Campus humor mag marks its centennial

As Punch Bowl co-editors Scott Ganz and Adam Samson geared up to celebrate 100 years as Penn's leading humor publication, the College juniors realized they had a problem on their hands: The campus humor magazine was only published during about 70 of them. "We're still trying to find our history. It's sort of an enigma," Samson admitted. "But that will change." The co-editors hope that a cover facelift and design overhaul, funnier writing and a renewed focus on Penn issues will spur interest when the struggling humor magazine's first issue of the semester is released next week. "A humor magazine is a reflection of a school," Samson said. "We want to capture a year -- all of the pop culture and stuff that happens at Penn." "It's the most audacious, offensive and exciting publication," Ganz hyped. "This is the one forum where issues will be dealt with no restraint." For the centennial publication, Punch Bowl's theme will center around the seven signs of the apocalypse. While Ganz and Samson would not disclose the complete list of targets, presidential candidate George W. Bush, former MTV veejay Jesse Camp and the University's alcohol policies are among them. "If they are going to restrict alcohol, they should restrict food, too," Samson quipped, hinting at Punch Bowl's irreverent take on the issue. "Look at how many sorority girls throw up after eating, too." Indeed, over the years, the humor magazine has had a history of folly. Founded in 1899, the publication followed in a distinguished line of Ivy League humor magazines including The Harvard Lampoon and The Yale Record. "Punch Bowl was started by a bunch of people who could not get published in The Daily Pennsylvanian," Ganz explained. While much of its early 20th century existence is a mystery, what is known is that the magazine published four times a year and used to compete in "write-offs" with the other Ivy League humor publications. And its humor was often racist, reflecting views held by Penn's white, male-dominated student body. Although publication ceased a number of times at midcentury, by the 1970s budding humorists brought the publication back. In fact, when the 1976 film Rocky was being filmed, Punch Bowl writers played a prank on the entire student body. They posted a false advertisement calling for Penn students to be movie extras during an early morning shoot. While the humor continued throughout the 1980s, interest in the magazine waned and Punch Bowl stopped printing again in the early 1990s. However, Student Activities Council funding enabled something of a resurgence. Indeed, its editors hail a 1995 exclusive interview with Penn's Playboy playmate as the publication's shining moment. Now, as the Punch Bowl editors celebrate the publication's centennial, they also have their eye on the next 100 years. "There is always the temptation to go completely digital," Ganz said.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.