Maryville, Mo. ? Filmmaker Michael Moore has accepted a speaking invitation from the Young Democrats student organization at Northwest Missouri State University.

The director of films including “Fahrenheit 9/11” and “Bowling for Columbine” is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. Oct. 9 at Bearcat Stadium. Tickets cost $5.

Moore is visiting colleges and sporting venues across the country as part of a “Slacker Uprising Tour,” designed to get nonvoters involved in the November election and encourage them to vote for Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

Young Democrats President Lizzi Sexton said her organization approached Moore in hopes of being able to “open the lines of communication and share new perspectives.

“We didn’t invite Michael Moore to come because we wanted people to think a certain way or believe in certain things. But we wanted to challenge people to think outside their box and have a chance to make their own judgments beyond what they hear coming from the television,” Sexton said

She said the Young Democrats had assumed responsibility for expenses associated with Moore’s appearance.