P U B L I C
Icebreaker Interview
J A N U A R Y 2 6
P R E S T O N A N C H E T A
Going up to strangers is always challenging for me. I always try to avoid it in any way. But since this is an assignment, I forced myself to interview people and this is what I got.
Keilani Amascual
What was your experience over the holidays or the past few months with prices, and inflation?
I feel like the holidays or just the past few months in general have felt weird, but I didn’t really think of the reason for that would be because of the inflation.
What are your feelings about the economy? How has it impacted you?
I feel like the economy is somewhat a complicated thing to understand but I know that eventually I’ll have to understand when I continue to grow up. It’s impacted me even before I was even born, and especially now everyday. Peoples actions (especially like someone in the government) affect not only me, but everybody else.
Blaze Calizo
What was your experience over the holidays or the past few months with prices, and inflation?
The holiday season was quite rough on my family, my mother had to get eye surgery which took her out of commission for 2 months and she still isn't working and she's the main contributor to the household, my father and I work but we didn't get much for Christmas, I tried to play the role of Santa this past holiday season but couldn't spend at the lengths I had wanted to because of worries I'd overspend.
What do you think about the food at UH? What are your opinion about the quality, variety and affordability?
I think the food is good but with the establishments I frequent I worry with how costly items are, I only ever eat on campus maybe once/twice a week so I don't spend much on food but I worry for the students who have to rely on said establishments as their main source of food. Unsure if accommodations can be made to lower the prices of food, but I'm sure there are systems in place to support the students attending Manoa.
Do you have any feelings about housing for the UH community? What are your thoughts about the quality and affordability, as someone who either goes to school here, or works here?
I don't dorm but I've friends who do who've stopped because of how expensive it is/other reasons, I can't comment much but I do wish there were maybe more resources to accommodate to students who wish to dorm but maybe can't afford the full price tag of dorming.
Kimberlyn Agacir
What are your feelings about the economy? How has it impacted you?
I feel like the economy right now is broken with much to be fixed. Over the years, the economy has progressively gotten worse and worse. The government has tried to relieve the government in numerous ways such as stimulus packages and attempting to pay college debt. However, these actions are only temporary fixes and are for short-term benefits. As the government attempts to intervene in the economy, the worse off it is.
What was your experience over the holidays or the past few months with prices, and inflation?
I’ve had a bad experience this past holiday season. I aimed to keep my budget under $500 to buy gifts for my loved ones but unfortunately that did not happen due to the high cost of goods. This caused me to overspend and (literally) almost go in debt. Even prior to the holiday season, I feel like the prices have been ridiculously high and are completely different to prices from a decade ago. Especially living in Hawai’i, cost of living is so high that sometimes people can’t afford simple groceries.
What's been your recent experience with the job market?
I work for American Eagle and they are always open to hiring new people. I was one of the individuals who easily got hired because of a shortage of employees. On top of that, I’ve seen numerous people quit their job at this company for valid reasons. From my observation, I know that there is a high unemployment rate due to the amount of vacancies across all businesses.
