College Campuses Can Be Minefields For Comedians (HBO)

Veteran comedians like Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock say that millennials can’t take a joke — but some comics often won’t ever get the opportunity to perform on campus in front of them.

They complain college campuses are minefields of competing grievances and sensitivities for comics whose jokes touch on sensitive subjects like assault or gender,

VICE News went to Boston to talk to three campus bookers — the college comedy gatekeepers — who contend that they’re merely reflecting student taste.

They say they feel old-school comedians are woefully behind the times and need to acknowledge that certain jokes, particularly those about identity and sexual assault, can potentially cause psychological harm. And it’s their job, they say, to protect students from it.

But at New York City’s famous Comedy Cellar, where VICE News talked with standup Judy Gold, nothing is off limits (provided that the joke is funny). Gold also warns students that the “world doesn't have to adjust” to student sensitivities.

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[dickkickem]

vice hiring a journalist capable of grilling both sides of the argument?

good on ya

[pissboy]

haha Chris Fleming made a good point
"You're not even listening to me, your just laughing because you heard bisexual!"

[toatsmagoats]

"it's what the students want"
wrong, it's what the loudest students want.

[orangeapple]

Holy Shit. These people actually found a job being the joke police.

[Chandral]

"I think it's the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately." - George Carlin

[johnnyskeletman]

You know it's time to stop when even the Vice reporter is considering calling you a snowflake.

[sativaqueen]

I'm a transgender woman and this kind of shit is why I can't deal with a lot of the mainstream trans community, and have severely reduced the amount of time I spend in trans-centric spaces. Everyone is way too sensitive about everything and will treat microaggressions as grave unforgivable offenses. Also, as a trans person of faith, other transgender people often find a way to get offended by the fact that I am religious (even though proselytizing is a big no-no in my religion), and they will occasionally give me shit for it.

[Chris-vwzf]

So in other words.. Bill Burr cant perform there

[zEropoint]

we as a society are _really_ pushing the bubble of childhood out _way_ too far, now. by the time people are college age, they really shouldn't be getting sheltered like this anymore. we're doing young people a disservice by keeping them so infantile for so long into adulthood.

[johnnyrico]

So basically, they look for a comedian, then read through the comedian's set, scour the Internet for any clip of the comedian making a problematic joke, then stand off stage, ready to cut the mic at any moment. Sounds like a great place for a comedian!

[frumrr]

"The world does not have to adjust to you, so figure that out." I love it.

[t.veritas]

That little trio of tumblr cringe-inducers are literally the most annoying types of people. They are no fun to speak with, and I avoid them at all costs

[YourselfAndEye]

So it's basically like booking comedians for a kindergarten class. Gotcha.

[shannonoconnor]

what happenned to college kids wanting controversial things

[yatesy]

You must be joking. Make a "offensive" joke these days and risk getting sued. Even Jerry Seinfeld who's probably the most vanilla mainstream comedian out there doesn't want to perform on campuses anymore.

[markydan]

“They do comedy for claps, not for laughter.”
- Andrew Schulz

[kiranknair]

Just to clarify . What she means by diversity is diversity of race and not diversity in opinion right?

[gregchung]

Why is this so disliked, vice actually took a neutral stance on this. Actually if you look at other videos on PC culture, like evergreen and princeton, Vice was actually rather critical of the students

[AdamKiser]

How do these people plan to be equipped for life outside of campus if they can't even take a joke about anything?! The faculty is actually doing the students a disservice by shielding them from everything remotely controversial. What happens when they graduate? They going to want trigger warning from every person they encounter? It's like dumping babies out of the cradle and into the street. I don't remember my college experience being like this, but that was almost a decade ago. Maybe things have changed.

[twiddledeeable]

I'm a journalist and I come back to this video often because the reporter in it does an awesome job. He holds both sides accountable and asks thought provoking questions to both.