Hot Ones Panel Opens Up
The Campus Ministry’s Hot Ones Panel on March 4 was a continuation of a five-year long tradition here at UD, where our chaplain, Fr. Jeronimo, Deacon Ryan and a handful of RAs partook in a tongue blistering challenge: eating progressively spicier chicken wings as they were asked personal questions, questions about their past experiences and about their likes and dislikes, while panelists tried to focus as the heat stung their senses. Students were able to submit their questions beforehand in a Google Form linked to QR codes on the posters hanging around campus.
Gorman A buzzed with excitement as the panel sat down to endure their punishments. Emcee Patrick Deavel introduced the panel, with moderate cheers as each panelist was announced. Anecdotes and jokes were plentiful as the panelists choked down wings with spicier and spicier hot sauces.
Even Fr. Jeronimo was struggling with the spice; by bite two, he was about ready to tap out, but he wanted to dispel any rumors about his Colombian heritage. He said, “I’m Colombian, it doesn’t mean I’m Mexican. There’s 23 countries that speak Spanish, and only two love spicy food. Okay. Mexico and Peru. So welcome to the world, friends. So even though my heritage is Colombian, I hate spicy food. So yes, I was dreading the whole thing. I was dying.”
Those from the North, RA Elinor True, from Minnesota, and Deacon Ryan, from the land where maple syrup flows like water, were feeling the heat. Deacon Ryan was doing alright until the last few sauces. In a post panel interview, he said, “I don’t mean to brag, but I am a veteran; this was my third Hot One’s challenge. So I do have a lot more experience at this than some of them. I played a technical game, but I can tell you that we’re now 20 minutes after we ate the last sauce and my lower lip on the right hand side, I don’t even feel like it’s there anymore.”
From Peter Prudlo’s Rome story about bag troubles, to Maddy Conly’s attempt to kick someone out of her own dorm, the truth was slowly smoked out of our brave panelists. Mitchell Orlowski claimed he was behind a string of water balloon attacks in the Fall of 2024, and Fr. Jeronimo revealed that he won’t hesitate to put you in a Homily.
Fr. Jeronimo also expressed his pet peeve that people don’t sing at mass, and the issue of only receiving from him or Deacon Ryan, and said, “Because the argument of time [of distributing] is one argument, but it’s not the argument. The argument is why do you think that because my hands are blessed, which they are, this is the only way that you should receive? In the end, what’s most important is not who is giving you Communion, but who you are receiving.”
As the panelists moved onto the final “ghost pepper” sauce, Fr. Jeronimo simply walked away. As he was gone, Deac poured the sauce all over his wing. Every panelist was in extreme pain while they tried to answer the final round of questions. Even Prudlo, who up until this point had been mostly unaffected, was suffering.
In an interview before the panel, Prudlo said, “I’m really a man of the people. I really try to give them what they want, and if they want to see people suffer, I love to hear that, and if they want to see me suffer, most likely, in my position as an RA, I want to give them that. I’m Polish and Irish, so [my spice tolerance] is pretty bad, but I’ve got a little bit of Portuguese in me, that gives me a couple points.” It would seem that Peter accurately guessed his abilities. In her post-game interview, RA Madison Conly said, “I’d like to state for the record that I sat directly next to Peter Prudlo and he did, in fact, begin shaking on second sauce, and then I started making comments, and then he felt the need to compete. That’s when he started drinking sauce.”
In the end, there was suffering, and there was joy. Fun was had by all, and the night was truly a success.