Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 25, Number 10, 1 October 2008 — No more telescopes [ARTICLE]

No more telescopes

The University of Hawai'i system and astronomers have been irresponsible in allowing the desecration and pollution to occur on the summit of Mauna Kea - and the courts have agreed. U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye insists that we must now allow a new Thirty Meter Telescope, a billion-dollar project, to proceed in spite of community eoneem about expanding developmental footprints. TMT will be the size of a football stadium. After 30 years this state still has not developed a comprehensive management plan for Mauna Kea. Surely a general plan is essential today before any expansion (especially one so vast) is even entertained. We Native Hawaiians and the

Hawaiian Studies Department should not be bribed with UH scholarships in exchange for the TMT telescope, nor should we be financially intimidated. Hawaiians are already owed these tuition waivers, now. The university campuses and conununity colleges are built on Hawaiian ceded lands for whieh no rent is being paid to the Hawaiian people; any Hawaiian who desires should be able to attend the University of Hawai'i free. Sacred Mauna Kea is also on Hawaiian ceded lands. A dollar a year is being paid for rent for use of Mauna Kea at this time, foreign governments pay millions in operating costs for their observatories. Something is owed to the Hawaiian people for the use of these ceded lands by UH for the campus sites and the use of sacred Mauna Kea for the observatories. Tuition waivers would be fair without Dan Inouye's TMT project. Moanike'ala Akaka OHA Trustee !984-'96 Hila, Hawai'i