Waianae students
examine homelessness
Waianae High School students who are taking part in Olelo's summer media program will televise two live programs examining homelessness tomorrow and Friday night.
"We need to expose this to the public so we can all do something about homelessness," said 18-year-old Brittany Dole, a member of the all-student crew that is filming the programs.
Students in the six-week video production program spend their mornings training and their afternoons on video shoots. Training covers skills such as camera operation, set design and computer graphics.
Cheyenne Robinson, 16, said she was apprehensive before interviewing homeless people, but producing the shows has helped break through stereotypes.
"It was scary at first, but when I met them, it was totally different," she said. "They were so nice. It was just like talking to a good friend of mine."
Lynette Cruz, assistant professor of anthropology at Hawaii Pacific University, will moderate the two-hour programs. Panelists include elected officials, social service providers, Honolulu police Capt. Gregory Lefcourt, native Hawaiian activist Dennis "Bumpy" Kanahele and University of Hawaii professor Jon Osorio.
The students have produced about 20 programs in the last five weeks, but these will be their first live shows, said Sparky Rodrigues, Olelo's Waianae Satellite Center manager. The public will be able to call in to the shows, which air on Oahu-Channel 52 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Olelo Community Television's summer media program is offered in partnership with Queen Liliuokalani Children's Center and Alu Like, Inc.