2008 Woodie Awards
Two comedians spotlight interfaith differences
Jane Lee
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: News
Rice Hillel President Lauren Henderson and executive board member of the Muslim Student Association Zabeena Merchant, who cosponsored the event, said she hopes the show will be the beginning of further dialogue on Jewish-Muslim interaction.
Henderson, a Will Rice College junior, learned of the comedy act earlier this semester through her rabbi, Houston Hillel's Executive Director Kenny Weiss, an acquaintance of Alper's.
"I thought it sounded amazing, and I thought it would be even more amazing if we could cosponsor it with MSA and the Boniuk [Center for Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance at Rice]," Henderson said.
The show fits into the Boniuk Center's Bridge Builders Initiative, which supports religious events put on by cross-faith campus groups.
The show occurred April 8 to fit the comedians' schedules, but the large venues in the Rice Memorial Center were already occupied by this time, so the Boniuk Center booked the Baker commons to get a comedy club feel, Boniuk Center Special Projects Coordinator Calvin Preece said.
Preece said he considers the $5,000 the Boniuk Center paid for the comedians' performance, transportion and hotel rooms to be well-spent.
Both comedians said they will consider returning to Rice in the future.
"I love being invited into this kind of environment [with college kids] because there's an opportunity there not only to make people laugh but also to make them think in a way that can actually have some long term effect on their perception of reality," Usman said. "I take the responsibility seriously and hopefully the impression you got is a positive one."
Henderson, a Will Rice College junior, learned of the comedy act earlier this semester through her rabbi, Houston Hillel's Executive Director Kenny Weiss, an acquaintance of Alper's.
"I thought it sounded amazing, and I thought it would be even more amazing if we could cosponsor it with MSA and the Boniuk [Center for Study and Advancement of Religious Tolerance at Rice]," Henderson said.
The show fits into the Boniuk Center's Bridge Builders Initiative, which supports religious events put on by cross-faith campus groups.
The show occurred April 8 to fit the comedians' schedules, but the large venues in the Rice Memorial Center were already occupied by this time, so the Boniuk Center booked the Baker commons to get a comedy club feel, Boniuk Center Special Projects Coordinator Calvin Preece said.
Preece said he considers the $5,000 the Boniuk Center paid for the comedians' performance, transportion and hotel rooms to be well-spent.
Both comedians said they will consider returning to Rice in the future.
"I love being invited into this kind of environment [with college kids] because there's an opportunity there not only to make people laugh but also to make them think in a way that can actually have some long term effect on their perception of reality," Usman said. "I take the responsibility seriously and hopefully the impression you got is a positive one."
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