Bulletin News
11/09/2020
SUNY Cortland students are some of Tyler Oakley’s biggest fans.
And he has many.
Oakley, who regularly posts on YouTube on topics including queer politics, pop culture and humor, has 7.1 million subscribers on the video sharing platform.
He took to a different app on Oct. 28, using Webex to share stories with Cortland students and to give advice on ways to cope with study-in-place as well as the upcoming election.
In the Halloween spirit, students painted pumpkins with Oakley while he answered their questions in real time.
Oakley, who is openly gay, is very aware of how large his platform is and his impact on the LGBTQ+ youth community. Young people around the world have grown up watching Oakley and learned from his videos.
“It is something I don’t take lightly because I look at some of the creators nowadays and I hope they understand the impact they have on the youth,” Oakley said. “I’m just really grateful because I feel like I take that very seriously. Especially queer people who come up to me. To hear that I helped a young person come out, there is nothing I could want more from my YouTube than to make someone feel OK being queer.”
Oakley, 31, first began making his YouTube videos 13 years ago. It’s opened many doors and introduced him to a world of new people he never would have imagined meeting beforehand.
Oakley appeared twice on the television show “The Amazing Race,” an adventure reality game show that asks contestants to perform physical and mental challenges as they travel around the world. He is also known for having dropped everything to fly out to do the once-in-a-lifetime interview with the famous pop band, One Direction.
When asked about the hardest part of “The Amazing Race,” Oakley said, “It was probably pulling my own weight for my team. It is a scary moment when you don’t know how to play badminton and a million dollars is on the line.”
With everything going on in the world right now, Oakley talked about his empathy for Cortland students. He said he couldn’t imagine having to be responsible for schoolwork on top of dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and the stress for many in following the presidential election.
Oakley did offer some ideas for SUNY Cortland students looking to stay fit and relax during the university’s study-in-place order.
“Oddly enough, I’m really into jump rope right now,” Oakley said. “It is the perfect blend of cardio and I don’t have to run around town. I’m obsessed with live music, so I blast a DJ set and I’m just in the zone. It’s very therapeutic.”
Oakley began his YouTube channel because he was in college at Michigan State University and he just wanted to talk about his experiences. Everything that came from his channel has been a pleasant surprise and now he says he’s just enjoying the ride.
His advice for anyone who wants to start their own YouTube channel is to start now.
“A year from now, you’ll regret not starting a year ago,” he said.
Oakley urges students to, “Stay safe and wear a mask! Please vote for kindness, love and inclusion and the world you want the world to be.”
If you participated in the pumpkin painting session, tweet your photos to Oakley or send them to the Student Activities Board and they will repost your pumpkin pictures via Instagram.
Stay tuned for more virtual events going on this semester through the Cortland Connect calendar.
This event was sponsored by the Student Activities Board. SAB Director AnnaMaria Jacobson and Comedy and Lecture Chair Sophia Hall, along with Mary Kate Morris, associate director of Campus Activities for Leadership and Community, put this event together for SUNY Cortland students.
Prepared by Communications Office writing intern Christina Cargulia