The poor marks reflect both arrogance and a lack of understanding of how important these issues are. We all know that the state and the university face economic challenges and dilemmas. But we also need to find sustainable, culturally appropriate ways of developing and growing our university. We must honor our commitments to the native Hawaiian people. The thorny issues regarding classified research or the development of sensitive, proprietary and other secret information at a public institution need to be more fully addressed. The risks, hazards, threats and missed opportunities because we've lurched toward an economic opportunity need to be balanced against our longer-term interests and future.

We need to continue scrutinizing proposals such as UARC and encouraging real, open deliberation. We should set an example in terms of not just learning, but also developing processes for handling controversial subject matter.