The University of Hawaii Manoa

Date: Aug 31 2011
Major: Cultures/Civilization (This Major's Salary over time)
I am nearing the end of my UH experience. I came here from out of state. I found many faculty to be highly regarded in their fields. Some were very nice, but others seemed to have low morale or were too busy to spend much time with me. However, the nice ones really made positive impacts on my life. Forget about the snotty ones. You will be able to find caring and talented professors here.

UH is a great place to experience another culture while studying within the U.S. You learn both outside and inside the classroom. If you are from out of state, you probably will encounter a certain degree of prejudice from locals. There are a lot of historical and cultural reasons for this. Keep in mind that everybody in Hawai'i is not perfect. It is not a perfect paradise. But, generally speaking, I found people here much more friendly, respectful, and decent than in other U.S. cities. African Americans and Hispanics will find very small communities here. Asians from the mainland should keep in mind that you are not "local" even though most UH students are of East Asian descent.

The campus is in a beautiful setting. Some buildings need repairs. The state will probably be raising tuition dramatically in the future, since the government, like most of the rest of the U.S., has financial woes. They are constructing a new, large, state-of-the-art fitness center, however. This is really needed. The present gym is very small and crowded. Off campus gyms are crowded and pretty expensive. Public transit is good. But, if you want to go to the North Shore or the western part of the island, a car is the best way to go.

To the credit of UH, it is striving to keep the Native Hawaiian culture vibrant. It also is starting programs to bring underrepresented local ethnicities to campus.

I found the male students, local, mainland, and foreign, to be friendly and approachable. Women generally were snooty, sometimes downright hostile. Merely by crossing their paths on campus, you'll likely get a nasty scowl. It's best to look straight ahead and ignore them.

UH isn't really a dating place. For the most part, local women are taken and it is not a good idea to hit on them. If they talk to you or are introduced to you by another local person, you are on safer ground. The mainland women are very sought after by mainland students and the hordes of single military men on the island. This makes even the homeliest of these coeds feel like hotties and they have negative attitudes unless you are something special.

In some ways, UH makes male students from the mainland feel unwelcome. For example, in front of Hamilton Library, there is a banner with photos of 14 students waving greetings to newbies. 10 of these students are female. None are obviously African American or Caucasian males. That says something to me. Unless you play sports or are gay, UH is not too concerned about mainland males.

Indeed, it is a university that caters to women, encourages them, and wants them to feel "comfortable". In fact, one male writer in the student newspaper this past year began an article "confessing" that women are the "superior" sex.

If you are an older, non-traditional male student, you will be profiled by library security, dorm personnel, cafeteria managers, etc. They will assume that you are a bum or a perv, so have your valid id ready. I hung out with some older male grad students and they were hassled repeatedly. Again, I think the idea is to make women feel comfortable. Older guy=creep in the minds of the administration.

There are some really great programs at UH. What a place to study about East Asia, the Pacific Islands, oceanography, astronomy, geology, linguistics, tourism, and comparative philosophy! There are other well-regarded programs too.

Many survey courses are huge! It is cheaper and better I think to take these courses at one of the community colleges in the UH system.

Overall, I had a positive experience at UH. If you are coming from the continental U.S., try mostly to listen and learn. You'll grow tremendously as a person.