Sons, daughters, or cousins of ‘Iolani? Pro: 13 years of memories

Tiana Bohner
April 15, 2009
Filed under Editorials, Top Stories

We are not the exception to the “One Team” motto.  But we are Sons and Daughters because we literally grew up at ‘Iolani and in Lower School where all of our school day memories lie. 

I do not think I am any more special just because I could hold a decent phone conversation and drew a nice cat for the admission director when I was five, and thus was deemed a child with exceptional potential.

It’s not all about preserving the tradition either, though that is always raised as a key point.  The true argument is in that after next year I will have thirteen years worth of memories from ‘Iolani, and people will still insist that I do not deserve to call myself a Daughter because it’s too exclusive.  The issue is time.  More time at “Iolani does not necessarily mean more special treatment, I understand that.  But over the thirteen years that Sons and Daughters have spent at ‘Iolani, relationships with students and teachers have been established, which can never be duplicated elsewhere. 

For those of you who came to ‘Iolani in middle or high school, you still don’t forget your elementary school or the people who made it memorable and in that same way, each year, an amalgamated group of Sons and Daughters are tied together.  I know many of you still have class reunions with your elementary schools and are still best friends with the first person you met in Kindergarten so any gatherings we have are just the same and are no more prestigious than yours. 

People criticize Baccalaureate for being an event, which only highlights the memories of Sons or Daughters, but in reality anyone can tell a story if he or she wants to.  We are not limiting the stories to only ones about Lower School nor are we bombarding you with our stories and inside jokes, which we know you will never understand.  In fact, if you are not from Kindergarten but you tell at story at Baccalaureate, I’d listen.  I may not understand the nuances of your story, but it’d probably be more interesting than hearing for the fourth time, the story of how in third grade a boy ate worms for a dollar.

The only other things that sets us apart are where we stand during the “Burning of the I” and the pin we wear at graduation.  No one judges you based on when you came into ‘Iolani or thinks less of you because you don’t know any of the Lower School teachers.   

I emphasize that we do not preserve the traditions for the Sons and Daughters simply because our parents paid over 10 grand a year because honestly, I’m sure many parents of non-Sons or Daughters offer more support and show more dedication

In the end, the entitlements given to Sons and Daughters are not rooted in the claim that we’ve paid more tuition or that we were lucky to be admitted in Kindergarten.  The traditions which we uphold, like the “Burning of the I”, are not for the sake of making student feel less connected to ‘Iolani, because someday we will all be alumni of this school, whether we were here from Kindergarten or just started as Juniors.  The title and the traditions are just a little ways for the Sons and Daughters to pay tribute to our years together and the school, which cared for us for thirteen years.