On January 5, 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower in his State of the Union Address commended Hawaii's experience in race and ethnic relations:

To the Islands, Asia and Europe and the Western Hemisphere, all the continents, have contributed their peoples and their cultures to display a unique example of a community that is a successful laboratory in human brotherhood.

In February of this year, John Miranda held his supervisor at gunpoint. During the ensuing hostage stand-off, Miranda charged that he, as a part-Hawaiian, suffered from racial discrimi nation when his haole supervisor fired him. Professors Ibrahim Aoude and Noel Kent of the University of Hawaii interpreted Miranda's acts as reflecting problems inherent in the "ethnic, race and class hierarchy in Hawai'i." UH's Professor Barringer decried his actions as being motivated by institutional racism.

Miranda's sentiments are not isolated. Two years ago in a public forum on racism in the Honolulu Advertiser, a reader wrote:

After two months of dealing with racism in an Oahu high school my 16-year-old daughter asked to drop out and start home-schooling. She will stay home rather than be treated like a "haole" at her school, where she has been physically attacked and received threats and insults.

Are these merely isolated incidents brought on by a confluence of coincidental factors? Or are these manifestations of disturbing trends which challenge race and ethnic harmony in Hawaii? Is it time to reappraise Hawaii's status as a multiethnic paradise?

The above questions are relevant to students of ethnic studies, yet they also have broader implications. For the college students from Hawai'i, the answers to these questions define their homeland. For current and future policy-makers, the answers should guide them in creating a social, political and legal framework to support the perpetuation of Hawaii's multicultural society. A conference on race and ethnic relations is an essential starting point in order to answer these vital questions which define Hawai'i today and Hawaii's tomorrow.

This conference," Mixed Plate: Is Hawai'i America's Tomorrow?" will bring together approximately 200 students from Hawai'i studying on the mainland along with those interested in Hawai i's experience. On Friday, February 7, 1997, the conference will begin with a panel discussion. On the following day the students will participate in small workshop discussions with our panelists. Each of our panelists can share a different perspective on issues relating to race and ethnicity in Hawai'i:

• Georgetown Law Professor Mari Matsuda is a renowned Asian-American jurist.

• Eric Chock, a founder of the Bamboo Ridge and local poet, can provide insights into views from local literature on these issues.

• Professor Franklin Odo is a nationally recognized historian of Asians in America and specializes in the history of the Japanese in Hawai'i.

• City Councilman Mufi Hanneman through his experience in state and city politics can provide insights into the role of race and ethnicity in local politics and economics.

• Associate Professor Gregory Mark of the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of Hawai'i specializing in criminology and race relations among Chinese Americans.

• Professor Puanani Burgess not only teaches urban and regional planning but also has been an advocate of Hawaiian rights.

• To gauge participants' thoughts and ideas on the current and future state of race and ethnic relations in Hawai'i.

• To discuss contributions Hawaii's experience may have on the understanding of race and ethnic relations in America.

• To provide students with enough information so that they may be able to better understand race and ethnic relations and the implications that it has on their own lives.

• To provide a place for students from Hawai'i and the around the world to learn and to celebrate Hawaii's culture.

The Harvard Hawaii Club and friends will provide housing for you over the weekend of the Conference. If you want campus rooming and have not indicated so earlier, please e-mail Weston Eguchi at eguchi@fas.harvard.edu as soon as possible with your name, school, sex and any other relevant information (friends at Harvard, number in group, medical considerations).

We will place you and up to two other people with hosts from Harvard, who in addition to providing you with plush accommodations (be sure to bring a sleeping bag) will let you into dorms and houses, most of which require card keys to enter. We'll e-mail your host information to you before you arrive, or give it to you at registration on Friday, February 7, 1997.

Parking for the conference will be in a special lot at 38 Oxford Street. The lot will be open for participants starting at 3 PM on Friday afternoon. Simply tell the guard that you are here for the Hawaii Club Conference. Parking in this lot will be free for the entire weekend. If you need to obtain parking before 3PM on Friday contact us as soon as possible so we can arrange something.

If you should get lost, the parking lot is close to Vanserg Hall, the Biology Labs and the Cyclotron. It is at the cross-section of Oxford and Everett Streets. The lot is a five minute walk from the conference site, and depending on your hosts' location will be anywhere from 10-20 minutes walking distance to their dorms.

We suggest to anyone traveling in a large group that you drop off your fellow travelers and their luggage in front of Lamont Library which is very close to Emerson, and then park. Harvard Shuttle Service should hopefully get you from Lamont to anywhere on campus.

February 7 (Friday): Conference Begins

3:00 PM		Participants can start parking at 38 Oxford Street
4 - 10 PM	Registration (1) in Emerson 106
7 - 10 PM	Opening Speeches, Ceremonies in Emerson 105
7:00-7:15	Welcoming Address
7:15-7:30	Keynote Address
7:30-8:30	Panelist Presentations
8:30-10:00	Panelist Discussion

February 8 (Saturday): Conference

9 AM - 5 PM 	Conference (2) Emerson 101, 104, 105, 106, 108, 210
9-9:30 AM	Continental Breakfast
9:30-10:15 AM	Guts on the Table
10:30-11:30 AM	Workshop I
11:45-12:45 PM	Workshop II
12:45-1:45 PM	Lunch Break
2:00-3:00 PM	Workshop II
3:15-4:15 PM	Workshop IV
4:15-5:00 PM	Closing Ceremony
5:00-6:00 PM	Freetime
6:00- 10:00 PM	Lu'au in Pforzheimer Dining Hall

February 9 (Sunday): Departure

1: Late Registration

If you know now that you will be arriving later than the scheduled registration times, please contact Weston Eguchi as soon as possible via e-mail at (eguchi@fas.harvard.edu). If for some reason you are delayed in transit and arrive at Harvard University after 10 PM please give Weston a call at (617) 493-3272 or Richard Lung at (617) 493-6257. Either of the two will get you both housing and conference materials.

2: Workshop Leaders

The Workshops will be led by Honolulu City Council Member Mufi Hanneman, Professor Franklin Odo, Professor Puanani Burgess, Professor Gregory Mark, and Poet Eric Chock. The titles and topics for each workshop will be distributed at registration.