GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM The banyan trees on the Chaminade University/Saint Louis School campus are thought to be at least 75 years old.

Chaminade plan to cut
banyans raises protest

The university says shower trees
would look better than the historic
50-footers

CORRECTION Tuesday, February 22, 2005 » Chaminade University and Saint Louis School share a campus in Kaimuki. A story on Page A1 yesterday incorrectly said the campus was in Moiliili. The Honolulu Star-Bulletin strives to make its news report fair and accurate. If you have a question or comment about news coverage, call Editor Frank Bridgewater at 529-4791 or email him at corrections@starbulletin.com.

Usually it's man-made things that evoke a sense of history -- buildings, monuments, statues.

But a growing group of Chaminade University of Honolulu students and staff are speaking out against plans to cut down a half-dozen 75-year-old banyans near the campus' entrance, because they say the trees represent the rich past of the Waialae institution.

"There is a historic value in these trees," said Brother Jim Facette, Chaminade University's environmental and health and safety officer. "We really have to get something done."

The 50-foot trees are situated around a grassy oval at the entrance of Chaminade. They were planted, officials believe, at least 25 years before the university was established in 1955.

The removal of the trees is part of a 20-year beautification plan drawn up in 2000 for the Marianist Center of Hawaii, Chaminade and Saint Louis School, which all share the Moiliili campus.

Officials hope to replace the banyans with 20- to 30-foot shower trees.

The plan has the approval of administrators at both Chaminade and Saint Louis, said Marianist Center Vice President Brother Bob Hoppe.

The shower trees would allow for a better view of Chaminade's buildings and fit in with the existing flora scheme at Saint Louis, Hoppe said. Also, the banyans' large roots have contributed to the deterioration of a roadway into the campus, which is uneven in several places.

Some of the trees have sustained heavy wind damage, he added, and have branches missing.

Hoppe said grass could be planted under the shower trees to increase the green expanse at Chaminade's entrance.

That has not been possible with the banyans, which do not let enough light through to the ground around their trunks.

"It will give you a view, as you enter, of the historical buildings," Hoppe said.

"In 10 years these will be historical trees," he added. "It just depends on where you are in history."

Facette and his group disagree, and have collected nearly 300 signatures against removing the banyans.

Chaminade's student senate has also taken up the issue.

And former Chaminade student president Frank Dabrosky said "there seems to be a fair amount of faculty" who do not like the shower tree plan.

About 10 people attended a meeting Friday to plan their strategy for stopping the banyan trees' removal. Several dozen more expressed interest in its outcome, though they could not attend, Facette said.

"The trees are really beautiful down there," said Vincent Tripe, a Chaminade senior who sat in on the gathering. "They create a lot of shade, too. I don't see any reason why we have to remove them."

On a recent afternoon, Saint Louis high schoolers were playing catch football under the banyans. Others, along with some Chaminade students, were reading or catching up on homework under the trees' shade.

Dave Anderson, a professor in the humanities department, said he admires the banyans every day. "They were here before us," he added. "We should try to preserve them at all costs."

Hoppe said the earliest the banyans would be removed is summer.

Until then he is open to discussing the issue. Next week, he is set to meet with a group against taking out the trees.

The shower trees, which will be bought near full size, are expected to cost between $1,600 and $2,200. Hoppe said he has not yet inquired how much it will cost to remove the banyans and their roots.

He also said there are other trees on campus that were planted as early as 1925, including other banyans and monkeypod trees, that will not be cut down.