Wisconsin Welcome

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Eric Hobbs

Hasan Minhaj

press release: The Wisconsin Union will host events for University of Wisconsin–Madison students Aug. 28-Sept. 1 to welcome students to campus, including a free, virtual performance and Q&A with comedian and activist Hasan Minhaj presented by the Wisconsin Union Theater on Sept. 1 from 8-9 p.m.

UW–Madison students can register to attend the Peabody Award-winning comedian’s performance here. Attendees must provide a valid student Wiscard number when registering. This event is exclusively for UW-Madison students.

            The show will include a monologue by Minhaj followed by a 30-minute moderated Q&A facilitated by Maria Ahmed, the assistant director for leadership and involvement at the Multicultural Student Center at UW-Madison. The event will conclude with a 15-minute live Q&A with viewers, who the Theater team will invite to submit questions through a form during the event.

Minhaj is a comedian, writer, actor, political commentator and television host most widely known from the Netflix series “Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj,” which ran from 2018 to 2020. During the “Patriot Act,” Minhaj brought his perspective on current events. Before hosting “Patriot Act,” he served as a “The Daily Show” correspondent from 2014 to 2018. His Netflix comedy special “Hasan Minhaj: Homecoming King” earned him a Peabody Award in 2018.

Minhaj has been a long-sought-after guest by many student organizations, and the Wisconsin Union Directorate Performing Arts Committee, which plans most of Theater’s events, identified him as an ideal performer for Wisconsin Welcome based on this strong student interest.

“We, at the Wisconsin Union Theater, want to welcome all students to a new academic year with a free experience created with them in mind,” Wisconsin Union Theater Director Elizabeth Snodgrass said. “While many things about this year are uncertain, students can count on performing arts experiences through the Wisconsin Union Theater and we wanted to kick off the new school year with something special for students.”

Hasan’s performance is made possible with sponsorship support from the Wisconsin Union. This event is presented by the Wisconsin Union Theater in collaboration with the Multicultural Student Center and the Muslim Students Association.

The Wisconsin Union staff and student leaders in the Wisconsin Union Directorate, which is the student programming and leadership board of the Union, have created additional students-only events to help students get to know one another and experience some of what the Wisconsin Union offers students.

“We, at the Wisconsin Union, will hold opportunities for students to meaningfully engage with one another and get to know their campus living room,” said Mark Guthier, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Wisconsin Union director.

Additional events and activities hosted by Union team members and student leaders for UW-Madison students Aug. 28 through Sept. 1 include yoga, virtual bingo, art webinars, a film screening, a t-shirt giveaway, and more.

The Union is holding these events as part of a campus-wide effort to welcome students, called Wisconsin Welcome, which takes place Aug. 27-Sept. 20.

For more information about the Wisconsin Union’s welcome events, including Minhaj’s talk, visit union.wisc.edu/welcome-back-students.