Politics in the air as Reno, Trump talk on campus

The cabinet member and the candidate will speak at separate events. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and real estate tycoon and presidential hopeful Donald Trump will speak at the University today in two separate addresses, both geared toward politics. Reno will deliver the 10 a.m. keynote speech at a Fels Center of Government symposium on how government, business and community institutions can partner to fight urban crime. The conference, to be held at the Inn at Penn, will be attended by Fels Center graduate students and about 50 Penn undergraduate winners of a special online ticket lottery. Trump, who recently announced plans to run for the Reform Party's presidential nomination, will appear at Irvine Auditorium today at 4 p.m. for a televised interview on Hardball, the CNBC political talk show hosted by Chris Matthews. The show will air later this evening on CNBC and MSNBC. Engineering junior Theo LeCompte, co-chairperson of the Tangible Change Committee and an organizer of the Trump event, said both speakers should give students a rare chance to see noted public figures in person. "If you watch politics on TV, it feels very distant," LeCompte said. "If you have a chance to see them in person and ask questions, students feel connected." In addition to speaking, Reno will join a panel of noted officials including outgoing Mayor Ed Rendell, Philadelphia Police Commissioner John Timoney and University President Judith Rodin. According to Fels Center Director Lawrence Sherman, a Sociology professor and noted criminologist, Reno's participation in the conference brings national recognition to the efforts of Penn and other Philadelphia institutions in fighting crime. "Reno brings tremendous visibility. [Her presence] helps to put this on the agenda," Sherman said. "Even though violence is on everybody's minds, working together to fight it is not." LeCompte said that as of last night, only 50 tickets for the Trump event remained in the Annenberg Center box office, so organizers expect to fill the 1200-seat venue. An hour before the show, they will hand out approximately 100 more standby tickets to interested students waiting in line. Trump, a 1968 Wharton graduate, will take questions from Matthews and the Penn audience about his plans for the presidency, including his proposal for a one-time 14.25 percent "net-worth" tax on individuals and trusts worth at least $10 million. He announced last week that the additional tax revenue would be used to pay off the national debt, provide a middle class tax cut and keep Social Security afloat. Former Republican operative and longtime CNN commentator Patrick Buchanan recently withdrew from the Republican Party and is likely to also seek the Reform nomination. Trump has the support of Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura, the party's highest-ranking elected official. Buchanan is thought to be supported by party founder Ross Perot. Nationally recognized political speakers have been a fixture on campus in recent years. Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu was brought to campus this semester by Connaissance. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and former President Jimmy Carter were speakers at the last two Commencement ceremonies. And in 1996, President Bill Clinton spoke to a jam-packed, 15,000-person crowd at Hill Field in his second campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.

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