Campus publications often struggle to bridge the gap between humor and political commentary, but David McIlroy '06 and Freddie LaFemina '06 are attempting to do just that with their new publication, The Laxative.
The title, underpinned by the motto "Comic . . . Relief," is consistent with the magazine's playfully irreverent tone.
McIlroy also writes for The Daily Princetonian's 'Street' section.
The Laxative, issued fortnightly, is a compilation of pseudo-serious political articles, which, while expressive of definite perspectives, are clearly sardonic — or, fittingly, lax.
The greeting on The Laxative's homepage emphasizes just this balance between humor and substance: "Each issue will feature calculated attempts to make you laugh and make you think."
By both founders' accounts, the priority appears to be comedy, an element the two judge to be generally lacking in other campus publications.
"Our basic mission is essentially to be funny," McIlroy said. "We've always wanted to see genuine debate on campus over issues both large and small."
Though opinionated, the magazine dismisses the possibility of overly serious interpretation with flippant lines and playful titles, as in the poem "Springtime for bin Laden."
"There's no agenda," LaFemina said. "The bottom line is that we want to put out something funny, something relevant."
McIlroy and LaFemina say they have attempted to provide a comprehensive perspective on as many of the pertinent campus issues as possible, which, both admit, is a daunting ambition, especially "for a two-man operation."
The pair are jointly responsible for writing the articles, managing production and developing the website.
At the moment there are no plans to expand the staff. "We are two people that really like to have total creative control. Taking more people on would interfere with our autonomy," LaFemina said.
As of April, McIlroy and LaFemina have completed two issues and say they anticipate putting the finishing touches on their website shortly.
Now that the magazine has established firm deadlines for its publication, the founders are interested in increasing circulation numbers.
In order to increase readership, they are currently attempting to secure a feature in Whig-Clio's monthly online publication, The Soapbox.
McIlroy even quipped, "If you're looking for an angle for your article maybe you could try something like, 'Campus Misanthropes Rant But No One Listens.'"
For those who would like to sample the magazine, both issues are available at http://www.princeton.edu/~lafemina/laxative.
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