HONOLULU (KHON2) — On Wednesday, Sept. 10, the U.S. Department of Education announced that funding will end for several minority-serving institution grant programs.
This includes programs that supported education for Native Hawaiians and Asian Americans.
The U.S. DOE says approximately 350 million dollars that supported these programs will not go towards other things.
UH Manoa president Wendy Hensel said that while this will affect the University, they’ll continue their commitment to Native Hawaiian education programs.
“In the days ahead, campus leaders will identify programs that have been terminated or are at risk and implement contingency plans to sustain high-priority student services,” said Hensel in a statement released to their 10 campuses.
The exact figure of money and the internal implications remain unclear, and UH officials say they’re currently in the process of working it out amongst the different campuses.
For Chaminade University, cuts have already totaled approximately nine and a half million dollars.
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“The biggest losses of these grants are the funds to support students,” said Chaminade University President Dr. Lynn Babington. “The support really went towards paying some stipends for faculty, but the majority of it went towards paying the students for summer internships.”
Dr. Babington said that a big focus of her University is to educate students on Hawaiian culture, and that the grants won’t just affect Native Hawaiian or Asian-American students as commonly misconceived, but will have an impact on all the University’s students.
“For all of us in higher education here in Hawaii, we’re very, very disappointed and discouraged by these recent happenings,” said Dr. Babington. “However, we will continue to do the good work for our communities here.”
Dr. Babington also said that the cuts will not affect their staff, and nobody will be laid off.
Native Hawaiian education culture advocates are also speaking out, sharing displeasure with the announcement.
“They’ve created a boogeyman out of the word equity,” said Tyler Iokepa Gomes, J.D., Hawaiian Council Chief Administrator. “It’s pretty clear what the administration’s goals are. There is a determined effort to undermine and even whitewash all programs that offer equitable treatment for varying demographic groups, which includes Native Hawaiians.”
Gomes is an alum from UH Manoa and went through the Hawaiian Studies program.
“It gave me a sense of place, connection and inspiration, and that’s ultimately why I ended up majoring in that,” said Gomes. “I think the resources that the University system has built around that program, not just at Manoa, but all 10 of its campuses, I still don’t know, one what I would have majored in but two, if I would have been as fulfilled, happy, and so grateful for the opportunity to build that kind of foundation.”