UH Regents Urge Nonviolent Solutions To Mauna Kea Standoff
The directive from the board offers little new in the way of resolving issues regarding Thirty Meter Telescope.
The University of Hawaii Board of Regents is urging UH President David Lassner to pursue nonviolent solutions regarding Mauna Kea.
The directive came as part of a passed by the 11-member board Thursday.
The resolution encourages Lassner to de-escalate tensions across the 10-campus system regarding Mauna Kea, where protesters have blocked construction of the Thirty Meter Telescope for three months.
The resolution offers little in the way of specific recommendations or new solutions on how to move forward.
Regent Jan Sullivan said that the resolution wasn’t intended to support or oppose any law enforcement action on Hawaii Island or elsewhere. Additionally, regent Randy Moore expressed some concerns that nonviolent solutions may mean different things to different people.
Prior to the meeting, several TMT supporters wrote testimony to the board suggesting that law enforcement should clear the road to allow construction to proceed.
The regents are expected to vote on another resolution at a Nov. 6 meeting that will provide a more specific timeline for decommissioning several of the telescopes, which is a condition of TMT’s conservation district use permit.
That resolution will also direct the UH administration to ask the Legislature for more funds for cultural education programs on Mauna Kea, as well as to construct a new learning center on the mountain.
The board will also vote on proposed administrative rules to manage Mauna Kea at their Nov. 6 meeting at UH Hilo.
