An enthusiastic crowd filed into Eisenhower Auditorium. Some sat in their seats giggling nervously. Others wondered what they were in store for.

Ruth Westheimer, the famous sex therapist better known as "Dr. Ruth," was last night's featured lecturer in the Distinguished Speaker Series.

"I don't know if the walls of Eisenhower have ever heard the language we're about to use," said Westheimer.

The 4-foot-7 Germany native needed a step stool to see over her podium, but she was quick to tell her audience that she was frank when she talked about sex.

Westheimer kept the audience laughing with tales about her experiences and direct approach to sexual discussion.

"If a freshman masturbates three hours a day, I tell them to bring me their transcript," Westheimer said. "And then I ask them, how do you have time to masturbate three times a day?"

Westheimer said that individuals should decide for themselves when they should become sexually active, but everyone needs to be sexually literate.

She drew the audience into her lecture by interacting with them on a more personal level.

"How many sperm are needed to get a woman pregnant?" Westheimer asked the crowd. "Just one fast one."

Westheimer spent the night debunking sexual myths and talking about the importance of education when it comes to sex.

"Today, pregnancy rates are lower than they have been," Westheimer said. "That's not because people are having less sex; it's because people are becoming more educated."

Westheimer stressed the importance of being open with your partner and using contraceptives.

"I'm old-fashioned," she said. "It worries me about the amount of casual sex people are having. Someone always gets hurt."

After Westheimer concluded her lecture, she took questions from the audience and was quick to remind people, "You don't have to say 'I.' You can just say 'I have a friend ...' "

Westheimer's witty responses to questions ranging from topics about ticklish breasts to male orgasms kept the audience chuckling well throughout her speech until her standing ovation.

Catherine Stefaniuk (senior-biology) thought that it was great to have a speaker like Westheimer at Penn State.

"I thought she was really cool," Stefanuik said. "It's good to have something like this and it helps for people who don't necessarily have an open mind."

Jodi Frankel (freshman-economics) came to hear Westheimer speak as a last minute decision.

"I came because I expected lots of laughter, embarrassing questions and enlightenment," Frankel said.

The event was sponsored by the Distinguished Speaker Series and co-sponsored by Penn State Hillel, University Health Services and Womyn's Concerns. Next month the series will host Alice Walker, followed by James Earl Jones in April.