The Barometer Online

Issue date: 3/15/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Luke Wenker Ika Fifita, an OSU Transit and Parking Services employee since 1979, is a well-known and beloved character on campus. His house is also a well-known spot for students looking for the occasional lunchtime meal or place to stay.

On the corner of N.W. 29th St. and N.W. Harrison Blvd. sits a white house with blue shutters wrapped in a picket fence. A stone walkway winds up beyond the swinging gate. In the yard are toys and a swing set. Red stairs lead to the front door where a red sign reads "The Fifitas".

Inside the home of Ika Fifita - which also serves as a day care - six children play hide-and-seek.

The smell of grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches seeps from the kitchen as his wife of 38 years, Susan, cooks for OSU freshman linebacker, Walker Vave - a frequent visitor of the Fifitas - and her children.

Dressed in a bright flowered shirt, Ika reveals his love for helping others and his lifetime commitment to service, a proud Tongan accent lingering on his speech.

Ika has been employed as a campus patrol officer for the OSU Transit and Parking services since December 1979.

Upon entering the MU, one may notice Ika's home country flag at the top of the stairs, red, with a bold red cross on a white rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner.

Ika, native of the Tonga Islands in the Pacific, moved to Corvallis in 1965.

"I have been here for a long time," Ika said. "Eventually I got to put my flag up on the wall. I really wanted Tonga to be represented."

"I write your tickets," Ika said with a smile. "But mainly I enforce and inform where students and faculty members can park … I also monitor the meters."

Ika is easily recognizable on duty, his white truck always adorned with a lei around the rearview mirror.

"I have that in my truck to constantly remind me of where I came from and why we do what we do," Ika said. "It reminds me of Tonga."

Ika, who graduated from Liahona High School in the Tonga Islands, originally came to the United States as a missionary with his Mormon church. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where he met his wife Susan. He graduated with degrees in business and accounting.

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