Daily Show correspondent to speak in final ULS installment

Comedy Central’s Emmy Award-winning program “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” blends politics, humor, news and satire into something its creators describe as “fake news.”

The final installment of this semester’s University Lecture Series (ULS), will welcome back former USF student Aasif Mandvi, who is now an actor, writer and “Daily Show” correspondent, tonight at 7 in the Marshall Student Center (MSC) Ballroom.

Mandvi has filled his “Daily Show” role since 2007. Since then, the show has been named one of the “100 Best TV Shows of All Time,” by Time magazine.

Mandvi’s resume also includes work on Broadway and in films such as “Music and Lyrics,” starring Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore, and the romantic comedy “The Proposal,” starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds.

This year, Mandvi acted in the films “The Last Airbender” and “It’s a Funny Story.” He has also been on several television programs like “Sex and the City” and “The Sopranos.”

Mandvi, 44, graduated from USF in 1989 with a degree in theater – a history that ULS program adviser Catlin Layton said will help him connect with students and be a “great lecturer.”

“‘The Daily Show’ is such a popular show right now,” Layton said. “(The midterm elections recently passed) and they went to Washington. They just get a lot of press, and I think there’s a lot of excitement around that show.”

The lecture will be followed by a brief question and answer session, and a reception will be held in the MSC’s Centre Gallery immediately following the event, where attendees will have the opportunity to meet Mandvi.

Layton said college students make up a large percentage of “The Daily Show” fanbase and expects about 200 attendees. She said she expects the lecture to be anything but ordinary.

“He’s asked for pretty detailed technical requirements to show videos with,” she said. “He also asked for a music stand, so it’s kind of a mystery to me what he’ll surprise us with.”

Salvador Lopez, ULS director of guest relations, said Mandvi’s lecture should be especially appealing to theater students.

“He’s been in loads of movies, and he’s been on Broadway,” he said. “So there are students who are going to have interest in that sort of life after college. Mandvi definitely has a lot of experience to talk to those kids.”

Mandvi will receive $15,000 in student-paid Activity and Service fees, a price Layton said will be worth its weight in humor.

“I think right now in our country – in the world, we’re going through a little bit of harder times, and I think people look to humor to make them feel better about it,” Layton said. “I think that’s why ‘The Daily Show’ is so popular right now, because people want that, they want humor when times are not booming economically.”