Trevor Noah speaks at Princeton University's 2021 Class Day

It is my honor to introduce you to our class day speaker, Mr. Trevor Noah, originally from South Africa and current resident of New York City. Trevor Noah is one of the most successful comedians in the world as of last year, his Emmy Award-winning television show, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah received six Emmy nominations. Mr. Noah has also written, produced and starred in 11 comedy specials. Many in our class consider him one of the most astute cultural critics of our time and have found in his comedy a gateway to a deeper conversation. In April 2018, Mr. Noah launched the Trevor Noah Foundation, a development initiative that provides young people with access to high-quality education through a partnership with Microsoft. the foundation can provide technology to low-income schools as a tool to enhance the learning experience and increase digital literacy beyond the classroom We are thrilled to have Mr.

Noah as our speaker during the school day because of his talent for bringing joy during this year's unprecedented times and to discuss challenging topics with humor. You have inspired us with your ability to transcend boundaries and navigate the world with grace, kindness, and a commitment to finding common ground. Now I would like to introduce Mr. Trevor Noah in conversation with our class presidents Kamia Michael and Morgan Welcome Mr. Noah en so good to see you my name is morgan what's going on morgan how are you doing well hello sir

noah

I'm kamia it's a pleasure to meet you hello kamia how are you it's a pleasure to meet you hello sir

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I'm michael it's a pleasure to meet you michael you have a really great photo like the one in the in the um, what is the day of class?

You guys have a little superhero combo. I like it, I appreciate it. It is a great pleasure to welcome you. So we have a couple of questions about. On behalf of our colleagues, we know they are eager to hear from you, so the first question is: do you know when it came up? Comedy like this, this is my calling, this is what I'm good at, but when did that moment come for you and how could we seek that moment for ourselves? It was the first time anyone paid me, Morgan, that's when the time came. um no, I'm kidding.

The first moment I knew it was a vocation was. instinctively when I made people laugh for the first time, so you know, in school I had always been like the class clown, I was never the most popular kid, but I made everyone laugh, I mean, if it was the bullies, whether it was the jocks, whether it was the nerds, whether it was, he just knew how to make people laugh, he knew how to get into their worlds, he also made the teachers laugh, he's not like me, he was a friend of my teachers, you know what.

They would never be like that. Trevor behaves badly, they always said like him, you know, he likes to make people laugh too much, sometimes he needs to calm down and um, and this would follow me everywhere in life, you know, I would, I would, I would tell jokes in the holidays, you would do it. I know that whenever there was a group of people gathered around, I would try to tell funny stories and over time I realized that this was something I wish I could do, but you have to remember that in South Africa we didn't have a comedy.

The scene at that time, you know, because of apartheid, freedom of expression was inhibited, so it's not like we ever had any comedy, so I never dreamed of being a comedian, but I think that's when the calling struck me. hit and, um, and yeah, for the first few months of my comedy career I did it for free, I loved it um and it only became a career when someone paid me for the first time and then I thought oh wow, I can really try to do what I love to make a living and that. um, as they say, the rest is history, um, mr. noah, how do you navigate belonging as an international student?

I'm constantly thinking about what home means, you grew up in South Africa and then moved to the US to pursue comedy, will you ever find yourself? Feeling at home is in several places and nowhere at the same time or it is something completely different for you. You know what I've realized, uh, Kamiya, I've realized that home for me might be different for everyone but home. For me it's where my people are and what I've learned is that my people can be anywhere, you know, so I have a very close-knit group of friends that I grew up with and that I've met over the years in my life, whether in comedy or just life in general, and those people have become the core of who I am as a person, they remind me of who I am, they make me enjoy life with them, we share stories and we build together.

And so, for me, those people have become my home, and when I think of South Africa, I think of that as my home, but then when I think of New York, I think of New York as my home, you know, I think of the joy that I have when I'm here I think about um, you know, California, at one time, Pasadena was my home, so, for me, yeah, I've realized that as long as I have the people, any place feels like in house and in terms. belonging are the people who make you feel like you belong or not, it is not the place, so if you can find a group of people with whom you identify, who make you aspire to be more, who challenge you and who help you . you enjoy life and you know that it will also help you through difficult times, so I believe that you will find a sense of belonging no matter where you are Mr.

Noah, I want to delve a little deeper into your work, in your mind, what role does comedy? plays in popular culture right now, so what do you think about when creating content for your specials or the daily show? Well, Michael, the only thing about comedy now is that it's so popular and so big that I don't think it has a role. I think it can play multiple roles, so asking what role comedy plays is like saying what role technology plays, what What role does music play or what role, you know, I think there was a time when comedy was so specific that maybe it played a role, but I think now it plays many roles, the most important one for me, I define my rules for comedy and I go to number one, the first rule for me is to make people feel better, that's what I'm trying to do.

I know I want you to laugh when you come to my show when you watch my TV show, whatever you do, I want you to leave feeling a little better than when you came in and that's what I do because I love going to comedy shows. where I laugh and have fun and go like a man, that was fun and then I laugh on the way home and try to tell jokes to my friends the next day, that's what for me is what I'm looking for. Because and that's what I try to give to the audience.

I think comedy on a larger scale for me is also about telling the truth. You know, comedy for me has always been that place where we can talk about uncomfortable truths. You know, we can talk about racism while we laugh with people, we can talk about misogyny while we laugh with people, we can talk about some of the most uncomfortable things in society and hopefully poke holes and reveal some of the light that comes out through those holes as we use. Comedy a a a I guess it lessens the burden that the audience feels, so instead of just being a lecture about oh, this is why racism is bad, you use comedy in such a way that someone is sitting in the audience. and says: man.

I never thought of it like that, yeah actually racism is pretty stupid. I have to think about these things. I have to solve it. Oh yeah, actually, why do we have toxic masculinity as men? This is holding us back. Maybe we should try to find out, but that's the way it is. How do you figure out how to play with that and tell the truth? So for me, comedy is often a tool that I will use to subvert what society has accepted as normal or the standard or you know, or the status quo, because that's often what it is.

What happens in society is we just accept something as normal and then at some point as a comedian you say guys this isn't normal you realize actually this isn't normal we've been doing this for so long. So I enjoy those aspects of comedy and I think that's the role that comedy plays in my life and what I try to do with it in the world. So, thinking about that subversion and that discomfort, what has been your biggest lesson in taking risks. It has been my biggest lesson in taking risks. That is interesting. I think I would split that lesson into two.

Number one. Not all the risks are worth taking. What I mean by this is that sometimes I understand that the risk may not even be for me, but it can be. to the topic of the comedy or the unintended consequences of the comedy that I'm saying and then I realize I'm going, oh, if I'm trying to tell this joke and it might come out wrong, let me try to spend more. It's time to not tell it and figure out how to clean up the you know what I like to call the targets of the joke and then minimize the risk if I can call it that because you know I can't control how people feel about jokes. everyone can get offended by anything I don't believe in things like saying oh if you get offended I'm sorry no you can get offended by anything I say and if you get offended I didn't mean to offend you and because an offense has occurred I have no control about your offense.

What I do know is that it is comedy, not just professional comedy, but even between human beings. Interpersonal comedy is totally contextual. You know, you can tell Morgan something to your friends that a stranger could never say. I tell you because you have the context of your friendship you know Michael you can say the same thing to your friends that no one can say and the same thing with you come here you can say things these are things that you have because you have context and So when I look at the risk, first I look at the context and then I think about mitigating that risk and then I ask who we are and what we're talking about unfortunately these days, especially with comedy and I think with social media as well. a lot of times the context is lost because you can have a conversation with a person and social media is weird because in the past I was talking to Kamiyah just me and you come here and I'll be talking to you and let's say we've been best friends for 10 years and I will tell you a joke about India and then you will tell me a joke about South Africa and we laugh, now we do it on social media and then someone you don't know us, how dare you say that about India?

How dare you say that about South Africa? And suddenly the context of our conversation was lost, and so when I look at the risk, I try to mitigate it as much as I can. That happens because my intention is not I don't have time to offend people I'm not even trying I don't benefit from it so I try to mitigate that risk but at the same time not the cost of telling my truth thank you very much um something about it What you know we've been thinking about is traveling during the pandemic and out of fear of the dark you said that traveling is the antidote to ignorance for those of us who missed out on the typical college experience due to the pandemic, could you talk more about how the Have your trips influenced your own perspectives?

Wow, travel hasn't just influenced my perspective. You know, traveling for me is a humbling experience if you do it because it will show you that the world. is bigger than your world, it will also show you that every idea you have and accept as dogma is, in fact, just an idea, so when you travel you begin to realize that most of the rules we learn as human beings They are just social structures. ideas that have been imparted to us by our parents or our ancestors, but when you go somewhere else they say no, we just don't do that, you know, and I think that's humbling and I think it's also informative because it says you and it teaches you that the way What you think the world is isn't like that, it's just the way your world is and so whether it's learning that somewhere people are like an English man who doesn't give a damn about English, you say oh but English and they say no, we don't care, you're like, but how do you do things? and they say, yeah, we don't care, we speak other languages, that's humbling, you know, you go somewhere else where they. say like oh this is what we do this is how we eat we eat with our hands or this is how we talk or this is how we laugh or this is how we dance this is how we communicate with everything and I think It's a humbling experience, so that's I really enjoy it because I think it gives you a sense of understanding that generally everyone comes from a perspective of the world that they think is correct because they've learned it, but it actually exists.

There's no right way to do anything, you know, unless it's science. Everything else we've applied with a semblance of the way it's supposed to be, so we're getting a little closer to the end. I think we have time for one. More questions and then the Class of

2021

officers want to induct you as an honorary member of our class, so this past year has been incredibly stressful and also transformative, both good and bad, for everyone, so I really want to ask you . What is your greatest hope and greatest fear for the coming year? my greatest hopeIt is that we take advantage of this time, which is possibly one of the worst periods the world has gone through in recent history, to try to transform the way we do things. let's know, let's review everything the way we have been forced to review everything, let's review the work.

Do people need to be in the office five days a week? I think we've realized that they don't need to be, if possible, people can work from home. when they need it it may be better for their mental health it may be better for traffic on the roads it may be better for parents who need to stay home and take care of their children when they are sick it could be better for everyone in society we now realize that it is possible I hope that in the future we apply these lessons I hope that in the future we realize that just like everyone who was forced to stay home or forced to leave work or not participate in society that once coronavirus disappears there is still a subset of society that has permanent coronavirus, people don't just not have jobs because they don't want to have them, you know, most people are out of work most people can't join the workforce most people are struggling most people are starving this is happening despite the coronavirus the coronavirus just made it, I guess, more widespread and I hope that after this we have a little more compassion and keep it up oh wow you're unemployed I know what it's like to be unemployed because the coronavirus left me unemployed oh wow you haven't been this or you're sick or you're disabled do I understand these things a little more because temporarily?

I experience these same states. I hope we move forward with some sense of compassion. One of my fears in the future. My fears, especially for the United States, are that the coronavirus will simply become a blip on the radar that people learn nothing from. My fear is that it will become a politicized idea in people's minds where, somehow, like so many things have happened in America because of social media and the way information is distorted, it will become another theory. of the conspiracy, it's going to turn into another, you know, like oh, who made the coronavirus, who? 9/11 simply becomes a game and my fear is that instead of seeing this as a moment when humanity itself was tested and people were forced to think together, move together and be together, in In reality it will be seen as another point. of fragmentation where people can go in different directions and believe what they want to believe and I fear that many people will not learn anything from this experience, that is my fear.

Thank you very much, yes, thank you, Mr. Noah, no, thank you, thank you, pleasure. Thank you very much, Mr. Noah, for taking the time to join our graduating class on this special day before officially inducting you into our class. I would like to begin the introductions on behalf of our class officers. My name is Emma and I am the president of the senior class. I am studying in the School of Public and International Affairs and am from Tennefly, New Jersey. Hi, I'm Sanjana. I am the vice president of the senior class. I am a sociology student and also from New Jersey.

Hi, I'm Kavya. the treasurer of the senior class I am from miami florida and I am studying the school of public and international affairs hi my name is arielle I am the secretary of the class of

2021

I am a psychology student with a certificate in gender and sexuality studies and I am from Cherry Hill , New Jersey Hi, I'm Phoebe, I'm the social president of the class of 2021, I study civil environmental engineering and I'm from Philadelphia, so each year we select honorary class members to join our graduation celebrations, Mr. Noah . We are absolutely thrilled to welcome you to the great class of 2021 and I would like to take a moment to read what is written on the certificate that we will present to you as part of your official addition to our class, so the class of the University of Princeton 2021 welcomes

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noah to its ranks for his unique talent for bringing joy during the unprecedented times of the past year.

Mr. Noah captivates and inspires our generation through wit and incisive analysis of the most salient socioeconomic and cultural issues of our world today. a moral compass that seeks equity and justice for all people and in doing so shows us the power of giving voice to one's own values. Mr. Noah has inspired us with his ability to transcend borders and navigate the world with grace, kindness and commitment to finding common ground, we are honored and grateful to invite him to our cohort and therefore, as a member of the great class of 2021, you will receive the alumni magazine and we are honored to invite you to all of our class reunions in the future, Professor Eddie.

Glaude, who has been a guest on your show, is kind enough to send you some signed books to add to your collection, and finally, we'd like to introduce you to some Princeton clothing. I see you're already wearing your Princeton hoodie. and we hope you add a little more orange to your wardrobe. Thank you again for your comments and welcome to the Princeton Class of 2021. Thank you all so much, thank you so much, thank you so much. Now I will introduce myself. Hi, I'm Trevor Noah, I'm part of the honorary class of 2021 and I've been studying hoodie management.

I have a degree in hoodie management. My specialization has been sweatpants and general hooded and zoom couture. So that's what I've been studying this year and I just want to thank you all. I really appreciate you guys and we made it, we made it, we graduated, we made it, thank you all, I really appreciate you guys, this has been. Very fun and I really hope they go out and change the world. Don't let it be the same as before you arrived. Thank you all.