Rushdie talk sparks campus interest

The selection of writer and activist Salman Rushdie to speak at Penn next month has initiated an eager line of students already signing up for the chance to win tickets. The event, entitled "Step Across This Line: An Evening with Salman Rushdie," will be hosted by the Special Events and Planning Committee's Connaissance branch, Provost Robert Barchi and the Philomathean Society in Irvine Auditorium on Feb. 11. According to SPEC Connaissance Co-director Tim McCarten, over a thousand people have already signed up for the lottery, which will end at 11:59 p.m. on Jan. 28. But from this list, which is expected to be rather large, only about 600 will get the chance to attend the event. McCarten said that he's hardly fazed by the huge interest. "With such a world-renowned author and well-respected man, I'm not surprised that so many have already signed up," McCarten said. While many students are thrilled with the author's scheduled visit, others expect the controversy that surrounds him to hit the University crowd as well. College junior Aaron Foss voiced hopes that Penn students would welcome the renowned author, which would be a sharp contrast to the fiery demonstrations and livid protests many of his books have engendered among numerous Muslim fundamentalist groups. "We're in an intellectual environment, so you would hope that people would not be too incensed," Foss said. Rushdie's 1989 book, The Satanic Verses, prompted the Iranian government to issue a religious edict condemning him to death, claiming that his work was a blasphemous parody of Islam. In the meantime, Rushdie continued to write while in hiding under the protection of the British government. But in September 1998, the Iranian government finally lifted the edict. Still, the author continued to be hunted by Islam militant groups pledging millions to anyone who help lead to his death. College senior Matthew Wich said that he is confident Rushdie's presence will contribute to the intellectual discussions that already pervade the University. "I think it's great that this caliber of intellect will be speaking to such a small audience as this," Wich said. While Rushdie has flourished on the reading lists of many students, others know his name only as it stretched across the myriad of newspaper headlines around 10 years ago during his hiding. Engineering graduate student Nilesh Mankame has never picked up any of Rushdie's books, but said that many of his friends read and talk to him about them. Prodded by curiosity, he too will "just stop by for the heck of it." In the week preceding the lecture, the Philomathean Society will host a series of activities exploring the artistic, literary and cultural contexts of Rushdie's works. Students can sign up to attend Rushdie's speech by visiting SPEC's Web site at www.specevents.net. Tickets will be distributed by lottery, which will run from Jan. 14 until Jan. 28.