Punch Bowl “Diversity Issue” a Paragon of Subtlety and Restraint
How many scandals have to unfold before college publications realize their Borat-aspiring ditties on yellow fever and Indian givers are seldom well received?
Meet the newest inductee to that infamous coterie of College Publications With Dubious Taste: The Pennsylvania Punch Bowl, whose “Diversity Issue” features a theme so broad as to offend not just one or two minorities, but all maligned groups. Word is that the Asian Pacific Student Coalition called a meeting to discuss the Bowl’s heavy hand with Asian jokes, including a photo spread depicting “Where Asians Don’t Belong.” Locations of non-belonging include “at a frat party,” “participating in a drinking game,” and specific buildings and classes at Penn. Highlights include a “Great Moments in Diversity History” timeline:
And advice on “Diversifying Your Friend Portfolio”:
Ah, the fine line between making jokes about stereotypes and, uh, listing them one by one for 14 pages straight? Punch Bowl’s website offers the magazine for PDF download, but since you probably don’t want smut like that on your hard drive, we’ve got it after the jump. Looks like the Bowl didn’t appreciate our attempt to improve their internet availability. So we’ve reduced after-the-jump to just a few excerpts (only some of your shit, Punch!) and one of the stranger cease-and-desists we’ve received, featuring ruminations on “this modern life” and metaphors about fire and light and stuff.
The photo spread that has the APSC up in arms (click for enlarged view):
The cease-and-desist in which we discover that, just as Vogue is a division of the Conde Nast, and 7 is a divisor of 21, Punch Bowl is a division of Penn:
Hey Ivygate,
Thanks for the attention! We’ve been trying to fan the flames enough for people to complain, and it looks like instead of actually complaining or something… they gave a heads up to you guys? Ah, this modern life.
Anyway, yeah we appreciate the limelight- but- you’re gonna have to take down the entirety of our magazine in jpg form. We’re fine with (jubilant, in fact) you linking to our website if your readers want to read our reprehensible magazine, but we’re not fine with (not jubilant, in fact) you jacking all our shit. So yeah, direct link it or whatever, but take down those jpgs.
We’re, ironically, actually copyrighted and actually considered a division of UPenn, and it’s going to be a huge hassle for us to have to go to legal and submit a formal complaint and all that, so we’d appreciate it.
Thanks again!
Punch Bowl
So, if Punch Bowl is a division of Penn, their editors must be, like, Amy Gutmann’s co-workers. In which case they might want to rethink their boundaries:
Luckily, we hear Fairy Jihad-Mother has a pretty good sense of humor for these things.
Related Posts
68 Comments | 
Digg This | 
Share on Facebook | 
Print This Post
| 
Email This Post
Read more: Dartmouth, punch bowl, racism
Search
Email
About
Report a bug
Archives
RSS Feed
February 13th, 2008 at 12:05 pm
What a fine institution of hilarity.
Michael J. Weingarth
Former Punch Bowl Editor-in-Chief ‘06-07
http://www.TheDoppleGang.com
February 13th, 2008 at 12:24 pm
What a fine institution of hilarity.
Michael J. Weingarth
Former Punch Bowl Editor-in-Chief ‘06-07
http://www.TheDoppleGang.com
February 13th, 2008 at 12:33 pm
Telling racist jokes also probably works better if they’re, you know, JOKES. I obviously didn’t read the whole thing but in what I did look at there wasn’t a single thing that made me even crack a smile, let alone laugh.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Telling racist jokes also probably works better if they’re, you know, JOKES. I obviously didn’t read the whole thing but in what I did look at there wasn’t a single thing that made me even crack a smile, let alone laugh.
February 13th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
Aw. While women are insufferable creatures, it’s not because they talk about Stairmasters (at least not in college). What a missed opportunity, Punch Bowl (although yes, if you get a group of them together for long enough they will invariably mention menstruation at some point).
I nevertheless applaud the balls it took to publish this. Never coulda happened at Yale.
-a reluctant female
February 13th, 2008 at 12:36 pm
What a bunch of douchebags you are IvyGate, especially Maureen.
When will you ever get off your high horse? You routinely embarrass and “malign” individuals who have done nothing wrong, and you still find this offensive?
And if you really are offended by it, why do you post it? This being a humorous website, I would assume your goal is to entertain people. But you can’t really believe that people are laughing at this, the umpteenth regurgitation of your “OMG racism” spiel, Maureen? No, people laugh at the actual article because it’s actually funny, and that’s why you post it.
Gone is the hilarity of Nick Summers and his witty, pompous, self deprecating humor. There are enough cries of racism on my own campus, I don’t need you to add to them every other day. You’re tiring, leave.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
I agree… just because something uses racial humor doesn’t make it racist. Political correctness does get boring after a while.
Whether it’s actually funny is kind of a different matter, but still, you don’t need to cry “racism!” every time a humor magazine makes a joke about Asians.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:03 pm
Yeah! Let’s make fun of how shitty IvyGate’s gotten. I’m sure there are more jokes there than trashing Asians.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Why are we talking about IvyGate. Punch Bowl is way more hilarious/offensive. Let’s talk about them
February 13th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
Maureen O’Connor clearly missed the point that the whole issue is making fun of racism… not being an agent of it. Maybe she should talk to all the Asians who willingly posed for the pictures.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:12 pm
Why are we talking about IvyGate. Punch Bowl is way more hilarious/offensive. Let’s talk about them
February 13th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
do asians have no sense of humor or what, guys?????????
February 13th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Be sure to read the pros/cons of coming out! They’re hilarious! Thanks Maureen for really getting the word out about Punch Bowl! It’s awesome! Love you lots! Kthxbai
February 13th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
I know the “uppity feminist” remarks are soon to follow… but that was one of the few times in my life that I have actually been offended by non-p.c. humor… probably because as brown ‘08 said, it wasn’t even humorous. Punchbowl=boring.
Anyway… back to the stairmaster to work off my menstrual cramps, all that pasta, and the emotional baggage of my commitment-phobic bf.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I agree parts of it are a little distasteful, but some of it made me laugh. Ditto about having the balls to publish it too.
February 13th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
When’s Street gonna get an Ivygate shoutout? (I’m lookin at you Jim Newell)
February 13th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
Maybe when they write about something other than Britney going to rehab
February 13th, 2008 at 1:33 pm
geez, how far behind can you get
February 13th, 2008 at 1:34 pm
When’s Street gonna get an Ivygate shoutout? (I’m lookin at you Jim Newell)
February 13th, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Humor has a social duty. It makes you more aware. Get off your pedestal and accept the fact that someone has to propagate and exaggerate stereotypes to satirize and criticize those who actually believe them. The fact that this is published in a humor magazine and that it’s not focused on any one group should indicate to you that we aren’t just a bunch of racists trying to put people down.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Hey Mauron! Can you define “up in arms”? Because I happen to be a Penn student, and in the three or four weeks this issue has been out haven’t heard one complaint about any of the articles from anyone, let alone from the APSC.
We here at Penn (the party ivy, if you will), have a very diverse student population, and maybe that’s why we’re a little better equipped than most at poking fun at stereotypes like this.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
i’m not offended because they were clearly intending to be funny, and i think the real tragedy is not in how “offensive” this all is but rather how poor the jokes were. rumpus was reprimanded for their “racist” comments but THOSE JOKES WERE ACTUALLY REALLY FUNNY.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Huh, maybe what’s funny and what’s not is subjective? Crazy.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:34 pm
love the sad failure to spell emasculated on the amy gutmann barbie. always cute when the ignorant try to act intelligent.
February 13th, 2008 at 2:53 pm
i was reading the magazine, and i personally think these misspellings are pointed attempts to attempt to point out amy gutmann’s imperfections….a flawed portrait of a flawed president.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Kids commenting from other schools - realize that some of the jokes are Penn specific, and just because they aren’t funny to you may just be you’re out of the loop.
For example the Asian’s don’t belong in panty drawers comment relates to a recent scandal at Penn, and when I read that line I laughed so hard I almost peed myself.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Other people have said this, but I have to highlight it: they’re just listing every single stupid stereotype without actually saying anything about it, or making up their own that make absolutely no sense.
Here’s the worst one: “Mexican Jumping Bean: Mexican on outside; black on inside (because it jumps).”
They actually had to explain one of their own jokes? Are you kidding me?
I’m ashamed the university actually funds this garbage.
February 13th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
The problem with Punchbowl isn’t that they’re racist/sexist/homophobic, the problem is that they’re painfully unfunny. Their concepts are generally decent, but their execution borders on Dane Cook-ish what with all their humor-killing joke explanations.
February 13th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
I nearly choked when I read a Penn student call it the “party Ivy”. Nice try, but Dartmouth has that all wrapped up. And no, I don’t go there.
As for the magazine, I read about half then realized the 8 year-olds at the camp I worked at had funnier racism jokes. If you’re going to go all the way like that you need to be at least slightly humorous.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
BURN!
February 13th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I’d actually always heard that Penn was the Party Ivy. Hm. (For the uninitiated, I’m an Eli.)
February 13th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
I don’t actually have a comment on the magazine, I just wanted to point out that one of the people who said we aren’t funny made his name William Penn & Teller. You may be ashamed that the university funds us, but I’m just ashamed that you and I attend the same university.
P.S. The fact that you can label one joke from the issue as “the worst one” just means that you spent your time reading an entire publication you’ve deemed “garbage”. Congratulations.
P.P.S. To the person who said our “execution borders on Dane Cook-ish”, thank you, atleast one person gets it.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
I don’t actually have a comment on the magazine, I just wanted to point out that one of the people who said we aren’t funny made his name William Penn & Teller. You may be ashamed that the university funds us, but I’m just ashamed that you and I attend the same university.
P.S. The fact that you can label one joke from the issue as “the worst one” just means that you spent your time reading an entire publication you’ve deemed “garbage”. Congratulations.
P.P.S. To the person who said our “execution borders on Dane Cook-ish”, thank you, atleast one person gets it.
February 13th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I don’t actually have a comment on the magazine, I just wanted to point out that one of the people who said we aren’t funny made his name William Penn & Teller. You may be ashamed that the university funds us, but I’m just ashamed that you and I attend the same university.
P.S. The fact that you can label one joke from the issue as “the worst one” just means that you spent your time reading an entire publication you’ve deemed “garbage”. Congratulations.
P.P.S. To the person who said our “execution borders on Dane Cook-ish”, thank you, atleast one person gets it.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
Nawal, you’re in the “no drinking games” picture. I don’t know if you really hear the opinions of the rest of the school, which you have admitted is very diverse. This has been the topic of so much debate these past few weeks, but I guess it needs more publicity if people don’t realize it’s a contested topic.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
Nawal, you’re in the “no drinking games” picture. I don’t know if you really hear the opinions of the rest of the school, which you have admitted is very diverse. This has been the topic of so much debate these past few weeks, but I guess it needs more publicity if people don’t realize it’s a contested topic.
February 13th, 2008 at 6:58 pm
Nawal, you’re in the “no drinking games” picture. I don’t know if you really hear the opinions of the rest of the school, which you have admitted is very diverse. This has been the topic of so much debate these past few weeks, but I guess it needs more publicity if people don’t realize it’s a contested topic.
February 13th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
There’s a fine line between racial humor and racist and though elements of this issue are racial humor, some of it is still very racist. what’s worse is that many people don’t recognize the racism, especially regarding Asians. Many more people know that the N-word is derogatory, but few realize chink is as well.
Some of you commentators should educate yourselves on ethnicity. To perhaps use an example you might understand, watch “Guess Who” with Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac. Though by far no best picture film like its predecessor, they show the difference during a dinner conversation.
jeez, it’s not about being PC, it’s about being not ignorant and unrespectful…
February 13th, 2008 at 8:35 pm
Dear people, ethnic groups, and campus organizations who are offended,
I have sent along a check for $20 to the writer of this article (who I assume has your contact information) along with instructions to distribute the money equally amongst you all, and to take some for herself. I sincerely hope that my contribution can help each and every one of you purchase a sense of irony. I’d like to close with a message - whether you’re a regular reader of the IvyGate blog or simply a traveler of the World Wide Web who happened to stumble upon this article, please consider donating to this very worthy cause. open your hearts. these people need your help, and every dollar makes a difference.
With hope for a better tomorrow,
H.M. Pinafore
Student of the University of Pennsylvania and passionate advocate of “everyone SERIOUSLY chilling out”
February 13th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
I think one issue here is that the more offensive jokes seemed targeted at Asians, LGBT, and Arabs, and other minorities that are still “okay” to make fun of (as opposed to, say, blacks). I believe that the editors at The Punchbowl published this issue knowing full well that the minorities offended wouldn’t bring the ACLU to their doorstep. It may not be fair, but that’s how Penn works today.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
a request: all future comments along the lines of “you have no sense of humor” identify yourselves… male/female/neither? black/white/hispanic/asian/jewish/whatever? straight/L/G/B/T?
I hadn’t actually looked at it in depth before writing my previous comment… looking at it again, i only grew more disgusted… come on punchbowl… do you really have to give a sack of money to jews as a “racebook” gift. it doesn’t matter if there are jews on your staff… that “joke” is overused, and i’m still offended.
February 13th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
You’re missing the point entirely. It doesn’t matter who the person making the joke is- the whole point is to laugh in the face of our society’s taboos. If it’s okay for Jews to make fun of Jews, but not for gentiles to make fun of Jews… I mean seriously, does that make any sense whatever? I guess the rationale is that these minority groups couldn’t POSSIBLY believe the jokes about themselves, so clearly it’s okay for them to tell them- but NO ONE believes these jokes, that’s the fucking point.
Everyone needs to stop taking themselves so goddamn seriously. And no, I will not tell you my race, gender, or sexual orientation, because those are all completely irrelevant factors.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
I freaking hate 90% of all asians. They’ve got absolutely no social skills to speak of.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
a thought….
who cares that you’re offended?
lots of stuff everyday offends me, I get over it.
And pton, you seem to imply that only minorities, homosexuals, Jews, and women can be offended. I knew they were close to cornering the market, but wasn’t aware they had quite done it yet. It’s hard to make a very strong case for victimhood when all involved are students at ivy league university’s.
February 13th, 2008 at 11:39 pm
I agree with Penn ‘11. There’s almost nothing really disparaging about Blacks or Hispanics wheres Asians, LGBT, and Arabs have entire articles devoted to making fun of them with just about every single cheap stereotype possible.
I’ll give them this: the Punch Bowl pick their fights — they fully realized that anything moderately offensive toward Blacks or Hispanics would probably result in almost knee-jerk disciplinary action. After all, Penn is where the infamous Water Buffalo incident took place: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_buffalo_incident and that didn’t turn out to be racially motivated once all the facts were revealed. Groups at other colleges have also been severely punished for “satire” against Blacks, for example, the O Come All Ye Black Folk” incident at Tufts: http://www.baystatebanner.com/archives/stories/2006/12/news1221-04.htm
Therefore, they cravenly targeted the minority group who are still more politically correct to mock: Asians, LGBT, and Arabs. If they want to be all cool and as one poster suggested, “laugh in the face of our society’s taboos,” then they shouldn’t have limited their controversial remarks to certain groups, as they did.
February 14th, 2008 at 1:12 am
Well, as the song from Avenue Q says, “Everyone’s a little bit racist sometimes.” I think that holds true.
Really, the whole point of the diversity issue was to go overboard in our jokes so that anyone smart enough would realize that we couldn’t possibly be serious. Also, most of the minorities on campus LOVED the issue.
February 14th, 2008 at 1:31 am
I just got finished looking over the issue- I agree with the above comments about some slant towards asians, but overall it’s pretty evenly distributed I think. I mean, they have the balls to say ‘dead darkies’ in one of the articles. But I don’t think it matters really- I laughed at a few jokes, but it’s pretty clear they’re just trying (sometimes too hard) to be offensive. I think people should probably just lighten up.
It’s not saying much, but it’s better written than Punchbowl was when I attended Penn.
-penn’02
February 14th, 2008 at 9:53 am
i did not intend to imply that it is ok for jews to make fun of other jews while it’s not ok for nonjews to make fun of jews. i just find it unlikely that nonjews would be offended by the anti-jew jokes.
i am deeply offended by anti-jew jokes coming from anyone, particularly because my close loved ones were the real victims of anti-semitism abroad and in america.
the primary problem with punchbowl is that instead of successfully making fun of these stereotypes, they simply listed every possible stereotype without humor. i’ve said it before, and i’ll say it again: giving jews a sack of money for a racebook gift is neither funny nor unoffensive.
February 14th, 2008 at 10:33 am
i think the problem that youre encountering is that you seem to be unable to put a statement into context, forming a larger joke. not to have to deconstruct a joke for you, but the racebook gift of giving jews “rent” was perhaps a setup for the next racebook gift, giving gays “rent,” as in the successful broadway musical, popular in the gay community. the contrast of the two gifts, each of them stereotypical but featuring the same name, can be construed as humorous (though a subjective judgment, of course) due to its play on the same word.
moral of the story: stop taking things at face value.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:46 am
still not funny.
February 14th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
how small minded of everyone who attacks maureen personally when she a)takes a step out of y’alls ivory tower to remind people that b)racially and ethnically targeted humor is deeply unfunny and troubling. in the real world, where annual salaries are less than one semester’s tuition-these not-so-veiled attacks are frightening and saddening. especially coming from that very small and very elite part of america which may indeed end up in charge of our country
February 14th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
how small minded of everyone who attacks maureen personally when she a)takes a step out of y’alls ivory tower to remind people that b)racially and ethnically targeted humor is deeply unfunny and troubling. in the real world, where annual salaries are less than one semester’s tuition-these not-so-veiled attacks are frightening and saddening. especially coming from that very small and very elite part of america which may indeed end up in charge of our country
February 14th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
how small minded of everyone who attacks maureen personally when she a)takes a step out of y’alls ivory tower to remind people that b)racially and ethnically targeted humor is deeply unfunny and troubling. in the real world, where annual salaries are less than one semester’s tuition-these not-so-veiled attacks are frightening and saddening. especially coming from that very small and very elite part of america which may indeed end up in charge of our country
February 14th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
how small minded of everyone who attacks maureen personally when she a)takes a step out of y’alls ivory tower to remind people that b)racially and ethnically targeted humor is deeply unfunny and troubling. in the real world, where annual salaries are less than one semester’s tuition-these not-so-veiled attacks are frightening and saddening. especially coming from that very small and very elite part of america which may indeed end up in charge of our country
February 14th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Ewww. “ya’ll?”
February 14th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
All I’m saying is that if the Ivies were still 100% white males, we wouldn’t have problems like this.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:50 pm
I find this “Punch-Bowl” publication dreadfully wretched. Browsing some of its “PDF’s,” I discovered that its writers utilize a simply unacceptable amount of profanity. The race jokes are fine–I like race jokes–but if the Punchbowl dares use inappropriate language again, it can look forward to explaining its actions in a court of law.
February 14th, 2008 at 11:53 pm
I find this “Punch-Bowl” publication dreadfully wretched. Browsing some of its “PDF’s,” I discovered that its writers utilize a simply unacceptable amount of profanity. The race jokes are fine–I like race jokes–but if the Punchbowl dares use inappropriate language again, it can look forward to explaining its actions in a court of law.
February 15th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
seriously? “if the Punchbowl dares use inappropriate language again, it can look forward to explaining its actions in a court of law.” …really?
i personally find Punch Bowl’s use of gerunds to be obscene and past the boundaries of public decency. plus, if the writers wanted to show real comedic talent, they would write the entire magazine with using the letter “e”.
February 15th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
Normally, I’d assume that you’re joking, but you’re from Princeton, so maybe not.
I really do hope that you’re kidding, but part of me wishes that you’re serious, because I’d LOVE to see you attempt to sue Punch Bowl. Now THAT would be funny.
February 15th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
thank you for cover this and all, but come on… it’s been out for a good 3 or 4 weeks.
fuck you, princeton. you just wish someone at your school had a sense of humor.
February 16th, 2008 at 4:31 am
How is it ironic that they are copyrighted? Man I wish people actually knew what that word meant, especially football color commentators. And Punch Bowl.
February 16th, 2008 at 9:02 pm
An Asian standing around 40th and Market streets, for a prolonged period of time, is serious fucking business.
February 17th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
Hardly anyone at Penn demanded an apology or even a radical change of procedure of Punch Bowl. So there is no reason for anyone to retaliate when some of us expressed our distaste in response to its recent publication. Why do the members of Punch Bowl and its advocates malign us for simply stating the facts? We never tried to speak on behalf of the entire Asian-American population but let me assure whomever may be reading my comment that there was a substantial group of us that were offended and afraid that these oversimplified views and stereotypes were being perpetuated, which, according to statistics, contributes to preconceived judgments laid on the Asian diaspora and mental illnesses such as depression.
I simply implore the Punch Bowl to understand this and know that these are the consequences of their actions.
February 18th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Seriously, if guys are that upset or really concerned that people should “understand” your position, why don’t you write a nice editorial to the Daily Pennsylvanian demanding that someone pay more attention to what Punch Bowl is doing?
I mean, that way everyone’s a winner, including Punch Bowl.
Michael J. Weingarth
Former Editor-in-Chief 06-07
http://www.TheDoppleGang.com
February 19th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
What a lot of you are missing about the illustrious punchbowl magazine is that in reading blunt stereotypes in such a humorous setting several things occur. one, you might laugh, two you might cry, three, you might decide to endorse the magazine by advertising it for free. Regardless in the end, you realize how silly these stereotypes really are. how could they be true? for one, i’ve seen plenty of asians in math 104. its inviting us to contradict the stereotypes, its criticizing society and most of all, its making my day just a little more bearable. Plus who doesn’t like transexuals and culturally inclined conservative americans hanging out together and making happy?
February 19th, 2008 at 8:01 pm
seriously, please write an editorial to the DP. God knows we’ve got nothing else to write about.
May 4th, 2008 at 10:09 pm
So why is this tagged under Dartmouth?