UH offers its students a core of hope
The general education core for University of Hawaii students represents an American liberal arts tradition. Students in their freshman and sophomore years take 60 credits during a two-year period to explore a variety of subjects -- in the humanities, natural and social sciences, and the basics of university-level English composition, literature and world civilization. After completing the core, students choose their majors. Theoretically, after two more years and 60 additional credits, they will have 124 credits -- the minimum required for a bachelor's degree.The problem has been flexibility and availability of core courses. Desired courses often are not available, and transfer students coming to the UH system from other universities and colleges found their courses did not match UH requirements.
Now, with more flexibility in the core, students have more independence. Those old requirements had a bit of rigidity to them, a kind of provincial exclusivity, which discouraged many students. The UH system now can focus on promoting itself worldwide, and aim for international diversity without lowering its academic standards. It's a new, hopeful time for the University of Hawaii. Imua!
Ted Gugelyk
Back-up beepers destroy tranquility
A new resident of Waikiki soon finds that his dream of peace and tranquility is shattered by noise -- noise from city buses, tour buses, delivery trucks, motorcycles, fireworks, sirens and early morning drunks. Beep-beep-beep! For years, these have been Waikiki sleep deprivers. But the latest noise scoundrel to come blaring into Waikiki is the back-up beeper. Beep-beep-beep! They are everywhere, and they're worse than the coqui frog invasion on the Big Island.Beep-beep-beep! Every time a commercial vehicle shifts into reverse, these beepers make their presence known. Beep-beep-beep! The main source is a construction site on Kuhio Avenue, where the beep-beep-beep-beep sounds have been blaring all day for months.
I'm sure that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration demands these warning devices be used at construction sites, and I can understand the need for them on delivery vans or a buses, where visibility toward the rear is limited. Beep-beep-beep! But at the Kuhio site, these beepers are on every vehicle from backhoes to bulldozers, vehicles with no visibility restriction. Beep-beep-beep! As these machines move backward and forward, on and off go those damnable beepers! And they move back and forth all day long. Beep-beep-beep!
A new era in construction in Waikiki is just beginning. Unless something is done, the invasion of the backup beepers will only get worse. In our high-tech age, can't an alternative be devised, such as a flashing strobe light, or a computer voice saying, "Get out of the way"? What about just turning down the volume? Beep-beep-beep!
Eliminating the backup beeper would go a long way toward restoring some serenity to Waikiki. Beep-beep-beep!
Ray Graham
Waikiki
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