SIPA Students Discover Shocking New Talent: Being Funny
(Photo/Cast of SIPA Follies 2025: Boat 3/Edwin Kwong)
By Felix Wang
In the daily grind of graduate school, where papers are always due tomorrow, and group projects are always due last night, it’s easy to forget to take a moment and chuckle to yourself.
But on April 18, creative director Jeremie Ponak, technical director Andrea Vega, lighting designer Ian Kearns, and the cast and crew of SIPA Follies, reminded us of the power of laughing out loud. SIPA Follies, a beloved annual tradition born in 1988 that fell into pandemic-induced hibernation, roared back to life for the second consecutive year. Ponak, with his dashing good looks and boyish charm, spent three months corralling, bullying, coaxing, and coaching a gaggle of boring policy students into political comedy’s next best thing. The result was Boat 3: a kaleidoscopic display of wit, hilarity, pop culture remixes, and show-stopping musical performances.
You would be sorely mistaken if you thought that this show was only “decently funny.” Deftly crafted sketches mashed up the SIPA experience with the hottest content on streaming (Severance, The White Lotus, and Titanic…?). Students dramatized behind-the-scenes glimpses of SIPA administration discussions (funding cuts, hiring, and curriculum changes). There was little time to gasp for air in between the knee-slapping laughs.
SIPA Follies delivered a knockout sketch comedy variety show. The punchlines were sharp. A joke lampooning the temporary nature of interim and acting presidents this year proposed the future job title Draft President_v3_final_FINALFORREAL. The impressions were well-observed. Saru Duckworth and Taylor Garner played Dean Keren Yarhi-Milo and Secretary Hillary Clinton with a blazing commitment. The performances were exhilarating. Ericka Persson’s iconic performance as SIPeena Carpenter had the room howling and singing their hearts out. If comedy truly heals — and the night’s wall-to-wall laughter suggested it just might — then this resurrection may be the cure we’ve been desperately searching for.
It’s a rare accomplishment when a show feels both timeless and urgently contemporary, a comedic symphony perfectly in tune with the anxious rhythm of this current moment. But for ninety minutes, Boat 3 did just that, transforming Publique into the hottest comedy club this side of Morningside Park. If you listen closely, you might still hear the joy echoing in the stairways as you climb through the International Affairs Building.
Rating: 6 out of 5 stars. Absolute masterpiece.
Didn’t catch the show because you thought you had something better to do on a Friday night, and now regret missing the new dawn of political comedy? Read on for a full, exquisitely detailed recap of Boat 3.*
Opening Monologue
Jeremie Ponak and disgraced former SIPASA president Felix Wang (no relation to the author) took the stage to welcome the crowd. “We spent nearly 3 months planning this,” said Wang, reading off of a clipboard with words that Ponak wrote for him. “First order of business was getting the best sketch writers at SIPA: 2 white guys with ChatGPT.” Hijinks ensued.
SIPA DOGE pt.1
It wouldn’t be a Follies show without impressions of our beloved faculty. In SIPA DOGE, Dean Yarhi-Milo (Duckworth) and Secretary Clinton (Garner) were going through the SIPA’s budget when a musky tech genius (Ponak) showed up to help rid SIPA of waste, fraud, and abuse. The sketch included frivolous spending such as a second boat party, safe sex devices for parties, and pleated neuralink khakis. Hijinks ensued.
Columbia TSA
The entrances to Morningside campus were transformed into an airport-style security zone where students must undergo security checks to attend class. Two overzealous security guards (Ericka Persson and London Lee) searched through the contents of SIPA students (Noam Brenner, Fred Lee, Grace Rector, and Anjaly Ariyanayagam) and placed suspicious students on a watch list for hazardous items: the book How Democracy Dies, a laptop with three JSTOR tabs, and an emotional support water bottle with unnecessary stickers. What ensued was hijinks. Be vigilant, otherwise the Professor (Tarang Jain) might need to cancel class.
White Lotus Capstone
Three SIPA students (Garner, Jared Finkel, and Ponak) go to Bali for their capstone project. As their concierge (Martina Chow) checked them into the White Lotus, Faculty Supervisor Jennifer Coolidge (Former SIPA Follies President Ben Jurney, giving a dazzling performance) showed up with a pup in tow (Luna the Dog, also dazzling). I’m not sure what brought more joy to my ears: Garner’s astounding southern drawl, or Jin Park’s virtuosic cameo as the theme song to White Lotus. Hijinks, once again, ensued.
Chat Wars
Susie Han made her directorial debut in a visual masterpiece staging the notorious chaos of SIPA’s WhatsApp chats. As a projection of the WhatsApp chat played in the background, a flurry of frantic text exchanges unfolded among student avatars (Han, Duckworth, Ariyanayagam, Jain, Lee, Mike Hatfield, Park, Sara Gomez Horta). The chat moderator (Chow) pondered if they should step in and broker peace. Just as the chat died down, Rando 2 (Ariyanayagam) piped up, “Wait, so did no one want that Sabrina Carpenter ticket?” Doesn’t seem like it, Rando 2, but kudos for foreshadowing. Hijinks ensued.
Weekend Update
Finkel and Wang anchored the segment, rattling off punchlines dredged up from the deepest depths of their sick and twisted minds. Punctuated by Vega’s humorous graphics, the two anchors toed the line with a bucketful of bravery, delivering zingers that induced both groans and guttural laughs (The only students who benefited from their capstone? Three students who had to get rabies shots after an incident at a monkey sanctuary). Finkel also artfully pulled double duty as Margaret Hartwell, a well-meaning advisor from SIPA’s Career Advancement Center: “Remember — confidence is key, qualifications optional!” Of course, hijinks ensued.
The Water Fountain
In a display of artistic brilliance, directors Jain, Wang, and Leah Nomkin put on the night's only wordless sketch. A SIPA student (Park) was waiting in line to fill up their water bottle, when two more students (Chow and Lee, both dynamos) lined up. Behind them, a romance ensued — from first date, to marriage, to children (Ariyanayagam, with a scene-stealing role as Baby) and death, all while Park’s water bottle was being filled. Hijinks did not ensue, for this was theater at its finest.
SIPA DOGE Pt. 2
SIPA’s administration returned, with the dean (Duckworth) convening with concentration directors (Hatfield, Chow, Janvi Manek, Park, Finkel, and Han) to discuss upcoming curriculum changes in response to the budget cuts. Writer-director Hatfield, a soon-to-be Urban and Social Policy (USP) graduate, really wanted it to be known that he’s a public transportation nerd. “They’re cutting funding for trains!” cried Hatfield as USP’s director. But hey, at least congestion pricing survived — for now.
IGP Auditions
Taking a page from American Idol, the Institute of Global Politics (IGP) set up a judges panel (Garner, Duckworth, and Han) to search for the next IGP Fellow. This sketch featured a parade of political impressions: Noam Brenner’s Bernie Sanders (“Senator of the great State of Vermont and BREAKER OF THE BIG BANKS!”), Rory Callison’s Joe Biden (“I’ve got stories and a foreign policy that smell like Scranton steel”), and Ben Jurney’s RFK Jr. (“I’ve prepared a dissertation on deep state epidemiology”). Ponak shined as Jean-Luc, the inexplicably French worm living in RFK’s brain that will live rent-free in your head for years to come. Hatfield masterfully embodies basic conservative white boy Mike Pompeo, who got hired on the spot.
Boat 1
This sketch featured Jack (Hatfield, a star) and Rose (Rector, a starlet) as two SIPA students romancing on the deck of a ill-fated SIPA cruise. When the boat captain (Park, a revelation) revealed that the boat would be docked for the night, hijinks ensued, and random students (Jain and Ariyanayagam) repeatedly interrupted the captain’s announcements asking passengers to remain calm. This tour de farce concluded with SIPA students doing what they do best — drafting and reciting a statement that condemned the boat for not moving. “Jack, is this what leadership looks like?” asked Rose. “No Rose, this is what effective management looks like.” Rose swooned.
IGP Severance
As part of the new curriculum, SIPA rolled out a brain chip to separate normal student life from Institute of Global Politics student scholar life. The chip took full effect on the 15th floor, where student’s “uppie” IGP self took over. On all other floors, the student’s “downie” self was in full control. Jerky-to-perky Brenner and feisty-to-nice-y Han turned in Tony-worthy performances as they tackled dual student personalities. Callison’s transformation from wholesome-to-fearsome Professor Groll vaulted him to frontrunner status for a 2025 Emmy. Curiously, Duckworth’s dean was the only character who doesn’t change personality, a performance that will land her another Oscar. Hatfield returned as Pompeo. High jinks ensued.
In Memoriam
This year, SIPA Follies featured an emotional segment that honored significant losses of the past year. The touching montage featured U.S. President Jimmy Carter, time lost waiting for the elevator, all the concentration and specializations that were cut due to the curriculum change, and many other things we lost this year that are too sad to print. May their memory be eternal to us all.
Please, please, please
SIPeena Carpenter (Persson, unleashing the pop diva bottled up inside of her), delivered a stunning rendition of “Please Please Please” to close out the show. Backed by the Follettes, SIPeena brought the house down, with the audience singing along to lyrics highlighting the importance of restroom etiquette. “The pissing is one thing, your period’s another / I beg you, keep the fourth floor bathroom clean, motherfu—” errr, alrighty then.
Hijinks ensued. Shenanigans unfolded. Mischief managed. Your move, Follies 2026.
*Note
SIPA Follies would like to thank the following student groups for sponsoring this show: SIPA International Veterans Association, Latin American and the Caribbean Student Association, The Policy and Security Working Group, Digital and Cyber Group, SIPA Student Association, and the Office of Student Affairs. The author of this article would also like to extend a “you’re welcome” to The Morningside Post for covering the show for them.