Madison Lyda
Student Life Editor
@maddilinee
On Feb. 5 in the MCC Ballroom, the Programming Activities Council (PAC) hosted their annual comedy night starring D.J. Demers.
The comedians are selected from various categories to suit the diverse needs and humor of Cameron students.
This year, PAC selected the well-known stand-up comedian, D.J. Demers who has made multiple television appearances, including two stand-up performances on “Conan,” and an appearance on season eleven of “America’s Got Talent” in 2016.
In addition to his public appearances, Demers also won the 2014 Homegrown Comics Competition in Montreal, Canada.
Every year, PAC goes through a list of potential candidates to decide who will perform at the annual comedy show.
PAC President and sophomore criminal justice major Aalia Oloyede said that certain characteristics set Demers apart from the rest.
“When we look for our yearly comedians, we look for individuality, diversity and neutral humor in order to not offend anyone,” she said. “Demers had a quality that we felt many students could relate to, and he offered a perspective on humor that we haven’t heard before.”
Demers wears two hearing aids and calls himself “that deaf guy.” He has even performed on a U.S. tour called the “Here to Hear Comedy Tour,” which starred various other hearing impaired comedians like him.
Demers’ humor focuses on his disability and how it makes normal aspects of his life interesting.
Oloyede says Demers’ performance was good for students because he represents disability awareness.
“I know the students are really going to enjoy him,” she said. “He is very different from any other comedian we have had on campus before. I think students will really relate to him in ways that they haven’t been able to relate to other comedians before.”
Demers started off the night’s event by introducing his disability and joking about the difficulties it brings to his life. He also did his best to get to know various students in the crowd.
Demers used sarcastic humor, playful commentary and took the time to get to the know the crowd throughout the night.
One of the more popular joke series revolved around Demers’ experiences in night clubs. Demers said his inability to hear properly makes it difficult to converse with people at clubs, especially with the music being so loud.
“Night clubs?” he said. “I literally don’t hear a single g– d— thing. Like, all right, so I guess I can’t dance and I can’t hear, what’s next? When I do go to the club, I have to master the ‘smile and nod’ thing, so on the outside it makes it look like I know what’s going on, when in reality I have no idea what anyone is saying at all.”
Many students in the crowd were unable to stop laughing, which in turn allowed Demers to jokingly compliment many students’ laughs.
Demers ended the night with a final joke before leaving the stage. The crowd applauded his performance as he left.
Demers met and socialized with students after the event.
Kaysa Williams, a freshman communication major, said she loved Demers’ performance.
“His performance tonight was so unique, and it was such an enjoyable experience,” she said. “It was my favorite event that I have attended, by far.”
PAC will be hosting several events over the course of the spring semester. For more information about future events, contact the Office of Campus Life at pac@cameron.edu.