More about Hugh

Bill also wanted to add a few things about how Hugh's life was made just a bit more interesting, thanks to his membership at XCI... The following is quoted from Bill Baker's email:

With all the crap I pulled on the air (and a lot of it was pretty horrendously devoid of taste and some of it I even regret doing), there were two incidents in which I was threatened with actual suspension.

One of them did result in suspension.

1. Dwarf tossing. We (me, Kevin Elston and Greg Chelso) had picked up a copy of the Weekly World News at the supermarket and the cover article was about dwarf tossing in Australia. We talked about it and laughed about it and apparently someone called the university's president and complained. Really loudly. I am guessing it was a trustee or a big donor, because (and Hugh will have to refresh my memory and corroborate this, if he can) Hugh got called into a meeting in President Feldman's office. (I was not at the meeting.)

Long story short: Hugh backed me up, I was never suspended and I never heard about it again.

Post script: About a year later, Johnny Carson had actual dwarf tossing on the "Tonight Show." I would like to say we were ahead of our time, but all we did was read from a supermarket tabloid.

2. The on-campus fraternity - I can't remember its name. We were in a break and I was supposed to be reading a PSA. I was going through the stack, on-air, deciding which one to read. I was saying things like "nope, read that one yesterday", "Nope. Too boring". I got to a PSA about some event that the frat was holding and I said something "Nope. That frat is a bunch of drunks." (Which they pretty much were, by the way.) Anyway, I don't remember even saying it, as it was on off-hand comment whileI was vamping, but those frat boys were pissed. They demanded a meeting with Hugh and the GM at the time (might have been Scott Brunjes or John Ryan -again, I can't remember.) They demanded that I apologize and be suspended.

Long story short: Hugh did not want me to back down, but this time, I was pretty sure my ass was going to get kicked, my tires would be slashed, and my dog would be violated in some way, so I agreed to a one-day suspension and recorded a very monotone apology that I played once an our on the next show. It was a coward's way out, but I had no desire to take on an angry, drunken mob.

Hugh was a stalwart defender of the decisions of the Executive Board and all the students at the station. For my money, he allowed XCI to be great and it never would have been without him.

-Bill Baker