'No Place Like Penn' goes 'Politically Incorrect'

'Politically Incorrect' host Bill Maher will bisit Penn later this month as part of the annual 'No Place Like Penn' weekend. The extended weekend of events, organized by the Office of Student Life and sponsored by the Tangible Change Committee, the Social Planning and Events Committee, Connaissance and the Undergraduate Assembly, will return for its third year and feature a modified version of the popular ABC late-night talk show that blends humor and politics in Irvine Auditorium September 24 at 8 p.m. The weekend will also be topped off by outdoor movies, a volleyball tournament, a block party and a trip to a Philadelphia Phillies game. Maher will host a political panel discussion at the University, appropriately titled Penn PI, which will include campus and local personalities to be announced at a later date, according to LeCompte. LeCompte, an Engineering junior, said the group is sponsoring Penn PI in an effort to increase students' interest in political issues. "It's very relevant to the current mayoral elections and the presidential primaries coming up," LeCompte said. Tickets for the event will be available September 15 and 16 on Locust Walk. Approximately 600 tickets will be given out each day. LeCompte said he and other organizers expect Penn PI to sell out completely, but decided that the event might not be popular enough to warrant a lottery distribution of tickets. The weekend's events will begin September 23 with outdoor showings of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and There's Something About Mary. Free drinks and concert tickets will be provided before the movies by the radio station Y-100 and Coca-Cola. Friday will feature Activities Day on Locust Walk, with representatives from a number of student organizations offering information to interested students. Also on that day, the Senior Class Board will be sponsoring a seniors-only Hey Day Again Picnic on Hill Field. On Saturday, Quaker Oats and the Department of Recreation will sponsor a volleyball tournament in Gimbel Gymnasium that will include free Gatorade and Quaker Oats breakfast bars for all attendees. And the University of Pennsylvania Alumni Association will sponsor a "Grill 'n Chill" on College Green that afternoon before the Penn-Villanova football game at 5 p.m. After the game, University City Associates, Trammell Crow Co. and the University's business services department will sponsor a block party on 36th Street between Sansom and Walnut streets. The four-day program of events will end on Sunday with a trip to the Phillies-Mets game at Veterans Stadium, sponsored by the Junior Class Board and New Student Orientation, and a performance by hypnotist Tom DeLuca at the Zellerbach Theatre, sponsored by the Sophomore Class Board. Though "No Place Like Penn" is rolling into its third season, the weekend festival has never before featured a celebrity as well-known as Maher. Last year, the organizers brought in the alternative band Fathead and provided similar free weekend-long activities.