June 19, 2006
Contributed by Thomas Yoshida
Our request is, in our minds, very simple – allow us to continue to offer preference to children of Hawaiian ancestry in admissions to our Schools, as our Princess wanted us to do.
May tomorrow be a day in which our people prevail, where we find hope and a strong sense of justice again. Let it be a day where we mahalo the judges for hearing Kamehameha Schools' hundred-year story and placing it in the context of our people's thousand-year story, challenged by the diminution of our culture, pride and self-worth, but rising today due to the generosity of a Princess of our land, Ke Ali'i Bernice Pauahi Bishop. Let this be a day when justice for the Hawaiian people is restored.
As we prepare for our day in Court, we feel strong, confident and resolved. We are fully equipped with the best of legal teams to present our case, because they do so from their hearts as well as their minds. We carry with us the great strength of all the Kamehameha Schools 'ohana, the kanaka maoli, and the people of the great State of Hawai'i, including our business, legislative and governmental leadership and our honorable congressional delegation. Mahalo to you all.
As graduates of Kamehameha Schools, as students and parents, faculty and staff, trustees and members of Kamehameha's extended 'ohana of supporters in Hawai'i and throughout the world, we walk now in the footsteps of our Ke Ali'i Pauahi and fully in Akua's hands. Together, we walk undaunted and undivided, on behalf of Pauahi's dream.
Tomorrow we will take the steps of the 9th Circuit Court together. As that hour approaches – 11:00 a.m. (PST) – let us hold in our hearts the messages conveyed in our School song:
• Be strong and united! Stand together, hand in hand!
• Face our dangers proudly and bravely serve our communities
• Be true to our values and deny enticements that mislead us
• Be firm and rely upon Akua for strength and guidance!
Onipa'a a i mua, Kamehameha Schools!
Board of Trustees: Robert K.U. Kihune, J. Douglas Ing, Constance H. Lau, Nainoa Thompson, Diane J. Plotts
CEO: Dee Jay Mailer
CEO Team: Kirk O. Belsby, Ann Botticelli, Michael P. Loo, Christopher J. Pating, Colleen I. Wong, D. Rod Chamberlain, Michael J. Chun, Stanley Fortuna, Jr., Charlene Hoe, Sylvia Hussey, Randie K. Fong, Lynn Maunakea, Darrel Hoke
Kamehameha Schools’ policy is to give preference to applicants of Hawaiian ancestry to the extent permitted by law.
