Discomfort, offense, trigger: Understanding and managing student responses to comedy

COMEDY, LIKE HIGHER EDUCATION, is an institution forged from and heavily influenced by tradition. Performers readily recite their influences, drawing a clear line between their idols and the art they currently create onstage. However, because culture and norms surrounding comedy are considerably more malleable than those surrounding higher education, a previously symbiotic relationship has become harder to navigate with understanding.