TV personality, youth advocate to speak in Pittsburg

  Wednesday, September 18, 2013 2:00 AM
  News

Pittsburg, KS

Dan Savage, the man who created the worldwide It Gets Better Project to support LGBT youth, will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, in Memorial Auditorium. Savage’s visit is the first event on the 2013-14 Pittsburg State University Performing Arts and Lecture Series.

Savage, a writer and TV personality, is an activist who is known for his political and social commentary and his honest approach to sex, love and relationships.

Savage’s sex advice column, “Savage Love,” is syndicated in newspapers and websites throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Asia. He is the editorial director of The Stranger, Seattle’s weekly alternative newspaper, and his writing has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, GQ, Rolling Stone, The Onion, and on Salon.com.

Savage is also the author of several books, including: “Savage Love;” “The Kid: What Happened When My Boyfriend and I Decided to Get Pregnant;” “Skipping Towards Gomorrah: The Seven Deadly Sins and the Pursuit of Happiness in America;” and “The Commitment: Love, Sex, Marriage and My Family.” In his latest book, “American Savage,” the author shares his insights on topics ranging from marriage, parenting and the gay agenda to the Catholic Church and sex education.

In addition to his appearances on CNN, MSNBC, and “The Colbert Report,” Savage is a contributor to Ira Glass’s “This American Life,” and has appeared on NPR’s “Fresh Air” with Terry Gross, HBO’s “Real Time” with Bill Maher, and ABC's “20/20.” Savage is a frequent and popular speaker on college campuses across the United States and Canada.

In September 2010, Savage created a YouTube video with his husband, Terry Miller, to inspire hope for LGBT young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives, Savage and Miller wanted to create a personal message to let LGBT youth know that “it gets better.” Today, the It Gets Better Project (www.itgetsbetter.org) has become a global movement, inspiring more than 50,000 It Gets Better videos viewed more than 50 million times. The “It Gets Better” book, co-edited by Savage and Miller, was published in March 2011, and an MTV documentary special, “It Gets Better,” aired in February 2012. 

Savage grew up in Chicago and now lives in Seattle, Wash., with his husband, Terry Miller, and their son, DJ.

Tickets for Savage’s Pittsburg appearance are $10 for the general public and $7 for persons 65 and over and for PSU faculty and staff. PSU students are admitted free. This program contains adult material and is not suitable for children. Seating on the floor is reserved. Seating in the balcony is general admission. Tickets may be purchased at the PSU Ticket Office in the Weede PE Building, 1701 S. Homer, 620-235-4796, or online at www.pittstate.edu/tickets.