There are 27 students with ties to Maui at the University of Hawaii who have been directly impacted by the deadly wildfires, according to UH President David Lassner.
“Words cannot convey the devastation and horror of the events last week in Lahaina,” Lassner said during an Aug. 17 Board of Regents meeting. “First and foremost, as of today, we are not aware of any loss of life or casualties among our employees or students.”
UH is continuing to evaluate the full impact on students.
Of the roughly 400 UH students in the two Lahaina zip codes, 200 attend UH campuses other than UH Maui College, either through distance learning or online classes.
Students have been reaching out to the UH system to request special accommodations during the recovery.
“The current requests include deferral of acceptance, withdrawals, switching to all online courses, assistance with airfare, access to reliable Internet and devices, support from counseling and disability services, replacement of diplomas, and at the Manoa and Hilo campuses, housing cancellations and delayed move-ins,” Lassner said.
Lassner added that the Stupski Foundation through the University of Hawaii Foundation has made a $1 million donation to establish a fund that will direct immediate cash payments to UH students impacted by the fires.
Additional support is being offered by UH-Hilo, which includes the division of student affairs working with counterparts across the UH system to help support students.
“On our local campus level, I have asked members of our campus community to please kokua those who have ‘ohana affected, and exercise patience with students who may be arriving late from Maui or distracted by events,” said UH-Hilo Chancellor Bonnie Irwin in a press release. “The County of Hawaii administration is assembling a task force to see what UH-Hilo can do to help, not only for short-term needs, but also with mid- to long-term recovery. I will share information about what kind of role the university might play in these efforts once I learn more.”
A list of support services and contact information provided to UH-Hilo students can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/mrj2zpj4.