Interview 29

S: Okay? So in order to have that role, is playing instrument is required.

S: I play. I play piano, and I oh, good! Your wife plays musical instrument.

S: So I just curious as some.

S: Okay. I bought 2 used piano for my children. I think just they are just playing while they just run around our house. I think it’s good that we have more than one piano in our house.

S: For your job, does that require a physical presence? Can you work remotely.

S: So when the air quality is not good, or if it is really hot weather. Do you feel comfortable to ask your Dean, that you want to work at your home.

S: Okay, I think that’s great. Can you walk us through a typical day for you, including your working hours and after work hours.

and then the the art department. If they have me go outside, it’s just to go get like our mail, because they’ve moved our mail office from the Hob building all the way to the media art center. So it’s kind of a it’s kind of a hall to get over there, so I am outdoors quite a bit.

S: Are there any occasion that you need to coordinate with the outdoor concert or exhibition.

S: Okay, after your work. Do you have chance to walk outside.

S: How long have you lived in San Joaquin Valley? So I mean, current county.

S: Wow! It’s a long our time. What brought you here?

S: Hmm, okay. So you live to region Orange County and Inland Empire and Bakersfield. So.

Since I was born to 10th grade, and then from 10th grade I moved to Lake Elsador. So, Corona, and then from 10th grade to probably you know, Junior college. So I was about I don’t know. 19 to 20 I was out there and then from 20, 21, 23, I moved up to Bakersfield.

S: Ok. I know, Corona, because my sister-in-law lived there.

S: I visited their family multiple times, and so I’m quite familiar with it. So could you compare the air quality between 3rd region.

I could tell a big difference with that it seemed cleaner and then moving to Bakersfield. Since we’re in the valley, a lot of the particles settle here in the valley, so I developed quite a few respiratory issues moving up here.

S: So your body reacted when you move from, you know LA To Bakersfield.

S: But you lived here for more than 20 years. So has your perspective on air quality issues changed during those 20 years. More than 20 years.

S: How about have you talked with your mother? That about the air quality? So.

Oh, and I have an inhaler, too, that I’ve been prescribed so.

S: Okay, so were there any critical experiences or moment that you thought that the air quality in Bakersfield is bad.

S: Hmm, yeah, I commute from Santa Clarita. So I always go through that kind of wall of the dust from grapevine. Yeah. So I totally understand. So in what ways do the air quality in Bakersfield affect your daily activities.

S: Have you noticed that the also others around you are impacted by the air quality.

Most people I know that I’ve met from Bakersfield are actually born and raised in Bakersfield, and it seems like it’s kind of like I mentioned earlier. This is like they’ve adapted, you know, it’s almost like they’ve they’ve adapted to their environment. It’s like an evolutionary type of thing.

S: I felt that, too, because I moved to Bakersfield in 2022, and I decided to move to Santa Clarita when I detected my 3 month old my 3rd baby became have symptoms of asthma. Now she’s good, but at the time it was really stressful for us. Because my new job impacted my children. So I just want, yeah. So just wonder how your mother felt about your symptom, because she had to move to Bakersfield because of her job. Do you detect it?

S: Okay? And also as a new people, who just moved to Bakerfield. In my case, when I talk about the air quality with the people around me. They feel like they’re quite a just as you said Have you ever, you know, felt like you are lonely because you’re the one that feel sensitive to air quality in Bakersfield.

No, you’re fine, all right. Thank you so much. So yeah, with feeling lonely. Just. It’s almost a little embarrassing sometimes, like. If I have a coughing fit at work or around people, it’s It’s just because I know me as a person. I’m you know, a dude, and I want to be strong, and I don’t want to like come off as like, oh, I’m like sickly or weak, and it’s just it. It’s kind of it bugs me sometimes.

S: I felt that the same way, and as a new employee I felt like I think I felt some pressure that I need to want to look like a good, you know colleague, and and I just wanted to show that I I’m the one that I’m I will work in this campus that for the Cs. To be for a long time. But when I complain about the air quality they will. you know, quickly think that I want to go out of this organization, not because of this bad environment, but about this bad organizational culture. But do you feel like those kind of pressure pressure like me?

S: Okay, when we interview some people, employees are guided to not to worry when the temperature is beyond certain, you know, temperature. But they’re working. It’s not depend on the air quality itself, only on temperature. So have you ever thought about you need to change your work schedule or workloads, not because of the temperature, but because of the air quality.

if we can continue going down this road where we’re having more days that are unhealthy like the 8 the Api Index. Or I think that’s what it is. The quality index at the Aqi. Excuse me, the Aqi Index, you know. Those are more red flag days, and I’m seeing a direct impact of those days affect my breathing. Then I would definitely consider taking it up with the Dean’s office to see if maybe I can work from home, or just maybe limit my going outdoors to run errands, because I am outside quite a bit, you know, kind of fetching things around campus.

S: your work requires you to work outside quite frequently when I hear your experiences. But have you ever tried to use your mask when when there’s a bad air quality.

S: Okay, I totally understand you. So how comfortable are people in your workplace with discussing air quality issue.

S: Okay, so I think there are moments that you have detected that your colleagues don’t want to talk about those kind of air quality concerns, because it will make you more comfortable because they will relate with the political issue or other.

S: So when you feel like that, can you, you know, reveal your personal issue more with them? Or do you feel.

We were able to communicate to a degree, it was more focused on our work. So any interactions that I had with my teammates was either out in the break area or in passing. Cscb is more. We’re more immersed with people, you know, because we we deal with students coming in, and we have faculty that are sitting next to a desk. So it’s it’s more like a air traffic controllers, people always coming and going. So I’ve just learned to find the people that I’m I see eye to eye with, and just be conservative or cautious with the people that I know, who like to kind of twist topics to fit their narrative. So.

S: Okay, I think that’s a really important topic. I have never detected from other, you know interviewing because. I haven’t thought about that the the discussing about the error quality issue will automatically transfer people to discuss about the political issue. So the air quality issue or concerns is a daily challenges for you specifically, and also me, and also many group of people. But if you cannot discuss about that, I think it will be really difficult to talk about the other issue. So when you find that there’s a folks who could talk about the daily challenges like air quality issue, do you feel more comfortable, revealing your challenges or your personal concerns with them.

Sung Hyoun Hong: I have one follow up question. I’m sorry if this is an uncomfortable question, and feel free to not, feel free not to answer. But when you have chatted casually about the air quality issue with your cord, or did it feel like most of them share similar political views or perspective as you. When you receive some. I will say, like more positive when you had a more positive conversation about the air quality issues.

forthcoming with being ignorant on it. And that’s my bias, too. I mean, we could be wrong, too. But it’s just that’s my assumption that they don’t want to listen to science or facts. They have their own ideologies with like, I said. Family members are telling them because they work in the oil industry, or you know, they have somebody they listen to and their their media world that is telling them otherwise. So it’s it’s interesting, I would say, as a university, we’re functioning as a university. Most folks there are, we’re able to go to them, and we can discuss things openly and have a have a dialogue about it. Because, you know, I think that’s a problem with just everywhere in California we get to a point where we speak about it, and then the subject either changes into politics or changes somewhere else, and as far as Cscb. Is concerned, I would love to see an open forum on our climate here. I know we had something called Blue Zones. There was a I guess. a lecture or an a symposium on blue blue zones. And they did an okay job. But it just seemed very temporary. They didn’t seem like a long term solution. It was just basically. Well, you know, you have all these other areas in the world that they live longer because the air is better, or the food quality is better. We would love that for current county, too, but there’s never any follow up, and there’s never. you know no one ever piggybacks on that. It’s just. It seems like it’s up to one person to fix everything all the time.

Sung Hyoun Hong: Thank you. Insightful.

S: So oftentimes we cannot share our personal health challenges like asthma, or even we could not share. You know our children’s challenges to the people. because it’s kind of indicates that that’s 1 of the vulnerable. You know aspects of my life. So when you felt like, you know, the Your. There are colleagues think that you know the air quality issue? Is not that serious? And they just involve that concerns with the political dialogue. How do you feel in that moment?

S: Yeah. So in terms of the experiences that you have from your symptom, from the air quality, I I believe that you are more knowledgeable than the people who think that the air quality is not the issue. So when you met with them, do you have? Do you try to persuade them by sharing your own symptom with them.

they just end up weaponizing that and using it against you. It’s just like, Oh, well, they’re just making an excuse, or they’re out today because of this, or they just make a lot of assumptions. So I try to be conservative with what I tell people about my health concerns or just limit it to my my leadership. So my supervisors or the Dean’s office, I can let them know. But a coworker I wouldn’t let them know.

S: I think that’s a great point, because sharing our vulnerability sometimes affect positive outcome. So they can, you know, understand? My, you know, condition so they can be more flexible on my work demands or schedule. But sometime, as you said, some people might weaponize my vulnerability so that that could make my, you know, negative career outcome as well.

S: Okay, in that moment you might feel quite isolated because you cannot share your own concerns.

It was rather, kind of heartbreaking the way people were treated for coughing, growing up, and I’m sure you know I’m not. I just want to be transparent. It was a lot of Asian communities that I went to school with in Orange County, and a lot of people pointed the finger at them, for the reason that, like there was so many tuberculosis outbreak. And you know that’s that’s not true, or the case is just, you know. unfortunate, you know.

S: Yeah, I remember that I lived in Pittsburgh during a pandemic, and I felt like people are avoiding me when I’m in Trader Joe. because I’m Asian, and they might think that I’m a Chinese, and that’s a white town and they, I felt like they’re they have less knowledgeable on the Asian ethnic group. So I totally understand that.

S: I think people have those kind of sere typing or bias because they don’t. They are not knowledgeable for the folks who are, you know, facing those daily error quality issue. So the folks who are coughing and sneezing or nosing every day. It’s their daily issue. And that is because of the air quality issue. But the folks who don’t have that symptom and who don’t have the family members who are having those challenges they cannot understand, at least, unless they have a friend who are suffering from those concerns.

What seals the deal until you know somebody that’s affected to it, or if, unless you’re directly affected by it, it doesn’t matter to. For some reason it doesn’t matter to them.

S: So when I, when we interview people like 30% of the people they volunteer for this interview because they said, they are interested in this air quality issue, but still they don’t have much knowledge on how people are concerned with the air quality. and they are kept having, you know, the inhaler, but they feel like they are not concerned with the air quality issue. For me. It’s a big, big thing. But Taking Inhaler is quite popular in this region. I think.

S: when you cannot discuss the concerns about the air quality issue or your symptoms of coughing openly with your colleague. How does that affect your confidence in your in your workplace?

you know, it’s just like I don’t want to like how we mentioned earlier. I just don’t want to be the weak link, or somebody who’s just annoying other people with their their health.

S: Okay, so let’s shift gear regarding our current organizational efforts. You shared that our Csb are doing some campaign or symposium about the air quality issue. And I realized that our Csb begin to talk about the valley fever symptoms and you know, educating people to make make people our community members that belly fever issue is really serious thing. But regard. But in addition. what steps our csub can take to take action, to address error, code issue.

I’m not sure if my wife mentioned the dirt issue where people from 60 plus are moving, you know, dirt without mass, you know, there’s quite a few areas on campus where we could do better as far as training. You know the whole respiratory issues about wearing masks on certain days. If you know we have a hot weather day, maybe, you know, have an alert or an email to stay indoors. There’s there could be a lot of things.

S: I think one of your ideas resonate me like having mask for entire day. I think that could appreciate people who feel uncomfortable about the air quality issue, and we all can. You know, experience that how it is difficult by taking mask whole day.

This is a trustworthy resource. I need to really consider protecting myself from particulates or particles in the air.

Sung Hyoun Hong: It’s insightful. So the training, the mainly focus on raising awareness of air quality issues and educating them, how to how they can approach their quality issues right? So are there any more direct organizational level? I will say the solution or practice that could be implemented as well, such as like flexible work arrangements, something like that, like what kind of effort organization can directly solve the problem of the employee rather than providing. you know, like knowledge, or any other solutions, or any other strategies to deal with.

Because I mean we, I think we’re at a at a crosswords with a mentality of well. I can work from home. Why don’t we just move everything online? Why do we even need the campus to even be open to the public? Or why do we even need the buildings there. So I think there may be some hesitance on a lot of work from home options. I I personally think you know, if we approach it realistically, and we have. you know, our Provost or the Deans sit down and have a real conversation about hey? These are the facts. We can forecast certain days throughout the year that are known to be the Aqi is really heavy or high. We need to consider working from home options. I know my wife mentioned on on her interview. They burn tumbleweeds on campus, and that’s atrocious. I cannot believe they allow us to work on campus when they’re doing that, because you’re basically sitting in a campfire in your office while they’re doing that. And it just it’s unfortunate.

S: Hmm, okay, I think we have talk we have covered most of the questions. And, Participant #29. we are. We are still. We need to. We are on the road to completing this. Interviews. So do you have any recommendation that we can have for our future interviewee. So what kind of questions we can have for our future interviewees.

S: Hmm, thank you very much. The reason why I start this your research is that the awareness about the error quality issue is not equal across people in Bakersfield. They are very new people in Bakersfield. They just lived in in Bakersfield for 5 or 7 years, and their perspective totally 100% different from the people who was born and raised here in Bakersfield. and also many people born and raised in Bakersfield. They are taking inhaler, but they think that the air quality is not bad because they are not having, like, you know, the heavy, severe symptoms like belly fever. So in some way they feel like a very resilient, but in some way it’s sad that they don’t They don’t. They don’t feel like, you know. They are having severe symptom to take an action to improve the air quality. So with this interview, we will like to establish some model that we can test the causal, test the relationship between A and B or C, then we will take a survey to test that model. So this with this interview, we will find some theme or phenomenon first, st and then we will dive into conduct a survey. So if we conduct a survey, I might, you know, contact you again to recruit this respondents to take the survey, but I will reach out to you.