Change is upon us, as Americans demonstrated when they elected Barack Obama as the country’s next president.

His victory as the United States’ first African-American president is being heralded as symbolic of changing racial attitudes.

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Here are some important dates for enrolling next semester:

• Register online via myuhportal.hawaii.edu.

• Regular registration runs now through Jan. 11

• Counselor registration appointments for all students begin Monday, Nov. 17. Call 235-7413

• Late registration runs Jan. 12 to 16.

Tuition is due by Jan. 2, 2009 for those who have registered up to that date; after that, tuition is due at the time of registration.

WCC will offer some exciting courses this spring, ranging from archaeoastronomy to video editing. Here are some highlights to help you plan your schedule.

BOT 205: Ethnopharmacognosy

Pre-reqs: Credit or registration in one of the following (BOT 101, BOT 105, BOT 130, MICR 130, MICR 140, BIO 172/L, CHEM 152/L)

MW 1:30 p.m. – 4:15 p.m.

The course focuses on learning to research medicinal and nutritional properties of plants for use in product manufacturing. It is one of the required courses to fulfill the Academic Certificate in Plant Biotechnology. Students will gain knowledge and experience in pharmaceutical research and bioproduct manufacturing. It is for those who wish to become entrepreneurs or to transfer to four-year degree institutions majoring in pharmacy or biotechnology-related fields. One of the required textbooks this semester was written by the BOT 205 Spring 2008 class.

This course is offered only in the spring semester and is dependent on the number of students declaring their major in plant biotechnology. It will be taught by Ingelia White.

In terms of U.S. history, Nov. 4, 2008 will be remembered as the day everything changed.

That day marks Barack Obama’s election as the first African-American president of the United States.

So in this time of transition, what can we look forward to over the next few months and the next several years? That all depends on Obama fulfilling his campaign promises, said WCC political science professor Roy Fujimoto.

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Self-awareness and personal discretion are a must when dealing with email and the Internet. That was the message from Chris Duque, a technology consultant and former police officer, at WCC’s Tech Talk 2008 last month.

The modern computer is only a tool, he said, adding, “Just like a handgun, law enforcement carries them, but so do criminals.”

The presidential election wasn’t the only political hoopla this fall.

WCC’s newly elected 2008 ASUH officers include: president Casey-Blu Judd; vice-president Michele Navarro Ishiki; student activities coordinator James “Jimbo” Medeiros; treasurer Sean Doyle; and senators Alicia Kalahiki, Aron Rogerson, Laurie Loa, Makaha’a Wolfgramm Michael-Ann Fellez and Nakaieha “Kai” Kaulupali.

This year, crowds of creatures were lured from the dark recesses of Kaneohe to enjoy WCC\'s Haunted Village. View the photo gallery to see some the best-dressed characters.

Paliku Auditions Set

Auditions for “The Wind in the Willows” directed by Ron Bright will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 18 and Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at Palikū Theatre. They are open only to current and former WCC students.

Participants will be asked to read from the script and to sing a song, which they should bring sheet music for. An accompanist will be provided.

Rehearsals will be held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights from 6:30 to 9 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. from Dec. 2-13 and Jan. 6-Feb. 2.

Performances are Feb. 2-6 at 9 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., Saturday Feb. 7 and 14 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday Feb. 8 and 15 at 2 p.m.

For scripts and further information, contact Ben Moffat in Pālanakila Room 138, 236-9138 or email ben517@hotmail.com.

Every day he leaves his office with a red binder in hand, passing by a large, gold-framed, 1892 explorer’s map hanging on the wall. The clicking of his shoes echoes against the high ceilings as he climbs two sets of stairs and heads towards the classroom at the end of a large empty hall.

As he enters the room, any worry or feeling of tiredness leaves him as he glances at the faces of students who are eager to learn.

If you like being near the ocean, this is the class to be in,” said Michael Ah Chong, a student in WCC’s Polynesian Voyaging and Seamanship class and lab.

This course, which has been offered at WCC since 1995, recruited Ka‘iulani Murphy, a protégé of Hawaiian navigator Nainoa Thompson to team-teach the class with Hawaiian studies assistant professor Liko Hoe.

Pumpkins were seen flying out of ‘Akoakoa building the day before Halloween. One pumpkin rolled down the hill, appearing to be possessed and ended up next to a car below ‘Alakai.

The goal was to break the pumpkin into as many pieces as possible by hurling it into the air with a sheet.

If you’re wondering what to do after college and want to travel the world or learn a foreign language, you might consider becoming a Peace Corps volunteer.

Established in 1961 by President John Kennedy, the Peace Corps has worked to promote understanding between countries and address global needs.

Most people see surfers as having laid-back attitudes, not thinking of anything except surfing the perfect wave. And when they’re not surfing, people think they’re partying it up at some beach house.

But that stereotype doesn’t apply to Surfing The Nations (STN), a non-profit humanitarian organization of surfers who help communities in Hawai‘i, as well as other countries such as Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and China, just to name a few. While there, the group finds ways to meet the needs of the community they’re living in during the time they are there.

The holiday season brings a multitude of joyous activities. But even with a full plate, who doesnʻt crave a good flick? Hunger not, movie junkies! A film smorgasbord, dripping with cinema gravy goodness, is waiting to be devoured.

In this great feast, there will be animated films to whet the appetite, sci-fi flicks to intrigue the senses, a hearty main course of action and adventure, and a finale of comedic delights. Have a sample of what\'s to come.

The holiday season is upon us once again and, inevitably, the hassles of shopping as well. Do you have that one person who is impossible to buy for? WCC’s Pot Sale fundraiser just may be your answer.

The sale will be in the Pālanakila 216 ceramic studio Friday, Dec. 12 and Saturday, Dec. 13 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Gallery ‘Iolani will be selling a variety of arts and crafts at this year’s fundraiser, “A Christmas Fantasy 2008.”

Previous sale items have included prints, paintings, photographs, handmade jewelry, greeting cards, wood carvings, ornaments, etched glass, silk scarves and more.

All items are of high quality and handmade by WCC students, faculty, staff and their families.

The fundraiser will be held Nov. 29-30 and Dec. 4-7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, contact Audrey Chang at 235-1218 or email audrichang@yahoo.com, or Mary Stock at 262-9433 or email stockm001@hawaii.rr.com.

Personally, I have not experienced any racial prejudice, but I have witnessed it. (But) I believe that in Hawai‘i we are more accepting of others and their cultures.

Improving the situation is tricky because racism is something that is instilled in you. So to improve we need to teach the young to love and respect and show the old that there is no need for racism.

–Janna Hirasaki

I never really came across racial prejudice in Hawai‘i. Not even in school because most of the kids were Polynesian like me. On the mainland, I experienced something just because I had brown skin.

–Anonymous

There have been a few situations where I attended Filipino functions with my relatives and I got dirty glares from darker-skinned Filipinos around my age because I’m only half Filipino and very light-skinned.

To them, I was not considered Filipino. But I have received opposite reactions, especially around my grandma’s friends who think my light skin is pretty.

–Jennifer Ragunton

Windward Community College’s population has grown in recent years with a “chick, chick here and a chick, chick there.” It is almost impossible to step outside a classroom or walk to your car without seeing and hearing a G. gallus domesticus (chicken) as it free-ranges around campus.

Chickens are an unusual feature for a college campus, to be sure, but then WCC is no ordinary campus. Tucked against the Ko‘olau Mountains and receiving regular rainfall, the campus’s lush vegetation is a regular resort for the comical birds.

The Halloween atmosphere is usually scary, but it can also bring out the kid in you. That was the case Oct. 31 when several WCC departments picked a decade to represent with something significant to that era.

The coordinators–Lara Kong, Shannon Lono and Elizabeth Hale–wanted to do something fun for the faculty, staff and students at WCC. “We wanted to get the whole campus involved,” said Kong.

You’re down to the last sip of your drink, your next instinct is to throw away the bottle, but there is no recycling bin to be found. You then think, “Why aren’t there more recycling bins on campus?”

There is a way for your voice to be heard: simply join the Ecology Group.