Interview 27

S: I think this is a really important one, because it connects our organization with the community.

Okay, does that work requires your physical presence to the campus, or do? Can you work remote in a remote area.

S: So like, you know, there’s a day we don’t have good air quality, like when there’s a heavy wind, you know. Dust is everywhere. Do you have some flexibility to work at your home to by having excuse from your manager.

S: Okay, can you walk us through a typical day for you, including your working hours and outside of your working hours after your work.

With our cars coming through and so you know, we have that that trip to Cal State, and we are there for about 8 h or so. We were actually also both students. So we are on campus. We’re graduate students in the masters of public administration program. And so just depending on now, we’re off for summer. But in any case. But for my day coming into the office emails, administrative work again, speaking on the phone communication, occasionally running and running errands. To like the print shop student affairs anywhere on campus.

I would say, when it’s I’m particularly. A little more sensitive to the heat. And especially and even more so now that we’re starting out, I’ve always lived in Bakersfield my whole life born and and raised here, and every summer for me the air quality is is worse. And it affects me in that you know, headaches, migraines, that sort of thing.

It is a yeah, it can be a little difficult. But I would say one thing, that a mode of transportation for our department or for our division. We have a golf cart, so we’re not having to always walk across campus because you can. I’m surprised no one’s passed out by the time they get from University Advancement, Kegley Center all the way to like student Recreation Center, because there’s almost like no shade. So. You’re really walking. And and really, in the depths of of the heat and the air quality that’s around. So but mostly, yeah, just walking around campus. If if I need to do any sort of errands, run and and speak with anyone, any of our campus partners, and or I would say. The majority of my work, though, is inside.

S: How about after your work? Do you jog or walk outside.

S: Okay? So you said, you were born and raised in you know, current county Bakersfield and from your long history of your years, observing the air quality in Bakersfield? Did air quality improve, or or the quality decrease over time, or just consistent.

so that probably was just kind of a tag along with what the climate was here, the air quality so growing up, I would say, you know, gas emissions, that sort of thing. Those probably in the eighties, I would say, probably weren’t. As there weren’t probably as many regulations. So I would say, compared from there to now, I would think it’s more improved. the emissions in California. I would say also, just as a for context, I did go to Europe once. I’m not very well traveled, but I did go, and it’s we definitely take for granted here when we sit in traffic. And it’s it’s almost as if you don’t know that there’s a car in front of you. You know I was in Spain, and I was like the petrol was just in my face.

Okay, you know, or the cigarette smoke is in your face, and it’s like, okay, you know. So we don’t notice it here. But what we do notice. I I think you know there’s probably room for improvement for still clearing up the air, but I would say that in California or in Kern County I think it’s better. But we can still do better.

S: Okay, I think we are aligned with that point. So, looking back, we’ll just say you’re thinking so. Were there any critical moment or experiences that changed your mind regarding the air quality.

My! You’ll be speaking with my husband in the next day or so, but my husband also has, he’s been tested for like valley fever, and though they haven’t been able to find it, he has a consistent cough. And there I wasn’t able to find anything online. But there’s kind of like a rumor, or just like, just kind of something going around that basically just says, Oh, if you’re not from Bakersfield or Current county. You’re going to develop a cough. They’ll just always have that cough.

but I do know also that there, especially where we live in Oildale with the oil emissions. Sorry we have. We have a plumber here at the house. Sorry? there are the emissions that are that are. You can see from the oil refineries that are nearby, nearby, our house especially. So I I, you know, definitely can see that there’s it’s all around. And I also know quite a few people I think it was my pest control man, his wife just recently passed away from valley fever. It went to her.

I know some people on campus that they’re you know. Their relatives are currently suffering from valley fever. I had a sister-in-law that passed away from valley fever. So it’s all around. It’s sadly it’s all around. And you do notice that there are issues with the air. As a result.

H: I have questions. I mean, sorry. Yeah, Participant #27, so about then I know that this, the cases that you mentioned were about people around you. Right? I mean, you did mention that you had. You developed headaches, migraines, and I can resonate with you because I also developed those things during heat and, of course, bad air. What about how has that impacted your life, your view on life, and your view on your family, whatever, and and your work as well. I mean, how has that kind of impacted you? Your physical and conditions.

Yeah, these are, these are really, these are intense ones. So that’s personally for for me, with the medical and I have always had an issue in the summer, when it’s hot, the air is is tough, and I mean the start of summer, just to even have had something 2 weeks ago.

H: So that that’s how that’s impacted my health. And since I’ve is it true.

so I’ve played. I played the violin for a long, long time, and that I would say that, for to play the violin thankfully have to be in a cool environment, otherwise the the instrument would suffer right? So that’s a good choice to make that to be a musician there. So that’s not too bad of an adjustment when it, when the air quality is not good, but in terms of working at Cal state when you know it’s windy, or it’s very hot. Or, again, the air quality is is not good, or when

It seems to be, it’s going to be a clear day. And then the. I think it’s the fire department decides to do a controlled burn and not, you know, our air quality is terrible. After that. I would say. You know, it impacts with headaches. And again the medical and also just your whole outlook for your day. How are you going to feel? What can you? What, how? How well can you do your work? And if that, if that means I have to go home. Then you know it. Just it really just puts a damper on your day, and and how you’re doing so.

H: Thank you for sharing your condition. I mean, I don’t have epilepsy, but I can resonate with you on migraines headaches. I mean, I’ve always been impacted by it over the last 10 years as well the projection of my day. I totally understand what you mean. I feel nervous without my migraine pills.

I just arrived in Dallas yesterday. And the heat just got to me. So I had to take a micro, I mean, and just sleep out yesterday, but I mean, thank you for sharing your condition. It’s really helpful to understand right how how you’re impacted. By all all of this, I mean.

H: I’m with you.

S: And for the next question, so you said. You’re quite concerned with the air quality because it is linked to your the health issue and how comfortable your you are to share about your concern, about the air quality with your colleagues in your workplace.

S: The one of the reason why I asked this was when I had a job interview at Csub in the spring of 2022. Nobody talks about the air quality issue. They said they always at that time they told me about the good things in Bakersfield, how it’s close to the National Park and the environment is really good. And, I I searched from the Internet, and I knew that you know the Iroquois is not good, but once I settled down to Bakersfield with my three-month-old daughter. I didn’t realize that the air quality is not. Is that bad? So? once I shared the issue with my daughter’s symptoms. Now people are talking about maybe that could be belly fever, and I was shocked by the belly fever, because I didn’t know until then. So we were quite afraid about that, and I also had a Coli symptom. So I took, you know, belly fever test with my wife. It was like $300 for each, because at the time I didn’t have, you know, insurance, because I was a new employee. so like your colleague, new colleague is from Kentucky. And did you talk about this kinds of matter with your new employee?

I would say, I think in Bakersfield and Kern County, probably California as a whole. It’s I would say California is a pretty litigious state, so they probably don’t want to tell you every single thing that’s you know about the state, you know. I would just say, probably there may be a good reason why they left out the fact that the air quality is not good, you know they don’t want anyone to sue anyone, for you know any sort of something that you may, you know, contract or something here, I don’t know. But yeah, it always seems like that’s, it’s either you know about it, or you just end up finding out. And and that’s unfortunate, because that’s not how you, You know you have to have accountability and transparency for for issues in order to address them and and move forward right? So.

S: let’s talk about the social comfort or barriers. Have you ever wanted to take a mask, but felt hesitant, due to social concerns or pressures.

I think now, since since Covid, since the pandemic, since there’s a little bit more understanding of why people wear masks, whether they’re immunocompromised or just wanting to keep safe from the air quality, I don’t think I’m a little more comfortable doing it now, do I do it? No. I feel comfortable to do it, but I think if it was still not that great of a day. I would just I would just suffer through it. Just no, I’m I’m just going out for a little bit, you know, so probably wouldn’t do it.

Sung Hyoun Hong: I’m just curious. What kind of protective gear have you used before the Covid period to deal with the air quality issues.

Sung Hyoun Hong: That’s helpful and just follow up question is, do you see any differences between like before and after the Covid in terms of what people talking about their quality, and how people talking about the using the protective gear to deal with their quality.

I would say. Probably this is a guess and an assumption, but the majority of people in Bakersfield or Current county probably would never have worn a mask. Probably their air quality is probably not necessarily

You know the the top of the topics that they’re gonna be, you know, discussing and now I’m thinking of like some of them are maybe some older generations that are here, too. And I would say in the area that my husband and I live in. It is an older area of Bakersfield where we have, you know, a lot of smokers. We don’t. We are not smokers. We’ve got enough issues. We don’t need that. But I would just say, I know that where I grew up in town East Bakersfield, and now I’m living here in North Bakersfield. They’re older areas of town. So, I just don’t think that that there would have been huge discussions about air quality again, unless you had a family member or friend that was affected by it.

S: So, since the air quality was not the major topics. Traditionally among the people, I feel like talking about the air quality concerns might not comfortable for all people. Is that true?

There’s a balance that needs to be struck there, so I’m not sure people don’t want to hear it. I think it’s just how it’s approached.

S: Okay, were there any moment that you felt lonely when you raise a discussion around your health issue related to the air quality concerns.

I would say more understanding from people could be more tolerance and and just more to be done. If this, if the subject is out there more yeah.

S: Okay, that’s great. When you learn that others, others, like your colleagues or your friends, share similar environmental concerns. How does it affect you? How does? How do you feel when you experience that things.

how can we? What can we do to understand again what our environment is around us, so that we can either avoid, advocate against or just voice what we need to to change, to help one another.

You know California or Bakersfield again. You know we we have refineries here. We have a lot of agriculture, things that contribute to to the air quality. It’s not just smoke in the air, that sort of thing. But and climate change, I would say, is another thing that’s probably not talked about as much here. But the more people that are affected, and the more people that I know that are affected by air quality, it just has more. There’s more conversation, and it’s getting louder to want to do something about it.

S: So you touch upon the connection with your people in your community. Do you think that sharing your experiences? Do you think that the others, sharing their experiences with you regarding the the same challenges like air, pollution, or quality their experiences at the same time. Would that help you, or help them to feel more connected with each other in your within your organization or community.

S: Okay, I think this point is really good that we want to include in our research. But I just wanted to quote, but do you have any specific examples or moments when you felt this sense of connections. When you start discussing with the environmental issues.

yeah, it’s it’s scary and you know. gosh, I don’t know. I’m not sure else to go with that. But it just. I just know that it really hits home, and just knowing the people that I I know that have asthma or valley fever or just, you know, hearing my husband coughing, because this is just an environment that he’s used. You know, he’s from Orange County. So down down South Southern California, where the arizol is a lot different right than here, and also knowing like, even though my epilepsy and my conditions are affected that way, and not so much lung, wise or lungs, and breathing. Seeing those that you love and care about around you that are affected. It really, it brings things into to focus. And it’s yeah. It’s a little shocking.

S: I just wanted to share my own experiences. In 2022 again, in the 1st semester. went to the event around in Csub at 6 PM. But at the time the visibility was really poor because of the heavy wind with the dust. and many of the students call me before the class? Do I want to cancel the class? But, at that time I didn’t realize that. Why should I cancel the class, because the air quality. But many of the students had concern, but also many of the students came up to my class, even though the air quality is not good, and after that class I went to the event, and where many students and faculty members are joining in. And I talked about this issue with the windy days, with the heavy dust, and they that might develop, you know, belly fever. But he, one of my colleagues, said, he’s not concerned with the belly fever.

He lived without mask for whole entire whole year, but it did not affect him so at that moment. I feel like you know. Am I the only person concerned with this? Or am I the group of people overreacting about belly fever? Am I too sensitive? So I’m just curious whether you also felt something like me. But we all always, we cannot, you know, reveal our medical symptom because it’s a private information, but we can reveal some air quality concerns. But until we do not, you know, rebuild our health issue. people will not really understand why we are having concern with the air quality issue. So so have you ever felt like your concerns, might be dismissed as overreacting or being too sensitive.

I think that needs to be something that for Cal State, Bakersfield and something that I’ve noticed in the 3 years that I’ve worked at Cal State, Bakersfield. If you don’t put the issue in front of people, they’re not going to be. They’re not going to take the initiative to do it right. There’s no proactivity unless you put, and that might be for anything. But that’s just something that I’ve noticed. So I think this is a really good study. I think that that’s why I wanted to help out in any way I can again. My town. I’ve been here forever. What can I do to help? But if there’s an issue, there are a lot of outside events that happen at Cal State, Bakersfield. There are a lot of dusty areas, too, at Cal State, Bakersfield. and I just think that it’s very important to start. You know, we have such a a large platform, and and, that it’s a good. It’s a good area to start with. I would say, too, I’m not sure if you’re familiar. But chevron has a It’s like a oil or dirt depository or something that’s on campus repository, I think, is what sorry and with our 60 plus club. So they’re elderly folks.

I’ve always found this kind of interesting. I hope it’s not introducing a conspiracy theory or anything. But they have old bags of dirt that they actually have the the members putting. They have them dumping them into new bags, as these bags have been here since, like the fifties, sixties, seventies. and you know I don’t know if that’s necessarily air quality, but just breathing in whatever toxins could be in the dust. That’s all on campus, too.

And so it’s a lot of things are kind of hidden away on campus. There’s not again. There’s not a lot of transparency for certain things. So I that just made me think of, you know, blowing dust and that sort of thing, and and anything that could be picked up, I find it interesting that it was a task not so much a task, but a welcomed help for older people to help with this task for chevron. It’s not like they’re asking students to do it, or colleagues. They’re asking for volunteers to do it, and I just feel like. you know, I don’t know. My just my senses are like, why are you asking older folks to do it? And it could be possibly something to do with a health thing, and I think they have to sign a waiver, too. But I don’t know.

S: If the pollutions need to be affected to humans health, it’s it needs like 30 years. But all people does not have that time to develop.

S: Participant #27. I think we had used all your value time of 40 min. So Dr. Lee and Sonya, do you have any questions?

Okay, Participant #27, it would be great if you could. If you feel comfortable. It would be great if you can share this interview opportunity with any of the folks who wants to, you know, change our community.