California Lutheran University is filled with a ton of clubs throughout the campus, but if  there’s one club in particular that you should consider checking out, it is the Kupa’a Hawai’i club. The club is run by President Cody Tavares, and Vice-Presidents Kehau A’i and Pau Mo’kini-Oliveira.

Being that Tavares, A’i and Mo’kini-Oliveira are all from Oahu, the club itself brings a bond between each of them and the other members in the club that are from Hawaii.

“One of the perks coming in as a freshman was knowing that there’s a good solid group of people out here that are from home,” Mo’kini-Oliveira said. “It’s not as bad being away from home because we are all in the same situation.”

Interested students can sign up for the club by checking out their Facebook group which is called Kupa’a Hawai’i Club 14-15, or by signing up on Cal Lutheran’s clubs and organizations web page. Tavares said the Kupa’a Hawai’i Club has the most members out of all the clubs on campus.

“We primarily try to use our Facebook as much as we can and people that signed up with us already are pretty much connected to that, so it’s pretty much up to them or you guys to get involved because we have these events and we want more people to come and just have a good time,” Mo’kini-Oliveira said.

Mo’kini-Oliveira said you don’t have to be from Hawaii in order to join the club.

“That’s a common misconception. We definitely want people to come out and have a good social time,” Mo’kini-Oliveira said.

According to Tavares, on top of the Kupa’a Hawai’i Club having the most members out of all clubs, they also hold the largest student-run events on campus, one of which is called the Kupa’a Hawai’i Club Luau which is set to take place on April 9 at 5:30 p.m. at the Grace Hall basketball courts.

“We serve L&L Barbecue.We have to get a different band this year, but we’re going to have dancing and music,” Tavares said. “If we can’t get a band we are going to get a Tahitian group to come dance for us.”

Tavares said the event usually attracts up to 350 to 400 people. They work with Admissions to help get incoming students to come to the luau, so people who are thinking about coming to Cal Lutheran see what they are all about.

Prior to this event, the club also holds other small events such as Musubi Madness, which will take place on March 12.  At the event you can either make or eat Musubi and ask questions about the club.

According to Tavares, every Thursday night at 9:30 p.m. they have dance practice for the luau,  leading up to the event on April 9 where people can choose to dance or not.

The club also has a field trip to a Poke Bar in Costco. A Poke Bar is made up of seasoned raw fish and there are different spices. According to Tavares, this food is very popular in Hawaii and they plan to share it with people who haven’t tried it yet.

According to A’i, joining the Kupa’a Hawai’i Club will be very beneficial to you if you are thinking about signing up.

“You get to learn about the life, we get to eat good food and we’re just fun people to be around,” A’i said.

If you’re interested in joining the Kupa’a Hawai’i Club, club meetings are held in the classrooms located upstairs in the Gilbert Sports Arena on Thursdays during chapel hours at 11:25 a.m.

Randall Shumpert
Staff Writer
Published March 11, 2015