Specter, Rendell to speak at U.

U.S. Senator Arlen Specter, U.S. Representative-elect Chaka Fattah, State Senator Vincent Fumo, Mayor Ed Rendell and City Councilman Joseph Vignola are all scheduled to speak in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge Wednesday, at a symposium sponsored by the Red and Blue Society. The forum is entitled: "Why Go Into Government?" Wharton freshman and Red and Blue Society member Kyle Duarte said the symposium is aimed at students with political ambitions. "I think a lot of people are interested in going into politics and joining the public sector," he said. "We wanted to discuss the roots of political disillusionment." Duarte said all the members of the Society are "very excited" to have the dignitaries visit campus at their invitation. Duarte said that the Society, which is independent of the Red and Blue magazine, also has plans to bring Vice President Al Gore to campus in the near future. "If everything works out, we should be able to bring him here," he said. "As far as I know, we plan on doing a lot of stuff like this in the future." The moderator of the symposium will be Stephen Gale, an associate professor of regional science and the senior faculty-in-residence in Community House. Duarte said the symposium will represent a diversity of political views. "This isn't just a conservative forum," he said. "All sides are represented, and three of the four panelists that confirmed are Democrats." Wharton freshman and Society member Arif Joshi said it is "amazing that we have been able to put together the caliber of speakers that we have." "We are extremely excited to have the symposium at the University of Pennsylvania," he added. "It's a great honor to have Arlen Specter speak to us, and I think the University can benefit from having him and the other four politicians speak to us." The symposium will begin at 1:55 p.m. There are a total of 300 seats, and tickets are free for students. Reserved tickets, however, are $5.

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