Off the Cuff: Chris Baymiller

Chris Baymiller is one of the Assistant Directors of the Student Union. He is the brains behind the mechanics of Wilder and a busy man, spending close to 60 hours a week there. Yet he just smiles at my shock at that number and replies, “It goes along with the territory.”
His Wilder 111 office is adorned with an eclectic assortment of music-related posters, programs and head-shots as well as strings of colored Christmas lights. He’s a College alum, as Obie as they come, and amiably used a part of his weekday afternoon to speak with me.

Where are you originally from?
Toledo, Ohio. I came from a very conservative, very Lutheran, very republican-voting family. My dad always called Oberlin the “Den of Iniquity.” He would say, “Get in the car. I’ll take you back to the Den of Iniquity now.” I was always grateful he let me come here.

So you’re an alum?
Class of ’71.

You must have liked it here. A lot.
The first night I was here as a student they were doing body painting. [Laughing] That was when I knew this was the place for me. I took the job at the Union as sort of an interim job. I was fired as an air traffic controller by Reagan in ’81 for illegally striking against the federal government. I was on the picket line until I was broke. I did some substitute teaching thinking we were going to win and took the Union job as a night job. It was only supposed to last for two months. I’ve been here 20 years. I love it here. What other town has five libraries you can just walk between? I don’t have to commute, and I’m not much into wearing ties. This is a good gig for me.

What type of things were you involved in as a student?
I had a very different college experience than most people, because when I was here I was married to my first wife and we had a one-year-old. I only ever really had one dorm experience and it wasn’t so good. My roommate and I did not get along. He had a hygiene problem.

You said you have children?
Three.

Did any of them attend the College?
No. [Laughs] They wanted no part of Oberlin.

Are students different now at all than when you were one?
I really don’t see that much of a difference. Obies are really the same every generation. I hear seniors every year saying that this place is going to hell, that students aren’t the same anymore. There is always a fear that this place is becoming more conservative, but I don’t detect the students changing at all. There is an Obie nature that transcends generations. Oberlin students almost have too many irons in the fire at one time. That’s what is characteristic about them. They are all multitalented. They all have many things going on in their lives.

What is it that you do in Wilder?
One thing is programming. I’ve booked well over 1,000 shows since I’ve been here. I think my favorite was one visit by Guided by Voices. Kim Deal from The Breeders showed up to play. It was awesome.
The Review has an article this week on Wilder crime. What do you have to say about theft from the Student Union?
I don’t think theft is any worse this year than in the last 20. It’s disturbing that students are stealing the framed concert photos. I mean I’m sure that we have rolls of toilet paper going in and out of here all the time, but what they’re focusing on now is dear to me.

I hear you’re in charge of Drag Ball.
Yes, that’s one of the hats I wear.

How did that come about?
It was started by two students that first programmed it for about 200 people in Talcott. The next year it was in South and about 500 people showed up. I knew them and called them and told them they could have it in the ‘Sco after the College refused to let them continue to use those facilities. From there it just became huge.

Do you attend?
Oh yeah, I’m at all of them. They’re awesome. They’re meant to be crazy and over-the-top. We try and do that and I think that we’re successful.

I see you have a pretty extensive CD collection. What’s your favorite?
I don’t listen to much popular music at home because I’m around it all day here. I listen to baroque and medieval music, also a lot of jazz.

What do you do in your spare time?
I do a lot of yoga. I just got certified as an instructor within the last six months. I mostly work with students. [Pauses, then laughs] See now you’re making me assess it. What I’d really like to do is spend more time with my wife. We have an antique love. We’ve been fixing up a 19th century house for 20 years now.

Oh yeah? How’s that coming?
Sometimes I want to blow it up.

Interview conducted by news editor Rachel Decker.