UC Irvine Criminologist Charis E. Kubrin

I Love to Hate Sweets

Charis E. Kubrin is a professor of criminology, law, and society at the UC Irvine who researches the intersection of neighborhoods, race, and violence. Before participating in the Zócalo/The California Wellness Foundation event, “How Do You Fix a ‘Bad’ Neighborhood?” she talked in the Zócalo green room about her connection to Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

Q:

If you could be anyone in history, who would you be?


A:

I would really be curious to be my maternal grandmother because she was an immigrant who came over from Poland and really experienced both worlds. I study immigration and I’m fascinated by immigration and the lives of immigrants, and I’m very proud to have immigrants in my family. I just can’t imagine picking up a family and moving to a different country and starting a new life there, so I’d like to know what that was like.


Q:

What do you love to hate?


A:

I love to hate sweets. Chocolate. Cake.


Q:

What was the most important year of your life?


A:

The year my son was born because that just completely changed me forever. 2010.


Q:

If you could legalize one crime, what would it be?


A:

As a criminologist I should have a prepared answer to that, but I actually don’t. I would need to go back and really, really think about that. I’m a criminologist, and I have no good answer for you. The irony of it is just smacking me in the face.


Q:

It’s your last meal. What do you eat?


A:

Bowl of pasta, garlic bread, nice bottle of Chianti, crème brûlée for dessert.


Q:

What’s the last movie you saw in a theater?


A:

Finding Dory because I have a 6-year-old son, and it’s all about him.


Q:

Where would we find you at 10 a.m. on a typical Saturday morning?


A:

With my husband and son, doing something fun.


Q:

What was your first job?


A:

I worked at the movie theater in the Sherman Oaks Galleria, where the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High featured prominently. That was kind of my claim to fame in high school. Got me nowhere, but I thought it was kind of cool.


Q:

How do you procrastinate?


A:

I clean. I organize. I rearrange.


Q:

What’s the last thing that surprised you?


A:

This interview. [Laughs.]


*Photo by Aaron Salcido.