If there was a seriousness spectrum from The Carletonian to the Clap, the Cow Print (formerly known as the Carl) would be smack in the middle of the two. It’s Carleton’s Arts, Culture, and Humor magazine that has been in print since the late 90s. The Cow Print puts out an issue every Friday during even weeks of the term, available to its readers during common time at Sayles. “We’re kind of like a highbrow Buzzfeed,” said Phoebe Ward (‘24), Cow Print cover designer and cartoonist. “Or a very, very lowbrow New
Yorker.”
The Cow Print is a young magazine, run by four sophomore editors-in-chief: Nina Bunn, Phoebe Ward, Nate Bauer, and Patrick Djerf. They all joined the magazine their first year of college when all classes were online. “The Cow Print club meeting was the only fun Zoom meeting I’ve ever attended,” said Nina Bunn.
Staff writers for the Cow Print are bonded by their love of writing and culture. “I come to the Cow Print for the comedy, but I mostly come for the people,” said staff writer Anna Center (‘25). “We accept literally any article,” said staff writer Lydia Montgomery (‘24). “It’s a nice break from academic writing, and it’s fun to see how people react to stuff we write.”
Students on the Cow Print staff have the opportunity to write about topics ranging from funny Euphoria reviews to poems about Alison Byerly’s bangs. However, some segments are permanent, such as Photo Poll and the Bracket. For Photo Poll, the Cow Print picks a question and asks four random students for an answer. Usually the questions (and the responses) are topical. Last week’s question was “What are you fiending for?” One student’s response was, “Intimacy.” The Bracket is a tournament of words loosely united by a theme, located on the back cover of each issue. Readers can fill out the bracket and put it in an editor’s mailbox. “I love to do the bracket instead of my math homework every Friday,” said Cow Print reader Kate Ward (‘25). “I really look forward to it.”
The Cow Print is beloved on campus because there are so many types of humor represented in every issue. “All we can hope for is that our readers find something within the pages that makes them laugh,” said Nate Bauer (‘24).
