Greed, Power, Envy - Kapalama Campus

For the Love of Money
WHAT CAN
YOU DO WITH
7 MILLION
DOLLARS?
350 scholarships
($20,000)
2,333,333 Mitsu-ken
lunches
14,000 iPhones (4GB)
6, 363 basic level
Macbooks ($1099)
2,333 one-year tuitions
for day-students to
Kamehameha Schools
1,400,000 32oz. Jamba
Juice ($5)
140,000 Pairs of KS
Uniform (1 KS Polo and
1 KS shorts)
14,000 airline tickets to
the west coast,
1,666 Nose Jobs
200,000 pairs of slip-on
Vans Shoes
7,861,568.5 Tic Tac brand
Mints (.62 oz)
175,000 dozen longstemmed roses
Anuhea Akamine
Features Editor
W
hen the confidential terms of “John
Doe’s” settlement
with Kamehameha Schools
was leaked to the newspaper last month, the revelation
slammed the KHS community
like a shockwave. A
staggering $7 million dollars
was paid in the settlement –
and ironically, the only reason
this came to light was because
John Doe’s lawyers are now
squabbling over the spoils like
rabid hyenas over a carcass.
According to KS Lawyer
Nähoa Lucas, “a settlement
agreement is similar to a contract, and so if a term, such as
a confidentiality or payment
provision, were violated, the
party who is not in violation of
the agreement could go to court
to resolve such a dispute.”
Although the confidentiality agreement was violated,
“I believe that attorney John
Goemans informed the press
of the amount of the settlement (and) I don’t know if
he was made a party to the
agreement,”
Lucas
said.
In any event, once KS staff
and students recovered from
the initial shock of learning
that millions of dollars that
could have been used to educate hundreds of Hawaiian
students had to be used, instead, to “settle’ with one disgruntled non-Hawaiian applicant to Kamehameha Schools,
there was time to reflect on
this disturbing information.
“I was quite dismayed
and disappointe d , ”
speech
teacher
Andrew
Lai said
in reac-
John Doe files
suit against KS
June 2003
tion to the Doe settlement. “It
opens the door and set a precedence that we will settle for
everything now, so that any
John Doe can sue us,” Lai said.
Indeed, others share the
sentiment that the news
of the settlement opened a
“Pandora’s Box” that could
entice other greedy and opportunistic individuals to sue
Kamehameha hoping for a
similar windfall. Many saw the settlement inevitable. “The handwriting was
on the wall,” John White, SPC
Instructor, said. According to
KS Admissions Office literature, KS’ policy on admission
“is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to
the extent permitted by law.”
KS’ preference policy is
unique, but there are similarities with the Milton Hershey School of Pennsylvania.
“The Hershey school in
Pennsylvania,” said White,
“was a lot like Kamehameha
except that they were set up
for poor white boys only.
The case went to the Supreme Court and it (the Supreme Court) ruled that it
(Hershey’s admissions policy)
was against the constitution.”
Many agree with White. “Yes, I do think that the Supreme Court would have heard
our case, and no, I do not think
we would have won,” Lai said.
“Unfortunately and most
definitely I do think that it
would have gone to the Supreme Court and that it
(the ruling) would not be in
our favor,” Jay Kauka, Social Studies teacher, said.
Senior Jamaica Osorio
disagrees with the majority, “I honestly don’t think
they (the Supreme Court)
would have picked it up.”
However, everyone seems
to agree that now that the
amount of the settlement has
been disclosed, the situation
Judge Alan Kay,
Federal District
Judge, upholds
KS’ preference
policy
November 2003
All photos courtesy of Ka Möÿï Archives
KAUI AWONG
will only get worse for KS. Lai’s
concern that the settlement
sets precedence for additional
lawsuits may be an accurate
prediction. Honolulu attorney
David B. Rosen has made no
secret of the fact that he is planning to mount another lawsuit against KS to again challenge the admissions policy.
Just one day after Kamehameha’s May 14, 2007 announcement that a settlement
had been reached with plaintiff John Doe, a new threat
to KS’ admissions policy
emerged in the person of David B. Rosen, a little-known
Honolulu attorney. On May
15th, Rosen sent an email to
colleagues and acquaintances
announcing his intention to
mount another lawsuit against
Kamehameha’s
admissions
policy. In that email, Rosen
indicated that he was attempting to solicit “10-20 plaintiffs
prior to filing the lawsuit.”
Rosen’s email assures potential plaintiffs that their
identities will be kept “extremely confidential” and that
“there will be absolutely no
cost to the Plaintiffs.” Rosen
John Doe appeals
to the Ninth Circuit Court
June 2004
goes on to specify that “To
be a plaintiff, a party must either be or have a school aged
child (i.e., 4-16 years old),
must live in Hawaii, and must
have the intent to attend the
Kamehameha Schools if accepted.” Rosen adds, “It may
also be necessary to apply for
admission to Kamehameha
Schools, although this need
not have been already done.”
As the result of this email,
the Hawaii State Bar Association received a number of
complaints about Rosen, since
some view email solicitation
of potential clients to be a violation of professional ethics.
A Disciplinary Complaint was
initiated against Rosen. “In the
past, the ethics code has been
more lenient for attorneys who
solicit for matters that will ultimately benefit the public interest, such as civil rights. One
of the issues raised is whether
Rosen’s solicitation falls within that category,” Lucas said.
Despite the criticism he has
received, this self-described
“local boy” is launching a full
frontal assault on the Legacy of
Ke Ali`i Pauahi. In an opinion
Two out of three judges in the
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
overturn Judge Kay’s decision,
saying that KS admissions
operates as an absolute bar. KS
petitions for a rehearing or an
enbanc review
August 2005
piece (“Gathering Place: Why I
want to sue Kamehameha, or,
Who is this #$@!*%$ haole?”)
printed in the Star-Bulletin on
May 27, 2007, Rosen characterizes himself as a regular guy,
the son of middle class parents
who attended public schools,
put himself through college
by working as a waiter and
whose family is “multiethnic.”
Rosen denies that he is pursuing this lawsuit for money
or fame, insisting that his motivation is “principle.” To give
this claim credibility, Rosen recounts a time that he witnessed
racism against a fellow student
at UH by a faculty member and
goes on to say, “While working at the Legislature, I also
witnessed the abuse of power
by the Kamehameha Schools
and
their
then-trustees.”
Rosen writes in his editorial, “I believe every child
deserves a quality education
and that the serious issues
facing our community...are
best addressed from a socioeconomic perspective, not by
different groups fighting for
‘entitlements’ based on events
that occurred during the time
15 judges in the
Ninth Circuit Court
hear the case.
Kathleen Sullivan
argues for KS
June 2006
of our great-grandparents or
their
great-grandparents.”
According to Rosen his concerns are “widely shared by
individuals of all ethnicities”
and he claims that he has been
contacted by “many individuals” who are “predominantly
native Hawaiian” who are angry with Kamehameha for “not
helping their children.” He
goes on to state his belief that
KS “has the resources to better
serve the community at large,”
suggesting that KS should
build campuses on Moloka`i,
in Wai`anae and another
campus in urban Honolulu.
Responding to the news
about the settlement and Dr.
Michael Chun’s subsequent
statement to the staff, and students on Puka Mai Ka La junior
Sean Bode said, “I think we
should respect what they (KS’
executive leadership) said.”
Adds Lai, “He (Dr. Chun)
wants all the students to be
assured that we, our legal
team, and Kamehameha
Schools will defend our right
to admit Hawaiians.”
The Ninth Circuit
Court rules 8 - 7
that KS’ policy does
not violate section
1981
Watch student and faculty reactions to the John Doe settlement
online at our website
http://kaplama.ksbe.edu/high/kamoi
John Doe demands the court
to hear an appeal
of the December
8 - 7 ruling
John Doe drops
civil rights lawsuit,
settlement is agreed
upon and case is
dismissed
Top photo: CEO Dee Jay Mailer and
Office of Hawaiian Affair’s Trustee Atlarge Haunani Apoliona hug during
the prayer service last year. Above:
Dr. Chun recalls when he first heard
the news. Opposite: High school principal Julian Ako leads students on their
march from Könia to Kekühaupiÿo.
The settlement
amount of $7 million is released to
the public
February 2008
May 2007
March 2007
December 2006
Greed, Power, Envy