Rowan After Hours brought Andrew Fisher, a notable deaf comedian, to perform on Thursday, Jan. 30. This event was preceded by last year’s comedy show featuring Samuel J. Comroe, a comedian diagnosed with Tourette syndrome.

“You don’t see a lot of people who are diverse in fields [like comedy],” Joe Scafiro, a senior history major and RAH’s programming coordinator, said about the trend of diversity at RAH. “I think having people like this come to campus to perform is awesome. It opens up the possibility for things we can do.”

The actual performance started seamlessly. Fisher signed throughout the show while an interpreter spoke. There was a distinct moment where the interpreter laughed at himself as he failed to translate Fisher’s set.

Fisher joked, “You can tell my translator messed up when he starts laughing.”

The combination of Fisher’s jokes and the interpreter’s sardonic voice made for a fun night of self-depreciation and dry humor.

Throughout the show, Fisher  continually showed a history of deaf culture by including notable deaf figures in contemporary culture. “Deaf people have always been here … we have always been here,” Fisher said.

After the show, the audience left with an appreciation and a hunger for more diversity at Rowan.

Zynayah Coleman, a junior writing arts major, said, “I went to the show because it’s a step closer to the diversity I’d like to see at Rowan. But we can’t stop here. I think guests brought to Rowan should reflect the diversity of the real world.”

It’s clear that bringing diverse comedians to RAH is a good start, however, it’s apparent that there still is a necessity to bring in diverse guests to Rowan.

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