MTSU Student Programming and Raider Entertainment welcomed stand-up comedian and former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Emil Wakim to campus on Thursday, Oct. 2, for the annual Night of Comedy event, adding to the growing list of touring comedians who have visited the school, including Adam Conover, Randy Feltface and Therapy Gecko.

The event had a smaller turnout than expected, even though Wakim is hot off the heels of a summer tour. 

“They put out too many chairs, but I appreciate the hope that you all had in me,” Wakim said in jest.

Wakim, 27, spent the beginning of the set getting to know Murfreesboro, Tennessee, what MTSU is known for and poked fun at his perceived generational gap with students. During his crowd work segment, Wakim asked a student what the audio production major entailed and what a producer does.

The student responded, mentioning digital audio workstations (“DAWs”), and Wakim responded, “You explained it with another word I don’t know!”

Shortly after this, he called out a crowd member who was on his phone but was somehow the loudest member of the audience. The crowd member said he was playing Block Blast, which he described to Wakim as “new Tetris.” 

“I’m 27 years old, but I feel 85 in this room,” Wakim said.

As the show transitioned to written material, Wakim briefly acknowledged his recent dismissal from the “Saturday Night Live” cast for the upcoming 51st season. He spoke about going back home and how visiting his parents’ house as an adult isn’t too dissimilar from being in a drug rehabilitation facility.

 “Home should be a place that reminds you of the [worst] version of yourself,” Wakim said.

Wakim used the second half of his set to touch on modern living, including how difficult it is in 2025 to be “in the moment,” especially living in New York City, as well as the difference between liking life in America and being proud to live in America.

“You can’t just sit on the subway without headphones and look around at your surroundings, because someone will make eye contact and start jerking off at you,” Wakim said.

Wakim closed the show by telling a story about taking psychoactive mushrooms for the first time, and, as a mixed-race Arabic man, he thought he started to fall into racist stereotypes as a result.

“The sky is so beautiful, I wish we could take these towers down,” Wakim said. “Life is so wonderful, Allahu Akbar — no, wait.”

He noted that, while the bit was well received by the audience, he once told the story to a crowd that included his parents. Wakim said that they were furious with him over it, but the only thing they had a problem with was the fact that he did mushrooms.

The audience seemed to have mixed reactions to the performance, including those of audience member Craig Noblin.

 “At first I wasn’t sure if I was into it, but he ended his set really strong, and I could tell this guy loves what he does,” Noblin said.