There's a strong tradition of making fun of life on college campuses — the little in-jokes and jabs at the micro cultures that develop at places of higher learning (and higher partying) — and you probably remember that from your college paper or some independent 'zine that circulated mysteriously to the chagrin of that
lousy, fun-hating, crotchety old dean.
A couple guys at Gonzaga have honored this custom by launching
The Logan at the beginning of the semester. The site, which they've dubbed "Gonzaga's #1 News Source" with the slug line "Getting Gonzaga's news to you before it even happens," has the typical "had-to-be-on-campus" jokes, but is hilariously acceptable to society at large, like a recent
story about the doorman at a party who really, genuinely wants to make sure everyone has a good time.
The two editors and main contributors told us their names were Vincenzo Bellucci and Andre Eskamilio. These are obviously fake names and the scribes admitted as much, but hope to retain their anonymity as to keep the targets of their satire on their toes. Yeah, we're professional journalists who could find the size of your grandma's underwear if you gave us 15 minutes and a six pack, but we'll let this one slide.
Their inspiration is, obviously,
The Onion, and you can see its influence at work in
The Logan, where stories are punched up with the straight-forward approach of daily hard news stories. Where
The Logan hits its stride for the off-campus audience is in its coverage of Gonzaga basketball. "
Przemek Karnowski To Give Up 2-Point Shots For Lent" read one headline, while another gave hardcore fans a chance to remember that
there's a guy named Rem Bakamus with a story about Bakamus doubting that coach Mark Few remembered he was on the team.
It's mostly goofball knocks at the absurdity of certain aspects of life at Gonzaga, but
The Logan does offer some societal critique with its satire. There's the realization that idiots and assholes sometimes win in "
Kid Passed Out With Penis Drawn on Face to Someday Own Fortune 500 Company" and many other pieces point out that Gonzaga students, despite their occasional bitching, have it pretty good.
"We don’t want to do anything unethical or be intentionally offensive, but depending on what’s happening there’s a chance to point out some flaws. I think things should be called out if we get the right take on it," says Bellucci, whose fake name was probably cribbed from a leather-jacket clad 1990s stand-up comedian.
Eskamillo (sounds like a pasta place in Alaska to me) wants the social critiques to come to his readers after they have their laughs.
"The best satire is where it does have a point to it, but people don’t realize that until much later," he says.