No Affirmative Action for Men

In 2006, Florida Atlantic University (FAU) in Boca Raton, FL. gave their female students 64% of of the undergraduate diplomas, 75% of their honors degrees, and 79% of their highest honors, summa cum laude. (Read NY Times: "At Colleges, Women are Leaving Men in the Dust".) All over the U.S. (and in countries that may surprise you- Lithuania!) women are beating out men in terms of education. More women are graduating, receiving high honors, and participating in internships. Walk onto a college campus, and you will most likely see females walking around and taking the lead in clubs. Go to the dorms and you will find males sitting in front of their TVs avoiding it all. There are male students that spend an average of 15 hours/week watching TV or playing video games.

Some studies show that it is a direct reaction to our parents' generation, where women have to work twice as hard to leave their domestic roles and men feel entitled to power and titles. For most women (not all), we want to become more than just a mother. This does not mean we think the role of housewife is demeaning. We just deserve something more, which engages our minds and gets us paid. We are the ones on college campuses, working and climbing up. On college campuses (and even earlier in the primary and secondary school systems) men generally feel turned off from academics and rely more on social skills. For most men, they downplay the importance of education and hope that their charisma and a firm handshake will close the deal. (Read more at: http://www.whyboysfail.com/)

Ivy League schools that admit students based on "gender-blind" standards have seen an overwhelming number of women accepted compared to their male counterparts. But colleges want balance in order to create a more diverse campus. I say no to any sort of affirmative action for men. Go work for what you deserve.

Now the other issue with the academic imbalance between men and women is in the arena of dating. Since we are seeing an explosion of women in the academic arena, men are becoming scarce. According to mating rules, the gender of less supply maintains the upperhand. On engineering campuses, male students have a small selection of females so the women call the shots. A growing fear is that women will begin to date men with less education (aka "settle") since we won't have much to choose from. When the time comes, do we stay single or just settle for the peacock with brighter feathers and a bird brain? Stay single, ladies. If you can handle 3 jobs and school at once, you can raise a baby on your own. Chances are, you'll be doing it on your own anyways- despite his "help."

@LOH@

Location, Location, Location

History buffs can tell you that location means everything. The first civilizations were started next to great rivers- each with their own "cradle of civilization." The Mesopotamians had the Tigris/Euphrates, in India the Indus Valley, and the Chinese had Huang He. These civilizations were able to flourish because of their easy access to water. Water allowed the growth of crops, travel, and rebirth at the end of each crop season. The yearly floods ensured constantly rich and fertile soil at the mouth of the river, which formed a triangle where the river flowed into the ocean. It is no wonder that these rivers were often referred to as life lines, and the Greeks named this triangle the "delta", symbolizing change.

But even now, well past the 10000 B.C. mark, we have our own "cradles" and location still matters. We do not need a river in the backyard to procure food, but family assets are a must. Though our society promotes social mobility, the family we are born into can still affect our survival. Many can agree that the location and condition of your childhood home says a lot about your current and future financial stability. While some families have an abundant family bank account (We'll call this the Euphrates.), others do not enjoy the constant flow of riches.

I consider myself lucky. When I applied to college, my parents were poor enough (but not too poor) for me to obtain financial aid. My family was middle class enough to instill the importance of education and hard work to cover the rest of the cost with merit-based scholarships. (And I'm not sure about this, but being a female minority may have helped, too.) After college, I was lucky enough to get a pretty well-paid job as a teacher. Now as a teacher, I get paid about $30,000- which is good, considering I recently graduated from college and some people don't even have the luxury of working at all. But that means that after taxes I only get about $1,000 per 2 weeks (year-round). I recently calculated my finances, and after paying for grad school, rent, car insurance, groceries, gas, traveling, etc., I will only save about $4,000 at the end of the school year. Thankfully, I have no college loans to pay off (for the aforementioned reasons), no payments (my parents helped me pay for the car), and no husband and/or children.

I think, in Biblical terms, I live by a mini river. And now I'm wondering how the people in the deserts are surviving. How are people with families saving up enough money to simply live? How are they able to save money for their own children? What if I got laid off one day? What if I were diagnosed with cancer tomorrow? What if I found myself pregnant and decided to keep the kid? (Don't worry, teaching is excellent birth control.)

But most importantly, what about the people who do not have half the resources I was lucky enough to have? The average college debt on graduation day is well over $20 thousand. The housing market is plunging. Our national debt is now at $3.5 trillion. And gas is now over $4/gal, over double the prices in 2000- "back in the old days when I started driving." The economy (not teaching) makes me feel old. It is like some sick time warp where the prices tell me I should really be at least 40 years old.

Hundreds of homeless people (including families) are now camping in Kapi'olani Park after being forced out of other parks since Kapi'olani has no set closing time. But all we care about is the negative effects on Waikiki's tourism. Their relocation should alert us instead. Something is terribly wrong when hard working people with jobs and frugal spending habit still cannot make ends meet. I don't remember ever seeing my teachers working at a second job to pay the bills. It is not only an embarassment but a warning sign. A rise in credit card debt and college debt should put us up in arms. This is the situation the next generation of kids will live through. If we can't survive, how far can they even go?

(By the way, Kapi'olani Park is right by the water.)


@LOH@

Soy de Hawai'i.

Aloha!

Half a year ago, my cousin Jason suggested I start a blog instead of sending mass emails. I guess that was me half a year ago, who didn't see the true value of communication. After this summer, I've realized how much of my life is really one foot planted on the mainland and one foot on this wonderful island of Hawai'i.

I don't think my life is special to be worthy of a blog. I just wish more people would blog- and truly reflect. It is so easy for us to fall into the traps of Facebook, Myspace, and other online communities that only encourage the explosion of our egos in gossip and trivial conversation. (I am proud to say that, as of today, I am 17 days sober from Facebook.) It really can be an addiction.

Two weeks ago, I started my second year of teaching. Ever. The first year left me occassionally crying on the beach at night, missing home and cursing the 6-hour time difference. (It was almost like I was reliving my parents' immigrant realities back in the 80's, where Taiwan is a complete day ahead of the US time zone.) I had applied for Teach for America late September of my senior year at UM. By November, I knew I was going to Hawai'i. For a senior, that meant job security and the ability to actually answer the daily question of "So what now?" But I was not ready to be here until I left here this summer on the mainland. The whole first year I had been wishing I was back at UM and in Miami; but when I finally did go back, I realized that there was nothing there for me but good memories. As usual, my decision preceded my logic.

This second year has been amazing. I am teaching all Algebra sections, still on the military base in Wahiawa. I have more free time because I am not frantically planning for a class I've never taught before. I can listen to my kids' stories in the morning, because I am not running in and out making photocopies of a worksheet I made 5 seconds ago. (PS- I have a future WNBA basketball star in my room. Serious.) The biggest responsibility I have now is being the 8th grade Grade Level Chair. But honestly, the leadership days from UM are long over. I know I can be all that when the time comes, but now is MY time.

Oh, and did I mention I am not on Facebook and don't have cable TV? That definitely leaves more time to read the news, do yoga, dance the hula, plant my garden, and play in the "Club House." (See pictures below.) And I live with 3 BOYS. It has been an interesting but delightful adjustment from living with 2 girls.

This year, I can finally say that I am from Waialua, not a visitor from Miami.

@LOH@













Me, Greg, and Kyle @ Bon Festival (Haleiwa)












The
"Newspaper"














Our "Club House" painted in Lime Freeze

First watermelon sprout in the garden!