More than a week after an advertisement for Holocaust revisionism ran in The Daily Collegian, the controversy that it sparked has turned into something that few would have expected -- an educational experience.

Karl Striedieck, the man who submitted the advertisement to the Collegian, hoped to let University students and staff know about his doubt that gas chambers existed.

Instead he has provided an open forum for Holocaust education.

"This has been a very positive learning experience," said Alyssa Schultz, co-president of Yachad --Penn State Friends of Israel, adding that she is glad people have taken time to think about the problem at hand.

Although he is happy with the results of Hillel's rally and the Collegian's apology for the incident, Rabbi David Sudaley, director of Penn State Hillel, said it probably shouldn't have been an issue in the first place.

"The reality is there was a mistake that was made," he said, adding that the situation could have been worse -- the advertisement could have gone unanswered, which would have been dangerous to society.

Several University groups and officials believe the ad will create an increased interest in the Holocaust.

Jared Kaufman, co-president of Hillel, said there will be an added Holocaust program during the annual Jewish Awareness Week in April. Hillel will be sponsoring a trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum on April 10 as well. The trip will be open to Jewish and non-Jewish people alike, Kaufman said.

The abundance of discussion on the Holocaust has come at an opportune time, Schultz said. There has been a Warsaw ghetto photo exhibit in the HUB for the past week and Steven Spielberg's Holocaust film Schindler's List arrived in State College last weekend.

Sudaley said he is trying to arrange a deal with the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith that will allow Hillel to have a free showing of Schindler's List on campus.

The University also has several classes dealing with the Holocaust and Nazi Germany including a Nazism and Fascism class taught by Jackson Spielvogel, associate professor of history, and History 297B -- Jewish History from 1492 to 1948, taught by Paul Rose, professor of Jewish studies.

Dan Walden, a professor of American studies, English and comparative literature who is currently teaching a comparative literature course on Jewish literature, said that he may try to start a Holocaust literature course next spring. Walden said he has tried to hold the course in the past, but it never had a high enough enrollment. He added that with the events of the past week, more students might be interested in the course.

Penn State is not the only University whose newspaper ran the advertisement.

Howard Jeruchimowitz, editor in chief of the Justice, the student newspaper at Brandeis University, said his paper ran the advertisement last December and was inundated with both positive and negative responses.

Jeruchimowitz said students responded to the advertisement very well. The controversy died down after two or three weeks, and several professors at Brandeis, whose student body is 65 percent Jewish, formed committees to start a lecture series on the Holocaust.

But despite reaction to the advertisement, Holocaust revisionists still continue to push their ideas.

Striedieck said he would like to give out more propaganda and possibly start a First Amendment club.

Terrell Jones, vice provost for educational equity, said he doesn't think a group like this would attract much attention.

"It doesn't support the idea of community," he said.