Meet Bucknell’s original funny girls: seniors Courtney Wren and Madeline Diamond! Wren and Diamond are the creators of The Bucknellian’s Satire section.
The Basics
Hometown: MD: Dana Point, CA/New Canaan, CT
CW: Thornton, PA
Major: MD: Creative Writing and History
CW: Political Science and English
What is it like to write for the Satire section of The Bucknellian?
MD: It’s a blast. I love seeing what I can get past our Editor in Chief, Morgan Gisholt Minard and our Adviser, Brent Papson. Starting off the section with an article about a sorority girl getting decapitated set the bar pretty low for limits on what we can get away with.
CW: Oh, it’s a treat. 10/10 would recommend to anyone. You just get to make stuff up which is one of my favorite past times.
Where do you find inspiration for the satire section of The Bucknellian?
MD: Between our current political climate and the general absurdity of Bucknell students, we are never at a loss for story ideas. In terms of inspiration, Courtney and I are constantly sending articles from The Onion to each other.
CW: On this campus, the satire section writes itself. So many people text me or my co-editor Madeline Diamond things that they’ve seen on campus and we turn them into satire. Rather than let ourselves be saddened by the ridiculousness that happens here, we turn it into satire.
Do you see yourself pursuing your comedian skills elsewhere? We hear you run Trivia Night at Bull Run every Tuesday night!
MD: I mean, that’s the dream. I’ve loved doing Trivia Tuesday and there’s only one left, so I’ll definitely miss it.
CW: Well my debilitating stage fright might inhibit my plans to continue these comedy skills you speak of but ideally I’d love to try my hand at stand up somewhere at sometime.
As a senior, any advice to underclassmen?
MD: You know that “Bucknell in Love” Facebook page? Don’t look at it unless you’re dating someone you met on the first day of orientation.
CW: Yikes, its super cliché but get involved in things as soon as possible. I wish I could go back to freshman year and join a bunch of stuff. So do that. Also hang out downtown and become friends with as many people as possible because that will make senior year that much more fun.
Anything left on your bucket list before graduating?
MD: I was going to say sledding in the grove, but I suppose it is a little late for that.
CW: There is one thing that I talk about all the time and if you know me, you know it will happen before graduation. I also recently decided with my friends to go to Bull Run and play a round of pool every day until graduation or until they kick us out.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
MD: Hopefully living my best life in either New York or Los Angeles, ideally both.
CW: GOD I DON’T KNOW. Probably the mods.
~Favorites~
Activities at Bucknell:
MD: The Bucknellian (obviously), Editorial Intern at West Branch literary journal, writer for Et Cetera magazine, Marketing and Outreach Assistant at The Weis Center, member of Chi Omega.
CW: Though I am underwhelmingly undercommitted in on-campus engagements, I am actually in the process of organizing a mutiny among the squirrel population on campus. I also am a frequent organizer of trips to the Lewisburg Wendy’s and a lackluster member of the school newspaper, The Bucknellian. Also, sometimes I go to work in Admissions.
Spot on campus:
MD: The quad on a sunny day
CW: The mods (30 and 10). I lived in the mods for two years (and it would have been three had I not been lucky enough to snag a downtown house). Essentially all of my favorite memories happened in the mods so they will always hold a soft spot in my heart.
Class at Bucknell:
MD: Tie between Questioning the Post Racial with Professor Stewart and Radicals and Reformers with Professor Thomson. Also Ethnic Comedy with Professor Ponnuswami.
CW: Poetry 204 with Katie Hays. She is truly the best Professor and really cares what her students are doing and I would recommend her class to anyone and everyone. It’s also a super relaxed atmosphere, which is great.
Bucknell memory:
MD: Anything that’s happened past 10pm in The Bucknellian’s newsroom
CW: Anytime that I got to hang out with my friends, eat chicken nuggets, and talk about life. Anytime with the hangover ha-ha’s. Anytime we stayed in and watched “fail videos” on youtube. Anytime we climbed on the mod roof (what mom, I didn’t do that???). Anytime we had to chase our illegal cat around the mods because he tried to escape because he hated us. Anytime there was any sort of taco involved.
Book:
MD: I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron
CW: My favorite thing to do is read so I have spent an embarrassingly long time staring at this question. Top 3 right now: Homegoing by Yaa Gyassi, We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver, and Home Is Burning by Dan Marshall. 10/10 would recommend all three.
Movie:
MD: Almost Famous
CW: I don’t know—The Hangover?
Song:
MD: Simple Song by The Shins
CW: This question stresses me out. I think maybe Paradise by the Dashboard Lights by Meatloaf or Laundry Room by the Avett Brothers