Morrison heads largest UTB board to date

College sophomore James Morrison has been elected as the editor-in-chief of Under the Button on the 136th Board of Editors and Managers at The Daily Pennsylvanian, Inc. He is positioned to oversee the largest board of UTB editors to date. Morrison is joined on the 136th Board by College senior Elias Rappaport and College sophomore Grace Ginsburg, both senior editors of the publication.

Under the Button is Penn’s independent satire publication. After a year of unprecedented growth, UTB expanded its internal board of editors, welcoming UTB Video Editor Joseph Elston and UTB Audience Engagement Editor Sydney Judge to head media under Morrison.  

Morrison joined UTB in 2018 and served as the UTB summer editor-in-chief in 2019. He is a member of Penn Jazz, a former Opinion columnist for The Daily Pennsylvanian, and a cashew enthusiast. Morrison gained notoriety as a UTB staff member for his “Choose Your Own Adventure” style articles. This year, he said he hopes to explore new types of interactive content and “become someone who can eat spicy foods.”

Ginsburg, who was born and raised in San Francisco, is an urban studies major with a knack for the ukulele and, regrettably, no proven relation to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

Ginsburg noted the impact of joining UTB on her Penn experience. 

“When I joined UTB, I had no idea that I wanted to be in comedy. After a relatively uncomfortable freshman fall, joining the group gave me a whole new purpose that I never really considered before. I remember leaving my initiation feeling more confident, funnier, and as if I had really found people I could relate to,” Ginsburg said. 

Rappaport expressed a similar sentiment. 

“After transferring to Penn my sophomore year and bouncing around frat rushes thinking maybe I was ‘sceney’ or something, I applied for UTB and finally felt like I had a home on campus.” 

A proud Philadelphian, Rappaport is an Eagles fanatic and former ball boy. Rappaport plans to pursue a career in media and entertainment after he graduates. 

This past year, UTB continued to increase both its video and written content output, debuted a series of videos featuring campus comedians, hosted a comedy night in collaboration with other campus comedy groups, and introduced a bi-annual staff retreat. Now, Morrison, Ginsburg, and Rappaport aim to increase UTB’s campus presence. 

“I can’t wait to work with our writers to take on bigger, more ambitious interactive projects and grow our audience until UTB and Penn comedy are synonymous,” Rappaport said.

Morrison shared this sentiment.

“I believe UTB has the potential to become a hub for campus comedy. I want the very best for this publication because it has done so much for me — in making me laugh, in making me think, in pushing me to always do better. I will give my all to UTB because I want it do the same for everyone on this campus, and for generations of Penn students to come,” he said.