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Question:

Should Kamehameha Schools admit people of other races?

debate

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Posted by amazona0125 on Monday November 2, 2009 at 12:24 PM and tagged with affirmative action, equal protection, kamehameha schools, law.


Answers:


  1. pohnpei397 Teacher
    Community / Jr. College

    eNotes Editor

    If you're looking for both sides in the debate, here goes:

    For the idea that they shouldn't:

    Kamehameha Schools was founded by Bernice Pauahi Bishop's estate specifically for the purpose of educating native Hawaiians.  This bequest should be honored and the tradition of Kamehameha as a Hawaiian-only school should be preserved.  Legally speaking, Hawaiians have been discriminated against since the US takeover in the 1890s and should be allowed to have race-specific remedies for that.

    For the idea that they should:

    Bishop's will shouldn't be applied any more than some white racist's wish to leave all his money to a school that would only allow white students.  Also, the 1/64 rule makes it so that a lot of the students going to Kamehameha are barely Hawaiian at all in terms of blood (Looking around, I may be wrong about whether this rule really exists.  It's not specified anywhere that I can find.  My memory is that this was the rule back in the '80s when I was in HS.  And I stand by the main point that there are a lot of students who don't look Hawaiian.)  Legally speaking, the discrimination against Hawaiians has been pretty far in the past and therefore does not warrant a race specific remedy today.

    Rate answer:

    Posted by pohnpei397 on Monday November 2, 2009 at 12:33 PM