Newsmaker
Monday, May 19, 1997
Name: C. Mamo Kim
Age: 47
Position: UH-Manoa student body president, 1997-1998
Education: Hawaiian studies major
Pastimes: Theater and family
Mamo Kim is not what you might expect from the next student body president at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. A nontraditional leader
Kim, 47, a Hawaiian studies senior, has worked as an actress in Hollywood, in the music industry with CBS Records and has lived in London. The mother of two - ages 22 and 2 - is known in other circles as Colette M, a psychic and a healer.
While her work as a psychic was a big part of her life, Kim hopes people won't confuse it with her commitment as a student leader. She returned to Manoa in 1994 after a 25-year absence.
"College is much more meaningful for me now, and I'm not just like this rebel running around," she said. "I really have a place to put my angst as well as my energy."
She will lead the 38-member Associated Students of the UH, the student government. Kim, one of 10 students who successfully ran under a "native Hawaiian slate" last month, felt it was her time to contribute, a task she compares to house cleaning.
"Its sort of like when you know the bathroom needs to be clean and no one's going to clean it. That's the way I feel. It's my turn to clean the bathroom."
While she feels there are many things wrong with the university, she knows the student association must tackle them one at a time. For starters, she proposes offering minority scholarships to students whose grade-point averages prevent them from receiving such awards. She said students who work two jobs while attending classes full-time have a harder time maintaining a "B" average than those who live with their parents and don't pay rent or other living expenses.
"So it's not really fair," Kim said. "If they could drop one of their jobs, they might get a 'B' average. I kind of want to bring that up because many, many students here have more than one job."
Other plans are to publish student evaluations of faculty on the Internet and in books so students can review faculty performance before registering for classes. Communication among students and with the UH administration is another goal, she said.
Pat Omandam, Star-Bulletin
