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Rose Kular interview
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- Hello and welcome.
- It's so good to see you all today
- for this very special session of Western C.A.R.E.S.
- My name is Athena, and I'm going to be acting as your host
- today.
- And it's my pleasure to welcome you to the series.
- Just a little bit about Western C.A.R.E.S. before we get started.
- We started this as a resource for us
- to connect and share and maintain
- our sense of community and engagement during these days
- where we're trying to stay home and stay healthy.
- These are online interactive sessions
- that are put on by your colleagues and peers, who
- are so generously volunteering their time
- to share these interests and experiences with you.
- As your host, I'm going to introduce your instructor,
- and then I'm here for tech support and anything
- you may need.
- Please know that we are recording this session today.
- So if you aren't comfortable being recorded,
- feel free to take this opportunity to exit now.
- And please know that these will be put into the WWU archives.
- So thank you so much for joining us.
- This is a very special session.
- There will be time at the end that you
- can unmute yourself and ask questions
- to both our host and the person that she is interviewing,
- the wonderful Rose, today.
- And if you're not comfortable turning on sound to do that,
- feel free to put it in the chat on the side,
- and we'll be monitoring that, as well.
- So now I'd like to introduce our wonderful host today, Dharitri,
- to tell you a bit more about this series
- and who we're interviewing today.
- Thank you so much.
- Welcome, everyone.
- This is Stories to Tell, and my name is Dharitri Bhattacharjee.
- I'm a faculty in the history department at Western.
- I teach South Asian history.
- In this oral history series, our goal
- is to explore the diversity of South Asian perspectives
- on COVID-19.
- Every Tuesday and Thursday from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM PST,
- we will be bringing you a new voice for the next five weeks.
- Our first guest today is Rose Kular.
- She's a Bellingham resident.
- She's a Western student.
- And today, among other things, she
- will talk to us about online classes,
- about school/home balance.
- Thank you so much, Rose, for joining.
- And let's just start off by asking you just to tell us
- a little bit about yourself.
- Yeah.
- So hi, my name is Rose Kular.
- And I'm 19 years old.
- I was born and raised in Whatcom County.
- I have lived my entire life between Bellingham
- and Ferndale.
- This is my first year at Western,
- and I did two years of Running Start prior to that.
- And I graduated from Ferndale High School last spring.
- So I identify myself as a Sikh-American.
- Sikhism is the world's fifth largest religion.
- It is separate from both Islamism and Hinduism.
- It was started in 1469 by our first guru, Guru Nanak Dev Ji.
- And yeah, that's just a little bit about me.
- Even people who had lived in Bellingham for very long,
- will say that it's very white, right?
- That's what I kept hearing.
- So what was it growing up as a Sikh-American in Bellingham?
- Definitely growing up in a predominantly white community
- when you don't fit that stereotype
- is going to come with its unique sense of difficulties.
- And I think, for the most part, most people
- are caring and inclusive, but there was that feeling,
- especially as a teenager when you're
- learning to discover yourself, that feeling
- of kind of like otherness and not quite fitting in.
- Like, there were specific times in high school
- where I would walk into an event and I just
- didn't feel like I belonged there because of my religion,
- because of my background.
- So it definitely had its struggles,
- but for the most part, I think Whatcom County is a great place
- to live.
- And most people are excited to learn
- and are willing to accept people from different backgrounds.
- It's just sometimes it's that one person out of 100 who
- doesn't feel quite that way.
- And it can feel a little bit disincluding in this county.
- So you've born in Bellingham, raised here.
- You went to college here.
- You did your first year.
- Did you consider going to college outside Bellingham,
- outside Western, or outside Pacific Northwest?
- You know, I did consider moving to Seattle
- to go to college there, but I never
- considered moving out of Pacific Northwest.
- I think this is my home.
- It's where I'm comfortable.
- My family moved to specifically Ferndale and Whatcom County
- back in the '80s.
- I actually graduated from the same high school my mom did.
- We even had some of the same teachers growing up.
- So there is that sense of community,
- where it's like you can go to the grocery store
- and see people you know.
- And being family-oriented, I didn't
- want to move far away from my family.
- So I never really considered moving a considerable distance
- away from my family.
- So you've finished your first year at Western,
- and obviously, when it started, you
- could not have possibly imagined how it will end.
- So how was the last quarter, in particular?
- Because Western moved online completely.
- I mean, this last quarter was definitely
- a really big struggle, in a lot of different ways.
- I think just the transition from in-person to online,
- I don't think that there was--
- I mean, there is no way to have predicted it.
- I thought teachers were unprepared
- and students were unprepared.
- And I definitely didn't feel like I was learning quite as
- much online as I was in person.
- You know, when I go to class in person,
- at least for me, my process of learning was normally
- I sit down and I take notes in class,
- and that's my first stage of processing information.
- And then when I go home and I have assignments to do,
- that would be my second stage, and I
- would review that information and really start to absorb it.
- And that third stage would then be
- when you're going to take an exam
- and you're going to review that material again.
- So there is like that three stages of review in person.
- When I went to online, it was more of just
- looking at PowerPoint and looking at the assignment
- and just filling in the blanks.
- It wasn't as much of actually learning the information.
- It was more skimming through it.
- And because I am in my first year at Western,
- a lot of the classes that I were taking
- were the core classes that are going to be used in the future.
- I'm doing a business administration degree
- with a marketing concentration.
- So a lot of those classes I felt like
- are going to be essential to my future
- not only at Western, but my future as a professional
- and as a working--
- you know, I feel like it would be important for my future
- jobs, and I just felt like that foundation wasn't--
- it just wasn't there.
- And I felt like teachers could have reached out
- more to students.
- Some of my teachers, I don't even know what they look like
- or anything.
- And a lot of the times, I didn't see other students.
- And it was a very big transition,
- and it was definitely difficult.
- So are you coming back to Western for next year,
- or what are your plans?
- As of right now, I am planning on going back
- to Western for fall quarter.
- Having said that, I do expect a lot more from fall quarter,
- both as me and from faculty.
- I think we all saw what worked and what didn't work,
- and I definitely do expect teachers to--
- you know, now they have a couple of months in advance
- to have prepared, to be better prepared for the course,
- to have better material, and to do a better
- job at understanding what the students are going through.
- I think just reaching out to students
- more often I think would really help so they could actually
- see where our knowledge is at, regardless of where
- we are in the course schedule.
- I think sometimes teachers focus more on course schedules
- than where the student's knowledge is at.
- And I definitely did feel that fear
- of kind of reaching out to teachers when I'd never
- met them, and just that fear of putting myself out there
- and feeling kind of stupid or anything like that.
- Were you able to--
- like, was it an option to reach out to other students,
- or did you reach out to the faculty?
- Because I mean, one quarter is a very, very sort
- of short session, and within that time,
- there's lots going on.
- But yeah.
- You know, only one of my classes actually
- had a required Zoom meeting.
- So then there, I was able to reach out
- to students a little bit, but that was only
- at the very tail end of the quarter.
- Some of the teachers, I would reach out,
- and then I wouldn't hear back until like two weeks later.
- And so the opportunity definitely was there.
- But through my own kind of fear of reaching out and struggling
- and having to juggle so much with everything else going on,
- I just didn't have the opportunity
- to reach out to faculty, and I just
- didn't feel like, with the problems
- I was facing, that it would have really been more helpful.
- I thought it was kind of more just like-- it was kind
- just like figure it out.
- [INTERPOSING VOICES]
- Sorry.
- Go ahead.
- Sorry.
- And I think, like, teachers were struggling, as well,
- and we do understand that as students.
- Like, there was no planning for this.
- So teachers who had taught online courses before
- had definitely better course material
- and better plans in place versus teachers
- who had never taught online.
- There was definitely a big divide.
- But coming to fall, I do expect that divide to be smaller
- and for it to be better working.
- So you know there's lots being written about students right
- now because it's in their decision
- to come back to college, to pursue education that--
- basically, the education sector pretty much
- depends on their decision.
- So how do you feel, I mean, being this critical consumer
- at this point in history?
- I mean, I think it is difficult overall.
- I mean, even pre-COVID-19, tuition
- is something that's kind of ridiculously high,
- and I think is something that so many students have
- to take student loans for.
- And seeing how Western did respond
- to this global pandemic, I do support Western,
- I do have a lot of love for my school and a lot of support.
- I saw that they were trying to reach out for students,
- and doing that.
- So that definitely does make me feel better
- about where I'm putting my money and what I'm
- doing as a critical consumer.
- But I definitely think that's more
- of like kind of like just nationwide is
- like to offer more help for students, to lower
- the costs of education.
- I feel like education shouldn't be a privilege.
- But it does feel like that with the price of education
- being what it is.
- It does seem more of a privilege, where
- other students might have to work and go to school.
- And it's just difficult overall.
- So you come to college for an education.
- The learning is very important.
- And I'm sorry to hear that you feel that some of the core
- classes that you took you didn't learn a lot.
- But, I mean, college is also--
- right after school, you come for a social experience.
- Can you talk to us a little bit about the social experience?
- How was that?
- Yeah, no.
- Definitely, my social life, before corona
- and after quarantine, is completely different.
- I mean, before COVID-19, I was--
- honestly, home was more of a place
- I would come to eat, sleep, and to leave the next day.
- And I didn't quite realize the effect
- that socializing had on us, both our mental health
- and our physical health.
- A lot of my friends are other students at Western.
- And going to cafes or going to the library to study
- was kind of a common daily experience for us
- to just see other students and to see your friends
- and to talk about how your classes are going
- and to just, overall, be a support system.
- And after COVID-19, I mean, the only people I was seeing
- was, basically, my family, which is very different from what
- was happening before.
- And as a teenager, we definitely used a lot of FaceTime
- and a lot of--
- we definitely spent a lot of time
- on the phone with each other.
- But it did not replace that in-person, human-to-human,
- communication and contact or socialization
- in any way or form.
- I think it was more of a poor substitute for what that was,
- but we definitely tried to stay in touch
- and constantly be calling and texting.
- What was the typical day look like in terms
- of attending classes on Zoom--
- I'm presuming-- and then staying at home?
- How did a day look like?
- Because you said you pretty much came home
- to eat and sleep before social distancing and the pandemic
- started.
- I think when you look at my daily life,
- I think that's where you can see the biggest
- difference between being a Sikh American
- and between being just American.
- I definitely have a lot of different home responsibilities
- than I saw my white friends did.
- Coming home, especially, being a daughter, and being the eldest,
- a lot of it was waking up in the morning, making breakfast,
- and then sitting down with my two younger
- siblings who are 9 and 11.
- And it wasn't just that I was doing my own online coursework.
- I was also trying to help them through their math,
- and their math is even more important than mine,
- I feel like.
- They're in elementary school, learning
- fractions and important fundamental things like that.
- And a lot of that helping them out and teaching them kind of
- fell on to me as an older sister and as someone
- who has gone through the same education system
- that they have gone to.
- A lot of that fell on to me, whereas my parents weren't
- able to do that quite as well.
- And also the fact that my grandmother was traveling
- abroad when quarantine started.
- And her being the biggest babysitting support
- and not having her be here, it all kind of fell on to me.
- So I would wake up, I would make breakfast,
- and we would work on homework--
- helping my siblings and then also making dinner at night
- and helping doing kitchen work and other chore work--
- and, especially, on the weekends because my dad
- is a long-haul truck driver, so he's gone for most of the week.
- And due to coronavirus, he wasn't
- able to eat out as much as he normally did.
- So one day out of the week, me and my mom
- have to take all of our time and cook him enough food
- to last him a week to take on to the truck with him, which
- is a very typical kind of South Sikh American thing,
- especially, in Whatcom county.
- I know a lot of Sikh men that are truck drivers,
- and they take food for the whole week.
- And a lot of that falling on to me
- on my mom to be her support system and to help my siblings
- and kind of just be that third parent to them, in a sense,
- cooking them food, taking them to doctors appointments,
- helping them with their homework.
- So I know the gurdwara is the Sikh temple,
- and it's also been an important part of your social life.
- Did the gurdwara stay open during this entire time?
- Was it at all a place you could go to and maintain
- social distance?
- No, the gurdwara closed down during quarantine.
- So you were still able to go there,
- but there was no services or anything.
- I mean, school work and gurdwara, that's
- really a lot of my social life.
- And if I know friends from school,
- I know friends from temple.
- That's such a big part of just being a community
- and seeing each other.
- And now, recently, as we've gone into phase two in Whatcom
- County, the gurdwara has slowly opened up.
- But we're still not doing our classes and everything
- we were doing before.
- I felt like losing that sense of community and--
- especially, in our religion, community
- is a very big thing and being with fellow Sikhs--
- that just added to that isolation factor and to--
- I think, not just for me, but everyone had a really hard time
- being motivated and staying hopeful during this time.
- And I think not being able to go to gurdwara
- to see my fellow Sikhs to pray and be in these environments,
- it really added--
- it was really difficult.
- So it looks like you live in a multigenerational household,
- or what in South Asia we call a joined family.
- How has your--
- I mean, I'm presuming this is the only sort of family model
- you know because this is how you grown up,
- but you also know that it's not very common.
- So what are your thoughts on a multigenerational or joined
- family?
- I mean, the way that my family works is really
- quite different.
- And I don't think I realized that until--
- some of my friends in high school,
- seeing their expectations of what their households were,
- and my expectations of what my household were,
- are completely different.
- When it comes to education and to school,
- it's like we're the same people.
- We're in the same boat.
- And I think my fellow students who are white,
- they had the same educational experience as I did.
- But when it came to the home-life,
- they didn't have the same expectations
- of being expected to help cook and to help clean
- and to help do all these other household chores.
- And like I said before, especially, being a daughter,
- it kind of does fall more onto daughters in families
- than it does onto sons.
- And, yeah, there's definitely a big difference
- in seeing how other people were able to have sleepovers,
- to go out when they wanted, when I
- was expected to be home, and just
- different expectations of family goals.
- So when you look back at the pandemic--
- and this is not to say that the pandemic is over because you
- really don't know what's ahead--
- but what will you remember most about the last three, four
- months, or what do you recall most?
- What's the most significant thing that stands out for you?
- I think we can't discuss the global pandemic
- and quarantine these last couple of months
- without also discussing the Black Lives Matter
- movement and the rights that we had
- in our country at the same time.
- And I think both of those issues are completely different.
- But I think they both accelerated each other
- and made it--
- amplified that effect of that desperation and feeling like,
- what is really going to happen?
- And what is happening in our country?
- What is happening in our world, and what
- is happening in my community?
- And I just remember--
- I mean, really, I don't consider myself
- to be too emotional of a person, but I remember
- watching that video of George Floyd being killed
- in our streets and just remembering
- just feeling absolute devastation, for not only him
- and his family, but for our country as a whole,
- that this is kind of--
- kind of feels like we're stuck in this place.
- And I feel like 99% of people are good.
- It's just that 1% that can get in there and just--
- it can topple a whole system.
- And, especially, being a Sikh American--
- we're talking about in the first week of June,
- it's also the anniversary of the Sikh genocide of 1984.
- So being stuck at home and not being able to see other people,
- I was looking at videos of these riots and these protests
- and also looking at the history of the Sikh genocide in 1984
- where it's--
- I mean, India and America are two completely
- different countries.
- It was 1984 and 2020 are two completely different centuries,
- but these issues are so similar to each other.
- And the fact that people, minorities,
- were facing police discrimination and police
- brutality is just--
- it was hurtful, and it was hard to see us go through that.
- Quickly, I mean, for the audience,
- what happened in 1984 in India?
- I mean, just to do a quick recap,
- in 1984, Indira Gandhi, who was the prime minister of India
- at the time, led Operation Blue Star
- where they took the Indian army and they
- attacked Amritsar, the Golden Temple,
- which is one of the six holiest shrines and places.
- It was a couple of days of surrounding the temple,
- and it was isolation at the time.
- And there was a lot of police brutality,
- a lot of killings of Sikhs, that still to this day,
- have not faced justice.
- Especially, with the police brutality,
- police is something that's supposed to protect and serve
- us, but they turned against Sikhs at that time,
- following Indira Gandhi's orders.
- So I did see that there were protests in Bellingham.
- Were you expecting that there would
- be Black Lives Matter movement would find this kind of support
- in Bellingham, or were you surprised by it?
- I think at first I was a little bit surprised
- because when we're looking at the news,
- we mostly see these larger cities where
- the riots and the protests would sometimes get violent.
- But I did end up going to the protests that happened
- in downtown Bellingham, and I think
- it was one of those incredible moments where
- it's like almost every single person I
- saw there was wearing a mask.
- Everyone respecting.
- They were keeping distance.
- Everyone was recognizing the issue of the global pandemic,
- but they were still there in solidarity for Black Lives
- and for all minorities.
- And, especially, in Whatcom County,
- Whatcom County does have a history of fear of immigrants,
- of fear of people of color.
- I think, sometimes, we think that-- we look at our County,
- and we think it's not really as much of a big of a issue.
- But it still is there.
- I think it was truly incredible to see everyone show up
- there in solidarity.
- And the fact that most of the people I saw there were white,
- and there were so many different generations.
- There was kids.
- There were older generations.
- Everyone was there, no matter what walks of life,
- people were.
- And everyone was there to support
- this in this very important movement happening
- in our country.
- It was very interesting to see that the Black Lives Matter is
- something that will stand up following
- in the last experience of the last few months.
- But with the pandemic, you were to say
- it's going to leave an imprint on you.
- How do you think it shaped, or how
- do you think it is shaping you right now,
- in terms of what you're thinking in terms of how
- you're looking at the future?
- Think the pandemic has really taught
- me to acknowledge my privilege and to be grateful for what
- I have, in terms of a roof over my head,
- a family that is healthy.
- And these things that we take for granted, especially,
- health, to see before coronavirus, seeing
- how well our country was functioning
- and to see that most Americans really were leading a good life
- and to be grateful for those privileges
- that I have had in my life because being born in the US
- is a privilege.
- Being multicultural and having knowledge
- of these two different cultures is a privilege.
- Having two parents, and having siblings,
- and having a house over my roof, this was all a privilege
- that we saw thousands of people didn't have.
- So really has taught me to appreciate my time here
- on this earth because one day we will all leave
- and to really be grateful for our healthcare workers
- and for everyone who has put their lives on risk to protect
- us.
- And your mother is an essential worker.
- Is that not right?
- Yes, my mother works as a lab assistant
- at the local hospital, most specifically, in the ER.
- So she did deal with coronavirus patients directly.
- I look at her and I think she's--
- she is my personal superhero.
- But just really seeing the fact that she put her life at risk
- and--
- and she was fearful of contracting COVID-19
- and bringing that home to her kids--
- but the fact that she still going to work every day
- and showed up and did her duty as an American,
- as a healthcare worker, to help out everyone in the situation.
- How do you think state handling has
- been about the response of the state to COVID-19?
- It has been a little disappointing, I think,
- overall.
- The fact was that, in my opinion,
- COVID-19 was in China before, and I
- thought we could have been better prepared.
- I do understand that this is--
- it is a global pandemic.
- No one planned for this to happen.
- No one was prepared for it, but I do think our nation
- and our state governments could have done a better
- job of having proper PPE and having
- better resources in place to help us out,
- especially, since we already saw that this
- was happening in China.
- And this was happening in Italy.
- We were told that it's going to come to the US,
- but we didn't quite believe it until it already came here.
- And I think, just now, masks became
- required in Whatcom County.
- I don't understand why that wasn't done months
- ago to prevent more cases and to prevent death.
- I think we could have been more proactive about what
- we were doing and to have done it sooner.
- So there is this question that I plan
- to ask everyone in the series and sort of the last question.
- But was there a moment when you realized
- that you are living through a pandemic, a particular moment?
- And if there is one, can you describe it?
- I do clearly remember that.
- I was about to go to Woods Coffee,
- here in Ferndale, down in Ferndale downtown, and I was--
- I had parked.
- And I was about to walk in, and the door was closed.
- And I realized, oh, they had shut down due to quarantine.
- And then I looked around and it's--
- it's in this busy plaza, and the main streets right there.
- I didn't see any cars.
- I didn't see any other people.
- All the businesses were shut down,
- and it was that moment of like, oh, wow, this is real.
- This is happening in my hometown.
- This is happening to me.
- It's like that movie moment, or if you
- see like Captain America, when he wakes up 50 years later,
- he looks around.
- And he's like, wow, this is my life.
- You know, just that wondering of how did I get here.
- And like, wow, it really did hit me.
- And I was like, OK, this is happening.
- Thank you so much for your time.
- These were my questions.
- But is there anything you would like
- to share before we open up the session for questions
- from the audience?
- No.
- I would like to thank you guys for giving South Asians
- a voice through this project.
- I've never been asked to do anything like this before.
- Looking at my history books, I've
- never seen South Asians or minorities be that represented,
- so I think this is--
- very thankful for this opportunity.
- Thank you, and thank you, everyone, for attending.
- And Athena, I think will, technically, now
- explain what happens.
- Sure.
- Thank you.
- Thank you both so much.
- I'm very grateful to be a part of this series
- and this experience.
- Now we would just like to open it up
- to anyone that would like to speak to have a question.
- Just to keep in mind that when you do put your volume on,
- it will show either your name or your picture
- if you turn that on, and we are recording.
- So just another reminder, but we would love to hear from you.
- And, again, if you're not comfortable doing that,
- we can also have you write in the chat,
- and we'll look over there.
- Let me just make sure.
- OK.
- So you should have the ability now
- to unmute yourself, if anyone has any questions
- or anything they'd like to add to the discussion
- before we close today.
- Anybody?
- Wait another moment because I have
- found that in doing a lot of hosting, it's sometimes just
- takes a minute to get to the keyboard.
- Hello, Ruth.
- Just one quick question--
- Rose, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts
- and experiences with the world today.
- I was wondering if you have any advice
- that you would give to students that are coming into Fall
- who've maybe not had the experience that you have had,
- things to do, things to think about and be aware of, to help
- them be prepared.
- I think, especially, college, in general, it's
- a lot about self-motivation and to stay on top of tasks.
- So if I think, specifically, for me, one thing I could have done
- was be more proactive about knowing
- when I do have to do something and to, especially, split
- up that time where you're stuck on a computer.
- I work in an office environment.
- So I would look at a computer, and then, sometimes,
- to come home to also have to stare at a computer and watch
- these hour-long videos, it's not--
- it's definitely not something interesting.
- And I think, most importantly, for me,
- it's trying to kind of create that school environment
- in your home as much as you can and with whatever resources
- you have.
- I've found that if I'm sitting on my bed,
- I'm not going to get any work done.
- So sitting on a table and trying to have
- that experience in the environment around me
- where we're all focused on schoolwork.
- I think that kind of helped me more in general.
- Thank you.
- Great.
- Anything else?
- Oh, great.
- Thank you.
- We have a nice comment in the chat from Elizabeth.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
- Anyone else have anything they'd like
- to say before we close today?
- Just want to give it another minute--
- I know it takes a second, like I said, to get to the chat
- and sometimes to just even hit unmute in these sessions.
- OK.
- Well, thank you so much to both of you for today.
- We really appreciate it.
- Again, I'm proud to be a part of it as Western C.A.R.E.S.
- and to be able to work on this project with you both.
- And Dharitri, before we close, would you
- like to say anything about the next session coming up?
- On Thursday, our guest will be Samia Jannat.
- And she will be talking about death and dying.
- And we are going to have the series every Tuesday, Thursday,
- so, please, talk to friends if they would like to attend.
- And all of these will be also available
- in the Western archives, the Center for Pacific Northwest
- Studies, after the series is over at some point.
- And it will be available to the public.
- So thank you for taking time off to attend, and thank you, Rose,
- once again.
- Wonderful.
- Thank you to you both, and thank you for everyone
- for coming today.
- The audience really is a big part of this series,
- and we're very grateful to have you here.
- And, yes, like she said, please, do come and join us
- again because there's a lot of-- many people
- that will be coming to be interviewed.
- And it's going to be a very interesting series,
- so we hope to see you again.
- Thank you so much.
- Have a wonderful afternoon, everybody.
- Thank you to Rose as well.
- Bye, everyone.
- Have a wonderful afternoon.