The Eagle Eye

Issue date: 11/12/09 Section: News

Media Credit: Brian Shultz Ralphie May offered many laughs during his performance, as well as an insightful look into his life afterward.

Media Credit: Brian Shultz Ralphie May performes during his comedy act at Price Auditorium Wednesday in front of a packed house. Students lined up for hours to get the best seats for the performance.

Comedy Central phenomenon Ralphie May preformed in front of a packed Price Auditorium last night in an event hosted by the Haven Activities Council.

The crowd, filled with anticipation, roared as May took the stage in a plus-sized LHU sweatshirt. He opened with jokes about driving through Beech Creek, hotels and houses, the Amish and the area in general.

"I got here and people are advertising guns and hunting everywhere," May joked. "I wish I had a gun. I would have shot 15 deer on the way here."

For the next three hours May would continue with jokes about Michael Jackson, Heath Ledger, sex, and anything between. He offered relationship and marriage advice, gave students tips on everything imaginable and told how marijuana is safer than alcohol.

"I could do more colleges if I wasn't so controversial," May said. "Not many colleges are willing to take a chance on me because I'm racially insensitive, culturally controversial and politically incorrect."

This didn't keep students from coming and enjoying the show. Students lined the sidewalks in front of Price, stretched around Sullivan and down North Fairview Street all to get a seat for the comedy show.

"We lined up at 3:30," said senior Ashlee Gerardi about her three and a half hour wait in which she hung out, did homework, froze and bought a whoopie pie for Ralphie.

When the seats filled up, May insisted that the rest of the students be allowed to stand along the walls in the back and sides. He told the crowd he appreciated seeing everyone braving the cold weather to see him which is why he preformed for twice the time he was paid for.

"He was absolutely hilarious," said junior Josh Richard. "He had me laughing the whole time."

Almost all of the other students were also pleased.

"He was awesome," said Chuck Bungo. "I loved the transition from politics to bathroom humor. It was like black and white. Overall it was just a pleasure."

After the show May invited the audience up for a meet-n-greet where he signed autographs, took pictures and talked to fans personally. He offered insight on his start in comedy, life changes and his philosophy and goals with his comedy.

Ralphie was a very gifted student growing up in rural Arkansas. At the age of 17 he was enrolled in both high school and college classes, even getting an A in a college organic chemistry class. One night, while with some friends at Shakey's Pizza, along Highway 71 in Fayetteville, Arkansas, he got up for the open mic and did some stand up comedy. Through events that happened that night, he knew it was what he wanted to do with his life.

"I quit college and told jokes. I even got to open up for Sam Kinnison," he said.

Ralphie would move to Houston for about five years and then on to Las Angeles.

"It was a different way of thinking," he said. People think that their small town is the world. I wish they realized how great life is and how many things there are to see and do."

He also related LHU to this small town mindset.

"People are telling me 'I can't believe you came to the middle of nowhere' and demeaning themselves and the school," he said. "This is a great place to be going to school. You can be educated, and it kind of has that close knit high school feel."

He also gave insight on his reasons for his style saying that his goal is to make people laugh at things they didn't want to laugh at and to develop a different form of thinking.

"Sponsors usually get mad," he said, "but my thinking isn't that radical. Political correctness has a long history of being anything but correct. One hundred fifty years ago it was politically correct to own black people; 100 years ago it was politically correct to deny women the right to vote: 50 years ago there were separate water fountains and hotels."

He also has reasons for his use of language, including the "N" word.

"I'm trying to kill it as a word," May said. "Do you ever hear kids today saying things like far out, groovy or rad? No, because kids don't want to use the phrases their parents used. The current strategy of being hush, hush about it has never worked, so I think it's time we give mine a try."

May thinks the college audiences can handle this because he thinks of college kids as adults.

"Hopefully they learned more from what they heard than they thought they learned," he said.

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