John Kerry is speaking at Penn, and everyone is invited.
The Democratic presidential candidate will make a stop at Hill Field on Friday at noon to rally local supporters. Kerry's speech will be directed toward college students, and an unlimited number of tickets will be available starting today.
"We will have a ticket for every Penn student that wants one," Penn Democrats Vice President and College junior Jess Smyth said. The group will be handing out tickets on Locust Walk to students, and possibly at other locations surrounding campus for local residents.
"The response has been incredible," Smyth said, noting that the group had already passed out 1,700 flyers by yesterday afternoon with information about the rally.
Kerry "definitely wants to talk about the cost of higher education," campaign spokesman Mark Nevins said. The presidential candidate will also discuss his plans to make college more affordable and make more jobs available to graduating students.
The campaign chose Penn as the site for a Kerry speech because of the "intelligent, engaged student body" and the school's great location, according to Nevins. "People are already clamoring for tickets."
"Philadelphia is a very, very pro-Kerry city," Smyth said, adding that Penn's campus is strongly supportive of Kerry as well.
The Penn Democrats have helped with many other Kerry events in Philadelphia, along with providing student volunteers to Kerry's Philadelphia campaign office. Smyth sees the visit as a token of the campaign's appreciation.
"A lot of hard work has paid off," she said.
The College Republicans do not have plans to directly protest Kerry, but may organize a rally in support of Bush at a location near Hill Field, said College junior Eric Rechtschaffen, president of the College Republicans.
"A counter-protest wouldn't be all that productive," Rechtschaffen said, adding that he doubts a protest would generate any new support in a city that is obviously low on Republicans.
"With any luck, we might just have two people dressed as flip-flops," Rechtschaffen said. He also expects group members to gather wearing Republican paraphernalia and chanting, "Four more years."
President George W. Bush will also be making a stop in Pennsylvania this week, when he speaks to supporters today in King of Prussia, Pa.
"A number of members of our group are planning on going there," Rechtschaffen said. However, the College Republicans will not formally organize transportation to the rally because of the distance.
"It's not particularly for college students," Rechtschaffen said. "We don't know if the general population would be interested [and] transportation is an issue."
John Kerry's speech is scheduled to begin at noon, but the gates at 34th and Walnut streets will open at 10:30 a.m. Students are discouraged from bringing large bags, as all attendees will be required to walk through security checkpoints.
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