The University Board will be hosting another comedy act before the end of the semester. The comedy show will feature Steve Hofstetter, comedian, musician, author and columnist, 7 p.m. Friday in 7th Street Underground of the Martin Luther King Jr. University Union.

Nia Douglas, the UB’s comedy coordinator, said Hofstetter was different than other comedians because he is not afraid to incorporate controversial topics into his comedy act.

“(The UB) looks for people who stand out and do something different and funny within our price range and the comedian’s availability and (Hofstetter) made the cut,” Douglas said. “I actually like him because he is different and likes to touch on subjects people normally shy away from. I know he has had material on things like abortion.”

Hofstetter is from New York City, N.Y. and now lives in Los Angeles, Calif., and became well known through his writing, publishing his first book when he was 15 years old. The comedian tours at over 100 colleges and dozens of clubs every year.

According to his website, Hofstetter is one of the most booked comedians on college campuses and he is the original writer for collegehumor.com, is the author of three books and a contributor to many others, and released five albums.

In addition to his comedy acts, writing and playing music, Hofstetter has written humor columns for the New York Times, SportsIllustrated.com and NHL.com.

Hofstetter has also featured on several TV shows including CBS’ “Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson,” Comcast’s “Trial By Laughter,” CNN’s “Campbell Brown,” ESPN’s “Quite Frankly” and many more.

“(Hofstetter) takes things that you would not normally see as funny and turns them into a ‘looking at the glass half full’ type of thing,” Douglas said. “Some (comedians) keep their stuff personal and some just have broad topics, and I think his style and what he does in his sets is a mix of different styles.”

The UB will also have giveaways including a $100 Nike gift card and two water Bluetooth speakers. The speakers are small and light up and the water inside of them bounces when the bass plays in a song.

The comedy act will be free to attend, and there will be food including cookies, popcorn chicken and candy.

Abbey Whittington can be reached at 581-2812 or anwhittington@eiu.edu