In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, Americans across the nation looked to the leadership of Rudolph Giuliani.
Now many Penn students are looking forward the upcoming visit by the former mayor of New York City, who will be speaking on campus this fall as part of the Connaissance branch of the Social Planning and Events Committee's speaker series.
In addition to being named Time magazine's 2001 person of the year, many students on campus said they consider him to be a personal role model.
"It's exciting," College junior Gina De Laurentiis said. "He's Rudy Giuliani. He pulled himself together and kept his head about him in a time of crisis. It had never happened before, but now people following him know how to react."
Giuliani -- who served as mayor for eight years -- was finishing his second term in office at the time of the attacks on the World Trade Center last year. His leadership role drew the national spotlight as a result, and he has since turned down offers from President Bush to join his administration.
However, some students from outside the country are not as familiar with Giuliani.
"It's more what I've heard about him than what I've seen," Engineering junior Antonio Argote said. "Mexico couldn't really care about Giuliani. In Mexico, the media wouldn't give him airtime -- people don't know who he is."
But despite Argote's lesser familiarity with the former mayor, he says Giuliani's appearance is still relevant.
"He's a natural leader," Argote said. "He has the charisma that every leader needs."
That charisma will be showcased in Irvine Auditorium at 7:30 pm on Oct. 29. The show's 1,260 seats will be given to students via an online lottery at www.specevents.net, beginning at 12 a.m. on Oct. 14 and continuing until Oct. 18. Around 4,500 students are expected to participate.
The lack of sufficient seating caused controversy for last fall's performance by Billy Joel. Students say they expect demand for Giuliani's talk to be similar, but perhaps not as frenzied.
"I'd expect the tickets to be very popular," College senior Artemis Khojasteh said. "9/11 is still a hot issue. There may be some scalping, but it seems that that may be more expected from entertainers, but it will be different with a political speaker."
In fact, some students said they think Giuliani is a better choice for Connaissance's fall speaker.
"Billy Joel is an important entertainer and Giuliani is an important leader," Wharton senior Christopher Stanchak said. "But for the University, it is more important to have a true leader, rather than just an entertainer that you can pay to see anywhere."
The theme for New York's 107th mayor's speech will be "Leadership in Difficult Times" and will focus on being a leader throughout his career, as well as his role in the wake of Sept. 11.
"I think he will be an especially interesting speaker, considering everything that happened this year," Wharton junior Bill Smigo said. "I want to hear his own reactions and maybe things not heard in the media. The fact that he will be right there, so that you don't have to rely on a third source for information is great."
Along with Joel, Giuliani will join the ranks of Conan O'Brien, Madeleine Albright and Maya Angelou as famed guests who have graced Penn's stage in recent years.
