Skip to Top NavigationSkip to ContentSkip to Footer
Ferris State University BulldogFerris State University Logo

YouTube Sensation Wahls, Son of Two Moms, to Speak at Ferris

Zach Wahls, from YouTube’s viral hit video “Zach Wahls Speaks on Family,” will visit Ferris State University on Tuesday, Jan. 31 to share his story of being a son raised by two moms.

The five-star campus event begins at 7 p.m. in Williams Auditorium, is free and open to the public. Entertainment Unlimited, the student-run campus programming board, wanted to bring Wahls to campus for the Ferris community to learn about his story of being raised by a lesbian couple.

Melissa Hanson, EU vice president of programming, hopes that Wahls’ message “opens students’ minds” and helps those in attendance realize how his family is not really any different than “most of our families.”

The issue of gay rights is being told from a different perspective than usual … from the standpoint of a family,” she said. “People should attend this event because they may encounter a family like Zach’s in our community, and they could learn that those families are not very different from traditional families.”

Wahls is a national activist for equal marriage rights. His testimonial video went viral 11 months ago, when he was 19 years old. It was shown on CNN, MSNBC and “Good Morning America.” Wahls was interviewed on the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” and the “Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.”

“We saw him as a YouTube sensation and thought it would be a great opportunity to have him on campus. It’s obviously something students are interested in,” said Lindsey Parker, EU president. “We happened to book him at a time when he is very much in the news and is someone who is being talked about right now.”

Parker said that one of the goals of this event is to stir the thoughts and opinions of students and the community on the topic of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights.

The Wahls' video has more than 16 million views.

This event is free thanks to the Finance Division of Student Government.

To learn more information about Zach Wahls, visit here.

To learn more about Entertainment Unlimited, visit here.