Full List Released

UH has released the full Sugar Bowl travel list.

UH spokesman Gregg Takayama said the school released the entire list after receiving an opinion last week from the Office of Information Practices that the university could not withhold names of people who were on the Sugar Bowl travel list.

Gerald Kato, a University of Hawai'i journalism professor, called the controversy an unnecessary public relations nightmare. The names should have been disclosed early on because the trip involved state funds and the list was public record, he said.

"I'm surprised that the university dragged its feet in releasing the information," said Kato. "The worst part of this delay in releasing the information is that it makes it seem like they have something to hide."

The reason why the 45 names were blacked out in the first place is discussed in this Dave Reardon article.

HGEA Executive Director Randy Perreira said the employees were in New Orleans to work, and the union's request to black out the names was to discourage "scrutiny, including 'why he went and why he didn't go.'"

"Granted, it's an assignment no one would turn down, but the bottom line is they were going for a purpose," he added. "Our organization was not seeking to protect their (UH's) interest. Our interest was to maintain confidentiality for our employees. We didn't want to see employees subjected to questions like 'Why'd you get to go?'"

Stephen Tsai talks to Perreira as well as athletic director Jim Donovan.

"There are probably several lessons to be learned here, but first and foremost, we need to go back and figure out a better way to get accurate information out," athletic director Jim Donovan said. "Even though I wasn't involved in setting the policy or determining who would go, during my term, we will be committed to correcting this situation and doing things right.