By Caitlynn Kelly

On Saturday February 24, Westfield State invited Ian Lara to come perform his comedy routine for students in the Owl’s Nest. Ian Lara is a comedian from Queens, New York who started his career after college when he was told that he shouldn’t pursue law school. Ever since, he’s been perfecting his comedy routine and was even dubbed one of Comedy Centrals “Comics’ To Watch!”

The Owl’s Nest was packed by 8:45 p.m. in preparation for his 9 p.m. routine. After Ian came out the room was filled with laughter for the entire set. He made some jabs at the Owl’s Nest, “I didn’t think this was a real place, I thought y’all were messing with me.” He also poked some fun at Westfield sports teams that had the crowd roaring, including Westfield athletes. Some jokes also were made about Massachusetts and our predominantly white population.

Many of Ian Lara’s jokes centered around race; as a dark skinned Dominican man who is mistaken for being black all the time, he joked about being the odd one out in many situations and cracked jokes about race that were tasteful and funny. He used his comedy routine as a perfect way to discuss topics that may be uncomfortable in a lighter way. His routine was confident and well executed and very inclusive, as he called on many members in the audience and joked around with them. He felt bad for a nine-year old boy in the front row because his routine was slightly vulgar, as it is catered to college students and older. He had the room laughing until about 10:30 when he graciously thanked us for having him and concluded his routine.