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. |