By Adriana Ungerleider ’12, Contributor
Earlier this month, CCDS experienced a minor controversy: the release of a student-run, student-edited, alternative newspaper entitled The Roll. On Monday morning, every Upper School advisory found a stack of the satiric pamphlets, distributed in a manner similar to that of the now-extinct print editions of The Scroll. The periodical, founded by Greg Dick ’11, has since gained a following of students interested in both journalism and comedy.
“I wanted to start something like The Onion here at CCDS,” Dick said. The newspaper, which parodied incidents and issues at the school covered in the Scroll, has gained popularity within the student body.
The response to the newly-established Roll has been mostly positive throughout the student body as a whole. Holly Dayton, a sophomore and a Scroll editor, is a fan of the newspaper. “[It was] utterly hilarious. CCDS has plenty of room for a satirical publication and a more serious student newspaper.”
According to readers of the Roll, it was refreshing to see a dose of humor injected into topics that could have been written as cut-and-dry “local news.”
Adding to the lighthearted theme of the month was an announcement by Upper School President Baldur Tangvald ’11, announcing CCDS’s first annual Funnyman Competition, a contest in which the student who submits the funniest YouTube video will receive a prize. This recent focus on humor is particularly timely, as students are beginning to gear up for midterms and finishing college applications. Other students have mentioned the need for a comedy club at CCDS, and would-be funnymen (and women) would be welcome additions to the Roll staff.
However, not everyone found the paper to be so amusing. Some Scroll editors and contributors, such as Hannah Stewart ’12, raised the point that “CCDS already has an outlet for humorous journalism in the Scroll’s Lighter Fare section.”
Dick replied that when the Scroll posts an article under the label of “Humor,” it is assumed that any news the posting contains should not be taken seriously.
Dick said The Roll’s mission is to convey real, timely CCDS news in a parodied way, especially issues relating to student life. However, he admits that he was cautious about making parallels between his satirical paper and the Scroll.
“The Roll isn’t affiliated with The Scroll because I didn’t want to damage the credibility of either The Scroll or CCDS.” Dick went on to apologize for any misunderstanding involving the paper’s content. He said he “meant no harm in writing The Roll, and just wanted to create a fun alternative for students interested in comedy.” However, some articles in The Roll’s first issue were direct parodies of previously published Scroll articles. As a result, the administration has requested that all of the parody newspaper’s future content be unrelated to any Scroll publications.
While the future of the Roll at CCDS was originally uncertain, it has gained much faculty and student support after the publication of its first issue. While the first issue was written solely by Greg Dick, he hopes to get more people to write. “The Roll will be moving forward as a club, with the goal of offering people the chance to learn to write and appreciate satire.”
Dr. Gregory Martin, Academic Dean, who previewed the first issue along with English teacher Deborah Floyd before it was printed and distributed, has offered to be the paper’s adviser. Dr. Martin will hold monthly workshops that are open to all students interested in helping to write, edit or publish The Roll.
