COMMUNITY OUTREACH UPDATE: Ongoing Collaborations with Native Hawaiian High School Students
by Kelli Keahiahi Lee

Welina mai kākou! Since our last newsletter, much has happened in our Community Outreach Program.  In our last update, we were preparing for Super High Day, a Nā Pua No‘eau program that provides Native Hawaiian students from across the state with an opportunity to learn about professional fields of their interest. The Center was originally asked to assist with Super High Day by conducting one workshop on the law and Native Hawaiian issues, but ended up leading two! A second workshop was scheduled after a 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck off of Hawai‘i’s Kona coast on October 15, 2006, and thwarted travel for many neighbor island students.  Nā Pua No‘eau’s committed staff did not want neighbor island students to miss Super High Day, and added a second session on O‘ahu in November. The Center was happy to help with this effort.

The students who participated in Super High Day arrived at the William S. Richardson School of Law and spent the day in the moot court room learning about legal writing, analysis, and advocacy. They tackled a number of fact patterns, and learned how to identify legal issues and apply the relevant rule of law to a legal problem. They discussed and debated recent cases, and ended the day by dazzling us all with their ability to advocate for Native Hawaiian rights in a moot court setting. Super High Day was extremely successful, and we look forward to future collaborations with Nā Pua No‘eau.

In our most recent endeavor, the Center is working with community leaders from Hawai‘i Island to facilitate workshops and seminars for high school students interested in the legal field. The Center participated in the March 2007 Opportunities Expo in Hilo, Hawai‘i, which is designed to inform high school students of the many academic, service, and employment resources available to them. The Center’s participation in the event provided many opportunities for future collaborations with the Hawai‘i Island community.

That completes our Community Outreach update! If you are interested in the Center’s Community Outreach Program, please contact us at (808) 956-8411 or nhlawctr@hawaii.edu. A hui hou.