The Krampus, a satirical news source at Allegheny College, has been publishing content on campus since 2013, according to Associate Dean of Students for Wellness Education Gretchen Beck. The club’s weekly publications briefly halted last semester after a controversial piece about the Meadville Mall, “Allegheny Student Traumatized By Meadville Mall,” appeared in one of its October 2019 issues.  

The club will resume publishing this semester, according to the President of The Krampus Lauren Fugate, ’20.

The article that generated controversy details a fictional account of the Meadville Mall having a traumatic effect on an Allegheny student. In a November 2019 interview with The Campus, Fugate said the article was a punch down, not up.

It made references such as “moms with neck tattoos and way too many children” and said the shops looked like they had been “closed for years,” amongst other references.

Fugate said The Krampus “missed the mark” and “made a joke that wasn’t funny” in the November interview. The Krampus disbanded shortly following the controversial publication, and the club began publishing as The Trampus.

The Trampus was an “underground” satirical news source that published a few issues toward the end of last semester, according to Fugate. The Krampus — as of October 2019, a formerly Allegheny Student Government recognized club — had lost its ASG funding after its adviser resigned. 

Fugate met with Beck after The Krampus’ adviser resigned, and, in the November 2019 interview, said Beck told her The Krampus had to find a new adviser that would edit the club’s work. 

“That’s part of the reason we wound up creating The Trampus, and doing (The Krampus) sort of underground as it used to be, because we didn’t feel like the adviser’s place was to tell us what we could and couldn’t publish,” Fugate said in the November interview.

In a November interview with The Campus, Beck said she did not tell Fugate The Krampus needed an adviser that would edit the club’s articles, but just needed an adviser. All clubs that are ASG-recognized must have an adviser that is an Allegheny employee, according to Student Leadership and Involvement. 

In a January interview with The Campus, Fugate said this miscommunication was frustrating, but nonetheless that Beck was supportive of The Krampus working to become re-recognized by ASG this semester. Members of The Krampus met in late January to discuss who could potentially serve as a new adviser for the publication. 

In a February interview with The Campus, Beck confirmed The Krampus is currently in the process of becoming re-recognized by ASG, and said she’s excited for the club’s return.