In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr. Week, consumer advocate Ralph Nader urged students to "Get Involved."

"Civic involvement is the formula for human happiness," Nader said.

Presented by the Undergraduate Student Government last night in Schwab Auditorium, Nader urged 600 students, faculty and community members to get involved on campus and in the community.

People do not think they have the power to make a difference, but on a college campus they have the ability to develop their own democratic community such as no where in the world, Nader said. By taking part in the local community they can create the most brilliant democratic model ever in the United States.

"The history of civic action is what made this country," Nader said.

It was the work of half a dozen women which led to the passing of the sufferage act. Two engineering students urged their peers into the civil rights movement, and the people who organized the first trade unions were beaten by guards, Nader said.

"Think of the odds, and yet they prevailed," he said, adding that the danger people were up against years ago was much greater than what people are up against today.

One student said he enjoyed Nader's lecture because it was very influencial and it helped to make points evident to the people who attended.

"He presented different points that most politicians would be scared to talk about," said Matthew DiFebo (sophomore-communications).

One such point that Nader made is that the public owns much of the land in the western part of the country, yet the public does not control it.

Nader also said the public owns $4 trillion in pension funds and $2 trillion in savings, yet the money is looted, invested and not in the control of the people.

When people normally think of crime, violence and welfare, Nader said, they think of street crime, rape and burglary. Yet more crime and violence takes place at the corporate level than at the street level, he said.

More people die from unsafe products, toxins in the work place, flammable material and dangerous drug side effects than they do from crime on the streets, said Nader, who has been fearless in taking on major corporations and the federal government to ensure consumer health and safety.

"You can't get the government to talk about corporate crime," he said, adding that the taxpayer usually ends up bailing out the corporation. Nader also said socialism is for the rich and capitalism is for the poor.

Brian Speicher (freshman-computer engineering) said he felt that Nader's speech was very informative about the society that surrounds us which sometimes we cannot see.

Society is perceived through the media and therefore what matters is what drives the media, he said, noting that Nader gave insight into what is behind the media and what truly governs the society around us.

History shows that a handful of dedicated people can change the tides, Nader said.