Student Activities Office changes

Katherine Lum
July 7, 2010
Filed under Features

There will be no Student Body Treasurer or Mr. Kirk Uejio, the Student Activities Director, next year.

For the student-elected office of Student Body Treasurer (SBT), the Business Office will be taking over the responsibilities normally done by the SBT.

Senior Jennifer Kimura, the current Student Body Treasurer, said that the SBT is a “middle-man between the business office and all club, class, and committee treasurers.”  With this transfer of responsibilities, it will be more efficient because of the direct relationship between the Business Office and the treasurers.

“The amount of financial activity in the SAO [Student Activities Office] has grown considerably,” Mr. Uejio said.  “We thought it would be safer and more responsible to have a professional handling our funds (which often exceeds $100,000).”

He added that this transfer has absolutely “NOTHING to do with the work of the current SBT, Jen Kimura,” who actually had to do more work than the average Student Body Treasurer.

Then, there is Mr. Uejio.  Next year, he will be leaving for sabbatical.

“I will be spending most of the school year in San Francisco to be with my wife who moved there in September,” Mr. Uejio said.  “While in California, I will be visiting schools, researching, traveling, and trying to develop a plan for a more structured leadership program at `Iolani.  I also will be enrolling in a UH master’s program during this summer and next summer.”

Kira Tamashiro ‘05 will be the Student Activities Director during Mr. Uejio’s sabbatical.  She was a state champion in three sports, class president for four years and recently graduated from Claremont McKenna College.  Mr. Uejio said that she is a “bundle of wonderful energy.”

Although Mr. Uejio did say that everybody will not want him back after they see Tamashiro, “Mr. U is always coming up with new ways to help out the ‘Iolani community,” senior Chris Geiger said, one of the three current procounsels who help plan the year’s activities.

Kimura also said that Mr. Uejio “pushes you to work hard and plan ahead because the Proconsuls and SBT have a big responsibility of trying to be good role models for students” while also planning activities to make a memorable year.