Small crowd welcomes comes Cotter back to U.

Last night in Irvine Auditorium, about 350 students "welcomed back Cotter." Comedians Wayne Cotter, Steve Young and Chris Coccia joined the Mask & Wig Club at the Third Annual Stand-Up Against Homelessness. Cotter, who studied electrical engineering at the University during the 1970s, was also the regular house emcee at The Comedy Works on Chestnut Street as a student and the host of a talk show called Mosaic on WXPN radio. He also occasionally attended Psychology Professor Henry Gleitman's lectures in the same hall that he performed in last night. "I don't think this place has been painted since then," Cotter said to laughter. "I remember listening to Gleitman lecture about torturing animals here." Cotter spoke about his 14th-floor High Rise East three-bedroom quad and his roommates. "One of my roommates was pre-med," he said. "You know, after you really know a doctor you never trust one again." He explained that although he did not graduate from the University, he is still being asked for donations. "They keep asking me for money," Cotter said. "I guess the definition of alumni can more loosely be defined in my case." But Cotter said that he had no problem giving his time to help the homeless. "I'm happy to do this Comic Relief benefit," he said. "I've been incredibly lucky in so many parts of my life, and my career as a comedian is certainly one of them. And I'm glad I'm able to use it to help people that have been less fortunate." All proceeds from the show, which was sponsored by Tau Epsilon Phi, Delta Delta Delta and Kappa Alpha Psi, will benefit the Philadelphia Health Care for the Homeless Project, an organization that receives donations and appropriates them to different homeless charities. Past shows have featured Saturday Night Live and Comedy Channel cast members, such as Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider, and raised tens of thousands of dollars. College senior and show organizer Jason Adler said last week that organizers hoped to sell 800 tickets. But last night's performance only attracted an audience about one quarter of the size of the crowd of their most successful show which 1,400 people attended in 1991. "I used to work a [spotlight] in Irvine," Cotter said, looking out at the sparse crowd. "We had people like Bonnie Raitt performing. Of course she attracted more than 200 people."

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.