The first day of the school year always brings excitement on campus.
But this being the first day ever at the new UH West Oahu campus in Kapolei, students are thrilled.
For one thing, those who live on this side of the island already feel like they’re getting more sleep.
"Basically I live close by so basically I don’t have to wake up early compared to Manoa, HPU, all those far away schools,” said Christopher Bolosan, freshman.
Yes, those schools in town must seem so far away now that the commute to Kapolei is so much less with little traffic.
But the new campus also gives them their own identity.
For years, UH West Oahu was set aside in portable buildings within the Leeward Community College campus in Pearl City.
"We’re not mistaken for LCC anymore, we are our own entity now because before if you would blink while driving past us you would miss our entire campus now it’s pretty hard to miss it,” said staff member Adam Nahulu.
It’s tough to miss now with five buildings surrounding the campus center. There’s a library that will be home to the most comprehensive video archive system and a spacious cafeteria with a menu that gives a nod the farm to table movement.
All in all, quite an upgrade from their previous surroundings.
"Before it was just come to school, get in your car, drive home, now they actually have a place you can actually hang out and have fun at,” said Stacy Garcia, student body president.
There are 1,800 students enrolled this year, 600 of them are freshmen and there’s plenty of room for growth.
The university dental hygiene program will be moved here.
Tokai University will also be relocated to this campus.
So yes the students are excited to have their school so close to home.
But they also see lots of potential.
"What’s important too is that Kapolei is a growing area and I think having a university on this side will definitely impact the community for the better,” said senior, Hoku Pruett.
See the original article at: KHON2 Local News
