Alpharetta graduate elected president of Harvard Lampoon

By DELANEY TARR delaney@appenmedia.com

ALPHARETTA, GA. — Suchetas Bokil is ringing in the new year as the first South Asian president of the Harvard Lampoon, a 146-year-old nationally circulated humor magazine run by Harvard students.

It’s a historic step for the publication, but 20-year-old Bokil is “excited for what’s to come.”

The Harvard Lampoon has a long list of famous alumni, with former presidents Conan O’ Brien, “Saturday Night Live” writer and star Colin Jost, and “Parks and Recreation” creator Michael Shur.

Bokil, who grew up in Alpharetta, entered Harvard in 2020 after graduating from Alpharetta High School, but comedy wasn’t a part of his original plan.

“I used to love consuming (comedy) but I don’t think it’s ever something I thought of as a serious field to study or dive into,” Bokil said.

Bokil loved watching “Saturday Night Live” and late-night comedy shows throughout middle and high school, but when choosing a college major he looked toward his experience as a policy debater.

“My high school years, there was so much going on in national politics, it felt like an important time to get involved,” Bokil said.

He chose to major in government and politics, then dove into politics-oriented extracurriculars his first year of college. Soon, he was drawn in by the looming Harvard Lampoon building he called “mysterious.”

“Not only do I enjoy consuming it and seeing it happen, but the chance to make that comedy is really special,” Bokil said.

Bokil applied to the Harvard Lampoon his freshman year but got cut in the final round of applications. It left him with enough interest that

Bokil applied again in the fall of his sophomore year and got in.

“I’ve spent the last year or so writing a lot, doing a lot of work around the place, doing almost a janitorial role,” Bokil said.

He was elected president of the publication in December and started his year-long tenure in January.

“There’s a lot of pressure in a good way, in the sense that you’re stepping into big shoes,” Bokil said. “There’s a sense of oh wow, so many people have done this.”

The Lampoon has been the start of many successful comedy careers, but Bokil is more focused on the work he does now than any future opportunities.

“At the lampoon, what makes it so cool is there’s no pre-professional sense about it,” Bokil said. “The goal should be to be funny, to be good at being funny.”

Bokil knows he wants to write comedy professionally, but he only started pursuing the field professionally in the past year. He maintained the government and politics major but added an English minor to round out his schooling.

“There’s so much overlap in politics and comedy,” Bokil said. He pointed to the variety of late-night shows with a political spin as ways his knowledge could help.

Bokil said the Alpharetta community has been supportive, if not surprised.

“I think my parents and family, they’ve been very supportive,” Bokil said. “They were a little bit like, ‘are you sure you want to be doing this?’”

Bokil said he’s always been extroverted, but his comedy interest was completely out of left field from his earlier interests.

Still, Bokil joked “I would hope my friends consider me somewhat funny.”

As a full-time student, Bokil spends most of the year on campus, but he comes back to Alpharetta when he can.

“I see a lot of my teachers at Alpharetta High School, and they’re all very supportive,” Bokil said. “They thought it was very funny at first.”

Bokil is set to graduate in the spring of 2024 and has plans to write some “fresh material” and possible literary scripts. Right now, though, he’s focused on “producing funny content” for the Lampoon.

“In a way, I think it’s very cool because they take comedy so seriously,” Bokil said about the Lampoon. “I think one of the best parts is I learn a lot from my peers at the Lampoon.”

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