate and graduate degrees at Mānoa - this is especially important for those of our students who want to continue their education in Hawaiʻi and continue to build their foundation in Hawaiʻi. Like Ethnic Studies, my department endeavors to support “growing our own” - we know the best thinkers and doers for Hawaiʻi have a deep commitment to Hawaiʻi. Moreover, this program also offers students a way to pursue an advance degree in education outside of teaching, a crucial aspect of transforming and creating anti-oppressive, transformative educational environments writ large. We need these kinds of students now more than ever.

For 50 years, Ethnic Studies has an established track record of graduating transformative thinkers and doers, publishing outstanding scholarship, and serving as a model for community engagement, even with being historically under- resourced. For example, their faculty have often been split between departments and their department is limited to an undergraduate program. Yet, they continue to create unique opportunities for their students, develop a variety of partnerships locally, nationally, and internationally, and still show up to support our Hawaiʻi communities. Perhaps our UH system should integrate these kinds of indicators - community engagement, student-centered, partnerships - when assessing a department (and degree’s) importance and relevance to the university.

Ke aloha ʻāina,

br> Erin Kahunawaika’ala Wright
Associate Professor of Educational Administration College of Education
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
1776 University Avenue, Wist Hall 222

Educational Administration: https://coe.hawaii.edu/academics/educational-administration

My daughter is currently taking dance classes in different genre’s and at different

From: Wai Shan Yanagi on Sep, 15 2020, 9 at 05:AM :

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

My daughter is currently taking dance classes in different genre’s and at different studios across the island.
Although she is not in college yet, I can see how much she enjoys dance and all the ways these classes have helped her. Should she decide to pursue dance later in life, I would like her to have options. This would definitely help sway her decision to attend her state university
versus going away. I hope you can reconsider your budget cuts and realize how much it can impact our next generations.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Ethnic Studies

From: Sandy Yee on Tue, Sep 15, 2020 at 11:31 AM:

Dear Board of Regents,

Ethnic Studies is a vitally important program at the University of Hawai’i especially because of Hawai’i’s rich cultural history. It took 50 years to build the Ethnic Studies program into a first class degree program. It is important to retain th ESBA degree and I urge you to Oppose the Proposed Option to Stop-out the Ethnic Studies Bachelor of Arts.

Sincerely,
S. Yee, UHM Alumnus

BOR Testimony 9/17

From: Donavan Albano on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:29 AM:

Aloha e Board of Regent Members, President Lassner and Provost Bruno,

My name is Donavan Kamakani Albano, and I am a Kanaka Maoli haumāna majoring in Ethnic Studies and pursuing an M.Ed. in Educational Administration through the Combined Bachelor’s and Master’s (BAM) Program. I am writing in my capacity as a student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa to demand firmly that the Department of Ethnic Studies remain independently as its own department. I also write to stand in protection of and solidarity with the Women’s Studies, Theatre and Dance, Philippine Languages and Literatures, and other departments that may face similar and even harsher risks, especially in possible loss of autonomy. I urge that as further recommendations and budget processes are being made that student governance groups will be part of these conversations, and evidence regarding supposed projected savings will be provided transparently.

The genealogy of the amazingly radical Ethnic Studies department lies in grassroots activism during the civil rights, anti-war, anti-eviction, Hawaiian sovereignty movements. It is a higher education embodiment of the ongoing commitment towards combatting institutional and systemic racism and misogyny, colonialism, and heteropatriarchal settler-sanctioned violence that remain ever-present in society. The demand for this very department emerged out of the fact that many people, especially BIPOC, believed that they were deprived of learning the true histories of their peoples. As a Kanaka Maoli, I can attest to this deeply, and I can genuinely say that if it were not for the Department of Ethnic Studies, I would not be where I am today. We cultivate and produce new knowledge around social justice that centers on the values, cultures, and ecologies of Hawaiʻi and Oceania. While the “option to stop-out” recommendation may have been removed, I cannot sit idly by the fact that the potential future of this EAducating department would be under administered under another department.

As the University of Hawaiʻi continues to live out the legacy of settler colonialism, institutional racism, and more, targeting our departments under the cover of the pandemic-induced budget crisis is nothing short of perpetuating these very oppressive systems. While many students may understand that current majors of these departments will not be prevented from graduating with their degrees, the possibility of stopping new admissions and inhibiting us from studying what we may come to find we are passionate about is problematic. I am also concerned with the lack of consultation between various involved, including the Interdisciplinary Studies department.

Our departments, especially those that are within the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, are populated by BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and students with disabilities. They are truly place-based and Indigenous-serving in their respective natures. To deprive future students of the opportunity to pursue this knowledge would be to inhibit the development of future leaders in the Kingdom of Hawaiʻi, Oceania, and across the world. This global pandemic has made evident the importance
of working collectively and collaboratively, and requires this ʻike to understand where we have been and where we could progress towards. Like my fellow students, we look forward to the incorporation of our manaʻo and further discussions. Mahalo for the opportunity to submit testimony.

Kū Kiaʻi Mauna,
Donavan Kamakani Albano

Save Ethnic Studies Dept.

From: Jim Albertini on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 7:56 AM:

Aloha BOR,

The Ethnic Studies Dept at UH has a long important history not only for the University but for the broader community. It is a vital dept. and must be saved and fully funded.

Mahalo.

Jim Albertini

br> Jim Albertini Malu ’Aina Center For Non-violent Education & Action P.O. Box 489 Ola’a (Kurtistown) Hawai’i 96760 Phone

Email Visit us on the web at www.malu-aina.org

Ethnic Studies Testimony

From: Ambrie Bosworth on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 6:50 AM:

To Whom It May Concern,

I woke up this morning to news that deeply saddens me. As an Alumni of University of Hawai’i at Manoa who received their major in Ethnic Studies, I write this letter in sincere protest to “stop-out” this amazing program.
We are living in a difficult time, but these issues are not new. Ethnic Studies is an important program because it helps students learn about the real history of the United States, colonialism, civil rights issues and about the diverse cultures of the people of Hawai’i.
Regardless of the important movements that this program has endured and supported, I am not here to tell you the impact this program has had on the world or it’s community, I am here to tell you how it has impacted me.
I grew up in a white supremacist and extremely religious community. My education, community, and family never taught me about the struggles that marginalized people face every day or the history of violence in our country. They didn’t teach me anything other than how great it was to be a white person in an all white town. When I moved to Hawai’i for my undergraduate education, I explored the majors I wanted to grow in, and that’s where I found Ethnic Studies. Course after course, I grew evermore grateful for the knowledge I was obtaining, and I cried to know that my whiteness and lack of knowledge was perpetuating the suffering of people who did not look like me. This program is important because it helps people like me understand how to be an ally, and how to amplify marginalized voices.
I believe that this is a grave mistake, especially given the historic issues that have happened this summer with police brutality, massive protests, and COVID-19. We need to continue talking about them, and we need to continue this program for more than this reason. I ask that you consider my testimony. Additionally, I ask that you provide evidence as to how stopping the Ethnic Studies program will result in immediate projected savings. There is no amount of money that can compare to this priceless education. I ask that you stop targeting this program. You are causing future students to not have the opportunity to choose a study that they are passionate about. A “stop-out” will only weaken the Etnic Studies department and it will not provide short-term cost savings. Thank you for taking the time to review my testimony. I look forward to the MBT standing up against institutional racism and making the decision to support an essential program and education.
Warmly,

Ambrie Bosworth

Testimony in support of Ethnic Studies

From: Leah Bremer on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:08 AM:

Dear Board of Regents,
I am writing to acknowledge the 50 years of leadership and accomplishment of the Ethnic Studies Department at UH Mānoa. I have had the opportunity to work with several ES faculty during my time at the University and find their contributions, knowledge, experience, and insight essential to the critical social and environmental justice challenges of our generation. It is critical that ES continue as part of the Universityʻs commitment to social justice as a core principle.

I ask that you commit to transparent, accountable, and meaningful dialogue and involve Ethnic Studies and other affected departments in discussions around their future so they can shape effective partnerships that uphold their mission and purpose. It does not seem that merging with Interdisciplinary Studies offers any cost-savings, so even more so, focusing on the goals of Ethnic Studies as articulated by the department is critical.
I would ask for the same of other departments affected by the proposed re-organization. Mahalo for your consideration. Leah
–
Leah Bremer
UHERO Environmental Policy and Planning Group Water Resources Research Center
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

I feel this way additionally about Ethnic Studies, seeing as though this is

From: Riley Camacho on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 12:21 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

I feel this way additionally about Ethnic Studies, seeing as though this is my major and absolutely VITAL to our community and overall society.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Testimony, re: UH Manoa Department of Ethnic Studies

From: Anthony Castanha on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:23 AM:

Dear Board of Regents:

Aloha. As a lecturer in the Department of Ethnic Studies for the past sixteen years, I am asking you to please respect the independence of Ethnic Studies for its many vital contributions over the decades to Hawai’i’s students and diverse multi- ethnic community. The Department is unique in addressing critical issues at the forefront of racial divisions and hostilities we see taking place today. We teach our students about social and racial justice issues and respect among all ethnicities and peoples. We teach tolerance and understanding and understand how to solve these types of issues through education, advocacy and dialog.

In closing, anything less than continued autonomy would erode what the Department of Ethnic Studies has built its reputation on. And that is really about the respect that it deserves, especially in its fiftieth year. Mahalo.

Sincerely,

Dr. Anthony Castanha, Lecturer Department of Ethnic Studies University of Hawai’i at Manoa

Support Ethnic Studies

From: Wendy Cheng on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:14 AM:

To the University of Hawai‘i Board of Regents:

I am writing to register my steadfast support for the Ethnic Studies major at UH Manoa. It would be unconscionable if Ethnic Studies should be downsized at a historical moment in which it is most needed. Ethnic Studies as a field is uniquely positioned to educate students about how we got here: about the historical ravages of structural racism, imperialism, and colonialism; about the dignity, resilience, and vibrant cultures of oppressed peoples; about how people from different backgrounds have always crossed racial and ethnic lines to share and build traditions of knowledge and praxis for true freedom and justice. We are in dire need of these knowledges and practices now and into the foreseeable future.

In a recent article in Ka leo, Vice President Kalbert Young states that “eliminating programs does not mean saving money”; rather, “we are… trying to weigh what is important for UH and for the state of Hawai‘i.” Preserving and supporting Ethnic Studies at this moment, then, conveys to the world that the histories and knowledges of marginalized peoples and their struggles for freedom and justice are important to UH and for the state of Hawai‘i. Community-engaged learning and pedagogy, a cornerstone of the discipline, are important to UH and the state of Hawai‘i. Respecting faculty who are known nationally in this field is important for UH and the state of Hawai‘i. Maintaining a welcoming intellectual space on campus to educate future leaders from historically marginalized communities and their allies is important for UH and the state of Hawai‘i.

UH has an opportunity now and in the years to come to be a leader in doing what is right. Invest in and support Ethnic Studies for a better future for all of us.

Wendy Cheng
Associate Professor and Chair of American Studies
Core Faculty, Intercollegiate Department of Asian American Studies Scripps College

Editorial Board Member, Journal of Asian American Studies Editorial Board Member, Amerasia Journal

Testimony to UH Board of Regents on Mānoa Budget Team’s recommendations of Ethnic Studies “partnering” with other departments

From: Brian Chung on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 6:30 AM:

Dear Board of Regents:

My name is Brian Su-Jen Chung and I am an Associate Professor in the Department of Ethnic Studies at UH Mānoa. My path to becoming an educator began as an undergraduate student majoring in Ethnic Studies at the University of California, San Diego. It was there that I met faculty in Ethnic Studies who inspired me to consider a college education as not simply a means to employment, but a space of which to think imaginatively of a more just world I would want to live in with others as well as my moral responsibility in shaping that possible future. I had the privilege to take classes from faculty, whose lives and experiences “outside” of the academy included labor organizing, activism in the U.S. civil rights movement, and black popular music (to name a few), instilled in me and fellow majors a sense of the extent that our education mattered and could (and had) created meaningful change for underserved communities in the Greater San Diego area and beyond. These faculty nurtured our curiosity and creativity and many of us upon graduating applied our knowledge, critical thinking skills, and political commitments to social justice cultivated in our classrooms to a wide range of jobs in education, journalism, public media, and marketing. My undergraduate training in Ethnic Studies and the close relationships I fostered with faculty and students was an empowering experience that has led me to where I am today.

I started a tenure track position at UHM in Fall 2012 and I am proud of my department and the work that we have collectively done to meet the needs of our students within a changing economic and political climate. Our current students and graduates are passionate about staying in Hawaiʻi and serving their communities. Many of them have pursued professions that allow them to shape difficult conversations and policies around issues of race, class, and gender inequality here in Hawaiʻi. They have brought their passion for social justice to labor organizing efforts, local and national politics, education, youth mentoring, film and television production, and land development. Their work advocates for the working peoples of Hawaiʻi and signals their impassioned connection to place as they continue to investigate the experiences and histories of Native Hawaiians and locals. Recently, our department has added faculty whose expertise and knowledge in black studies, digital studies, and sustainability and environmental justice are at the center of contemporary political discourse and policy in the United States. Their research focus helps our students prepare to address the challenges of the world that we are currently facing. We remain committed to helping our students develop their own ways of creating positive change for themselves, their families, and communities and our record continues to reflect that and much more.

I encourage the BOR to reaffirm the autonomy of the Department of Ethnic Studies to determine the partnerships and collaborations that we pursue in the future. It is important to recognize the leadership and achievements of my department since itʻs inception as evidenced by the political and community leaders as well as artists and academics we have produced and the work they have accomplished. Their innovative thinking and compassionate leadership is what is needed in our world today. It is understandable that budget cuts are unavoidable. However, I challenge the BOR to support Ethnic Studies and to invest in the people, cultures, and communities of Hawaiʻi.

Regards,

Dr. Brian Su-Jen Chung

Brian Su-Jen Chung Associate Professor Ethnic Studies Department
University of Hawaii at Manoa 2560 Campus Road
George Hall, 307
Honolulu, HI 96822

Letter of support for Ethnic Studies

From: Jennifer Darrah on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:28 AM:

Dear Board of Regents,
September 16, 2020 Board of Regents Testimony
Mahalo for all you do for our community and our University and for Hawai‘i’s people.
I speak as a faculty member in the department of Sociology. It is a great honor to work at UH, a university I cherish.
I was saddened and disappointed to hear of potential weakening of Ethic Studies, a sister department where I am a faculty affiliate.
Ethnic Studies embodies the spirit, scholarship, research, and ethic that makes me so proud to serve and teach at UH. The faculty, students, and alumni are my personal and professional role models. I am also writing on behalf of other senior faculty members in the Department of Sociology.
The impact and import of Ethnic Studies at UH go well beyond traditional and easy ‘metrics’. I see Ethnic Studies as one of the hearts of our University. World class research about
Hawai‘i has consistently come from Ethnic Studies’ faculty. I teach courses on Hawai‘i. Every
semester, I teach from brilliant books and writing that come out of this department. It’s hard to over-estimate the impact and reach of this work on Hawai‘i and its seminal contributions.
Ethnic Studies is a touchpoint for me and so many others in terms of how to advance racial and ethnic equity in our communities, state and the world. The time has never been more pressing to learn from their scholarship and teaching on racial and ethnic equity. Ethnic Studies also ‘walks the walk’ when it comes to inclusion. They lead the way in serving students representing all of Hawai‘i’s people. Importantly, Ethnic Studies has done an exemplary job recruiting and retaining faculty from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. They embody the diversity many of us yearn for across our institutions.
Ethnic Studies faculty and students provide a model for us as a university in terms of how we can
engage with and serve Hawai‘i’s communities ESfaculty are leaders in service-learning. Our communities and history in Hawai‘i are special. The faculty in this department have longstanding community ties. They have nurtured trust with people in Hawai‘i over decades. This has positive ripple effects for so many of us and quite literally roots our university. Here are just a few examples:
-Because o ESfaculty, especially Professor Davianna McGregor, I and countless others have spent time growing as students, teachers, community members, and citizens by learning about and visiting Kaho‘olawe. Professor Davianna McGregor and a team lead faculty professional development trips to Kaho‘olawe in the last two years (this is in addition of countless trips she has led for students over the decades). This was a profoundly impactful learning and professional growth experience for faculty. It deepened our appreciation for Hawai‘i, its people, its histories, and the lessons that
Hawai‘i holds about how we as people can care for our natural places. I brought this learning and appreciation of aloha ‘āina into my classroom.
-ES faculty are leaders in service-learning. Throug ESties, my students have participated in service learning projects from Palolo to Waianae. Due the trus ESfaculty and staff have earned working in communities and doing respectful and accountable research, they have created opportunities for faculty and students throughout the university. My students have consistently participated in the mālama i nā ahupa‘a program and several others (developed b ESfaculty over decades and in recent years under the wise and strong leadership of Professor Ulla Hasager). Time and again my students of all different racial and ethnic backgrounds have told me how impactful these learning experiences have been. These powerful learning experiences have shaped their careers and affirmed their commitments to do work in Hawai‘i.
Hawai‘i has been and should continue to be a leader in Ethnic Studies. As we all weather these difficult times, I urge you to be mindful of our long term legacies as a University that we will carry through and that must be there for us after this financial storm.
Mahalo for your consideration,

Jennifer Darrah-Okike, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Sociology
Faculty Affiliate Department of Ethnic Studies
 

In Support of Philippine Languages & Literatures BA

From: Rebecca Goldschmidt on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:28 AM:

To the UH Board of Regents,
Hello, my name is Sheila Ringor, I am currently in my 3rd year at UH Mānoa double
majoring in Political Science and Sustainability Studies with a minor in Filipino. Filipinos make up 25% of the population in Hawai‘i and we make up 11% of the student body at UH Mānoa. 11% of those students find themselves connected to the Philippine Languages and Literatures program either through Ilokano or Tagalog. The program itself is very important to many of us as it is one way we represent ourselves in Hawai‘i, and this is where we manage to reconnect with our roots as we are thousands of miles away from home. The Philippine Languages and Literatures program does not only teach their students about languages but this is a place where most of us learn about our history, cultures, and traditions. For example, I’ve taken FIL 401, 402, and I am currently taking IP 370. Within FIL 401 and 402, I was able to meet diaspora Filipinos who made their way up from FIL 101 to these high level courses since they were determined to learn the language, and it was a way for them to reclaim their Filipino identity. I was able to make a deep connection with the people within these courses and especially within the program, I found a sense of community at the University to which I struggled to find during my freshman year of college. Currently, with IP 370 Philippine Travelogue: Peoples, Places, and Practices, we learn about the Indigenous people of the Philippines, which is not commonly taught. This is why many are uneducated with this topic that lead to the result of othering Indigenous tribes in the Philippines from the dominant “mainstream” Filipinos. But IP 370 gave me a sense of hope that as more people become aware of the Indigenous people of the Philippines, we can put an end to the continuous battle that these tribes have to face from being looked down upon as well as being displaced from their own land.

Overall, being part of the program has made my academic career much more valuable because I felt accomplished and connected with my people. With the plan of budget cuts and the proposed “stop-out of the BA in Philippine Language and Literature”, I believe that this will bring no good to Filipinos and non-Filipinos that were able to find home within the program.
Such act also go against what UH Mānoa has been advertising towards their students which is “diversity and inclusion”, there is no diversity and inclusion in a place where departments such
as Ethnic Studies, Women Studies, Indo-Pacific Languages and Literatures (IPLL), and so on are continuously being targeted with budget cuts and “stop-outs”. Majority of the people within these departments are people of color, the Philippine Language and Culture hosts vulnerable communities in Hawai‘i such as Filipinos. During these trying times with COVID-19 as well as BLM movements in Hawai‘i and the continental U.S., this sudden budget cuts for these departments are almost undeniably an act of institutional racism.

Sincerely, Sheila Ringor
 

To whom it may concern,

My name is Sharlene Insong, UH alumni and former student of the Ilokano language program at UH. I am writing this letter in strong opposition of the University of Hawaii’s proposal to“stop-out the BA in Philippine Language and Culture”.

I know that we are currently in a pandemic and times are hard however, I do not believe cutting this program will be a good solution to this problem. From my time at UH, I have taken Ilokano language courses as well as IP classes that have always been full of students and even students being waitlisted. Full enrollment in the program’s courses shows that it is not a cost center, but rather it draws in many tuition-paying students.

Nevertheless, it is appalling to me that the budget cuts to programs in the university targeted departments that play an important role in the education of minority communities i.e women’s studies, Ethnic Studies and the Philippine language and literature program. In this social political climate especially, we should be pushing for the expansion for these programs rather than cutting them. The University of Hawaii continues to focus on money rather than focusing on the education of language, culture and histories/issues of minority communities. In a capitalist society, this is expected, but should not be accepted. I urge the board to rethink the programs they have proposed to cut.

Additionally, Hawaii has a high population of Filipinos and many students are second generation Filipino-Americans who did not learn their language of their ancestors but come to UH to do so. I was one of these students. UH is the only university in the world that offers a BA in Ilokano and this should not be taken away for the sake of the community in Hawaii who need a place to learn about their culture and where they come from. The effects of colonialism and immigration continue to affect diasporic Filipinos/ second/third Flipino Americans who do not have physical ties to their homeland. The least UH can do to fix this, is provide funding to give students the opportunity to learn their language and culture.

Lastly, there is also a larger community need for Ilokano and Tagalog speakers, particularly for professionals in the areas of education, business, health, and social and legal services trained in Philippine history and cultures. I am currently a paralegal/AmeriCorps advocate for the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii where I have seen the need for Tagalog and Ilokano speakers in legal services. Many clients that I speak to are vulnerable immigrants who know basic english and would otherwise not completely understand what I am saying in english. There are other times where I have heard that it is difficult for the courts to get an Ilokano interpreter. As you can see, my experience along with the huge filipino population in Hawaii, creates a great need for UH to continue to have the BA in Philippine languages and literature.

I hope this letter gets to you well, and you see the importance of this program for our students, future generations and community.

Sincerely, Sharlene Insong
 

A Letter of Testimony in Protest Against the University of Hawaiʻi Administration’s Budget Proposal

My name is Eugene Tunac Marquez, born and raised in the Philippines, a settler immigrant of the currently occupied Kingdom of Hawai’i for eleven years, a queer first-generation student with a senior standing, a candidate in the Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Philippine Language & Culture with a concentration in Ilokano, and I hereby OPPOSE the University of Hawaiʻi Administration’s HIGHLY UNACCEPTABLE proposal of eliminating the BA in Philippine Language and Culture.

Upon my admittance to the University, I have never imagined myself to take part in the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program, let alone major in Ilokano, my native language. However, I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to participate and be a part of the program because of its prominent contributions to my own personal, academic, and political growth and development.

With the knowledge and insight that I gained whilst in the program, I realized how despite making up approximately 25% of Hawaiʻi’s population, Filipinos are amongst the highly disadvantaged communities on the islands. The ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Filipino community is an essential example. Recent data reveals that Filipinos and Pacific Islanders have the highest COVID-19 contraction because they make up a large number of what is deemed “essential workers”. Furthermore, the Filipino community is overrepresented in the healthcare industry and in service jobs in the tourist industry.

Being in the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program not only allowed me to maintain my profiency in my language and maintain my connection to my heritage, having been away from my homeland for numerous years, it also helped me learn about the failures of the current colonial capitalist systems that we are forced under. Cutting down the BA in Philippine Language and Culture and the program as a whole will not support the lives of the Filipino community and the sacrifices and struggles they had to endure. They will only contribute to the ongoing lack of support for the community.

Additionally, the elimination of the BA in Philippine Languages and Culture will not save the University money. The Phillippine Languages and Literatures Program has been consistent with its growth in terms of majors and graduates, course offerings, and full enrollment in many of the classes. The classes offered in the program have multiple focus designations which fulfill the General Education requirements and FOCUS requirements of the University. Every semester, there is often an amazing number of students waitlisting for the classes, but the program is unable to offer seats because the program is not permitted to open up more sections or hire more lecturers. With a firm statistic showing the strength of the number of tuition-paying students taking its courses, the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program is not what the administration calls a “cost center”.

The University of Hawai’i Administration seems to be masking their true agenda behind the financial impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has on the University. If the University’s goal is to
“enhance opportunities for program and revenue growth,” then why is the administration cutting down some of the most socially crucial programs in the University? In addition to my growth and development in the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program, I have had the honor to take part in the Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies programs as well and gained numerous profound insights under these programs. The Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies departments struggled to establish their autonomies under the oppressive colonial capitalist systems in our society, but they have since become hubs of fostering the political awakenings in many students. Cutting these programs down, along with the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program and other cultural programs, rightly exposes the administration’s continuing agenda to mute our voices, misappropriate our identities, steal our resources, and hiding behind their performative rhetoric.

Instead of eliminating and cutting down these programs, I question why haven’t the University of Hawai’i Administration consider cutting their pays, since many of the administrators earn way over $250,000 and it is a highly reasonable measure that other universities are implementing in their pandemic response plans, and/or stop proposing a salary increase for multiple administrative positions which they will be doing during the BOR meeting on Thursday September 17, 2020.

I am appalled, but not surprised, by the administration’s decision to continue muting the voices of the people and cutting these programs will only be a part of the many evidence that reveal their agenda. I urge the University of Hawai’i Administration to stop using the pandemic as their reasonings in planning to dissolve these programs and tell us the real reasons why. Why is the administration damaging the strength of programs that are crucially important to the social and cultural growth of the University’s students?

I look forward to the University of Hawai’i Administration’s immediate withdrawal of these proposed cuts and to hearing their plans to preserve these programs and their responsibility to serve the community.

Regards,

Eugene Tunac Marquez
 

To Whom this May concern,

My name is Clarissa Rago. I am a first-generation Filipino college student and Ethnic Studies major opposing the discontinuation of the Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Languages and
Literature. Being of Filipino ancestry, it is essential to keep this degree as it is the only degree of its kind to be offered in America. The importance of this program is to keep with the diversity the University prides itself on establishing.
For the University to propose this discontinuation of these degrees for the fiscal year 2021- 2022, the program will lose out on vital research to contribute to the greater Hawai’i community and mobilize the predominant Filipino youth in the Islands. It is no secret the vast majority of the Hawai’i residency is Filipino. I ask that the University of Hawaii Board of Regents reconsider their budget cuts as this hit Will significantly impact the broader community. These courses have shaped me to truly strive to be a more community-oriented member and work more in youth outreach. These programs have given me a better insight into working with the youth in our public schools and help guide them into understanding that the University is rich in resources here for them to partake. The Philippine language and literature courses have helped recognize that Filipinos do not lack representation in the community but rather provide a safe place to have these discussions on the city on the next step to better serve our the community. To cut these programs is incredibly tone-deaf and will harm the diversity the University strives to uphold. Please reconsider the impact this will have. Thank you for your understanding.

Clarissa Rago

BOR Testimony for Agenda Item VI.A, Report on Academic and Student Affairs

From: Derrick Higginbotham on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:30 AM:

Dear Board of Regents,

My name is Derrick Higginbotham, and I am an Associate Professor in the Department of English at UHM, specializing in early modern studies (Shakespeare, in particular) and the history of gender and sexuality. I am affiliate of the Women’s Studies Department, and I have taught and worked with students and faculty in that Department, as well as in the Department of Theater and Dance. My primary theoretical framework for my research is a combination of feminist and queer theories, so Women’s Studies in my time as a student at other institutions and faculty member here has been a vital intellectual ‘home.’

Overall, I write today to express my deep concern about the UH Manoa Plans for a post- pandemic Hawai‘i. Like many, I have read through the Budget Committee Suggestions, and I am quite alarmed not only at the suggestions but also at the lack of process in arriving at these suggestions.

I do have questions about the suggestions specific to Women’s Studies. In particular, how would working with Interdisciplinary Studies result in an increase in majors for the department? How also would it contribute to cost-cutting? Furthermore, Women’s Studies undergraduate enrollment has remained, as the Suggestions document details, steady, with only slight decreases at the graduate level. This steadiness indicates not only that the program thrives, but that the department appears poised to grow, especially with new faculty and affiliates who teach in the fields of gender and sexuality studies. I am not fully convinced that a partnership with Interdisciplinary Studies is either beneficial or necessary.

My strongest concern, though, is that apparently Interdisciplinary Studies and Women’s Studies were never consulted about this possible partnership, with no discussions or exploration of what would be beneficial about this collaboration or how it would work in practice. I am very alarmed that the Suggestions are offered without any input from students and faculty generally; this seeming unwillingness to engage with students and faculty appears a part of a pattern of the university administration, one bolstered by the claim to exigency of the moment. While I appreciate and understand that the university will have to change, I am not convinced that doing so unilaterally is the best move.

Moreover, using this fall semester (at the very least) to consult does not seem unreasonable or

too slow,’ especially when state and federal budgets are not fully developed and so much about this moment remains uncertain. Indeed, I find it disturbing that the administration would initiate such substantial institutional transformation without consultation and during an unprecedented moment as the pandemic continues, as economic dislocation has yet to be fully experienced, and as uprisings are occurring across the US, all during a turbulent election year. I am not fully sure why the administration would want to increase stress amongst students and faculty during an already difficult period.

In light of all of this, I respectfully request that the administration pause the pursuit of any suggested changes to the Women’s Studies Department until some kind of consultation process has been completed with students and faculty, and I would ask the same for the Departments of Ethnic Studies and the Departments of Theater and Dance as well as any other programs in the university.

Sincerely,

Dr. Derrick Higginbotham Associate Professor of English

Stop targeting arts as a way to justify budget cuts. Do better

From: Kelsi Julian-Araki on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 12:01 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

Stop targeting arts as a way to justify budget cuts. Do better than cutting what you consider the “lesser” majors.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of

Signature
these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

My sister graduated from here and has introduced dance to hundreds of students.

From: Megan Kaestner on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 4:41 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

My sister graduated from here and has introduced dance to hundreds of students. I’ve also visited and it’s too beautiful of a program to cut.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Written Testimony in Support of Ethnic Studies

From: Kekuewa Kikiloi on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 2:32 AM:

Aloha Regents of the University of Hawaiʻi,

The Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies stands in solidarity with the Ethnic Studies Department in advocating for the protection of their program. We demand that the University of Hawaiʻi Administration permanently withdraw any proposals of a “stop-out” and allow their department to continue to teach and develop students in their own academic unit. Ethnic Studies come from a long and proud history of social and political activism that has helped shape the culture of our University and the history of Hawaiʻi. The inception of their program was born out of the civil rights and anti-war and student movement and its creation was an important benchmark for our University in recognizing the lack Native Hawaiians and locals in UH teaching and administrative position, as well as representation in the standard curriculum and courses here.

Over the years, both of our departments have been historically linked together as allies through early activism such as community resistance movements against local and Hawaiian evictions and the early formations of the Hawaiian sovereignty movement. Ethnic Studies has had tremendous impact in Hawaiʻi in fighting for social justice, peace, and equality for local communities throughout our islands. Just as Hawaiian culture and history is essential to the identity of Hawaii, so too is Ethnic Studies that represents the voices of the multi-ethnic composition that makes up the local culture and base of Hawaiʻi’s population.

In today’s political climate in America that is fueled by racial tension, economic self-interest, and ideological polarization, it’s critical that programs such Ethnic Studies exist, especially here in Hawaiʻi the most ethnically diverse state in the union. Any action that results in the reduction of support or cutting of this program in this day and age can only be seen as an act of institutional racism. We insist that the UH administration stop and listen to the faculty, staff, and students and include us in the planning for these economic challenges in the upcoming years, in order to establish trust and pono in our institution.

Respectfully submitted,

Kekuewa Kikiloi, Ph.D.
Director, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Save the arts! Dance is a must for Hawaii!!

From: Chris Lee on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 6:03 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Save the arts! Dance is a must for Hawaii!!

Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Ethnic Studies

From: Kerry Long on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:09 AM:

Ethnic Studies at UHM emerged from a struggle by Hawai’i’s people of color to have a department that studies the experiences and social conditions of Hawai’i’s people, rather than offering students simply the history of white people in conventional majors. From Ethnic Studies came Hawaiian Studies. It is an institution within the proud history of Hawai’i’s oppressed people’s fighting for a voice, in this case, in higher education. And it remains as relevant as ever as racial inequality is still a huge problem in Hawai’i and a social paradigm that continues to shape the lives and politics of this place.

Ethnic Studies changes local students’ lives. In these times of racial reckoning, to do anything less that invest MORE in Ethnic Studies at UHM and empower the department to grow on its own terms is to entirely ignore the critical importance of what is happening across the US and the world right now as people of color and indigenous people are forcing the world around them to deal with the ongoing impacts of white supremacy and racialized oppression.

The irony is not lost that when a white president of the University is given emergency powers by the Board of Regents that one of the first departments on the chopping block is Ethnic Studies. Ethnic Studies inherently represents a “bottom up” approach to decision making, where those who are impacted most determine the future of their community. The Board of Regents needs to think hard about the impact of their approach - empowering a top down response to the budget crisis that the university faces - empowering an administration that is over-represented by white men to determine the future of Hawai’i’s one state university.
Please protect Ethnic Studies and empower students and faculty to have much more say in the future of this university. Mahalo,
Kerry Long
Faculty, Native Hawaiian Student Services PhD Student, Political Science

br> K. ’Ilima Long
Student Faculty Engagement Specialist Native Hawaiian Student Services University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

Testimony for BOR Meeting September 17

From: Skayu Louis on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:25 AM:

I am writing to submit testimony relating to the Covid-19 updates. The BMT has identified proposed restructuring that affects many of the departments on campus that elevate social justice into our contemporary and future worlds. I am opposed to the constant targeting of programs like Ethnic Studies, American Studies, and Women’s Studies based on financial logics that have yet to be publicized, while decision making is occurring in non-transparent ways.

I am writing to share my experiences with the Ethnic Studies Department. I am a first year PhD student in the Political Sciences Program, and a recent graduate of my Masters in the Anthropology Program at UH Manoa. I am Syilx/Secwepmc/German. I am Native American.
There are few spaces on campus to orient my ways of thinking into the structure of the University. There are few spaces on campus where I can feel seen and known. When I first arrived to campus, in my first week I attended an event in the Ethnic Studies Department and was welcomed with a warmth that exists no where else on campus. I was welcomed with community, and I was welcomed with an exposure to intellectual reckonings that superseded my expectations of what I was getting myself into when I decided to go back to University. I found a comradely that stuck through my Graduate experience on campus, and helped me through the difficult times that we face as students in our personal lives, and as students faced with struggles that relate to the operative nature of the University itself. This is a space that incorporates new voices into our evolving knowledges. This is a space that is greatly needed by our hegemonic world. This is a space that me and my colleagues, friends, and circles will fight for time and time again. Yet, we are writing to ask you to stop this targeting. We are made aware of the history of Ethnic Studies, as it has had to defend itself as a Department before.
We as students are asking for a autonomous space for the University to trust, acknowledge, and value the work that happens within the Ethnic Studies Department. To honour its own values of inclusion, becoming and Indigenous Serving Institution, and to recognize the state of our current world. Steeped in tensions of race, class, gender, Indigeneity, and beyond. These are the conversations needed for tomorrow. The discourse of the Ethnic Studies Department is what is needed for our new economy tomorrow. As an emerging generation of passion and awareness, we are not looking to rebuild the status quo by merely shuffling the numbers to benefit the top.
We are asking you to look at the values, the experiences, the community, and the beauty that the Ethnic Studies Department has brought in its 50 years on campus. Come witness this value through the celebrations of the Departments 50th Year Anniversary on Campus this academic year. In this time of Covid-19 lockdown, we are caused to ask ourselves what elements of our lives are important, and what elements of our society are essential. It would not take long for the waves behind the Ethnic Studies Department to share, in a multiplicity of voices, the essential nature of holding these spaces - and holding them consistently and autonomously.

As an inquiring student, I am confounded by the process made evident by the Administration and the MBT. As a student, I demand transparency. As a student who has poured labour and tuition into the operations of campus, I demand to know how these decisions emerged. I demand a deepened inclusion of Ethnic Studies and other impacted Departments regarding the futures of their departments. When partnerships across campus are made, they should make sense. They shouldn’t occur in a top down fashion, without any conversation, consultation, or input from the Departments involved. This isn’t ethical, and this isn’t acceptable. It has not
been made evident the ways in which the Ethnic Studies Department working within Interdisciplinary Studies will contribute to cost savings. As participants of this University we see no information regarding these cost savings.

Way’ limlempt for your time, and I sincerely ask your contemplation on this matter. To look around and witness the waves of racism that Covid-19 has exposed, and groundswell in Black Lives Matter movements, and the Indigenous Communities across Turtle Island that have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19. Do we not need a space for the rising voices of these communities? Listen to the voices of concurrent Testimonies relating to the Ethnic Studies Department and consider our shared future.

Skayu

A Letter of Testimony in Protest Against the University of Hawaiʻi Administration’s Budget Proposal

From: Eugene Tunac Marquez on Sep, 16 2020, 12 at 19:AM :

My name is Eugene Tunac Marquez, born and raised in the Philippines, a settler immigrant of the currently occupied Kingdom of Hawai’i for eleven years, a queer first-generation student with a senior standing, a candidate in the Bachelors of Arts in Political Science and Philippine Language & Culture with a concentration in Ilokano, and I hereby OPPOSE the University of Hawaiʻi Administration’s HIGHLY UNACCEPTABLE proposal of eliminating the BA in Philippine Language and Culture.

Upon my admittance to the University, I have never imagined myself to take part in the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program, let alone major in Ilokano, my native language. However, I am forever grateful to have the opportunity to participate and be a part of the program because of its prominent contributions to my own personal, academic, and political growth and development.

With the knowledge and insight that I gained whilst in the program, I realized how despite making up approximately 25% of Hawaiʻi’s population, Filipinos are amongst the highly disadvantaged communities on the islands. The ongoing impact of COVID-19 on the Filipino community is an essential example. Recent data reveals that Filipinos and Pacific Islanders have the highest COVID-19 contraction because they make up a large number of what is deemed “essential workers”. Furthermore, the Filipino community is overrepresented in the healthcare industry and in service jobs in the tourist industry.

Being in the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program not only allowed me to maintain my profiency in my language and maintain my connection to my heritage, having been away from my homeland for numerous years, it also helped me learn about the failures of the current colonial capitalist systems that we are forced under. Cutting down the BA in Philippine Language and Culture and the program as a whole will not support the lives of the Filipino community and the sacrifices and struggles they had to endure. They will only contribute to the ongoing lack of support for the community.

Additionally, the elimination of the BA in Philippine Languages and Culture will not save the University money. The Phillippine Languages and Literatures Program has been consistent with its growth in terms of majors and graduates, course offerings, and full enrollment in many of the classes. The classes offered in the program have multiple focus designations which fulfill the General Education requirements and FOCUS requirements of the University. Every semester, there is often an amazing number of students waitlisting for the classes, but the program is unable to offer seats because the program is not permitted to open up more sections or hire more lecturers. With a firm statistic showing the strength of the number of tuition-paying students taking its courses, the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program is not what the administration calls a “cost center”.
The University of Hawai’i Administration seems to be masking their true agenda behind the financial impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has on the University. If the University’s goal is to “enhance opportunities for program and revenue growth,” then why is the administration cutting down some of the most socially crucial programs in the University? In addition to my growth and development in the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program, I have had the honor to take part in the Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies programs as well and gained numerous profound insights under these programs. The Ethnic Studies and Women’s Studies departments struggled to establish their autonomies under the oppressive colonial capitalist systems in our society, but they have since become hubs of fostering the political awakenings in many students. Cutting these programs down, along with the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program and other cultural programs, rightly exposes the administration’s continuing agenda to mute our voices, misappropriate our identities, steal our resources, and hiding behind their performative rhetoric.

Instead of eliminating and cutting down these programs, I question why haven’t the University of Hawai’i Administration consider cutting their pays, since many of the administrators earn way over $250,000 and it is a highly reasonable measure that other universities are implementing in their pandemic response plans, and/or stop proposing a salary increase for multiple administrative positions which they will be doing during the BOR meeting on Thursday September 17, 2020.

I am appalled, but not surprised, by the administration’s decision to continue muting the voices of the people and cutting these programs will only be a part of the many evidence that reveal their agenda. I urge the University of Hawai’i Administration to stop using the pandemic as their reasonings in planning to dissolve these programs and tell us the real reasons why. Why is the administration damaging the strength of programs that are crucially important to the social and cultural growth of the University’s students?

I look forward to the University of Hawai’i Administration’s immediate withdrawal of these proposed cuts and to hearing their plans to preserve these programs and their responsibility to serve the community.

Regards,

Eugene Tunac Marquez

Testimony for BOR meeting

From: Laurel Mei-Singh on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:13 AM:

Dear Board of Regents,
I’m writing to vocalize my unwavering support for Ethnic Studies, as I was hired in this department and moved home to
take this position in 2018.

I was born and raised in Honolulu, and after I went away to college, it became my goal to return to Hawai’i. Soon after college, I learned about the department of Ethnic Studies and their work since the 1970s for racial, economic, environmental, and gender justice and knew that it was the place where I wanted to work. After I started my doctoral program in NYC, when I visited home, I eagerly made appointments with Ethnic Studies faculty so that we could get to know each other and even called faculty members in the department a few times from New York when I had research- related questions about Hawai’i. In 2014, I moved back to conduct my dissertation research and began to work with Ethnic Studies as a lecturer. This is when I became even more set in my goal to become a full-time faculty of Ethnic Studies at UHM. In 2017, as I was serving a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Princeton, I jumped on the opportunity to apply for a job as part of the sustainability cluster hire in the Social Sciences at UHM, and was thrilled to see that Ethnic Studies was part of the cluster. When I got the job, it was a dream come true.

However, recent weeks have found Ethnic Studies and my future here in danger. More troubling, it has made me question UH’s commitment to social justice as a core principle of education. I am writing to ask that the Board of Regents make social and racial justice a priority as we move into our post-COVID future. This is even more important as we see the racial disparities in COVID rates and economic impacts from the pandemic, and the recent uprisings against institutionalized racism. At this moment, UH admin should be partnering wit ES and engaging in meaningful dialogue about how to support and strengthen us during this time of racial reckoning.

Ethnic Studies and other affected departments must participate in a process where we decide the sort of partnerships that make sense for us. As it stands, I do not see meaningful cost-savings of any sort of partnership with IS. I have also been informed that IS has not been consulted about this partnership. I would like to request transparency, accountability, and meaningful dialogue in this process.

I also want to vocalize my solidarity with other departments affected by the reorganization and cuts. This includes Theater, Dance, American Studies, Women’s Studies, CPIS, Asian Studies, and more. It is more important now than ever to celebrate and support the arts, culture, critical thinking, activism and social movements, and diversity. UHM is not a trade school. People with liberal arts, humanities, and social science degrees in fact earn higher salaries on the job market over time because they’ve developed creative and critical thinking as well as writing skills that enable them to fill leadership positions. The decision to scale back on these programs is short-sighted and counterproductive.

I look forward to meaningful dialogue about how we can move forward together. Thank you for your time.
Aloha,

Laurel Mei-Singh
Assistant Professor, Ethnic Studies University of Hawai’i Mānoa

My daughter graduated in 2003 with a Master’s Degree in Dance from your

From: Penny Murphy on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 7:23 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

My daughter graduated in 2003 with a Master’s Degree in Dance from your University. She has a successful career as an Instructor of the Bowling Green State University’s Dance program. She also is the owner of her own dance studio, and is very successful bringing dance to the community in Bowling Green, Ohio. Not only is she encouraging young children in the arts, she provides
employment to her dance students from BGSU. It is
important to continue these opportunities for your current and future students. By cutting dance from your program, you are taking away many opportunities for not only dance students, but for outreach in your community and other communities where your dance students are from. Please reconsider this decision. Thank you very much.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

It’s very important to keep this program around. Many students will suffer, now

From: Amy Neils on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 1:37 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

It’s very important to keep this program around. Many students will suffer, now and in the future. The Arts are crucial to all parts of society and culture. Please keep all the Arts programs now and in the future.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much
as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to
survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Why would you want to get rid of the programs that differentiate yourself

From: Dylan Neils on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 7:21 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Why would you want to get rid of the programs that differentiate yourself from every other college and university in the country? You don’t hear about Hula or Polynesian dance being taught as anything more than an elective or one semester class anywhere else, so this is really the only place that people who want to learn this in depth can learn this. You are killing off a style of dance
and a culture that you can’t find anywhere else, or you
would have to leave the country to do. The programs may be small, but the people who are in them are there specifically for them and couldn’t go anywhere else to do them. You are turning your backs on the culture and heritage of Hawaii by throwing away these programs that show the essence of Hawaii and its people.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Testimony Against the Post-Pandemic Hawai’i Budget Cuts for the Women’s Studies Department

From: Candace Noguchi on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 4:23 AM:

Aloha members of the Board of Regents at the University of Hawai’i,

My name is Yu Noguchi and I am a fourth-year student at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. As a B.A. Candidate in Psychology and Women’s Studies, minoring in Japanese, and also obtaining an Undergraduate Certificate in Peace Studies, I am writing this letter to express my appall and overall disgust over the proposal submitted by the Mānoa Budget Team on Friday, September 11, 2020.

I STRONGLY OPPOSE the proposed “partnership” of the Women’s Studies department with the Interdisciplinary Studies department.

As a queer, nonbinary, Japanese immigrant-settler, first generation student living on militarily occupied lands in the Kingdom of Hawai’i, the Women’s Studies department is one of the only places on campus where I felt safe, seen, and affirmed of my intersecting identities. It is the only department on campus that has taught me to critically analyze the systems of injustice and oppression in the world that we live in; the same systems of oppression in which the university chooses to maintain through this proposal. While I have only been a student at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa for one year, my experience at the university, especially during this pandemic, has consistently proven to me that you only care about fattening your own wallets through the expense of student lives and livelihood.

Whilst only having four full-time faculty members, the Women’s Studies department is a thriving, functional, and effective academic department. The enrollment and graduation numbers have remained stable over the years, providing invaluable education and service to its students and our local community. Historically, the Women’s Studies department was a part of the Interdisciplinary Studies department just as the proposal suggests. However, this past “partnership” did not work. Frankly, the suggestion made by the Mānoa Budget Team is unnecessary and unwarranted. The Women’s Studies department is a valuable, distinguished, and crucial part of the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa system. Therefore, it is important for the Women’s Studies department to remain autonomous to continue providing its vital services as it has done over the years.

In a different report released on Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 that listed designated small programs at UHM, the Women’s Studies department was not listed on this report. Furthermore, the budget proposal does NOT state how these suggestions aim to solve UHM’s “financial crisis”. Nor does it explain how these suggestions will result in increased student admission towards these programs. As such, the proposed changes to the Women’s Studies department can only be seen as a direct attack on the department itself and the messages that it stands for.
The programs that are being suggested to be dissolved/merged/and/or cut are all programs centering on the lives and experiences of Native Hawaiian, Indigenous, Black, People of Color, women, LGBTQ+, immigrant, disabled, neurodiverse communities. As such, this proposal can be called nothing but colonialist, capitalistic, Anti-Black, Anti-Indigenous, racist, white supremacist, ableist, homo/transphobic, and neoliberalism. Calling the university, a “Hawaiian Place of Learning” while also simultaneously proposing cuts and elimination of these programs is hypocrisy. It is a direct contradiction to a university that supposedly values social justice, diversity, creativity, and innovation.

The Women’s Studies department along with other departments such as the Ethnic Studies, Dance, Theatre, Indo-Pacific Languages and Literature, Art, American Studies, etc. have always faced unjust threats of budget cuts by the administration throughout the years. A simple look at the proposal shows a lack of evidence and justifications for the actions suggested. The COVID- 19 pandemic provided the perfect opportunity for the administration to cut the programs that have been their most vocal critics through the guise of an imminent “financial crisis”. This blatant grab for power is just another neoliberalism tactic to further marginalize and silence the voices of the oppressed while also capitalizing on our lives, identity, and culture.

As a student whose tuition pays your salary, I DEMAND;

Removal of the Women’s Studies, in addition to all other departments, from the Post- COVID initiative of budget cuts.

For explanations on why a budget team is making these decisions for academic departments, along with the justification of these initial proposals.

Full transparency by the higher administration to the faculty and students for any and all changes being made in the university.

Inclusion of students, faculty, and community members in the decision-making process regarding a Post-Pandemic Hawaiʻi.

Reevaluation of the excessive salary income of all individuals within the higher administration, including the Board of Regents, during a pandemic when the university supposedly cannot pay their essential workers and provide graduate students PTO, sick leave, livable income, etc.

I look forward to the swift removal of the proposed budget cuts, the creation of a community engaged plan, and for the university to maintain accountability towards the community that it serves.

Mahalo,

In Support of the Philippine Languages & Literatures Program at UH Mānoa- Vea Marie Oliver

From: Vea Marie Oliver on Sep, 16 2020, 1 at 48:AM :

I am writing in OPPOSITION to the reorganization of CALL, the elimination of the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program, and the general defunding of the Arts & Humanities currently proposed at UHM.

The Philippine Languages and Literatures Program offers two specializations, in Ilokano and Tagalog languages and has been in existence since the 1970s. These became degree-granting programs in the early 2000s servicing the educational needs of heritage language learners and non-heritage language learners alike.
Recognizing the importance of the Program within the Academy as a service institution, the Board of Regents granted the BA Program permanent status in 2013. The BA in Philippine Languages and Literatures is founded on the recognition of the academic, professional, and personal needs of the community. Ilokano and Tagalog are two of the languages most commonly spoken by Filipinos in Hawaiʻi, where they make up 25% of the state’s population and 11% of the UH Mānoa student body. There is a larger community need for Ilokano and Tagalog speakers, particularly for professionals in the areas of education, business, health, and social and legal services trained in Philippine history and cultures.

Cutting our BA in Philippine Languages and Literatures will not save the University money. Since its birth, the
Philippine Languages and Literatures program is the largest within the Dept. of IPLL. The program has grown and maintained its growth with many majors and graduates, course offerings, and full enrollment for the majority of our classes. Currently, we have 30 majors and 25 minors in the Ilokano and Tagalog program combined. Consistent with previous semesters, we currently offer 31 courses (17 IP, 4 ILO, and 10 FIL) which have strong enrollments totaling 561 students. The courses offered in the program have multiple focus designations which fulfill the General Education requirements and focus requirements of the University. Every semester, we have multiple sections of several IP courses at maximum capacity, averaging about 20 students per class every semester. This semester alone we had 60+ students waitlisted for our IP courses and we were unable to offer them seats because we were not permitted to open up more sections or hire more lecturers. This record shows that the Philippine Languages and Literatures Program helps our students fulfill their language requirement and other GE requirements. In addition, full enrollment in our courses shows that we are not a cost center, but rather we draw in many tuition-paying students to our many popular courses.

The cost-cutting policies that the University is trying to implement have community-wide repercussions. It reveals a larger societal practice of devaluing certain people, cultures, and experiences. Recent data reveals that Pacific Islanders and Filipinos have the highest COVID-19 contraction because they are deemed “essential workers” and therefore are forced to work during the pandemic.
Overwhelmingly, Filipinos are frontline workers and are overrepresented in the healthcare industry and in service jobs in the tourist industry. This is why there is an extreme health crisis in these communities. In addition, the University is trying to remove the Philippine Languages and Literatures program, which provides direct training for students in maintaining literacy in their heritage languages. This is not the way to support their lives and sacrifices. In order for Hawaiʻi to sustain itself now and recover in the future, it is necessary to support Filipinos, Pacific Islanders, and Kānaka Maoli who are suffering disproportionately during this pandemic. The pandemic makes the failures of this colonial capitalist system glaringly apparent, especially their lack of support for the basic needs of the people. We urge the university not to contribute to these failings but rather lead by example in sustaining the people and aiding in the recovery of our communities.
Additional Comments As someone who moved from the Philippines to a new
country, I have felt a heavy guilt, and frankly, shame, for how foreign my own culture and language has felt over the years. Since my high school did not offer any classes about my culture, I was ecstatic to get into college, particularly UH Manoa because of their great and highly respected Filipino program. I have only taken one course since I started studying here, and already, I have learned so much. Not only about technicalities, or things I could read about, instead, I started to learn more about individual experiences of my fellow Filipinos especially immigrants. UH Manoa prides itself for diversity, yet keeps threatening the removal of Ethnic Studies such as Philippine Language and Literature. These programs,

Signature
whether we deny it or not, is the foundation of “diversity” in the University. It is what draws people, and let them stay. The Philippine Language and Literature has opened their doors to not only Filipinos but to those who want to learn more about the culture. It is a place where you could belong to no matter what or where you are from. Taking this away would undermine the University’s diversity advocacies. We expect better than this.

Opposition to stop-out the BA in Philippine Language and Culture

From: Clarissa Mae Rago on Sep, 16 2020, 8 at 18:AM :

To Whom this May concern,
My name is Clarissa Rago. I am a first-generation Filipino college student and Ethnic Studies major opposing the discontinuation of the Bachelor of Arts in Philippine Languages and Literature. Being of Filipino ancestry, it is essential to keep this degree as it is the only degree of its kind to be offered in America. The importance of this program is to keep with the diversity the University prides itself on establishing.
For the University to propose this discontinuation of these degrees for the fiscal year 2021-2022, the program will lose out on vital research to contribute to the greater Hawai’i community and mobilize the predominant Filipino youth in the Islands. It is no secret the vast majority of the Hawai’i residency is Filipino. I ask that the University of Hawaii Board of Regents reconsider their budget cuts as this hit Will significantly impact the broader community. These courses have shaped me to truly strive to be a more community-oriented member and work more in youth outreach. These programs have given me a better insight into working with the youth in our public schools and help guide them into understanding that the University is rich in resources here for them to partake. The Indo-Pacific Language and Literature courses have helped recognize that Filipinos do not lack representation in the community but rather provide a safe place to have these discussions on the city on the next step to better invest and serve our the community. To cut these programs is incredibly tone-deaf and will harm the diversity the University strives to uphold. Please reconsider the impact this will have. Thank you for your time and understanding.

Sincerely, Clarissa Rago

Testimony re: budget cuts

From: Colleen Rost-Banik on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 7:42 AM:

My name is Colleen Rost-Banik. I’m an alumna from UH, Mānoa (MA in Sociology), conducted my PhD research at UH
Mānoa, and am currently teaching sociology for both Honolulu CC and Windward CC. I am extremely disturbed by the proposed budget cuts to academic programs that have low enrollments. I appreciate that it sounds like Ethnic Studies has been taken off the chopping block, but I do not think that other small programs should be threatened with merger or even removal.

Yes, there are budget concerns right now for the entire state. However, during moments of crisis, it is important to expand rather than retract. This includes budgets.

The idea that courses with the fewest numbers and the departments with the fewest majors be cut relies on a market- logic of serving the most students for the least amount of money. This is not the logic that education–which is a PUBLIC GOOD–should espouse. The courses and departments with lower enrollments are also the locations in the university where relationships are the strongest. Departments of American Studies, Ethnic Studies, Women’s Studies, Art, Theatre, Religion, Social Welfare, and Public Health cover critical topics in our world that are best learned and discussed in smaller settings. What we must remember is that education is NOT simply about information transfer into empty minds, which may happen in large lecture hall courses. Rather, good education includes building relationships and fostering environments where there is time and space for deep interaction with course material and with one another. Small class sizes foster such deep engagement. Cutting them defies good educational practices. Threatening their removal is askew from what our society needs most right now–learning about differences, understanding how oppressive conditions are generated, critical thinking about the social institutions that govern our lives, and the creativity needed to envision more socially and economically just futures.

Moreover, we need to think about the values we portray during moments of crisis. When we value departments that are self-sustaining or that make money through student enrollment or grants (whether corporate, government or foundation), we uphold the logic of capitalism, thereby valuing profit over culture, ideas, and relationships. In moments of crisis it is imperative to not exclude the culture, ideas, and relationships that are deemed less popular (whether through numbers or otherwise), for it is in these places that we find possibilities for envisioning anew, for imagining and creating a university that does not abide by the principles of monetary valuation. We have a collective responsibility to care for the people and ideas that make up these places.

While running a university is challenging and hard decisions must be made, UH could be a leader in making innovative changes rather than regressive ones. UH leadership should be doing things like:
• demanding that state and federal legislators use tax dollars for education rather than luxury development projects (This should include advocating for supplemental taxes on second homes over $1 million–like the 2018 proposed constitutional amendment that was thwarted by legislators so it would not pass.)
• cutting high-paying management positions within UH.
• cutting sports programs as they are not the prime focus of higher education’s mission. UH could be truly innovative by keeping club sports but cutting all the Division I sports programs that are designed to try to bring in money but in doing so actually cost millions of dollars.

Rather than tighten the fiscal belts by merging or removing academic programs and departments, we need to demand more. Public education, including the small yet vital programs within, should not be a casualty of crisis but rather upheld as goods that everyone can access.

Respectfully,
Colleen Rost-Banik, Ph.D.

It does not make sense to get rid of something that is important

From: Emily Rovelo on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 7:12 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

It does not make sense to get rid of something that is important to the culture at your school.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

For some young adults such as myself, the arts were an integral part

From: Uilaniluaole Sanada on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:16 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

For some young adults such as myself, the arts were an integral part of my school experience and I felt that it gave me an outlet to express and compound all of the emotions and feelings that I had and turn it into something beautiful and positive.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks,
however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward
establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

please no cuts to this. This venue needs to be in full swing.

From: Sadie Sarkissian on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 6:51 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

please no cuts to this. This venue needs to be in full swing. This is much needed and loved to ll of us!!! This is a benchmark to educate and enjoy. At a time as now, we need to promote Positive. I strongly oppose any cuts to this sector. Dance and Theatre go hand in hand. Benficial from Keiki to Kupuna. This is Hawaii nei. Thank You
Sadie Sarkissian
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading
Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Dance is a vital part of the arts community that this world desperately

From: Becca Schmidt on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 3:58 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Dance is a vital part of the arts community that this world desperately needs right now.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Proposed Changes to Women’s Studies Programs

From: Amanda Shaw on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:20 AM:

Dear Members of the Board of Regents,
Please accept this letter in support of the Department of Women’s Studies (WS) and its degree programs.
I am currently an affiliated researcher in this Department. I also work closely with the Hawaiʻi State Commission on the Status of Women as well as with many international organizations and women’s rights groups globally. I specifically sought out an affiliation with UHM Women’s Studies given the expertise found within this department on transnational approaches to women’s/gender issues, the expertise on Hawaiʻi- Pacific and because of the vibrant and interconnected number of WS affiliated scholars working throughout the university. My own research on gender inequalities in Hawai’i’s food system would have been impossible without the scholarship of WS scholars at UH.
I come from a university context – the London School of Economic and Political Science (LSE) – in which there were also questions about the “proper” institutional home for Women’s/Gender studies within the university. Various linkages were proposed with other departments (e.g. Sociology) but the Gender Institute – now Department of Gender Studies – successful made the case for retaining an independent (and interdependent) institutional identity. The case was successful, in part, because the University realized that the proposed linkages didn’t make sense to either staff or students, as students were interested in specific gender/women’s studies issues and not as much in the areas offered by sociology. It is unclear at present how similarly top-down proposals to link WS and Interdisciplinary Studies (IS) would benefit or make sense to either department or to students.
While women’s studies is inter-disciplinary and surely much can be made from increased relationships with IS, retaining an independent institutional identity is critical to enabling a strong profile and therefore to recruiting high calibre staff and students. Demoting WS to a second-class entity is problematic because of how areas associated with women or in which many women work are often devalued; moreover, this doesn’t appear to, in itself, represent a sound financial strategy or strategy for increasing enrolment. Please, could you address in your next meeting how having Women’s Studies “work closely with” Interdisciplinary Studies will increase the number of WS majors and contribute to University cost savings?
Women and gender studies degrees are of growing interest to U.S. and international students and with a renewed strategy and support, the prospects for Women’s Studies majors at UHM can surely be enhanced. WS graduates have exciting job prospects across a range of fields and bring positive social value to the contexts where they work. As a WS/gender studies graduate myself, I know that there is a growing and unmet demand for gender analysis skills in the field of consulting with government projects locally as well as within the international community. Reducing WS’s profile at a time in which demand for these skills is growing is short-sighted.
In conclusion, Women’s Studies as well as Ethnic Studies, Theatre/Dance, Religion and other areas are critical to a balanced and representative state university, which may be the only option many Hawai’i students have for a university education. As a public institution, any changes to the University must be looked at through not only through a financial lens but through an equity one as well. It is indeed understandable that restructuring/transitions have been needed at the university and that COVID-19 is presenting major financial and human/social challenges to university life broadly. However, these are separate issues and should be approached as such.
Departments like WS hold critical expertise that is needed to ensure that recovery from the pandemic is gender-aware in light of impacts on women’s jobs, health and time burdens due to, for example, increased domestic violence during shelter-in-place and increased unpaid care workloads brought on by lack of childcare, amongst many others. The risk is that by reducing or curtailing the intellectual capacity of
departments like WS it is not only the UH community that will be impacted but our COVID-19 response in Hawaiʻi overall.
Thank you for your consideration and time. Sincerely,
Amanda

Dr. Amanda Shaw,

Affiliated Researcher, Department of Women’s Studies

Lecturer, Department of Political Science University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa or

Testimony in support of the Department of Women’s Studies

From: Dawn Sueoka on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 8:08 AM:

Dear Board of Regents,
I’m Dawn Sueoka, a librarian at UH Mānoa. As Congressional Papers Archivist, I work with the archives of Hawai‘i’s post-statehood delegates to the U.S. Congress.
I’m writing in support of the Department of Women’s Studies. Women’s Studies, through its critical engagement with issues of gender, race, class, and empire, empowers students with the language, framework, and skills necessary to create just and resilient futures for communities in Hawai‘i and beyond. At a time of transformation in the ways that we think about gender, about our economy, about policing, about race, about land, I look to departments like Women’s studies and Ethnic Studies for leadership, not a diminished role.
For these reasons, I support the Women’s Studies Department’s remaining autonomous and free from cuts. And I support other programs facing cuts, among them the Department of Ethnic Studies, the Department of Theater and Dance, and the Matsunaga Institute.
Mahalo, Dawn Sueoka

br> Dawn Sueoka Pronouns: she/her/hers
Congressional Papers Archivist
University Archives & Manuscripts Department University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Library
2550 McCarthy Mall, Honolulu, HI 96822

As a creative arts therapist I often have conversations with social workers and

From: Sarah Valeri on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 3:34 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

As a creative arts therapist I often have conversations with social workers and mental health practitioners who badly want to understand how to incorporate arts into their service. Arts are our perpetual form of self healing. Dance and theater are essentiy al to our mental and physical well being. During such traumatic times people need practices that support the transformative experience
of grief, fear, and courage within the body. Without a transformative act of the body, these painful experiences make us brittle and easy to break.

Instead of cutting arts programs you should expand them and make them requirements for your students involved in any medical, psychological, or anyone who will be working as a caretaker in some form.
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to
empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Opposition to the Proposed Option to Stop-out the Ethnic Studies BA

From: Sarah Wiebe on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 6:52 AM:

Aloha,

I am writing to oppose the proposed option to stop-out the Ethnic Studies BA.

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s (UHM) Department of Ethnic Studies (ES) grew out of the national civil rights, anti- war and student movements and the Hawaiʻi anti-eviction, land, labor, and sovereignty movements. It was created in response to a mandate of Hawai‘i’s struggles to celebrate diverse histories and perpetuate the legacies of Hawai‘i’s diverse peoples and engage with communities through teaching and research.

As a faculty member in the College of Social Sciences, I have witnessed ho ESproduces new knowledge for social change that centers the values, cultures, and ecologies of Hawai‘i and Oceania. Given the growth in their majors, the recent additions in Black Studies, digital futures, sustainability and environmental justice classes and research foci; the combine ESand College of Education Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree (BAM); and the relaunch of the Center for Oral History under ES, they have expanded their reach across the college, campus and wider Hawaiian communities.

It is unacceptable that the Mānoa Budget Team (MBT) has targeted Ethnic Studies for an option to “stop-out” our BA. The proposed “stop out” o ESignores and demeans the legacies of Hawai‘i’s multi-ethnic peoples that the department continues to uphold and pass on to new generations of students. In such an ethnically diverse state, that an option to “stop-out&rdquo ESis even being considered is tone-deaf to this moment of national racial reckoning. I agree with th EScommunity that targeting Ethnic Studies under the cover of the pandemic-induced budget crisis is nothing short of institutional racism.

Very much look forward to seeing a flourishing Department of Ethnic Studies now and into the future. Sincerely,
Sarah Marie Wiebe

br> Sarah Marie Wiebe | Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science | University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

2424 Maile Way, Saunders 633B Honolulu, HI 96822
(t)

| (e)
(w) www.sarahmariewiebe.com

Hawaii needs dance!

From: Ingeborg Wilking on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 5:58 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Hawaii needs dance!

Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

Save the arts!!!

From: Bob Wilking on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 6:01 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

Save the arts!!!

Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the
continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.

As a dance mom of many years please retain this important program!

From: Marilyn Wood on Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 7:14 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Please add your additional comments:

UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.

As a dance mom of many years please retain this important program!
Letter Body: Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as
the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a
comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by
lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively
inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct
labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre,
Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where
women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of
learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

Signature
I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.


L. Ayu Saraswati
Women’s Studies–UHM

Your Testimony/Comments

The UH-system President Lassner has recently and repeatedly stated his new slogan, “We can’t be all things for all people.” We in the Women’s Studies department at UH-Mānoa finds this deeply troubling and concerning. This statement that sums up his vision for the new university post-pandemic inevitably provokes the question, “who are the people he is willing to leave out?” Carefully reading his statement titled, “Post-Pandemic Hawaii and the University of Hawaii,” we are stunned to see the glaring omission of gender issues. The pandemic has revealed the gender earthquake that the crisis has caused, from childcare to domestic violence, and yet, the university blatantly ignores this issue that sits at the center of this crisis. This erasure of gender issues is in a stark contrast to the state’s attempt to weigh in on some feminist voices summed up in the report, “A Feminist Economic Recovery Plan for COVID-19.”
Such an omission, coupled with his slogan, certainly makes us wonder: what does this mean, then, for the future of Women’s Studies and other programs such as Ethnic Studies that have functioned as the “conscience”

of the university for our commitment to social justice? Is this what guides the recent recommendations for programs across campus ? That is, rather than directly addressing the budget crisis head-on, crunching numbers carefully, the President seems to want to crush programs (and our morale in the process), suggesting the elimination of programs such as in the Theater and Dance department, for instance.
As a department, even as we are being institutionally starved by only having 4 FTE (full-time faculty), Women’s Studies has managed not only to survive, but also to thrive. Our faculty member’sexcellence in teaching and research have been acknowledged by various state and national awards, and we have long been considered to be in the top ranks of Women’s Studies departments across the country. The most recent data of 2020 shows that Women’s Studies serves a wide range of students, 5,362 student semester hour, to be exact.
Despite our successes in the midst of challenges constantly thrown at us throughout the decades, we have yet to receive the recognition and support that we need and deserve. Instead, we arrive here at the very questionable vision of our UH President who is very keen on serving only those specific group of people he deemed worthy, those who can build our economy, as if the state of our economy is independent from the daily lives of people of all gender, sexuality, race, nationality, and ability. Without explicit commitment from the institution to serve women, Black, Indigenous and People of color, and workers, the institution will default to its institutional debts to the more powerful groups.
How is excluding people already marginalized in our community project a cost-saving? Isn’t it time that in the new university that the UH President envisions, that UH commits to making a priority gender issues and supporting people of all genders, races, sexualities, classes, and abilities, in all of our classrooms and curriculum? We strongly believe so. Now is the time.

 

Merle Pak

 

Aloha,

My name is Merle Pak and I am a retiree who graduated from the UH university system.
I was involved in the 1971 fight to save the Ethnic Studies Program, along with many students, faculty, and community members.

I believe our youth, our future leaders, should have a well‐rounded education in order to bring Hawai’I and the world forward as we face many challenges. The UH Manoa Ethnic Studies Program serves to create active, critical thinkers who can rise to those challenges by educating students about diversity, love of our various cultures, and appreciation of our history as a multi‐ ethnic community in the middle of the Pacific.

I understand that public education funding is extremely difficult in these times. But to endanger the autonomy of the Ethnic Studies Program in the name of saving money is not right. The university gladly supports the departments that contribute to research grants, business, technology, engineering, etc. But what good is science if it is for personal glory, and not for the advancement of humanity? Understanding what makes our unique community vibrant is essential for all disciplines.

Why are programs considered valuable simply based on the number of degree candidates? When I was a UH Manoa student, we had to take courses in English, Math, Science, History, and Sociology, in order to get a well‐balanced understanding before deciding on a major. To me, the Ethnic Studies Program offers non‐degree candidates an experience to broaden their horizons, especially around the issues that give rise to social and racial justice movements.

Please do not continually consider Ethnic Studies for the chopping block whenever there is a fiscal crisis. It should remain an integral part of a well‐rounded and balanced university education.
Mahalo, Merle Pak
Kane’ohe, Hawai’i

To take the place of the elimination of these degree programs, instead, I urge:

From: m on Mon, Sep 14, 2020 at 2:02 AM:

The author endorses Theater & Dance's statement of opposition to the proposed cuts, which includes a statement of solidarity with Ethnic Studies and Women's Studies.

Additional Comments:

To take the place of the elimination of these degree programs, instead, I urge:

Austerity Pay-cuts for all UH Manoa and UH System administrators earning over $250,000 per year, as this measure is consistent with the pandemic response plans at other universities.

The implementation of UH faculty, student, and community counter proposals to preserve Theatre and Dance degree programs within the College of Arts, Languages, and Letters.
Proposals to cut these programs identify “small size” as the reasoning to “stop-out” certain degree tracks, however despite UHM’s overall enrollment being as much as one-third of peer and benchmark schools on the continent, UHM Theatre and Dance programs produce a comparable number of graduates every year.

Your report on proposed cuts to programs in the College of Arts, Languages and Letters (CALL) even states that, “The 100-level dance and technique courses do not count towards the BA/BFA degrees. These are taught by lecturers and a few GAs. Given that these are not taught
by tenure-track faculty, the classes are relatively inexpensive to continue. The courses are popular.” The said lecturers and GAs represent those trained by the UH Manoa tenured and tenure-track dance faculty. This statement reveals that even if you don’t value the contributions of dance graduate students and faculty enough to continue the dance department for future student generations, you certainly value the money that their teaching brings to this university. Your proposal shamelessly contributes to the exploitation of adjunct labor to teach “inexpensive” courses, while overlooking the fact that these dance professionals represent the artistic lineage of the dance MFA program, and the undergraduate dance program.

President Lassner, how can you propose to cut the university’s dance programs after your own dance training and your oft-stated belief in the value of hula? Your proposed cuts diminish the significance of dance and theatre within this community, including its importance as a place-based form of Indigenous knowledge.

The proposed cuts to Dance and Theatre form, in conjunction with many of your other proposed cuts and consolidations, a pattern that perpetuates histories of racism and colonialism. As with Dance and Theatre, Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, are fields where women, BIPOC and other under-represented populations in academia find leadership and pathways to support our the state with needed community-directed research projects, as well as help to build a resilient workforce that could serve the local economy. These cuts are directly in conflict with UH Manoa’s stated commitment to deliver “a multicultural global experience in a Hawaiian place of learning, with a long history of adherence to the principles of sustainability and the essence of aloha.”

These so-called “budget cuts” are, in fact, cuts that will end our artistic genealogies and histories, and sever the next generation from being nurtured by the legacy of local artistry that only exists in Hawai’i. Your cuts tell local creatives, arts educators, and stewards of knowledge, “You have no place in this state. You must leave your homes, your communities, and the people you hope to empower, in order to receive a higher education.”

It is shameful that Executive Management propose these devastating cuts while preserving your own and Executive Management’s inflated salaries.

It is a shame that your administration is, under the cloak of COVID-19 and the decline in tourism revenue, proposing these program eliminations, rather than leading Hawai’i through our present crisis by putting UH at the helm, and working together to pivot these islands toward establishing a more sustainable and public-serving way to survive and thrive.

I look forward to the swift and imminent withdrawal of these proposed cuts, and to hearing future news of your plans to preserve the Dance and Theatre degree tracks, in an ongoing conversation with the community you have been tasked to serve.