Renowned comedian and stand-up act Pete Davidson gave the UNA students and the Florence community a reason to roar with laughter last week. Davidson, a Long Island, New York native can be seen on SNL, Comedy Central, MTV and numerous other TV stations.

Davidson entered The Mane Room Nov. 5 to a full house. Students seemed very excited about the big-name talent coming to Florence and were eager for a good laugh.

I suppose if you kept up with his previous work then you might have been able to somewhat predict the material that would make up his set. Most of the audience, however, was not that well-acquainted with his previous work and was surprised with some of the jokes he chose to tell.

Davidson came out feisty, beginning with jokes about being high and smoking weed, which no one really knew how to take. There were a few students who made comments in return and some people chuckled. He continued to discuss being from New York and tried another weed-related joke met with a similar response.

He then went on to discuss how he was in a relationship and thought she was a great girl. He brought up the reason he thought she was a keeper — and this is where things got weird — he went on to publicly announce “she swallows.” Everyone in the audience lost it. Some students were hysterical with laughter, while others became immediately uncomfortable. A handful of people exited the building, and he apologized.

Personally I think, the idea that he had the audacity to make the joke was comical in itself, but the fact he actually said it was pushing it.

I feel this type of performance would have done extremely well at a bigger school in a bigger town. Florence seems to be so stuck in the past and uncomfortable with change, and I feel many people were offended by his choice of material to use. I could not have been more pleased with it.

I think this show was precisely what UNA wanted and what the community needed. Florence is a growing town, whether everyone is on board with it or not, and with growth comes expansion of cultures.

Modern culture and ethics in America are changing rapidly, and I think this really brought attention to the idea that it is okay to laugh at something when funny.

Pete’s visit here was a very positive thing, and the remaining crowd most certainly agreed. I do not know if he will ever be invited back, but he will be remembered.