Collected Item: “Chanel Fu Oral History, 2021/05/10”
Title
Interview with Chanel Fu
Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.
Kit Heintzman
Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.
Chanel Fu
Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.
kheintzman@gmail.com
Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your oral history. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?
#ableism, #AntiAsianRacism, #AntiBlackRacism, #anxiety, #Asian, #art, #artist, #bats, #BLM, #Calgary, #Canada, #Canadian, #China, #Chinese, #climatechange, #DougFord, #EastAsian, #equity, #family, #fatphobia, #fear, #food, #GeorgeFloyd, #graduating, #healthcareworkers, #HongKong, #immigrant, #individualism, #masking, #medicalization, #medicalracism, #mentalhealth, #misinformation, #music, #musician, #news, #onlinelearning, #Ontario, #partnership, #phoneanxiety, #police, #policebrutality, #privacy, #race, #racism, #queer, #school, #shame, #shaming, #sickleave, #student, #suicide, #Toronto, #university, #vaccinehunters, #woman
What is the format of your recording?
Audio
In what ZIP code is the primary residence of the interviewee? (enter 5-digit ZIP code; for example, 00544 or 94305)? In what city/town/village does the interviewee live? In what country does the interviewee live? All comma-separated.
Toronto, ON, Canada
What is the gender of the interviewee? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their gender in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a gender identity to interviewees.*
Cis woman, she/her
What is the age of the interviewee?
18 to 24
How does the interviewee describe their race or ethnicity? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their race/ethnicity in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a racial or ethnic identity to interviewees.*
Chinese
Describe the oral history.
Self-description:
“My name is Chanel. I currently just finished my undergraduate degree in life sciences. I study neuroscience and psychology at the University of Toronto. I am originally from Calgary, AB. I was born and raised in Calgary, and I moved to Toronto for my undergraduate degree. I have two older sisters, and my family is originally from Hong Kong and my parents were immigrants and I’m a first generation Canadian…. I got to hear about this interview through my band called cutsleeve, where I’m the lead singer and I also met some of my really good friends through that band.”
Some of the things we discussed included:
How being a life science student impacted reaction to the pandemic
That when studying pandemics in classes didn’t feel it was personally relevant until it came
Both sisters involved in health care; wanting to become a healthcare worker; volunteering with a 2SLGBTQ organization in Ontario, Canada
Poor experiences in mental health management in Alberta, comparisons with Ontario
Being dismissed by healthcare workers, “it’s just stress”
Comparing the experience of going to university pre- and mid- pandemic
Online learning: issues of privacy; synchronous and asynchronous education; lack of support for instructors and students; teachers soliciting feedback
University of Toronto as a large institution and student support
Graduating during the pandemic: jobs prospects, more educational prospects
The loss of small social interactions, saying hello in the hallway and seeing communities; the pandemic requiring intentional planning for social contact
Pandemic safety precautions in music making; making music online
Difficulties of artistic collaboration online
Making less music during the pandemic
Hearing about the pandemic in Feb/March 2020, worries about family members in Hong Kong who regularly traveled to China
Anti-racism racism: rhetoric about bat-eating, speculations about the virus origin, judgment about masking
Learning about BLM circa 2013-2014, and noticing increased visibility in 2020; police brutality
The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on already marginalized people
Not living with a partner of 2 years and the impact of lockdown; relationship going mostly online; not leaving the apartment for a month; committing with family not to see anyone indefinitely–partner included–and observing others still socializing
The particular impact on queer people who are in the closet
Getting better at communication
Normalized asking consent to touch and needs for safety
Fear/uncertainty about the consequences of actions, exposing others
Freeze response
Double standards about individual-responsibility for the self and others
Media and news consumption
The importance of green space; access to nature as a health issue
The difference between surviving and growing
Sources of information: peer reviewed articles, family, friends, government
Paid sick leave
Volunteer vaccine hunters
Fossil fuels in Alberta; Climate change
Recognizing one’s own moment as historically important
Cultural references: Instagram, Twitter
“My name is Chanel. I currently just finished my undergraduate degree in life sciences. I study neuroscience and psychology at the University of Toronto. I am originally from Calgary, AB. I was born and raised in Calgary, and I moved to Toronto for my undergraduate degree. I have two older sisters, and my family is originally from Hong Kong and my parents were immigrants and I’m a first generation Canadian…. I got to hear about this interview through my band called cutsleeve, where I’m the lead singer and I also met some of my really good friends through that band.”
Some of the things we discussed included:
How being a life science student impacted reaction to the pandemic
That when studying pandemics in classes didn’t feel it was personally relevant until it came
Both sisters involved in health care; wanting to become a healthcare worker; volunteering with a 2SLGBTQ organization in Ontario, Canada
Poor experiences in mental health management in Alberta, comparisons with Ontario
Being dismissed by healthcare workers, “it’s just stress”
Comparing the experience of going to university pre- and mid- pandemic
Online learning: issues of privacy; synchronous and asynchronous education; lack of support for instructors and students; teachers soliciting feedback
University of Toronto as a large institution and student support
Graduating during the pandemic: jobs prospects, more educational prospects
The loss of small social interactions, saying hello in the hallway and seeing communities; the pandemic requiring intentional planning for social contact
Pandemic safety precautions in music making; making music online
Difficulties of artistic collaboration online
Making less music during the pandemic
Hearing about the pandemic in Feb/March 2020, worries about family members in Hong Kong who regularly traveled to China
Anti-racism racism: rhetoric about bat-eating, speculations about the virus origin, judgment about masking
Learning about BLM circa 2013-2014, and noticing increased visibility in 2020; police brutality
The pandemic’s disproportionate impact on already marginalized people
Not living with a partner of 2 years and the impact of lockdown; relationship going mostly online; not leaving the apartment for a month; committing with family not to see anyone indefinitely–partner included–and observing others still socializing
The particular impact on queer people who are in the closet
Getting better at communication
Normalized asking consent to touch and needs for safety
Fear/uncertainty about the consequences of actions, exposing others
Freeze response
Double standards about individual-responsibility for the self and others
Media and news consumption
The importance of green space; access to nature as a health issue
The difference between surviving and growing
Sources of information: peer reviewed articles, family, friends, government
Paid sick leave
Volunteer vaccine hunters
Fossil fuels in Alberta; Climate change
Recognizing one’s own moment as historically important
Cultural references: Instagram, Twitter
On what date did you record this oral history?
2021-05-05T13:05