Honolulu (AP) – After practicing water polo at her school, located on a hilltop overlooking Honolulu Port, Kapua Ong marvels at sunset.
“I’m proud of myself because not everyone is accepted,” said Kapua, a freshman at Kamehameha School. Native Hawaiian. “I’m grateful for having those opportunities.”
Kapua was just a baby when her parents set the stage for school acceptance by adding details of her native Hawaiian ancestors to their genealogy database. As an incoming seventh grade, she also took the entrance exam, highlighting her kung fu skills and the flow of Hawaiian.
Kamehameha School The warning “to the extent permitted by law” gives indigenous Hawaiians a preference for enrollment.
A campaign is underway to test the legality of policy and stop Kamehameha from supporting Hawaiians, part of a movement to expand the legal definition of racism in education. Conservative activists have been encouraged by the Supreme Court decision Positive behavior University enrollment and the Trump administration’s war Diversity, equity, inclusion. Currently they are targeting scholarships, academic programs Admission Policy It was directly or indirectly linked to race.
Fair enrollment students led by Edward Blum, the main opponent of the Positive behavior,setup a Website This month I vow to challenge Kamehameha’s admission policy. “It is essentially impossible for non-native Hawaiian students to be hospitalized in Kamehameha,” says the site.
Graduates, parents and local leaders will be in the private school system. Over $15 billion – Bigger than most universities – Fight to defend policy.
“They’re a great opportunity to see them,” said Andria Tupola, a 1998 graduate and member of Honolulu City Council. She says she helped the school build a stronger connection with Hawaiian culture.
Participating in Kamehameha can also change your life. Children in Hawaii may have an educational disadvantage as native Hawaii communities fight poverty and higher incarceration rates. Admission to Kamehameha offers endless opportunities, first-class facilities and quality private schooling opportunities with Hawaiian cultural values.
Along with breathtaking ocean views, the expansive Honolulu campus offers the finest amenities, including an Olympic-sized pool, buffet lunches, athlete laundry services and grounds decorated with native plants. The annual elaborate Hawaiian song contest between high school classes will be broadcast on local television.
The Will of the Princess of Hawaii
Kamehameha School was founded at the time of his death in 1884 by the will of Bernice Pauahi Bishop, the great grandson of King Kamehameha I. The donation also supports scholarships and community activities to other private schools.
Last year, more than 5,400 students registered at three Kamehameha campuses on Oahu, Maui and Big Island.
Each year, the number of applications exceeds the number of spaces 17:1, depending on the campus and grade, Kamehameha’s website says.
There is an understanding among Hawaiian residents that only students with Hawaiian blood are permitted. Many view it as a way to improve the disparities caused by the colonization of the United States and the overthrow of the Kingdom of Hawaii by a group of American businessmen in 1893.
Kamehameha spokesman Sterling Wong refused to say how many non-Hawaiian students were hospitalized.
Kalani Rosell was the first non-Hawaiian to graduate from Kamehameha Schools Maui in 2007. His acceptance sparked sharp criticism from Hawaiians. The school said the list of qualified Hawaiian students was chosen after exhausted.
After a ruling by a panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in 2005, more than 15,000 people protested, it violated federal civil rights laws by breaking down policies restricting Hawaiian entry. Kamehameha asked for a rehearsal.
The following year, the court upheld the policy. Kamehameha later settled with the family of a white student who filed a lawsuit when he was denied entry.
“We liked Native Hawaiian children and expected that the enrollment policy of nearly 140 years would be challenged again,” Kamehameha councillor said in a statement. “We believe our policies will be consistent with established laws.”
“Heavy Hitter” visits Hawaii schools
When Kekoa Kealoha, a 2003 graduate, heard about the campaign against the school, he was shocked to hear that he was led by a “real heavy batter-like person.”
Students for Fair Admission sued Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Landmark 2023 Supreme Court decision Prohibits universities from considering race decisions for admission.
Former stockbroker Blum has since expanded his opposition to racial preferences across education, backed by President Donald Trump’s fight against Day.
In contact with the Associated Press, Blum said he was traveling and asked for written questions. Then he didn’t respond.
John Tehranian, a professor at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles, will argue that Blum’s group is probably unlikely to survive Kamehameha’s policies in the strongest form of constitutional review.
Kamehameha could argue that the policy is a classification based on political status rather than race-based, and that it is based on cases that allow Native American government programs.
Blum’s group follows the fact that Natasha Warikoo, a professor at Tufts University, who wrote a book on positive behaviour, follows Blum’s group as “seeing what they are obsessed with” with race.
The Supreme Court’s decision focused on university admissions, but conservatives are increasingly targeting K-12 schools, with admissions considering racial “proxies” including family income and neighborhoods.
For example, in July, the Conservative Pacific Law Foundation filed a lawsuit challenging admissions policies at Boston Public Schools’ elite exam schools, providing additional points if students come from low-income areas.
Hawaii Republicans call campaign “racist”
When Blum launched a campaign against Kamehameha, people began calling for Brenton AWA, a Republican senator from Hawaii.
Awa entered Kamehameha and graduated from public schools, but he called Blum anyway. When Blum didn’t call back, Mywa and another Republican flew to the East Coast to find him.
“If anyone had the opportunity to debate, it would be us,” the AWA said.
The Arlington, Virginia address led the duo into a mere mailbox. They went to the office for Blum’s lawyer, but no luck. There they met with Republicans in Washington and educated them on Kamehameha’s mission.
“If anyone chasing Kamehameha schools with this kind of initiative and intention, that’s racist,” the AWA said.
Move to Hawaii for a “life-changing” school
Kona Purdy and his family returned to Hawaii in 2021. The family had it I moved to Las Vegasjoins many Hawaiians who can no longer afford to live on the island.
They were forced to return to Vegas when they lost their home in 2023. “We were thinking about leaving her… so that she could stay at school,” Purdy said. “It was life-changing.”
Kamehameha only charged the family about $100 for tuition.
The family returned to Hawaii in June. Purdy’s daughter is currently in the seventh grade of public school.
She applies for Kamehameha next year and hopes to be reunited at high school.
“Hopefully, she has the best shot as she has an admission policy still in place,” Purdy said.
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Colin Binkley, an educational writer for the Associated Press, contributed.
