Deaf comedian DJ Demers and crew will be parking their bright green RV at IU Oct. 10. IU is one of 20 colleges Demers is stopping at as part of his “Here to Hear” tour.
“People don’t realize how many people out there have hearing loss,” Demers said. “I’m here to make people realize that there’s a whole community of people like me going through the same experience.”
Demers will be performing at 8 p.m. in the Whittenberger Auditorium in the Indiana Memorial Union and sharing his experiences with hearing loss. But this does not mean that it won’t be a full comedy performance, as well.
“I’m not planning on talking about hearing stuff the whole time; I’m just being me," Demers said. "If I just had to cry on camera, then I would not be enjoying myself at all."
Demers has wanted to be a comedian for almost as long as he’s had hearing aids. Using them since he was 4 years old, Demers is able to fully hear people and considers his hearing aids to be part of his identity, but definitely not the entirety. He said it was actually only until recently that he began to use his comedy to talk about his hearing loss.
“I got into comedy to make people laugh,” he said. “Being an advocate in the hard-of-hearing community was never a goal, but people who have reached out have made me realize how important it is to them.”
Demers said that he hopes to see and connect with as many students as possible. No tickets are required for admittance, and there will be an American Sign Language translator present at the event.
Christine Stephenson
