By Lexus Yamashiro | Staff Writer

The shock that second-year student Tara Iwalani Clayton felt to hear her name called for having her academic research paper published stuck with her throughout the Board of Student Publication’s (BOSP) Journal Release Party Thursday afternoon.

Being that it was her first time ever being published for anything, the Hawaiian Studies major said that getting recognized for her work was a proud accomplishment.

Several copies of the Ka Hue Anahā and Lēʻahi journals were handed out to those who got published. (Photo by Lexus Yamashiro)

“I said ‘Wow, this would be a great way of sharing it with others if it got selected’ and it was a research project I was proud of,” Clayton said. “It was a research project I thought made a statement.”

Titled “Hawaiian Marriage and Procreation in Pre-Contact Hawaiʻi,” her academic paper focuses on the misconceptions that people had and continue to view on ancient Hawaiian relationships. As intermarriage such as brothers courting with sisters occurred within the royal lineage, Iwalani provides clarification throughout her essay of why this happened in Hawaiʻi’s past.

Clayton was one of 13 students to get published in the Ka Hue Anahā Journal of Academic Research & Writing. Expressing that her confidence has increased after seeing her work printed in the journal, she thinks back to her time in ENG 272M when Professor Porscha dela Fuente initially encouraged her to submit her essay in to be considered.

“She kind of unlocked a lot of major difficulties that I always viewed as barriers to my writing and actually made me feel like something that I thought was overwhelming I could take on now with more confidence, more passion,” Clayton said.

Travis Tiqui, a third-year student majoring in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Art, was another published author like Iwalani who was inspired by his professor, Carl Jennings, to submit an academic piece to the journals.

“He said ‘Oh, this is really good, you should publish it into the journal’ so I decided to do it,” said Tiqui, who took Jennings for his IS 161 Introduction to Creative Thinking course. “It feels surreal, kind of unreal [to be published]. I would never think my work would be published into a book, I always feel like it’s not good enough.”

Tiqui, who submitted a poem titled “Picture,” was published into the Lēʻahi Creative Arts Journal which is comprised of creative writing pieces and artwork. His poem was one of 46 published pieces that have been submitted by 35 students.

With students recognized for their work and receiving either a flask or power bank for their accomplishments, BOSP chair Nicole Pomare said that hosting the event was an incredible moment for students to be proud of.

“Not a lot of people get published and I think it’s pretty cool that they get to see their names in an academic journal,” Pomare said. “We want them to recognize themselves and also give them support.”

The next submission periods for the Ka Hue Anahā and Lēʻahi journals will begin in Fall 2019 along with a third journal to consider entering: the Pueo o Kū Journal of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Pueo o Kū focuses specifically on research writing from the STEM field, giving students a chance to share their findings through a project they worked on before. A specific timeline for the submission periods will be announced in fall.

Beginning Monday, students, faculty, and staff will be able to pick up copies of the Ka Hue Anahā and Lēʻahi journals from the ʻIliahi, ʻIlima, Kalia, and Lama buildings.