While it’s not uncommon to see a packed fraternity house on a Friday night, the crowd at Sigma Alpha Epsilon this weekend wasn’t there for a typical party.
One hundred thirty-five students laughed aloud to the performance of comedian Brad Trackman of Comedy Central and the Philadelphia Comedy Academy at the SAE fraternity chapter house during the “Humor for Haiti” comedy event Friday night.
The show, co-hosted by SAE and the Alpha Chi Omega sorority, raised money for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. The evening also featured performances by the student groups Without a Net, Penn Six and Simply Chaos.
The cause is particularly dear to SAE in part because one of the fraternity’s own brothers is from Haiti and had relatives affected by the catastrophe, said Wharton sophomore James Karivalis.
Wharton sophomore and philanthropy co-chair of SAE David Thomas said SAE was also motivated to hold “Humor for Haiti” because “something needed to be done.”
“In college I think it’s easy to get caught up in this little bubble,” Thomas said.
“But as Penn students we are members of the world community and need to hold ourselves accountable for what happens to it,” he added.
The event raised $950 that will be donated to Partners in Health — a non-profit that has provided healthcare to the residents of Haiti for the past 20 years.
Although the cause behind the event was serious, the mood of the event was light. Trackman pestered various audience members, mocked married life and joked about how stupid he felt in a room full of Penn students.
Trackman also told a story of walking into the hospital room after his wife had given birth. When his wife asked his about their newborn son: “Would you die for him?” Trackman responded, “I just met him. I don’t even know if I like him yet!”
Laughter was everywhere and the enthusiasm was apparent when Trackman’s act ended to a standing ovation.
Wharton junior and SAE brother Alan d’Escragnolle summarized the event as using humor for good in a time of tragedy.
“‘Humor for Haiti’ was an excellent event as it brought together many students from all different backgrounds to meet and support a serious cause in a fun unifiying atmosphere,” he said.
