Whether it is for his filmmaking talent, his new Oscar or his controversial political views, many Penn students are revved up to see Michael Moore.
Moore is appearing at Penn as the spring speaker for the Social Planning and Events Committee's Connaissance branch on Wednesday, April 16 at 9 p.m. in Zellerbach Theatre.
Many students said that while Moore is not as high-profile as some of Penn's previous spring speakers -- in 2002 SPEC brought poet Maya Angelou and in 2001 brought former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright -- the filmmaker should still attract a crowd.
Rohan Nirody, a College and Wharton senior, said that even if people are not particularly familiar with his specific accomplishments as a filmmaker, "everyone is at least aware of what he's done."
And even though Wharton freshman Doug Sherrets has no opinion on Moore as an individual and is a bit skeptical of his views, he is willing to give Moore a chance.
Sherrets said that SPEC bringing Moore to campus is "a good way to open up dialogue about the war, like he did for gun control."
College senior Chantal Scott agreed that Moore's speech will at least serve as a good conversation piece.
It will "generate more opinion," Scott said. "He will help people sort out what they think" on the issues he approaches.
However, Moore's fame derives from more than just his political ideologies, expressed in his newly-released book Stupid White Men... and Other Sorry Excuses for the State of the Nation. His Oscar-winning documentary Bowling for Columbine should be enough to attract a sufficient crowd.
"If I were to go see him, it would probably be for the movie and not for what he said at the Oscars," Wharton senior Bella Wong said of the filmmaker, whose anti-war acceptance speech at the Academy Awards drew boos from the audience.
However, many students said that the current controversy that surrounds him will probably increase turnout at the event.
"The fact that he is controversial would make people want to go," Scott said.
And some students even suggested that on a campus like Penn's, his left-tilting political views may not be that out of place.
Tickets will be sold on Locust Walk from April 8 through April 10 -- two tickets can be purchased by each PennCard holder -- and one third of the tickets will be available each day.
SPEC Connaissance Co-Director Tim McCarten said that student response to Moore's speech has so far been "overwhelming."
"People have been really interested in this event," the College senior said.
While in past years the spring speaker has appeared in Irvine Auditorium, the event will take place in Zellerbach this year because of Irvine Auditorium's unavailability, according to McCarten.
Zellerbach has a few hundred fewer seats than Irvine, but 1,000 people will be able to attend.
