University of Hawaii graduation filled with smiles, selfies and a quiet TMT protest

Around 2,200 University of Hawaii at Manoa students received their diplomas at the Stan Sheriff Center Saturday as a couple dozen graduates and faculty silently protested the planned construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope on the Big Island.

The 108th commencement ceremony packed the arena and opened up with a traditional oli, or Hawaiian chant, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and state song “Hawaii Pono’i.” The keynote speaker was Michael Bennett, NFL defensive lineman and founder of the Bennett Foundation. The student speakers were Mart Joshua Lopez, who graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications, and Annie Nguyen.

Across the University of Hawaii system, another 2,600 students graduated this past week from other campuses.

Around 80 students at the UH-Manoa morning commencement showed their opposition for the construction of the TMT on Mauna Kea by wearing white sashes with the big, dark green words “AOLE TMT,” which means “No TMT,” draped around their necks. About 30 minutes before the ceremony ended, one of the protesters draped her or his sash around the podium, which went unnoticed by UH System President David Lassner as he spoke. UH officials say they were unaware the sash was on the podium.

“True universities embrace diverse viewpoints,” UH Spokesman Dan Meisenzahl told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

Protester and master’s graduate Leilani Portillo, 25, said the sashes were an extension of the protest last December when around 200 students, faculty and staff, gathered on the steps of Hawaii Hall and urged Lassner and the UH Board of Regents to terminate any agreements involving the construction of TMT.