Comics shine at University Union stand-up event

Syracuse students packed into Schine Underground on Saturday for a night of comedy featuring sets from nine student comics.

The University Union event was masterfully hosted by Julia DiCesare who kept the energy high and smoothly transitioned between acts. Her ability to connect with the crowd and keep the good vibes rolling was vital to the event’s success.

Sam Baylow, a standout performer of the night, began his set by dragging the wooden stool on stage mere inches away from the front ledge to “get more personal with the audience,” and that’s exactly what he did.

Photo by Zach Nemirovsky

Sam Baylow presents his comedy set in Schine Underground.

Baylow’s set was a riveting coming-of-age story about his “queer awakening” that began with a crush on an influencer. “It all started with my first middle school crush … do you guys remember Jacob Sartorius?”

Eyebrows rose and looks of bewilderment were expressed, but Baylow was quick to respond with a joke to deflect judgments, “he looked like a yassified broom.” After a few quips over the absurdity of crushing on the Musical.ly star, Baylow recounted his frantic efforts to keep screenshotted thirst trap photos of Sartorious private by converting them to PDFs and storing them as e-books.

Reflecting on the set later that night, Baylow shared an observation about the audience’s response. “The left and middle part of the crowd were vibing. But I looked over to the right and they kinda had a blank stare.” Despite a few lukewarm reactions, the allure of standup for Baylow lies in its transient nature.

“Even if you bomb, no one remembers once you leave the stage,” he remarked, emphasizing the charm of a clean slate with every performance.

Soon after Baylow, Ronan Mansfield was introduced to the crowd by DiCesare as a baby giraffe look-alike (his self-reported height is 6 foot 2).

Photo by Zach Nemirovsky

Ronan Mansfield performs during his comedy set on Saturday night.

Mansfield’s set originated from an unusual experience — an entertaining, dramatic recounting of the moment he accidentally wet his trousers.

“The guy showed me his gun and said ‘Don’t make a move. Give me your wallet,’” Ronan waited for a moment before continuing. “For a second I didn’t do anything — because I was peeing my pants.”

Mansfield has a year’s worth of practice with standup, and his experience with the profession shined through on stage. Despite sharing a vulnerable story with a crowd of his peers, Mansfield looked comfortable on stage and was at ease enough to make referential jokes about his own set and stage quirks and mannerisms.

After the show, Ronan answered a question about his future goals with the same bluntness expressed in his comedy. “I just want to keep getting better,” he said.