Gloria Steinem, co-founder of New York Magazine and Ms. Magazine, will be sharing her thoughts on the importance of the youth vote at Penn State today.

She will speaking at noon in 117 HUB.

"People age 18 to 25 are the largest group of eligible voters, but many don't vote," event organizer Danielle Conrad said.

"This program is designed to reach those people."

Conrad (junior-psychology and women's studies), who serves as an intern for the Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF), was contacted by the Gloria Steinem's Ms. Foundation for women.

The event, co-sponsored by the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) and the women's studies department, is a part of the national "Get Out Her Vote" tour.

The tour is hitting college campuses around the country to reach undecided voters in political swing states including Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Mexico.

"I'm taking this action because I've lived through the election of every U.S. President since Franklin Delano Roosevelt," Steinem said in a recent news release.

"The fundamental differences in world view between Bush and Kerry make this the most crucial election of my lifetime."

Lorraine Dowler, women's studies program director, said she hopes Steinem will give young voters confidence when they head to the polls on Tuesday.

"It is good, especially for young voters, to feel reinforced when they go to vote and know that there is someone else who feels the same way they do," Dowler said.

FMLA President Marissa Rodriguez said she hopes Steinem's speech will get students to the polls on Election Day.

"Getting people registered to vote was the first hurdle and now we are faced with the challenge of actually getting them to vote," she said.

"I hope that [Steinem] will encourage them to go and vote."

College Republicans Chairman Andy Banducci said that unlike planned protests for tonight's speech by Howard Dean, no major protests are planned for the Steinem event in the HUB.

"Our members will be there and will be very vocal about their opinions," he said.

"But we've got nothing major in the works for this event."

Despite Steinem's reputation as a feminist, Dowler said many people, regardless of their gender, are excited about today's speech.

"She is a truly unifying figure," she said. "Everyone of all ages and both genders is impressed that she is coming to Penn State."

Tickets are free and available at the women's studies office, 133 Willard, and in the FMLA office, 231 HUB.

Dowler said tickets for the event have been distributed well.

"We sold our initial printing of 175 tickets in a day and a half," she said. "We asked FMLA for more, but we ended up printing a new batch ourselves because they didn't get here fast enough."