Somebody couldn't resist the wet cement.

A patch of sidewalk near the East-West Center at the University of Hawai'i bears the words, "Kauai High School Class of 1970."

Either that stretch of sidewalk has been untouched for nearly 40 years or somebody is taking a really long time to graduate.

At UH, either option is plausible. The Manoa campus is a mishmash of buildings, some absolutely gorgeous, most threadbare and, frankly, dirty.

Likewise, completing the requirements for an undergraduate degree is legendarily difficult. In the 1980s, the joke was if you could get your four-year degree in six years, you must have transferred in your credits.

The new president, M.R.C. Greenwood, has her work cut out for her.

At a convocation ceremony Tuesday, Greenwood spoke specifically about the physical condition of the campuses, saying, "We must maintain and increase our investment in infrastructure" including finding more public-private partnerships, fundraising and grant-writing.

It's good she noticed, but it would be hard not to. Peeling paint, crumbling cement, rusting metal, ancient remnants of Scotch tape — and that's just the ladies' room. Maybe having amenities like lit stairwells or working clocks in each classroom seems extravagant, but portions of the campus, for example, the Japanese tea garden, manage to be carefully maintained.

That scrawl in the sidewalk also speaks to some of the university's strengths, namely the students who came from all over to proudly wear the green and white. Legions of Hawai'i's leaders are University of Hawai'i graduates, and some of their fondest and most significant identity-forming moments happened on campus. My colleagues often talk about writing for Ka Leo, the student newspaper. My father proudly tells the story of getting a D from professor Shoji (Dave's father) because it was the highest grade in the notoriously tough grader's class.

But also, that bit of sidewalk graffiti speaks to the enthusiasm of a student so excited to be at UH-Manoa that he was determined to leave his mark. That is the best thing about Manoa, the energy flowing on campus, the excitement of learning, the drive to succeed.

To be able to do that in a nice building and get a bachelor's in four, maybe five years would be great.

Lee Cataluna's column runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Reach her at 535-8172.