Scramble expected for free Gorbachev seats

and JEREMY ZWEIG Bread lines in the Soviet Union may be over, but long lines are expected tomorrow as students attempt to get to get a free ticket to see former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev speak on campus next Wednesday. Two hundred tickets for the April 14 speech at Irvine Auditorium will be given away at noon tomorrow in front of Steinberg--Dietrich hall to students with PENNcards. Connaissance Chairperson Robyn Allen, who is helping to distribute the tickets, said she expects demand to be high. "Get there very early," College junior Allen said yesterday. "Have your ID ready. I anticipate there being a long line of people." The 200 tickets available for students were bought by an anonymous alumnus who wanted to give students the chance to see the world leader speak. The rest of Irvine has already been sold out. Many interested students are also planning ahead for tomorrow's giveaway. "I have a class Thursday, but I'll probably just skip it," Engineering junior Wendy Ray said. "I plan to eat lunch on Locust Walk and when the line forms, I'll get on it." The students who show up in line with PENNcards will get the last tickets, because the rest of Irvine has already been sold out. Although some students have expressed concern that the location and time of the ticket giveaway might cause crowds on Locust Walk, Allen said that the time and location will not be changed. "We chose [the location] because it was central," she said. "The time is a good time. People will be on the Walk then. We're not going to change the time." But some students will not be able to get tickets. "If I didn't have a class, I'd go at 11," College sophomore Keri Gibson said. "I'm going to try, but I doubt I'll get in." The University is one of six underwriters for Gorbachev's speech, World Affairs Council of Philadelphia Vice President Craig Snyder said. Along with the University and the World Affairs Council, other event sponsors include local law and real estate firms. The University, he said, is donating an amount of money which falls somewhere in the middle of these groups. But Snyder and University officials would not disclose how much money Gorbachev will receive for his speech. Snyder said that while the speaker's contract prohibits him from disclosing Gorbachev's fee, he acknowledged that it is quite high. "It is a substantial cost," Snyder said, attributing expenses to interpreters, security officials and international travel expenses. But President Sheldon Hackney said that the University's share of the sponsorship is not a lot of money. "I could imagine that [the fee for Gorbachev] is very large, but we're not paying that kind of money," Hackney said, adding that the University would offer to assist with ushering and security guards services. Former Connaissance Chairperson Meg O'Leary said that world leaders command very high fees. "[Former British Prime Minister] Margaret Thatcher last year was going for around $60,000, which is considered a bargain basement price for a world leader," O'Leary said. The speech, which Snyder said will deal with the post-Cold War world, will be given in Russian and translated into English paragraph by paragraph. Gorbachev will be in four U.S. cities to celebrate the birthday of Thomas Jefferson, of whom he is "a big fan," according to Snyder.