The funny thing about life, is that you forget 99% of it. I just spent some time revisiting my college days via my school newspaper.
As the head of the school radio station, we prided ourselves on being counterculture, i.e. hip to punk, new wave, etc... as opposed to the kids over at the school newspaper who were prig. To point this out, I published my own fake paper but used the same printing company and masthead as the real paper. The quote by its editor in chief was that I had caused irreparable harm. He obviously didn't like me after that lol. But, to his credit, he then chose to publish a confidential report of a potentially racially motivated on-campus fight. The acting Dean of Students, Don Spring, eventually fired him for that.
I then find out our social committee was not holding a winter party. OK, so I'll hold my own (the one with the Rush cover band), which I called The Awesome Band Party. Every year, Genesee beer would donate 10 kegs of beer to us to give away as prizes for our annual trivia contest. That year, if we bought five we'd get five free. So we did. I then gave away five. The others were slated for our party.
So I hold the party. Apparently the entire campus got drunk that night because said same acting Dean was out to get me. He claimed the radio station had no authority to throw such a party, thus it was my party, thus I needed to reimburse the school for the cost of the beer, which he claimed was $300. I was then brought up before the Student Forum. I win. Apparently the administration was not happy, nor was the newspaper, so they actually forced a new hearing. The forum is lucky if their own members show up. This one was standing room. I show up in a suit with a briefcase containing just a Rubik's Cube. My friend shows up with just a Bible. Back then I could solve a cube in minutes, so this is what we now call a flex lol.
The part I forgot was that the forum apparently had an opening... so I decided to run for it. Certainly sounds like me. So did Paul lol. I'd have remembered winning, and if Paul had won, but we were both seniors anyhow, so I wonder if he was just following my lead just to mess with them. Anyhow, apparently the forum just could recommend to the Dean what to do, not do it themselves. The Dean ruled I needed to repay the $300 or not graduate. I refused, and because I recall he looked like he wanted to kill me, I'm sure I said some things to him he didn't like. I do recall the staff there loved me, though, especially the Dean of Student Activities. For example, the previous summer she showed me a list of bands on tour. I handed her the GoGos first album and said, take this home, listen to it, book them. She did.
The Dean then said if I missed a given deadline, my name would not be in the program. I missed that deadline. I was then given a final deadline or else no graduation. Something like one hour. I think I only had $100 in my account. $300 back then was like $1000 today. I call my mother. I just said I needed $200. She was confused. Regardless, there was no way to get the money wired to me in time. Nobody to lend it to me. I began wondering how I was going to explain not graduating to my parents.
Then a lightbulb does off. I race to my bank ATM and withdraw $100. These were the days when ATMs must have all cleared at midnight... at least not immediately. I knew this because my roommate had told me he accidently did this and was shocked. I hold my breath and ask for another $100. Bingo. And again. Done! Yes, I got called into the bank the next day on this. I basically pleaded ignorance. I honestly don't ever recall having to pay them back. I race back to the student center. The office actually stood up and cheered for me!
On graduation day, sure enough, my name was not in the program. Thankfully, they did call it out. My friends all came up afterwards and asked me what I said to the Dean when I turned around after getting my diploma. I can't recall, but it would have been something funny, not mean. For the first time ever, I looked at the school paper the next year to see if the acting Dean was named the permanent dean. He was not! Gee, I wonder why. :)
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So to fact check myself, I found this snippet from one of the many stories written about the above. It references that the $300 was not for the beer but for audio equipment rental. I recall renting soda equipment, but never audio. But maybe I did. But then it says the party never happened. It did. A keg of Genesee was probably about $30 back then, so $150 for five kegs. So I guess it was not about beer reimbursement after all. A small victory, but I'll take it!
- Jeff |
