Controversy surrounding Minister Conrad Muhammad's speech tomorrow night has prompted a change of location to accommodate for crowd control and a rally protesting his appearance.

Due to a recommendation from police services, Muhammad's speech on "Keys to Survive on a Predominantly White Campus" has been moved from Forum Building to Eisenhower Auditorium.

In addition, several campus Jewish organizations are sponsoring a rally at 12:30 p.m. today on the steps of Pattee. Members of the administration, faculty and student body are scheduled to speak out against Muhammad's visit.

Dave Stormer, assistant vice president for safety and environmental services, said because of advanced publicity and the controversy surrounding Muhammad, University Police Services advised Black Caucus to move the speech to a larger facility.

"It's just not a good idea to try to manage an area if you feel it's going to be oversubscribed," Stormer said. For security reasons, Stormer said the University police will have extra police officers at Eisenhower Auditorium.

Christopher Atkinson, president of Black Caucus, said he is expecting Muhammad to fill every seat in the auditorium, which as a 2,600 person capacity. Black Caucus is one of several groups sponsoring the speech.

"As controversy spread, intrigue and interest spread," Atkinson said, referring to allegations that Muhammad, minister of Mosque #7 in Harlem, N.Y., is an anti-Semite.

Media have misrepresented Muhammad in the past, and Muhammad's visit to campus is a chance for students to judge his message for themselves, Atkinson said.

But Tuvia Abramson, director of the Penn State Hillel Foundation, said he questions why Black Caucus wants to bring an alleged anti-Semite to campus.

"There are hundreds of other black leaders qualified to speak on keys to survive on a predominantly white campus. If we try minimizing racism on campus, why bring this speaker?" Abramson said.

Atkinson said Muhammad is the right man for the job because he is a former black student leader and can relate to college students.

A flyer publicizing the rally said when Muhammad spoke at Hofstra University last March, he strayed from his topic, educated blacks helping the underprivileged, and commented that "many in the Jewish community, particularly those in leadership positions, seek to control black people."

And Abramson also said he does not approve of Muhammad speaking on campus, even if his speech does not include anti-Semitism.

"A Ku Klux Klan member would not be able to speak here even if he was going to speak on brotherly love. It's sometimes very hard to separate the messenger from the message," Abramson said.

Cassandra Watson (junior-journalism) said she has not made any prejudgments and plans to attend the speech to hear for herself what Muhammad has to say.

"Give the black community a little credit. I can make my opinion for myself," she said.