Boredom in bathroom stalls may come to an end

Senior Brian Powers is working to establish the University's first bathroom stall reader, The Colon Bowel. If approved by the Tufts Community Union Judiciary (TCUJ) this fall, the single-page weekly reader will be taped to the back of bathroom stall doors around campus.

A variety of articles, jokes, and other comical contributions will fill the publication, which Powers wants to distribute in campus buildings and dorms. All Tufts students will be eligible to submit articles to The Colon Bowel.

Powers now needs to present his idea to the TCUJ, explaining the organization's purpose and intentions. He will also have to prove that no other organization like it exists on campus. TCUJ New Group Chair Reid Van Gorder will assure that the group has held a general interest meeting, attracted at least 15 students, and drawn up an appropriate constitution.

If The Colon Bowel receives TCUJ recognition, the organization will then be eligible to receive funding from the TCU Senate Allocations Board.

During his years at Tufts, Powers has created and distributed various "humorous" publications on campus. In the springs of 2001 and 2002, Powers published two editions of a manifesto newsletter called Le Vindicateur, which contained satirical essays.

Though neither issue of Le Vindicateur garnered the notoriety of other student publications such as ThePrimary Source or The Zamboni, Powers hopes to establish The Colon Bowel in the ranks of such other satirical works at Tufts. Powers hopes students will think of The Colon Bowel as "something that's funny and enjoyable for everyone."

"I feel a lot of the other numerous publications are targeted at certain groups on campus," he said. "That's not what I want for The Colon Bowel."

Powers' philosophy is simple. "If I want people to read my publication, why not put it where everyone is going to see it?" he asked. "People are going to go to the toilet, [but] not necessarily the engineering building or the psychology building."

The fledgling organization has received temporary, 30-day recognition from Director of Student Activities Jodie Nealley, TCUJ Chair Adam Biacchi said.

If approved and funded, production of the publication will begin immediately, Powers said. Despite his comical and jesting nature, the publication of TheColon Bowel is quite serious to him. Powers wants the publication to be organized around student submissions, which would be collected and organized by an editor-in-chief. Other staff members would also make contributions, and help with the weekly distribution of the paper.

Powers hopes that students with an interest and talent in humor writing, and who are creative and knowledgeable about pop culture will get involved with The Colon Bowel. People who have enough courage to submit material are probably funny enough to do the job, Powers said.

Senior Josh Grim was inspired to contribute "something humorous ... about the environment" to Power's publication after friends from the Environmental Consciousness Outreach program posted environmental facts in dorm bathrooms last year.

Powers said he is merely attempting to give "people something to do in the bathroom... besides the obvious."

He also applied for temporary recognition of three other upstart organizations this semester, including "Cannon," a photojournalism project detailing the famous campus landmark; Fantoche, a puppetry group; and Ready for Anything, a survival club.

Powers is waiting to garner more student interest in the initiatives before seeking permanent recognition for them.