‘We lived through this and survived’
Aug. 22, 2022 | Megan Tagami | Daily Bruin
Leia Yen had no idea that her grandfather once studied at UCLA. But on one sunny day, she found herself visiting campus to attend his graduation.
Yen, now an alumnus, was in high school at the time. Although her grandfather was enrolled decades before her, he only received his diploma in 2010, albeit an honorary one.
Yen’s grandfather himself never walked the stage, his family accepting the degree on his behalf. By the time the ceremony took place, he had died years before.
In 1942, Yen’s grandfather and his sister withdrew from UCLA. Their family later relocated to Utah to avoid incarceration after former President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066. The order largely emerged in response to unjustified fear and public hatred of Japanese Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As a result, more than 100,000 people of Japanese descent were removed from their homes along the Pacific coast and placed in incarceration camps during World War II.
David Rimer/Daily Bruin
How Homeless People Have Weathered The Pandemic In Hawaii
Sept. 7, 2022 | Megan Tagami | Honolulu Civil Beat
Last month, Ernest Reese found himself in an unusual situation. A few patients at the Hawaii Homeless Healthcare Hui asked Reese to discharge them into a homeless shelter, but the case manager could not do so because a Covid-19 outbreak had forced the shelter to temporarily freeze admissions.
Instead, he had to release them from care without knowing where they would go next.
“Usually it’s the other way around, I’m trying to sell patients to go to the shelter to get services,” Reese said. “When I have those few that … actually want to go, I couldn’t get them in.”
More than two years into the pandemic, Covid-19 continues to shape the daily lives of Hawaii’s homeless population – but its impact may not be as dire as had been predicted.
Cory Lum/Honolulu Civil Beat
Selected Stories
‘How Are We Supporting These Kids?’: Schools Add Emotional Development To The Curriculum
Aug. 23, 2022 | Megan Tagami | Honolulu Civil Beat
At Waimanalo Elementary and Intermediate School, principal Wade Araki said his classrooms are finally starting to look like they used to before the pandemic. Desks are grouped together to promote collaborative learning instead of keeping students at least six feet apart, and more than 370 children returned to campus this fall.
For the first time in over two years, public schools in Hawaii resumed classes in early August with eased Covid-19 restrictions and no mask mandates or quarantine rules as coronavirus concerns ebb.
“While we’re still very mindful of healthy habits, schools are able to focus even more on our primary mission of education,” Superintendent Keith Hayashi said Thursday at a Board of Education meeting.
But the new year still falls short of normalcy. Early childhood educators and advocates remain worried that the state’s youngest learners have fallen behind in their development. Grade school students still struggle to adjust to classroom learning after months of online instruction in key formative years. And the learning loss is hard to reverse.
Photo courtesy of Seagull Schools
Hawaii Has $200 Million To Spend on Pre-K. Who Gets The Money?
July 15, 2022 | Megan Tagami | Honolulu Civil Beat
In March, Julie Kalakau determined which children would fill the seats of Sunshine School for the 2022-23 school year. When she was done, she realized that there were still enough applicants to fill two more classroom spaces, but her preschool was at capacity.
Hawaii faces a critical shortage of early learning centers. The problem was made only worse by the coronavirus pandemic, which forced some owners to permanently close their doors. A new law seeks to change this.
In a historic investment for early childhood education in Hawaii, Act 257 allocates $200 million for the construction, expansion or renovation of prekindergarten facilities across the state. The School Facilities Authority must spend the money by the end of June 2024.
Photo courtesy UH Manoa Children's Center
Hawaii Has Plenty Of Pregnancy Resource Centers That Offer Alternatives To Abortion
July 18, 2022 | Megan Tagami | Honolulu Civil Beat
In downtown Honolulu, across the street from the Roman Catholic diocese, sits Pearson Place. With its worn sign and proximity to a closed-down bookstore, the pregnancy resource center can be easy to overlook.
But the words “Free pregnancy test” scrawled in big white letters across the center’s door may cause passersby to double back.
Beyond the doorway, volunteers offer a myriad of resources ranging from peer mentorship to baby formula — all free of charge in the name of providing pregnant women with alternatives to abortion.
Megan Tagami/Honolulu Civil Beat
UC system to find ways to expand, fund student enrollment
May 12, 2022 | Megan Tagami & Lisa Huiqin Wang | Daily Bruin
The University of California has its eyes set on expansion.
In September, the UC Board of Regents introduced a plan to add 20,000 student seats across the system by 2030 – enough to fill a new campus.
In a July interview with the Los Angeles Times, former UC Board of Regents chair Cecilia Estolano emphasized the importance of expanded enrollment to boost the state’s economy and provide opportunities for California residents.
Stett Holbrook, a spokesperson for the UC Office of the President, said in an emailed statement that 16,000 of the 20,000 additional seats will be allocated to in-state undergraduates. The remaining 4,000 seats will go to both in-state and out-of-state graduate students, Holbrook added.
Graphic reporting by Megan Tagami / Graphic by Rebekah Limb
Exploited Esthetics: How Asian American Beauty Workers are Organizing
July 28, 2022 | Melanie Nguyen, Shanivi Srikonda, Megan Tagami, & Meimei Xu | AAJA VOICES
When Pabitra Dash came to the United States from Nepal in 2010, she turned to the same industry that has provided social currency and mobility for so many other Asian immigrants: beauty salons.
But throughout her eight-year career as a nail technician, Dash went on to experience seven miscarriages. Dash’s doctor did not inform her that working in nail salons could endanger her reproductive health until she quit the industry, leaving her outraged that she had been deprived of the information needed to protect herself.
“Nobody teaches us in the industry. Nobody teaches about chemicals. Nobody teaches us about health and safety,” Dash said.
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