Nearly a thousand students crowded into Alumni Hall at the HUB-Robeson Center last night to hear internationally acclaimed speaker Jean Kilbourne deliver her slide show presentation "The Naked Truth: Advertising's Image of Women."

The program was Kilbourne's third appearance as a speaker at Penn State, and it was sponsored by the Eating Issues/Body Image Awareness Team and University Health Services. The event was timely, with National Eating Disorders Awareness Week approaching next week.

"Many years ago I saw an ad that changed my life," Kilbourne began. She described the advertisement, one for women's birth control pills that suggested women organized their lives around household chores. After seeing this ad, she said she began to think about what it means to be a woman in this culture.

From advertising's assignment of the male and female gender roles to the increasing tendency towards the sexualization of children, Kilbourne's presentation, revolving around the $200 billion industry, brought to the surface some of society's hidden problems.

A large part of Kilbourne's presentation was devoted particularly to the topic of the objectification of women by advertisers.

"Turning a human being into a thing is the first step towards violence against an individual," she said.

Along with her strong commentary on society were Kilbourne's first hand observations of how individuals believe they are exempt from advertising's effects.

She described one incident in which a student wearing an Abercrombie and Fitch logo shirt told her that advertising's effects were not strong.

"The more logos on a person the more they swear they're not influenced by advertising," she said.

With advertisements around campus and within classrooms, Kilbourne's popularity as a speaker was proven last night as Alumni Hall began to fill 15 minutes before the program was scheduled to begin.

"This is a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Linda LaSalle, a community health educator for University Health Services. "So many students have seen her videos. This is a chance for them to see her live."

A group of approximately 40 people, consisting of students and a few professors, arrived shortly after the 7 p.m. starting time and found themselves unable to enter the overcrowded Alumni Hall.

Lena Jennings (senior-marketing and advertising) was one of the students unable to enter the presentation. In addition to her personal interest, Jennings had been required to attend the talk for a class.

"I've never been locked out of any event here before," she said, describing her frustration with the outcome of the evening.

Despite the disappointment of students waiting outside, students inside the hall were able to learn from the presentation.

Inside Alumni Hall, Kilbourne commented on the crowded conditions by expressing her hope that everyone was comfortable and could see and hear the presentation.

"This is something I've been interested in for a long time," said Robin Hoecker (senior-international development). "I think it's good to have this after the Vagina Monologues and Sex Faire. It ties together the issues of violence against women."

Lora O'Neil (senior-advertising) came to the presentation with knowledge of Kilbourne's articles and documentaries.

"It's important for people to realize that there are a lot of subliminal messages directed towards women," O'Neil said.

LaSalle summarized the appeal of Kilbourne's presentation.

"She's an internationally recognized speaker in this field," she said. "There's nobody out there doing the level of work that Jean Kilbourne is doing."