SAB and UpChuckles bring in the laughs

Two Truman State University organizations hosted comedy events Nov. 7. Student Activities Board invited Emmy Award winning comedian Dulcé Sloan to perform, while UpChuckles, a Truman comedy group, organized their own stand-up show. 

Sloan performed in the Baldwin Auditorium and was brought to campus by SAB. Their contracting process meant they had to wait to announce their event until Oct. 17, even though it was planned at the start of the fall semester. 

“We get a list of 50 to 100 comedians to choose from, then our committee goes through them,” SAB communication and development chair Katie Taylor said. “[They check] their social media, who they cater to, and see if that’s who Truman’s campus is looking for and will be well received.”

SAB receives funding through the student activities fee, which all students pay as part of their tuition. This fee has raised questions about how students’ desires for entertainment were represented by SAB. 

In order to best represent the student body, SAB president Abby Raeker said SAB sends an email to students at the end of the spring semester every year to gauge what students are interested in seeing each year.

Another comedy event offered Nov. 7 was the UpChuckles event, which was held at DuKum Inn and was originally planned to take place at the same time as Sloan’s performance. UpChuckles vice president Tyler Lawson said he and UpChuckles president Abby Knabe made the decision to move the event back two hours in order to prevent conflict with the SAB event.

Lawson said that he went to the SAB show before his stand-up set, and encouraged students to attend the UpChuckles show after the headline comedian.

Attending both events, student Laniey Calkins said both events were good, they just offered a different experience.

“I like the UpChuckles one more based on the intimate feel and the soft lighting, and I thought the jokes were funnier,” Calkins said.“The SAB [comedy event] felt more community centered.”