Managing Editor: Mike Madden

When Mike Madden was 18 months old, he had already accumulated a vocabulary of more than 300 words. His mother counted. He read J.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit in third grade and James Michener's 1,000-plus page The Source in fifth grade. In high school, the bookworm -- described by friends as "eclectic" and "ambitious," though "unkempt" -- could speed read a hundred pages an hour. These days, the College junior has absorbed himself in words at his new home at 4015 Walnut Street, where he will head up the 113th Editorial Board as managing editor. Madden, a Rockville, Md. native, was also the editor of his high school paper, The Tide -- an oh-so-clever reversal of "edit," his all-time favorite activity. Tide Co-Editor and long-time friend Andy Shane said while organization is not Madden's "forte," he is a pro with words. "I remember he used to come over when we were in third grade and talk to my brother who was in ninth grade," said Shane, a Yale University junior. "Mike would be using words that my brother didn't understand." Junior high school friend and University of Michigan junior Mark Wolly compared Madden to Paul from The Wonder Years. "I was like the Fred Savage character," Wolly explained. "He never was the best at sports. He was really uncoordinated for a while. "But he was definitely a reader," he added. "He read stuff that I don't read today. It was a little ridiculous." The wanna-be reporter had his future career set early in life, when he found that crumpling up old newspapers and rolling over them was the ultimate form of entertainment. His mother, Judy Madden, describes photos of Mike grinning from ear to ear -- and covered from head to toe in newsprint. "He was obsessed with reading to the point where if there was anything with printed words on it, he would stop doing whatever he was doing to get a closer look," Judy Madden said. "Especially when it was cleaning his room." Room-cleaning has never been of prime concern to Madden, who is the eldest of three brothers. In fact, when he recently cleared out his room for his youngest brother to move in, he found a Cub Scouts uniform and a pair of size-six pants -- that hadn't been unearthed since his size-six days. Madden has long since outgrown size six, though he often thinks he is bigger than his "small stature," according to girlfriend Whitney Namm. "Sometimes Mike has illusions of grandeur," the College junior said. "His clothes are all too big -- he buys longer pants and shirts than he needs. I have to do a clothing check for important events." Namm added that Madden's "illusions" extend to his job at the DP -- which she said he describes as: "I'm in charge! I'm in charge!" But she emphasized that he takes his new role seriously, to the point that he "spends more of his nights with the DP than with me." High school friend J.P. Muller, who was hesitant to "poke fun," agreed that Madden takes the task before him seriously. "Mike genuinely believes that his guidance may lead to an improvement not only in the paper as an entity, but also in the surrounding community," Muller said. In fact, the only things that are likely to get him out of the DP's windowless offices are The Simpsons and Mystery Science Theater 3000, according to College sophomore and incoming Campus News Editor Marisa Katz. She added that his eclectic taste in music -- ranging from Morphine to Frank Zappa and Parliament-Funkadelic -- can get a bit unbearable when sharing an office. "He submits us to some pretty horrible stuff," she said. But no one could resist adding their praise for Madden, who "does a good job imitating Martin Short" and "cracking up" his family at the dinner table. "We love him to pieces and we're very proud of him," his mother said. "He's really a very spectacular person."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.