What's in a joke?

Journalistic principles be damned. 

Tomorrow marks the annual celebration of frivolity on Grounds known as April Fool's Day. That means The Cavalier Daily will publish an issue full of jokes and (hopefully witty) attempts at humor. But what goes into this strange issue? Where does The Cavalier Daily draw the line between funny and potentially libelous or insulting?

In evaluating each story that will appear in tomorrow's April Fool's issue, the paper's Managing Board elected to apply a policy similar to its current Comics policy:

1) The work is, at a fundamental level, an attempt at humor — its primary goal is to entertain the reader.

2) The work does not unnecessarily provoke or offend.

3) The work meets the standards of The Cavalier Daily.

In applying this flexible, clearly subjective policy, the goal was to limit instances of clearly offensive content while at the same time preserve creativity and humor, which almost by definition pokes fun at something or someone. For those institutions or individuals "targeted" in tomorrow's issue, then, rest assured that all stories were written tongue-in-cheek and not meant to be taken seriously.

So, when you pick up the paper tomorrow, don't expect anything like The Cavalier Daily's typical insistence on actual sources, verifiable story ideas or fair and balanced reporting. Happy April Fool's!