Celebs join Maher on center stage

A White House spin doctor, a former Saturday night celebrity, a local news star and a campus official will lounge in armchairs and chat with comedian Bill Maher on Friday night. The late night comedian is returning to campus for the second year in a row to do a version of his discussion show, Politically Incorrect. The event is part of the No Place Like Penn festivities sponsored by the Social Planning and Events Committee. The program will not be televised. White House Press Secretary Joe Lockhart is the biggest name in the lineup. Having held his current position since 1998 -- weathering the Monica Lewinsky scandal -- Lockhart serves as the official voice of the White House. He recently announced that he will be resigning in October. Local newsman Rick Williams, co-anchor of ABC-6 shows Action News This Morning and Action News at Noon, will also be appearing. Williams has worked for ABC in Philadelphia for 12 years. Adding a lighter touch to the panel will be comedian Victoria Jackson, who was with Saturday Night Live for six seasons and The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson for two. Jackson now has a weekly program on Comedy Central, records ukulele songs for children and writes short stories. Also appearing on the panel will be Penn's own Neal Rajmaira, an associate director of Penn's Office of Student Conduct. An alumnus of Penn's Fels Center of Government, Rajmaira has a degree in law from Villanova University. His current position includes investigating student misconduct and designing community outreach programs. Rajmaira has also served as both assistant district attorney in McKean County and special assistant attorney general for Pennsylvania. Maher hosted a performance of his show last year at Penn. The show is expected to focus on issues relevant to college students, according to organizers. College senior Nishchay Maskay, co-director of SPEC Connaissance, said that this year's performance, like last year's, will be very successful, noting that this year's guests include some important celebrities. The list is certainly more star-studded this year than last -- when the panel included Philadelphia 76ers owner Pat Croce, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Elmer Smith, The Daily Show's Lewis Black and then-Senior Class President Lisa Marshall. "I think last year it was a very dynamic group," Maskay said. "This one is certainly very high profile." Tickets will be available today and tomorrow on Locust Walk at 10 a.m. for $5 with a PennCard. There will be a limit of two tickets per person.

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