Penn State students and members of the local community met with Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday afternoon to voice their concerns about issues ranging from healthcare and education to the war on terrorism.

Specter spoke to a crowd of about 100 at the Penn Stater Conference Center in a town-meeting setting. He took questions from the audience for over an hour.

Although scheduled to speak for an hour, he went over the scheduled time to hear from each person with a comment, even after his aides told him it was time to leave.

"I always have a special spot in my heart for college towns," he said.

Specter touched on the issue of the rising cost of a college education, saying he supported Pell Grants and guaranteed student loans.

"Education is a tremendous capital investment in the United States," he said.

Hands went up with concerns over the Patriot Act and violations in civil rights.

"It's a hard balance to maintain," Specter said. "We can't be in a situation where al-Qaida wins in its terrorist acts or we live in a state without civil rights."

One member of the audience said he was opposed to drilling in Alaska and asked the senator why he supported the plan.

"We really need to be independent of OPEC oil," he said. "The Saudis are not our friends."

Although he said he had a very strong pro-environment record, he felt the area to be drilled was small enough that the benefits outweighed the cost, he said.

"We have a very serious energy shortage and it's getting worse," Specter said.

Several audience members expressed concern over the war in Iraq.

"I think, prior to Sept. 11, the United States would have never considered preemptive military action," he said.

Specter said he was worried about the precedent set when the United States started military action against Iraq. Under the same logic, he said India could take pre-emptive action against Pakistan, resulting in a nuclear conflict.

"I am not going to give the president a blank check on anything," he said. "The authorization to use force is a congressional decision."

He also listened while members of the audience told stories of how loved ones were forced out of work and could not afford to see a doctor.

"I think we need to cover all Americans by healthcare," he said.

"I'm not in favor of a giant bureaucracy," Specter said.

Students in attendance had mixed opinions about the senator's question-and-answer period.

"He was really responsive to what people had to say," said Nomi Deutch (sophomore-political science).

Other students disagreed, saying Specter was evasive with his responses.

"I don't think he answered any of the questions," said Jordan Fortson (junior-international politics)

Students said if the speech was better advertised and closer to campus there would have been a better student turnout.

"I'm glad he came out and I had a chance to participate," said Stephen Segal (senior-physics).

"I only wish there were more students here," he said.