Finally, they are laughing again.
In a nation still reeling from the Sept. 11 attacks -- and now facing the very real threat of bioterrorism -- comedy has taken a backseat as of late.
But that all changed at Penn on Tuesday night when comedian Dave Chappelle, a native of New York, brought down the house at Irvine Auditorium.
Performing for well over an hour -- about half an hour longer than he was booked for -- Chappelle did not have any trouble cracking up a packed Irvine, with more than 1,000 people in attendance.
Chappelle focused a good portion of his performance on the Sept. 11 events, making jabs at President Bush's decision to drop food packages in Afghanistan for refugees.
"I don't understand this war. We bomb them for eight hours, and then we drop food on them," he jested. "What's the point? I know that if someone bombed me for eight hours and then dropped food on me, I sure as hell wouldn't eat it."
Some of his remarks, however, caught many students off-guard as insensitive and less than politically correct.
"It's hard to entertain after" the attacks, Chappelle told his audience. "Who wants to watch television any more? Who wants to watch Fear Factor? That shit ain't scary. Dave Chappelle flying from New York City to L.A. sitting next to a guy named Mahmoud, now that's scary."
And some were frustrated that Chappelle, while apologizing to Asian Americans and gays after making jokes at them, neglected to do the same for the Arab-American community.
"He apologized to the Asian community for other jokes that he made about them, but he didn't apologize to the Arab Americans," College sophomore Maria Tellez said. "If I was an Arab American, I would have been pretty upset."
Entitled "An Evening With Dave Chappelle," the program -- sponsored by both the Social Planning and Events Committee and Tangible Change -- was originally scheduled for Sept. 14 as part of "No Place Like Penn" weekend.
Originally, there were concerns about the timing as the show was set for so soon after the attacks, Wharton senior and SPEC President Kevin Meyers said.
"Dave wanted to spend time with his family," he said. Sept. 14 "was not the best time for him to come and perform."
Students were notified of the change on Sept. 13 and had the option of getting a refund. But only 10 of 1,250 tickets were returned.
All the same, organizers were not sure how the postponement would affect Tuesday's turnout.
There was no need for concern.
Known for his crude language, drug references and jokes of a sexual nature, Chappelle did not disappoint those expecting a signature show.
And the star of the movie Half Baked lived up to this reputation.
"Nowadays, this is the time to smuggle drugs through airport security. 'Any explosives, sir? Any weapons? Hey, this is marijuana?"
Students said that this type of performance is what they've come to expect from Chappelle.
"I don't think that he's the kind of person to be fazed by anything," College senior Aaron Tidman said. "He's the kind of person who'll just joke about everything and talk about drugs and sex. It's healthy to get people to laugh after everything that's happened.... I think he did an excellent job."
Chappelle was introduced by Mark Gross, who set Chappelle up by calling Penn students "a bunch of rich bastards."
Some students were surprised Chappelle talked about the Sept. 11 events during his routine.
"I didn't expect him to mention [the terrorist attacks], but I think it was smart of him to make the reference," College freshman Danny Bega said. "It helped set the mood that during that night he was just going to have fun and joke about everything."
Officials from SPEC and Tangible Change, who regularly collaborate on various projects, were pleased with Chappelle's show.
"Having Dave come to Penn was very exciting," said Wharton senior Carrie Reilly, Tangible Change's co-chairwoman. "We were extremely pleased with the enthusiastic reception he received from the audience."
