400 Protest Ruling on Admissions Preferences
About 400 alumni and supporters of Hawaii’s Kamehameha Schools rallied in San Francisco on Saturday to protest a recent court ruling that struck down the school’s policy of giving admissions preference to students of native Hawaiian ancestry.
Wearing red-and-black T-shirts reading “Ku I Ka Pono,” or “Justice for Hawaiians,” the protesters marched past the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, whose three-judge panel handed down the ruling.
In its 2-1 ruling, the appeals court said Aug. 2 that the schools’ Hawaiians-first admissions policy violates federal anti-discrimination laws. The schools have until Tuesday to request a rehearing by the full court.
The decision struck down a century-old policy established by the 1883 will of Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, who created a trust now worth $6.2 billion that funds the schools’ main campus in Honolulu and other campuses on Maui and the Big Island.
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