It is once again time to meet the Angry Reader of the Week, putting the spotlight on you, the very special readers of this website. Over the years, I've been able to connect with a lot of cool folks, and this is a way of showing some appreciation and attention to the people who help make this blog what it is. This week's reader is UCLA graduate student/soon-to-be professor Julie Park.
Who are you?
Julie Jinwon Park, not to be confused with singer/songwriter Julie Park, UMCP Sociology/AsianAm prof Julie Park, or the lady who owns Julie's Park Cafe & Hotel.
What are you?
A second generation Korean American... who needs to spend less time on the internet.
Where are you?
Riverside, California--the self-proclaimed nexus of power in the Inland Empire.
Where are you from?
Born and raised in Dayton, OH, birthplace of aviation and the site of the 1995 Bosnian Peace Talks.
What do you do?
I'm a grad student at UCLA. My research broadly addresses race in higher education and my dissertation looks at race relations in a campus fellowship (InterVarsity). I spend my days analyzing data on random things like affirmative action, student perceptions of diversity, and Korean cram schools... I also spend a lot of the procrastinating on the interweb, which is why I'm such a devoted AAM reader. Starting this fall I'll be teaching at Miami University back in Ohio.
What are you all about?
I've been minorly or majorly fascinated with race since elementary school, so I feel blessed to have a vocation that lets me study race for a living and help people make sense of it. My main joy these days is my baby nephew. I relocated to Riverside last year to help start a church, so I like to think that we're helping build social capital in the IE. I love to eat. In moving back to Ohio I hope to have a positive influence on the future decision makers of the state--as Ohio goes, so goes the nation! I also enjoy getting together with friends once a month; someone gives a lecture on a movie and then we watch it. As you can tell, it's a wild and crazy life.
What makes you angry?
I used to be really, really angry in college but I think I've mellowed out a lot since moving to California. Things that make me moderately angry include paying too much money for mediocre or bad food, sitting in traffic, and Jim Cramer et al. Things that make me more angry: injustice, deception, abuse of power, lack of opportunity/an unequal playing field, and costly stupid mistakes.