It’s no surprise that people sometimes pander to those with power over doing what is right for institutions and the public. It is, however, disappointing and distasteful when those in the public eye attempt to cover up that behavior.

In an April 17 Honolulu Star-Advertiser commentary, writing in their capacities as individuals, University of Hawaii Board of Regents Gabriel Lee, Neil Abercrombie and Lauren Akitake went out of their way to claim they are not unduly influenced by legislators (“UH not unduly swayed by Legislature,” Island Voices). This insulted the intelligence of many UH faculty.

Claiming to be advocates of responsible fiscal management and open communication, the authors explained it is not unfair or improper for them to welcome questions about the UH administration from elected officials, and that UH administrators are obligated to provide straightforward explanations on how public funds are being used.

The discourse of their defense was clear: Nothing unsavory to worry about. We’re just doing our jobs and making sure the UH administration does its job.

Their noble-sounding commentary has created more angst for faculty. Based on their own admission, we must be mindful that email and text messages from legislators are shaping the direction and tone of Board of Regents activities and actions. All those who care about the UH, academic freedom, research and quality teaching must be much more vigilant to safeguard the university. Every proposed action and decision of the Board of Regents must now be heavily scrutinized.

Our concerns as faculty are based on what we observed in a Senate informational meeting held earlier in the legislative session. The UH administration came prepared to present their budget requests for the year, but the entire meeting was derailed by certain senators intent on exposing alleged mismanagement of Hale Noelani, a dorm on the Manoa campus that has not been in use because of its deteriorating condition. Certain senators seemed appalled at the situation.

The subject dominated news headlines, but no one, including those on the Board of Regents, noted that an audit of UH dormitories conducted in 2007 — more than 15 years earlier — revealed a great need for maintenance. Sen. Donna Kim, who has been the chair of the Senate Committee on Higher Education since 2019, did nothing to address this issue.

She did not acknowledge a shared responsibility for the condition of the dorms and no one held her accountable for failing to fix this in the five years she has served as chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee. Shame on those regents — who did not do their homework — and others who bought into the narrative that blame rests solely on the UH administrators.

We hoped the Board of Regents would begin to take the UH forward in executing the strategic plan developed by UH President David Lassner and his team, but the lapses in judgment of certain regents give us pause.

A lingering question now haunts faculty: Can all of the regents be trusted to act in the best interests of the University of Hawaii without undue influence from legislators? We must keep a wary eye especially on those who claim to be operating independently.

Karla Hayashi is director of Kilohana: The Academic Success Center at University of Hawaii-Hilo and president of the University of Hawaii Professional Assembly board of directors; Sarita Rai is director of the Study Abroad Program at the University of Hawaii-Mānoa and UHPA board treasurer.