Governor's executive budget proposal gives UH students hope

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Jodi Leong, (808) 956-9437
Dir of Communications, External Affairs and University Relations
Posted: Dec 19, 2013

Video link for television or online use: http://bit.ly/1bTxPFa

Video link of story elements for web viewing:  http://youtu.be/p8ADIManpc4

University of Hawai’i students in the thick of finals week said the state’s executive budget proposal unveiled Monday is an early Christmas gift that gives them hope for their future and the future of their university.

The proposed budget supports the Board of Regents' requests for $14 million to restore the salaries of UH faculty to pre-recession levels and $19.5 million for the modest negotiated three percent faculty pay raises in the current biennium.  If approved, the funds would enable the university to free up student tuition to invest in improvement projects at UH campuses across the state.  The proposed budget would also allow the university to address the urgent need to reduce a $487 million backlog of deferred maintenance across the system.

Students at Kuykendall Hall said the shabby building has been their home for years and they would welcome much needed renovations.

“It kind of brings the mood down, you don’t really want to be around the facilities.  It just dampens the learning environment for us as students,” said UH Mānoa nursing student Shonaline Domingo.

“The new ones (buildings) are nice, but a lot of them still need fixing and a lot of the elevators break or the bathrooms.  So it would be better to make everything nicer,” said UH Mānoa senior Jessica Kim.

Governor Neil Abercrombie’s budget proposal is a giant step toward financial sustainability for the university.  If supported by the State Legislature, students will see restoration of their classrooms, labs and infrastructure that will provide them with 21st century educational facilities and programs.

Soundbites for television/online media:

Shonaline Domingo/UH Mānoa Nursing Student

I would say please approve it because I’m a nursing student so our tuition is an extra thousand dollars a semester.  So if the money can come back to us as students, that would help us and our families a lot.  (:09 seconds)

It kind of brings the mood down, you don’t really want to be around the facilities.  I don’t know, it just kind of dampens the learning environment for us as students, I think.  (:12 seconds)

Jessica Kim/UH Mānoa Senior

The new ones are nice, but a lot of them still need fixing and a lot of the elevators break, or the bathrooms.  So it would be better to make everything nicer.  (:11 seconds)

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