 To think tech on OC16, Hawaii's weekly newscast on things that matter to tech and to Hawaii. I'm Emily Kern, an incoming junior at St. Andrews Priory. And I'm Elise Anderson. In our show this time, we'll cover the subject of the Ascension Day tradition at St. Andrews Priory, what it is and why it's important. This event is not well known to the public, but it's a big deal at the Priory. It takes more than six months of planning and effort from the people at the school. I ask exactly what is Ascension Day and why should we care about it? Well, there are two answers to that question. First, it's a day where the religious community celebrates the Ascension, you know, in the Bible. But it's also an historic celebration of the founding of the school by Queen Emma in 1867. Next spring, the Priory will be celebrating its 150th anniversary, a significant milestone for everyone associated with the school. On this special day, we cover a coral cross in Robinson Courtyard with flowers. It's an all-consuming project for the junior class at the school. When decorated, the cross is really something covered with brilliant colors and visuals that represent the event and the work of that junior class. It's a big tradition at the Priory. Each one is different with its own special design. This is no small task. It requires lots of effort, planning, determination, and a lack of sleep. From the music to the competitive decoration of the cross and the campus, it's always memorable. There is science involved. Lots of math, for example, in organizing the flowers in a meaningful and aesthetic way consistent with the design for that year. The event also calls for artistic and musical ability. Everyone has their own role in putting things together. We know we need to work together to get it done on time and to get it done right. Traditionally, Ascension Eve is the night the juniors stay over at the school in order to finish the job. They all look forward to that night. The work starts in November, but that's only the beginning. Huge numbers of flowers have to be ordered for the cathedral, the courtyard, and the school. It's a labor of love. The significance of Ascension Day to me is more in the sense of seeing it growing up because I've been here since fourth grade. I feel like it's more significant for daughters because they've been here since kindergarten. But usually it's because you see it so often growing up and you're like, wow, that's going to be me someday. Like I'm going to be a big kid. And then once you get up there and you're like, oh, wow, this is me. I'm on the stage. Like you never expect it to really happen to you. It's more of the kind of thing that happens far away. And you're like, wow, like, that's such a cool thing to do. And you never really think about yourself doing it. So I think the significance is kind of like a rite of passage almost to graduate. My advice for juniors wouldn't so much be in terms of the entire preparation, but more in terms of Ascension Eve or leading up to Ascension Day, which would be be flexible on the night of Ascension Eve. We found an extra bag of pink petals. And we weren't sure who ordered them. We weren't sure where they came from, where they were supposed to go. But it would have been a real waste if we had been like, well, nobody's designed called for it and we don't know who it is. So let's just throw it out because that's no one's. And the whole goal in Ascension Day is to not waste flowers because they're really expensive. So instead of just throwing them out and being like, well, no one called for them. The senior courtyard committee said, oh, we can use them for ours because we can do like a sort of entryway with them. So I think that kind of gave the courtyard a pop. So that's kind of what I'm talking about in the sense that being flexible can actually almost improve Ascension Day and the designs because then you're not so stuck on one point. The dedication is where the ceremony becomes more about the juniors giving the gifts to seniors. There are still bits and pieces of, oh, this is a religious ceremony. But it's less prominent than when you're in chapel. So for instance, after you give your typical welcome, good morning speech, then the people or person who designed the cross will come up and they'll explain what the cross means and that will have religious meaning because that's part of the criteria. So that's an example of how there are bits and pieces of religion in there, but it's also more about the cross, what it means to us. And of course, there's the gift of music. So juniors sing us on to the seniors, seniors sing us on to the juniors. Juniors give the seniors a gift. So that's more of where saying goodbye to the seniors comes into play. There is a lot of time and effort put into the cross. I would say we started thinking about Ascension Day, like the second quarter. And if you want to put it into a time perspective, it's like seven months. So it's very like time consuming, but in the end it's worth it. First, we chose the junior song and the junior song is picked by the student, the junior class submitting songs that they would like to sing on Ascension. And just like one day, we would go into Miss Donovan's room and vote on what song we would want to sing. Experiencing Ascension is something that is priceless. It's something that it's once in a lifetime and you'll remember it forever. I don't think I would ever forget what I experienced with my classmates. So just cherish the moment. Don't take anything for granted. Even when you're stressed out and breaking down, like that's something you can learn and you can always look back and be like, if I got through that, I can't get through anything. Ascension Day, as I understand it to be, is first and foremost the date according to the liturgical calendar that we celebrate Christ's Ascension into heaven. The next significance of that date, and again in accordance with the liturgical calendar, is that's the date that our school was founded by Queen Emma. And I love that it's the juxtaposition of the two, the intertwining of the two. It also symbolizes and signifies the coming together of our community and specifically the junior class and the senior class to celebrate Christ's Ascension, the founding of our school, Queen Emma and our Hawaiian heritage and sort of the passing of the torch from the junior class to the senior class or should I say the senior class to the junior class? Why should they want to come? Because it's a beautiful visual display of something that is abstract to many depicted in a concrete way with the visual depiction on the cross and the symbolism. And when you come, whether you are part of the school community or from outside the school community, you know that it's a cross that's been decorated and it's got beautiful colors, beautiful symbolism and there's something significant there. And even if you're not part of the immediate community and it's not central to your existence and your understanding of this community, you still feel and experience something beautiful and profound. This is way more than a religious or academic event. It's a gift giving event where the decoration is a gift from the junior class to the school and the seniors before they head off to college. The ceremony itself is built around that and after all these juniors will be the seniors of next year and they'd like to have the same send off from the class behind them. Both classes gather in music and song as the other classes watch from the floors above. It's touching for both classes and marks the end of the seniors' time at the school and the start of the next chapter in their lives. It likewise marks the advance of the junior class as they become seniors. This makes for great camaraderie not only on Ascension Day but in the years to come. As important as this tradition is to the priory and as dear as it is to the students, faculty, alumni and parents, it's not very well known in the community. That's why we wanted to make this movie so more people would be aware of the history of the school. Emily, you're going to be a junior next year. How do you feel about being involved in the 150th anniversary? I'm confident my class can make a priory cross that will do justice for the school's rich Hawaiian history, its roots in the Episcopal Church, and the quality of our experience there. For me, this celebration of the founding of the priory puts things into perspective. I think Queen Emma would be proud of the priory and its 150 years of educating the young women of Hawaii. Yes, we feel this is worth knowing about. If you'd like to learn more about the priory and its history and traditions, including the tradition of Ascension Day, you can visit standrewschools.org. My name is Emily Kurth, and I'm an incoming junior at St. Andrew's Priory in Honolulu and a think-tech summer intern. I applied to think-tech to learn more about video production. I have a passion for it. When I was in elementary school, I took a stop-motion animation class for two summers, which sparked my interest in filmmaking. When I entered sixth grade, I enjoyed making films and fun movies on my free time. Whenever I would go on a trip with my family, I was always filming videos to make them into an iMovie. It was, and still is, a hobby that I enjoy. When I was in eighth grade, I participated in PBS Hawaii's HIKI NŌ TV program, which is a statewide student news network. I started the project the summer going into eighth grade, with a friend who asked me to be a part of her project. The project was supposed to be completed during the summer, but it continued into the school year. HIKI NŌ required a huge commitment of time and effort, but I refused to give up. After about a year of planning, drafting, filming, and editing, my friend and I finally finished the project. Although our movie only played for two minutes and thirty seconds on HIKI NŌ, we worked very hard on it. It was an eye-opening experience for me that made me that much more passionate about making movies. I have a variety of other interests. I'm into art and also science. I've been an active participant in the Hawaii State Science Fair for two years, and I've been drawing and painting since I could hold a pencil. Quite the mix of interests, but these things keep me very busy. Although I don't know if I want to go into video production as a career, to explore the possibilities, I'm working as an intern to learn more about the field. So far, it has been very enjoyable, and I have learned a lot, not only about video production, but about important issues and events in Hawaii and the world. And for that, I'm grateful. I'm Emily Kurth. Thanks so much for watching. And now, let's take a look at our Think Tech calendar events going forward. Think Tech broadcasts its talk shows live on the internet from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Then we broadcast our earlier shows all night long, and some people listen to them all night long. If you missed a show or you want to replay or share any of our shows, they're all archived on demand on ThinkTechHawaii.com and YouTube. For our audio stream, go to ThinkTechHawaii.com slash radio. Visit ThinkTechHawaii.com for a weekly calendar and live stream on YouTube links, or better yet, sign up on our email list and get the daily docket of our upcoming shows. ThinkTech has a high-tech green screen studio at Pioneer Plaza. If you want to see it or be part of our live audience, or if you want to participate in our programs, contact Jay at ThinkTechHawaii.com. Help us raise public awareness on ThinkTech. Go ahead. Give us a thumbs up on YouTube or send us a tweet at ThinkTechHI. We'd like to know how you feel about the issues and events that affect our lives in Hawaii. We want you to stay in touch with us, and we'd like to stay in touch with you. Let's think together. ThinkTech now broadcasts more than 30 live talk shows every week. Here are some of the great shows we have. They're all for you, so take a look and join us through the week at ThinkTechHawaii.com. If you'd like to speak out on an issue or event, you can. We love the First Amendment, and we love hearing from our viewers. You can come down to our speaker's corner and make a video statement on the web. See ThinkTechHawaii.com. And you can also call in and join our talk shows live. While you're watching any of our shows, you can call in at 415-871-2474 and post a question or make a comment. Call in. We look forward to hearing from you. And now, here's this week's ThinkTech commentary. I am Marion Sasaki with this ThinkTechHawaii commentary. Le terror, or the reign of terror, was the period when the French Revolution got bloody. Really bloody. During the period between September 1793 and July 1794, the death toll of those deemed enemies of the Revolution numbered in the tens of thousands. It was all I could think of during the opening days of the Republican National Convention. I thought it was impossible to get any more dramatic with respect to the rise of the Republican nominee. We liken this candidate's message to that of Hitler and Mussolini, and to be sure his anti-immigration, anti-globalization, protectionist message resonates roundly with the disenchanted and disgruntled much as such fascism did among the disenfranchisers in the 1930s. Yet, it still seems shocking that millions of American citizens would have no problem deporting and preventing Muslims from residing in the United States, even those that were born here. Millions more have no problem building a wall on our border with Mexico to guard against entry by desperate undocumented aliens. Others applaud Donald Trump's vow to keep us safe, even though such a vow would probably engender more than the over 300 million guns already in use in the United States. One would have thought, I thought, we had reached a nadir of sorts where our basis, brute instincts, could hold no further sway over the populace at large. We could openly hate. We could deprive citizens of their constitutional rights much as we did with the Japanese in World War II. During the convention, much to my dismay, I was proven wrong, very wrong. The delegates and speakers at the National Republican Convention exhibited behavior so ugly, all I could do was hang my head in shame, fearful that the rest of the world, who let's face it have gone a little nuts as well, would discount the United States, the once bright beacon of a great republic as a nation of bloodthirsty rabble. It is no secret the Republican Party lies in disarray, its factions warring against each other. This was obvious in the lassitude of the speakers when it came to declaiming its candidates strong suits. Few besides the immediate family members of Donald Trump lauded his achievements. In fact, even they did not laud his achievements insofar as he actually has achieved very little. No, they, like their father, merely promised a better time, the best time, if only the populace would elect Donald Trump. So too, national and international concerns fell by the wayside during the convention. The powder keg that is turkey, the desolation that is Syria, the hopelessness of those in marred in an inert economy, those important political issues went largely unaddressed. What we were witness to, rather, was a crowd of speakers dedicated to the sole purpose of maligning Hillary Clinton. Their hatred was their unifying factor. During retired Lieutenant General Michael Flynn's speech, the delegates, nothing more than a lynch mob, began to chant, lock her up, lock her up, lock her up. Soon Flynn agreed, saying, lock her up. That's right. It's unbelievable. The mother of a victim of the Benghazi attack said, I blame Hillary Clinton personally for the death of my son as she choked back tears. When the crowd screamed out, Hillary for prison, Smith responded, that's right, Hillary for prison. She deserves to be in stripes. There was Chris Christie's call and response with the audience in which the only answer to guilty not guilty was guilty. There was Ben Carson's comparison of Hillary Clinton to Lucifer by way of Saul Alinsky. These meetings in no way resemble a political convention. It is a political convention completely devoid of politics, let alone the heavy burden of statesmanship. Like the reign of terror, it's a throng of discontents. During the reign of terror, the leaders exercise broad powers and use them to eliminate the internal and external enemies of the Republic. We should be very wary of a party that is willing to globally broadcast its unmitigated animosity toward a person, ignoring the ideas that are endemic to a civilized democracy. When I compared Donald Trump to the fascist, I thought, is this too far? Then I began to notice these comparisons were being made in publications far and wide. Now surely there are those who view my comparison of the Republicans thug-like crowd to the mobs of the French Revolution as a step too far. But if it is, we are rapidly approaching the point where it is not. We're approaching a point where there is only a maelstrom of chaos and bloodlust where one stood a mighty nation. I am Marion Sasaki with this Think Tech Hawaii commentary. We'll be right back to wrap up this week's edition of Think Tech, but first we want to thank our underwriters. That wraps up this week's edition of Think Tech. Remember you can watch Think Tech on OC-16 several times every week. Can't get enough of it? Just like Elise does. For additional times, check out OC-16.tv. For lots more Think Tech videos and for underwriting and sponsorship opportunities on Think Tech, visit ThinkTechHawaii.com. Be a guest or a host, a producer or an intern and volunteer to help us reach Hawaii. Thanks for being part of our Think Tech family and supporting our open discussion of tech, energy, diversification and globalism in Hawaii. You can watch this show throughout the week and tune in next Sunday evening for our next important weekly episode. I'm Emily Kurth. And I'm Elise Anderson. Aloha everyone.