<p>Does anyone know anything about the comping process (trying out) for the Harvard Lampoon? Or any other interesting tidbits about it?</p>
<p>I found this:
[Harvard</a> <a href="mailto:Lampoon@Everything2.com">Lampoon@Everything2.com</a>](<a href=“Findings: - Everything2.com”>Harvard Lampoon - Everything2.com)</p>
<p>Additionally.</p>
<p>My Dad was a Lampooner with Mike Reiss, Sam Simon, Al Jean, and so on (Simpsons), Conan O’Brien, Mike Ferris and John Brancato (Terminator 3/Salvation, Catwoman, etc.). </p>
<p>He said that in addition to submitting several pieces of artwork or writing during the comping process, they basically had to do “crazy stuff” around campus. And not tell anyone that they were comping for the Lampoon.
This might be immediately after someone has been inducted, and I think it’s sort of like…hazing/pledging.</p>
<p>The son of Adolph Green (who wrote the musical Peter Pan) was made to stand up in Annenberg on a table and sing a remix of “Who’s the swiniest swing in the world? Captain Hook! Captain Hook!”
…
“Who’s the ugliest man in the world? Adolph Green! Adolph Green!”</p>
<p>My dad dressed a new inductee up like an old lady and pushed him in near the finish line at a running race in Boston. People thought he was trying to cheat, so the police took him out and threatened him… Dad said it was funny, but he got in trouble, because bad things weren’t actually supposed to happen to the inductees.</p>
<p>Of course, all of this was in the 1980s…so things might have changed. But it’s funny, anyway :-)</p>
<p>I would love to join the lampoon- its one of the main reasons I am applying to Harvard- does anyone else have any interesting stories/ information about it?</p>
<p>The Lampoon holds open introductory comp meetings every semester. I’ve been once (or maybe twice), and they’re pretty funny. The time I went they ushered us all in to this circular library, gave us (cheap) beer, read a pretty hilarious handout about the history of the Lampoon, and then staged this amusing skit/prank.</p>
<p>I never comped - I wasn’t really that interested in the 'poon, and they totally abuse their compers (I’ve heard a ton of stories of people devoting their entire semester to writing/drawing/selling ads, only to get cut at the last minute). Plus the 'poonsters are a bit weird and their (rarely published) magazine is only sometimes funny (it is sometimes hilarious though, like the fake national geographic issue).</p>
<p>I’m sure the stories amplifiar842 mentions are true, but they sound more like Final Clubs today than the Lampoon.</p>
<p>I went to the event during prefrosh. The above is the gist of it. The Lampoon people wanted to know if any of us had come up with stellar senior pranks. They were sadly disappointed by our group. The castle is the most curious building, and the 'poonsters I met were a strange bunch. (After the informational meeting, I had a very interesting conversation with a drunk guy in a jester suit outside of the castle.) In short: fascinating people, but I didn’t feel comfortable there - simply not my scene.</p>
<p>You have to be up for the bizarre if you want to be on the 'Poon. My mom went to a Lampoon reunion a few years ago with my dad and said she was hanging up her coat in the Castle when a real live camel came out of nowhere, leaned over, and bit her on the arm… </p>
<p>Additionally, when in college (their sophomore year I think) my dad and his friends were always trying to steal the chair of the Crimson president (or editor or whatever). One time, my dad’s friends broke in (totally wasted after a night at the Kong), and my dad, just as drunk, or worse, stood under the second story window while his friends above tried to push it out. Another friend happening to walk by had to leap on dad and push him out of the way so that he wouldn’t be killed by that hideous, massive, ostentatious chair. (See, it’s a long-time tradition of the Crimson/Lampoon rivalry to steal the other’s grand chair)</p>
<p>Mom said that at Dad’s 25th reunion in '06, the group went on a boat tour down the river. The former President of the Lampoon from the class of '81 (aged 46ish at the time) was sitting at the bow of the boat in that horrible chair! 
Even in their late forties…they still got it! Haha</p>