Bulletin No. 95
Date/Time sent: 08/08/2022 9:00 amE ala! E alu! E kuilima!
Awaken! Come together! Join hands!
A Message of Gratitude
“‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.”
~ Alice Walker
Welina mai kākou!
Hoʻokāhi ka ilau like ana (Wield the paddles together)
I love the author, Alice Walker, a poet and activist whose children’s books, essays, short stories and novels whisk you away into the lives of strong women, challenging events, and enduring love. Indeed, her Pulitzer Prize novel, The Color Purple, changed so many, many lives! I am grateful for the strong women voices in her stories! She’s been my summer reading – how about you? What have you been reading during these dog days of summer?
Yup, we will soon be saying farewell to our summer and hello to our fall semester! I am looking forward to seeing you on campus very soon. Remember our in-person Fall Convocation and PD Day for faculty and staff on Tuesday, Aug. 16 (see below). Please RSVP by Friday, Aug. 12, to assist us with your lunch choice and to ensure we have enough refreshments. Our professional development round—robins will include (a) Okinawan cultural presentation, (b) presentations by our faculty/staff scholars curated by the Institute for Research and Engaged Scholarship, and (c) a presentation focused on health and well-being. Please make a note that everyone is required to mask indoors (for convocation and the round-robins). Also, we will be recording the convocation only and making it available via our website (any questions please reach out to your vice chancellor).
Did you know that this is National Smile Week?
When you are next on campus, remember to flash someone a smile and a shaka!!
UH West Oʻahu Fall 2022 Convocation and PD Day
Masking indoors during convocation and professional development round-robins is required.
RSVP via this link: https://forms.gle/YwL1rnqSZ6xseuhm7 by Friday, Aug. 12. The convocation only will be recorded and made available via our website.
Faculty/Staff Portraits to be Shot on Convocation/Professional Development Day
The UH West O’ahu Communications Department will be taking official headshots of faculty and staff members during Convocation/Professional Development Day on Tuesday, Aug. 16, for use in publicizing faculty research, academic news, and other official University business. It has been several years since the last effort to take headshots, and we have an updated backdrop, so even if you have taken photos in the past, please do so again!
Photos will be taken between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. (location TBD). Your portrait will be in front of a red backdrop. One photo will be taken from the shoulders up and one from the waist up. Please stop by before or after Convocation/PD Day sessions. For questions, contact Brian Miyamoto at 808-689-2605 or brian99@hawaii.edu.
UH West Oʻahu Behavior Intervention Team (BIT) In the News
UH West Oʻahu’s Bev Baligad’s efforts and grants to establish and strengthen behavioral intervention and threat assessment management teams, and bystander training at UH West Oʻahu, our community colleges, and selected HI DOE schools was featured on the front page of the Star Advertiser on Sunday, Aug. 7, in “900 Hawaii school employees get violence-prevention training.” (subscription required).
Quarterly Impact Report
Did you know our Communications Department puts together a quarterly report that highlight the brilliant work of faculty, staff and students? See our Summer 2022 report here! And, please pass it along!
Working to keep our campus safe!
Aloha UH West Oʻahu ʻOhana!
As the State of Hawaiʻi continues to experience a large number of COVID-19 cases, we want to do all we can to ensure the health and safety of our campus communities. As a reminder, here is the UH System masking policy for all campuses:
Masking continues to be required in classrooms, shared laboratory spaces, and tightly confined educational spaces, such as advising offices, and in campus venues when the number of attendees is close to maximum capacity or if it is anticipated that high numbers of higher-risk persons will be attending. Campus officials may further specify areas where and when face masks are required to enhance safety.
- Masking is still encouraged indoors when around people during crowded events, especially for those who are not vaccinated or who are immunocompromised. If there are signs requiring masks posted outside a space or office, honor those
signs. - Campuses may require masks indoors based on the level of COVID-19 community transmission as recommended by the CDC, UH medical and public health experts, and HDOH.
- Masking is optional for outdoors and outdoor events.
- Instructors or presenters may remove their masks while teaching, provided that they maintain 6 feet distance from others.
- Masks must be worn by anyone who has been exposed to someone with the virus or who is returning to campus after a quarantine or isolation. The well-fitted mask must be worn for the full duration of the 10-day period, up to five (5) days
after you return to campus.
Masks that “meet a standard” (N95, N99 or N100 masks) are not required. Gaiters do not provide adequate protection. All masks should be well-fitted, which means the mask:
- Has a nose wire to crimp down on top of the nose
- Has at least 2 or more layers of washable fabric (for cloth masks)
- Covers both the nose and mouth entirely
- Fits snugly against the sides of your face without gaps
Note: Masks, or respirators with exhalation valves should be avoided as they do not protect others from expelled respiratory droplets and aerosols.
Also, please consider the following to help prevent the spread of the virus:
- If you know you have been exposed to the virus, or begin to experience symptoms, please get tested (PCR or at-home antigen test) before returning to campus or UH facility, regardless of your vaccination status.
- If returning from personal or university-approved, out-of-state travel, it is strongly recommended that you take a COVID-19 test (PCR or at-home antigen test) within two days of return to the state and BEFORE returning to a UH campus or facility. It is also strongly recommended that a follow up test be taken on day five after your return.
- Everyone is strongly recommended to be up to date with their COVID-19 vaccination that includes receiving the 1st booster shot, and 2nd booster shot, if eligible.
The 10-campus system will continue to provide recommendations and update guidelines depending on the level of community transmission, and recommendations by UH medical and public health experts and the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health. Mahalo for your understanding and cooperation in helping prevent the spread of COVID-19, and doing your part to keep our community healthy.
Keep in mind, kūkulu kaiāulu!
Announcements and Reminders
Rules, FAQs on campaign activities
Aloha,
The 2022 election season is already underway, and due to reapportionment, all state elected offices will be on the ballot. With several legislative incumbents either retiring or seeking a different elected office, this year’s election will reshape the landscape at the state legislature. The University of Hawaiʻi encourages participation in the democratic process and recognizes each individual’s right to support candidates for political office. The university, however, is an agency of the State of Hawaiʻi. Its resources, such as university buildings, grounds, facilities, equipment, supplies, its “name” and the official on-duty hours of its employees, need to be devoted to benefit the general public and carry out the university’s mission. Section 84-13(a)(3), Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, prohibits university resources being used to support any particular candidate.
Often, determining whether university resources are used for public purposes as opposed to private and personal purposes requires a careful and thoughtful balance of multiple considerations in light of the specific facts of each circumstance. The following FAQ is meant to remind us all of the general limitations on the use of public resources for private purposes. Specific questions will need to be addressed by the Hawaiʻi State Ethics Commission, the organization that is ultimately responsible for implementing the State Ethics Code.
Who is a candidate?
A “candidate,” as defined in section 11-302, HRS, means an individual who seeks nomination for election to a public office and files nomination papers for an office with the county clerk’s office or with the chief election officer’s office, whichever is applicable.
For UH employees, what kinds of campaign activities are prohibited?
Employees shall not:
- Use state time to engage or conduct political campaign activities.
- Use state equipment, including university phone or electronic mail systems, or state supplies for political campaign purposes.
- Use state facilities or grounds for political campaign activities.
As a UH employee, what do I do if I receive campaign material via my hawaii.edu email address?
If you receive unsolicited campaign information via your hawaii.edu email address, please request to unsubscribe and/or notify the campaign that the email address that they sent their information to is a state work email address and should not receive campaign material.
As a UH employee, can I endorse a candidate?
The State Ethics Code prohibits state employees from using their “official position” to coerce or solicit campaign contributions, provide campaign assistance or otherwise support a candidate. If a UH employee chooses to allow his or her image and name to be used to endorse a candidate, please make as clear as possible that the endorsement is made by the individual acting in a personal and private capacity, as a public citizen and/or constituent, and not as an employee of the university. While individuals have the freedom to endorse a candidate of their choosing as a citizen, using your job title with the university may infer that your endorsement is also that of the university, which would be incorrect and likely an ethics infringement. The University of Hawaiʻi does not endorse candidates.
Are candidates allowed to use UH facilities for campaign purposes?
While we encourage the use of UH facilities for community outreach, town hall meetings and other similar events, please be aware that campaign activity is prohibited on state premises for a “candidate” as defined in section 11-302, HRS, and includes, but is not limited to, using UH premises (such as university conference rooms, courtyards, offices, etc.) for “walk-throughs,” posting campaign signs or other campaign activities or meetings, or solicitation. Also, any overt activities or statements that could be construed as an endorsement for a candidate running for public office are prohibited on UH premises.
Candidates, like members of the public, may be able to rent certain UH facilities that are available to the public, but they will be required to meet all attendant requirements, such as proof of insurance, indemnification, etc.
For more information, please see the links below:
- The State Ethics Code – A Quick Guide on Campaign Activities for State Official and Employees
- Board of Regents Policy on selling and soliciting
- Board of Regents Policy on Political Activity
Mahalo nūnui for taking the time to review this week’s bulletin.
E mālama pono!
Maenette Benham, Chancellor