Bulletin No. 79
Date/Time sent: 01/31/2022 9:00 amE ala! E alu! E kuilima!
Awaken! Come together! Join hands!
Statement of Gratitude and Kindness
“The more one does and sees and feels, the more one is able to do, and the more genuine may be one’s appreciation of fundamental things like home, and love, and understanding companionship.” – Amelia Earhart
Welina mai kākou!
Hoʻokāhi ka ilau like ana (Wield the paddles together)
Revitalizing our campus community is essential this year, 2022. Today, Monday, Jan. 31, 2022, is a benchmark day for us as our campus will fully reopen (along with all 10 UH System campuses) for the first time since March of 2020. Mahalo to our staff who have been caring for the campus the last two years. Mahalo to our faculty who strengthened the core of our educational endeavors by doubling down on our online capacity and hybrid expertise as they cared for the well-being of all our students. And mahalo to all our students for your persistence and patience. Indeed, the compassion and courage shared over the last two years has been remarkable!
We are proud and encouraged by the fact that the vast majority of students, faculty and staff are vaccinated. All our students attending on-campus classes are fully vaccinated or regularly testing and 99% of our faculty and staff are fully vaccinated (or regularly testing). At the same time, the number of positive cases in Hawaiʻi is now trending downward from record highs. We understand that there is apprehension and even anxiety among many in our community, in particular among those who have not been on campus in a very long time. Please know that we will continue to do everything we can to ensure that our working and learning spaces are the safest environments on O’ahu.
Remember the Pueo Promise:
If you have not been on campus for awhile please take the time to reorient yourself. First, we have a new UH West Oʻahu bookstore!! Yes, peruse the much improved space attached to the dining hall. Currently our dining hall is getting a major face lift – it will open soon and youʻll be able to relax indoors. Until then enjoy onolicious food from take-out service at the Dining Hall and eat, study or meet your friends at our new Nāulu Outdoor Learning Center on the lanai in front of C-Building. Of course, the new Creative Media building has just opened. Go visit and find your special place to study or work on a project, in fact, go find The Hatchery! Our campus welcomes you back and we’re looking good!
Keep in mind, kūkūlu kaiaʻulu! Please strengthen our community with your passions, respect for one another, and patience! On behalf of your campus leadership, enjoy the 2022 spring semester on campus!
COVID-19 Reminders for Monday, Jan. 31
A subvariant of Omicron has recently been detected in the State of Hawaii. The subvariant, BA.2, has reportedly outpaced original Omicron (which was first detected in South Africa in late November 2021 and subsequently classified in early December 2021) to become the dominant Omicron variant in some countries. While early evidence suggests BA.2 may be more infectious than original Omicron, more research needs to be done. We can all do our part to reduce transmission by getting vaccinated, wearing masks, avoiding large gatherings and testing when sick. Swipe to see a list of free testing sites on Oahu or visit HawaiiCOVID19.com/testing for an interactive map of testing locations near you.
Full variant report (PDF): https://health.hawaii.gov/coronavirusdisease2019/files/2022/01/variant_report_20220128.pdf
Please stay informed: UH COVID-19 Dashboards have been updated. The dashboards provide you with a daily summary of COVID-19 Positive Cases across the UH System and by Campus, Summary of Employee Vaccinations across the UH System and by Campus Percentage and head count. Additionally, there are student information dashboards to include: Summary of Student Vaccinations across the UH System and Vaccination head counts by campus.
The most recent version of the System’s UH COVID-19 Guidelines is now live. You can also access UH West Oʻahu guidelines, which were updated for the spring 2022 semester.
Reminder about coming to campus: Students, employees, and visitors must download LumiSight UH to your smartphone. Register and upload all relevant COVID-19 information. Prior to coming to campus please check-in using your LumiSight UH and respond to all health questions. BE PREPARED TO SHOW YOUR “GO GREEN” SCREEN at our campus verification stations. If for some reason you forgot to sign-in, please do so before entering campus or see our friendly student assistants at any of the verification sites. They will assist you with signing in or getting a day pass. NOTE: you must have proof of COVID vaccination or negative COVID test to retrieve a day pass.
Mahalo nūnui for taking the time to review this week’s bulletin.
E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor