By Tyler Mudge ’18, Actual Chief Humor Editor-in-Chief 

Tyler Mudge’s Final Article as 2016-17 Editor

When I was first recruited to the humor section of the newspaper, I thought it would be a pipeline to making it big. I’d be the next Bo Burnham, the next John Mulaney, the next Bill Cosby. But it wasn’t, as it turned out the editors-in-chief lacked any connection to NBC or Comedy Central. After that, my job as Chief Humor editor became a mundane cycle like the Greek mythology story about Sisyphus. Once a month it was my job, and mine alone, to wrangle together the unruly mess of students that was the Humor writing staff. We are looking at heavy hitters like Benjy B. Berkowitz, Jake McEvoy, Danny Lifson, and slew of other writers who aren’t in my grade so I don’t know their names. And when I say they are heavy hitters, I am sarcastic – these kids are batting .100, .750 for Benjy. So, anyways, out of the mush, dumpster fires, grease fires, and hospital fires that these kids emailed me, I had to form them into beautiful magnum opus articles. I molded them like clay, like that scene from the movie “Ghost” (the one where the guy helps a young woman mold a clay pot. Yeah, that scene). So after spending days – no, weeks – chipping away, writing and rewriting these articles, I emerged with at least five touched-by-God articles. I was a zealot of comedy, and these articles were the miracles that God gave me for the sacrifices I made in order to write them. Then, I would upload these to The Minuteman website, and the next day, I would receive an email from Kiran about how I was a bad editor because I didn’t use the right font or spacing or something.

I repeated this taxing and cyclical cycle at least six times over the course of the year. And what do I have to show for it? A couple funny articles that most people don’t even like? Is that worth it, is it worth the pain, the suffering? Is this what I want to be remembered for? I don’t even know at this point, my life’s a joke.

Tyler Mudge Application for Humor Editor 2017-18

Writing for the Newspaper has been one of the greatest extracurriculars I have ever signed up for. It’s something I never want to lose. I think there is no better way to explain why it is so great than through a newspaper article. The night before our section is due, the humor section group chat is a flurry with great texts, ideas, and jokes. Honestly, out of the top ten texts I have received, I’d say at least four have come out of the humor section group chat. Each writer is so amazing in their own way. Benjy B. Berkowitz is our go-getter starling with as much charm as a lobster. He captures the quirky side of things like a Wes Anderson film. Next there is Jake McEvoy. He’s the heavy hitter of the group. He isn’t scared to stray away from uncomfortable topics like the new school bell (remember when that was a big thing, when people cared about that. What a stupid thing to care about. Get over it, it’s a bell. Is life at NA really so banal that a new bell sparks such chaos! Is there even a God!). We also have Ben Leit. I call him the Woody Allen of our group (for obvious reasons). Next there is Danny. Every single time Danny writes a comic or an article, it is a struggle to get it published. And every time I have to ask myself, is it worth it? Then there are like three or five other staff writers whose names I don’t know. Also there is Sanya. She doesn’t do much. No, but she is good, she is a great co-editor (ha pranked! I don’t mean that). Needless to say, I, and the Humor Section, would be nothing without the staff and my co-editor.

If I don’t get to be editor again next year, I take all of this back.