College Campuses

College campuses have become a place where everybody wants to feel accepted. Some would call these people "snowflakes" while others would compliment them for being "woke". Whichever way you would classify it there is still one common truth; one can not just come to a college campus and start making fun of everybody. That is just not what college students are willing to accept anymore. Students expect to be treated equally, fairly, and sensitively. This means that it would be very hard for a comedian to just come in and start making fun of everybody. This leads to an important question; How are comedians supposed to act when performing on campus?

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Many college campus groups across America have begun making comedians sign a contract pledging to exclude offensive material from their sets. Their reasoning is that college campuses host a diverse population, who come from different backgrounds, and it is easier to just prohibit all controversial material than it is to risk offending members of the audience. 

 

Numerous established comedians such as Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock, and Judy Gold have refused to sign these contracts and have vowed to never perform on a college campus ever again.

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Comedians have another argument. They argue that comedy is not meant to make fun of people, instead it is meant to raise awareness of important issues and set the stage for much needed discussion. When routines are censored, it results in the elimination of an opportunity for people to come together and have these conversations.

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The argument these college groups have for censoring comedians can best be summarized by this quote from college entertainment booker Kat Michael- "Every time we put our label, or any time we put our name on an event it is now an extension of an entire campus climate that we are trying to create." College groups across America have decided that it is not worth it to risk insulting fellow students, and in doing so have become a significant source of comedic censorship.

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