Dormitory violence Some University of Hawaii students living in apartments on the Manoa campus want the university to stop a recent rash of violence that they say is making campus housing unlivable.
at UH-Manoa leaves
students distraught
Fights this semester have made
housing unlivable, some sayBy Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.comAccording to student accounts, the same group of individuals has been instigating fights with residents of the dormitories during the past few months, and the alleged assailants who live in the student housing have not been sanctioned.
Campus security has logged at least six instances of dormitory fights this semester to back up these claims.
The violence peaked last Saturday, when one UH student allegedly attacked another UH student with a broken beer bottle and then may have been stabbed during the ensuing fight.
According to reports filed with campus security, both individuals involved in the fight claimed they were the victims. A report still under investigation with the Honolulu Police Department shows the individual who was allegedly stabbed as the victim.
Several students have expressed concerns that the alleged attacker still lives in student housing.
Jason Eggers, a resident of Hale Noelani, said that when he moved here from Los Angeles, he was surprised by how friendly everyone was. However, during the past month or so, things have worsened.
Eggers, 29, and several other students alleged that many of the attacks have been racially or culturally motivated.
"A lot of us have stopped hanging out here because it's just not fun anymore," he said.
Another male Noelani resident said that the recurrent assaults have made campus living conditions unacceptable.
"For many students, Thursdays and Fridays have become not a time to relax, but rather a time of fear," he wrote in a letter to the Star-Bulletin. "It is beyond my comprehension why the university allows repeat assailants to live within feet of their assault victims."
Other students said fights at the dormitories are normal. One female student suggested that someone could avoid a fight "if he just minds his own business and keeps his eyes to himself."
Another female student suggested that the fighting has escalated because students are consuming more alcohol.
Darryl Zehner, student housing director, said he has not been contacted about the fights, but he added that the housing judicial officer has been investigating last weekend's incident.
His bigger concern, Zehner said, is students who leave their doors unlocked, walk in dark areas alone or do other things that lack common sense.
He also suggested that students who have been assaulted or witnessed a fight come forward to identify the suspects.
UH Security Capt. Donald Dawson said he is aware of the fights, but "the victims don't ever identify them (the suspects)."
However, he said he is working with the student housing office and dean of students to solve the problem.
Ka Leo O Hawaii
University of Hawaii
