Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 16, Number 4, 1 April 1999 — Tuition waivers [ARTICLE]

Tuition waivers

There have been some discussions on whether ethnic Hawaiians should be given mition-free education. If the discussion means because of ethnicity, I disagree. If it means because the State of Hawai'i owes Hawaiians, I agree. That State of Hawai'i has begun to admit it has been using ceded lands without compensating the heirs. The university sits on ceded lands. What better way to begin to repay Hawaiians than by providing mition-free education. All Hawaiians should be included, one percent or 100 percent. The Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the Hawaiian Home Lands Commission ean determine whether a person has Hawaiian blood. The state and OHA ean establish a form of bookkeeping to credit the state for eaeh person educated outside the primary

and secondary school system. Let OHA decide whether the waivers be considered grants, tuition assistance or loans repaid directly to OHA. Education should include up to the doctorate and commercial and vocahonal education. It should be available to all persons. Lastly, recipients should be treated not as on the dole but as finally receiving their just due through education. Roy Tanouye Waipahu