The right not to join
According to the Hawaii Supreme Court, Paradise Hui Hanalike of Hawaiian Paradise Park failed to submit a certified copy of its 1984 adapted bylaws, as amended, to the 3rd Circuit Court to append to a final judgment.
The Supreme Court gave a direct order to the 3rd Circuit Court in Hilo to deny PHH the right to collect road maintenance fees.
In 2001, Judge Greg Nakamura attempted to reorganize PHH into the Hawaiian Paradise Park Owners Association. The intention of the court was to compel all lot owners to become “automatic members” of the association.
But when Nakamura found that the deeds of the lot owners did not allow for the transition, he amended his judgment to allow the right to decide whether or not to join the association.
Janet Silva
Hawaiian Paradise Park
Unified at UH-Hilo
Mahalo to reporter Kirsten Johnson for her well-written article about faculty opposition to the current reorganization plan at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. As someone who helped circulate the petition, I’d like to add a couple of points.
As the article stated, the petition garnered support across several units on campus — even from those not directly affected by the proposed reorganization of the College of Arts and Sciences.
Some key statistics about the signatories to the petition are even more telling: 85 percent of the full-time faculty in the Social Sciences Division signed, as did 61 percent of the full-time faculty in the Humanities Division. This is a rare display of unity.
These statistics are solid facts to which the chancellor should give more serious consideration.
Another aspect of the proposed reorganization needs to be explored more, and that is its impact on support staff. The current plan includes redefining job descriptions and reassigning positions of staff, leaving secretaries and other administrative workers feeling uncertain, disregarded and vulnerable.
At no point has there been an explanation from the administration as to how these changes will help “retention” (keeping students at the university), which is supposedly a major goal of the reorganization.
Thank you, again, for bringing attention to this important matter.
Amy C. Gregg
Instructor, Gender &Women’s Studies Program