Winners chosen in Syracuse Symposiumcartoon caption contestNovember 10, 2004Kelly Homan Rodoskikahoman@syr.edu
Bob Mankoff, cartoon editor for The New Yorker magazine, has selected the winners in a cartoon caption contest held as part of Syracuse University’s Syracuse Symposium 2004: Humor.
More than 1,200 members of the Syracuse University and Central New York communities contributed captions to complete a cartoon penned by Mankoff, a 1966 alumnus of The College of Arts and Sciences. Mankoff selected the winning entries.
The contest was held in conjunction with an Oct. 28 symposium appearance by Mankoff, who spoke on “Cartooning and Creativity as Seen Through the 68,647 Cartoons of The New Yorker Magazine.”
To be considered, each caption had to meet four criteria-it needed to be funny; original; a single sentence of not more than 25 words; and to complete the image in such a way that the final product would make a good New Yorker cartoon.
The winning entries are the following:
Student categoryFirst place- “Honey, does this dress make me look fat?” by Joyce Rode, a graduate student in the College of Human Services and Health Professions.Second place-“Jim, where’s the remote?” by Charles King, a freshman in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications.
Faculty/Staff categoryFirst place- “Harold… I think we need to talk” by Vernon Greene, professor of public administration and chair of the Ph.D. program in social science in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and The College of Arts and Sciences.Second place- “Frankly, I don’t think ‘Go with the flow’ is an appropriate response” by Geraldine de Berly, associate dean for academic affairs at University College.
Alumni categoryFirst place-“These cushions double as flotation devices, right?” by Rachel Hanks-German ’91 of Wayland, Mass. Second place- “I never dreamed I’d ever be in a metaphor for national policy” by Bill Baylis ’69 of Syracuse.
General public category First place- “You and your economy cruises” by Diane Knowlton of Syracuse.Second place- “I still think we should have gone with the sectional” by Robert Savage of Shepherdstown, W. Va.
First prizes of $300 and second prizes of $75 will be awarded in each of the four categories. All winners will also receive a copy of “The Complete Cartoons of The New Yorker,” signed by Mankoff. Winners may claim their prizes from Cindy Barrie in the Office of the Dean of The College of Arts and Sciences, located in Room 329 of the Hall of Languages. She can be contacted at 443-7192 or clbarrie@syr.edu.
Syracuse Symposium is an intellectual festival, hosted by The College of Arts and Sciences, which celebrates interdisciplinary thinking, imagining and creating. The theme for the Fall 2004 Symposium is humor. Other keynote speakers and performers scheduled for this semester include University of Chicago philosophy professor Ted Cohen, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. in Shemin Auditorium, and actress and performer Anna Deavere Smith, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Grant Auditorium.
