Vlogger David Dobrik will visit the university Jan. 23 for “OUABeyond the Vlog.” Credit: Courtesy of Jillian Miglich and OUAB
David Dobrik, the famous YouTube vlogger who broadcasts to 15.2 million subscribers, broke Ohio Union Activities Board’s online ticketing system when it was announced that he will visit Ohio State next week.
“OUABeyond the Vlog with David Dobrik” will take place Jan. 23 in the Ohio Union. Paper tickets will be available for the event starting Wednesday morning, according to OUAB’s Twitter.
“I was not expecting how large it’s been. I think every single person that I’ve talked to now about OUAB, they’ve heard about the event, which surprised me a lot. It’s been really great to see that students are excited for this event,” Samina Hejeebu, a third-year in finance and OUAB’s director of lectures, said.
Student demand proved to be a catalyst for Dobrik coming to campus. When the YouTuber first made it known that he was visiting college campuses, Hejeebu said she received lots of texts. Peter Kobs, a third-year in marketing and general member of lectures in OUAB, said many students requested via social media and email that Dobrik make an appearance on a university stage.
“It was something we knew students wanted, and it was a great opportunity for us to be able to bring them something they’d been asking for,” Hejeebu said.
OUAB first made the switch to online ticketing during the fall 2019 semester, but had to switch back to paper tickets this week after “technical difficulties and high website traffic,” according to the organization’s Twitter page.
“We just knew that we weren’t going to be able to fix the website in enough time for us to get tickets out for the event and so that was when we made the decision to go to paper ticketing,” Hejeebu said.
Dobrik started his career making videos on Vine, a defunct entertainment app that allowed users to produce six-second videos, before he switched to creating vlogs and uploading them to YouTube. Dobrik’s videos focus on himself and his friend group, known as “The Vlog Squad.”
“I think there’s something really exciting about seeing someone you respect and admire in person — hearing them talk to you directly as a school — even if they’re talking to Ohio State. I think that’s gonna be exciting for people,” Fikunmi Idowu, a fourth-year in actuarial science and general member of lectures for OUAB, said.
“OUABeyond the Vlog with David Dobrik” will take place Jan. 23 in the Ohio Union Archie Griffin Grand Ballroom. Doors open at 5 p.m. Tickets will be available with a valid BuckID starting 9 a.m. Wednesday in front of the Ohio Union Performance Hall.There will be a stand-by line the day of the event.
