Post interview

I think the interview went well. There's only one problem in the whole works, and that is: "If you didn't grow up in Hawaii, your family's not there, and you're not currently living there now, why should we give you the scholarship designated for Hawaii residents?"

And depending on whether they're looking to enroll a qualified, deserving student who can really benefit Hawaii with their experience, or to provide financial means for deserving local students I either stand a slight chance or zero chance (respectively).

Being a Mainlander in Hawaii is a double-edged sword. Just like in the rest of the country (and throughout the world), Hawaii has a history of white privilege, most apparent in stories like the Massie Case. With that kind of injustice in Hawaii's history, I can understand the preference given to protect and promote local students' success.

I approve of schools with affirmative action policies, though they in theory work to my disadvantage. If a school wants to get rid of its affirmative action program, I think they should be forced to also shelve their "Legacy Student" bonuses. (That's the only reason Bush was able to get into Yale.)

Now, I *hate* to sound like "Boo-hoo! I'm the poor little white boy!" in this post. But it seems like I'm one of the guys who get stuck in the middle. Because my family wasn't poor enough to qualify for grants, yet not rich enough to help pay for school, I had to pay my own way.

Do I deserve to get Fujitsu's Hawaii scholarship at the expense of a financially disadvantaged local student? Certainly not.

But I do think UH should consider residence issues with proper perspective. I know graduates of Punahou and Iolani (the top two private schools) who have been advantaged as much as I have, if not more, and I'd feel sour to see the scholarship go to one of them just because their families are from Hawaii.

I read a book by Al Franken that uses this comparison:
If you were a baseball coach, and at tryouts you had to choose between two players -- both with the same speed, but one with bad form and one with good form -- which one would you choose? Logically, a coach would pick the one with the bad form and teach him the good form so he can go even faster.

Now, I don't know if I'm the one with the good form or the bad form, but I hope UH will have the good sense to give the scholarship to the person who both deserves it and needs it the most.