NAMED BEST CAMPUS NEWSPAPER IN CALIFORNIA FOR 2022 BY THE CALIFORNIA COLLEGE MEDIA ASSOCIATION AND CALIFORNIA NEWS PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION
Monday, August gust 21, 2023
Volume 161 No. 01 SERVING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY SINCE 1934
WWW.SJSUNEWS.COM/SPARTAN_DAILY
INFOGRAPHIC BY ALICIA ALVAREZ
Maui fire impact reaches SJSU
By Alicia Alvarez
people,” Ragocos said. “That land is where so much of our history was embedded.” There are a number of factors Multiple wildfires on the island of that contributed to how quickly the Maui in Hawaii have devastated the fire spread. region, with the town of Lahaina Russell said the hot and dry winds being the most impacted, according from the southern part of the island to an Sunday Maui now article, a propelled the fire. local newspaper. “The proximity of where the fire An estimated 80% of the town has started to this populated center also been decimated, 2,170 acres have been contributed to the nature of the town burned with 89% of the fire contained, itself, which was a beautiful, old, mostly according to the Maui Now article. wooden historic village, [which] led to San Jose State environmental studies some of the destructive nature as well,” professor Will Russell said the fire he said. was so deadly because of the effects of Russell said the infrastructure of Maui climate change. is set to change in various ways, from “Hawaii has historically had wildfires, that’s not unusual,” Russell said. “What’s unusual about this is the climatic conditions that were taking place when the fire started . . . We’re starting to see unusual fires in unusual places around the world.” The Pacific Ocean became the last place of safety for some trying to escape the flames. The United States Coast Guard reported rescuing 17 people from the water. It was estimated that up to 100 people may have sought refuge in the ocean, according to an Aug. 12 article from Star Advertiser, Hawaii’s largest local daily newspaper. Design studies senior Kaysha Leina’ala Ragocos is a native Hawaiian and has lived on the island of Kauai for 21 years. She said aside from the loss of ancestral land and homes, another pressing issue is the displacement of residents. “There has been a roaming concern within the islands for a while now the displacement of residents and loss of that most locals and natives are being cultural landmarks to the residual affects outsold of their land, property and the fire will have on the environment. culture,” Ragocos said. “Most of the negative effects we are She said developers and real estate going to see from the fire environmentally agents are attempting to buy scorched will be to the ocean,” he said. Wildfires land and property from Hawaiian near the ocean can result in runoff residents and natives. This creates the and damage to the reef ecosystem. potential issue of the island becoming Much of the historic downtown unlivable for many natives because area of Lahaina was damaged or of skyrocketing rent prices and materials completely destroyed by the fire. to rebuild. The Old Lahaina Courthouse, which “I fear that no matter how much served as the Lahaina Heritage Museum, these people belong to the land, they was damaged and lost most of the won’t be able to return. Some may be collection of artifacts it housed. lucky, and some might be chased out,” Historic local landmarks including she said. the Pioneer Inn, the Baldwin House, Ragocos said the loss of culturally and the famous 150-years-old banyan and historically significant areas tree were all damaged or destroyed adds another layer of grief for as well according to an Aug. 10 Maui residents. Star Advertiser article. “Lahaina as a whole carried heavy “The Native Hawaiian people lost cultural significance to the Hawaiian these long standing symbols of their PRODUCTION EDITOR
ancestors’ past,” Ragocos said. While SJSU Pacific Islander students account for only 0.4% of the student population, according to the university’s statistics page, there have been measures to offer support and resources. The university offered a variety of resources for students impacted by the wildfire, according to a mass email sent on Aug. 12 by Interim Chief Diversity Officer Dawn Lee. Resources including the Center for Asian Pacific Student Empowerment and the Asian Pacific Islander Faculty Staff Association were named in the same email. While events to support Maui have not been organized on campus, individual
money that you plan on spending on yourself, send it over there,” Finau said. “They need help, they need money.” While donating money may not be possible for all students, Finau said spreading awareness helps as well. “Make sure that you’re fully educated about what’s going on and learn even deeper about the needs right now,” Pradhan said. Here are some organizations accepting donations to aid Maui residents in this time of recovery and grief: Maui Strong Fund Maui United Way Na Keiki O Emalia Maui Food Bank LaHui Foundation Follow Alicia Alvarez on X (Formally Twitter) @alicialvarez02
I fear that no matter how much these RESOURCES people belong to the land, they won’t be able to return. Some may be lucky, The Maui Strong Fund donations to and some might be chased out. disperses various organizations to Kaysha Leina’ala Ragocos senior design studies major
and community based fundraising is more apparent, Lee said. Program director for the Center for Asian Pacific Islander Student Empowerment (CAPISE), Jinni Pradhan said there are various ways for students to receive support. CAPISE is the center to go to if students do not know where to start, Pradhan said. “Sometimes we send out this giant list of resources and people are not sure where to start or maybe intimidated,” Pradhan said. She said CAPISE as a center is meant to be a friendly face where students can consult and then figure out where they want to go next. President for the Pacific Islander Student Association and public health sophomore Lute Finau said there are a few ways to help. “Don’t go to Hawaii. Just send that
aid the local population. $52,106,537 has been raised as of Aug. 18. Maui United Way allocates and approves grant funding to grassroots organizations for basic needs of the local population. Na Keiki O Emalia is a grief support group focused on helping children and teens after the death of loved ones. Maui Food Bank is requesting non-perishable foods and basic hygiene products. LaHui Foundation is collecting monetary donations to aid Maui residents impacted by the Lahaina wildfire.