College comedians are raising the Rooftop

0 Comments | USA TODAY, March, 2008 | by Craig Wilson

WASHINGTON -- Emily Murphy is performing in front of a crowd at the Marvin Center on the campus of George Washington University.

She's holding a bunch of balloons, telling the story of a female medical exam gone awry. Something about a salad tong flying through the air. The crowd is howling.

Perhaps not what her parents had in mind when they sent her to the nation's capital for college, but she might be the one getting the last laugh.

An English/theater major from Pottstown, Pa., Murphy is participating in RooftopComedy's First Annual National College Comedy Competition, a contest being held on 32 campuses nationwide.

Last week, the affable sophomore won a place on GW's eight-member comedy team and is heading to the semifinals against the...