A rowdy group of 2,100 economics students filled Eisenhower Auditorium last night to liven up a debate on free trade.

The event, sponsored by the economics department and the Penn State Economics Association, featured professors G. Dirk Mateer and Russell Chuderewicz and was moderated by professor Mark McCleod.

Mateer, who argued in support of free trade, was welcomed with wild cheers and applause from the crowd. He began the night by discussing how trading was essential for a comfortable life.

"We cannot do everything ourselves," Mateer said. "We have to rely on others if we want to have all of the goods we want and need."

Chuderewicz, who was greeted with shouts of "Chud" from the audience, countered by saying free trade can often lead to problems such as corporate outsourcing, child labor and decreased employee wages.

"I have heard stories from at least 10 of my students who said their parents have lost their jobs because of outsourcing," he said.

Chuderewicz added that the salary of a typical information technology engineer is $60,000 in the United States, compared to $8,000 in China and $5,000 in India, making it almost impossible for companies to resist outsourcing.

Mateer countered by saying outsourcing is not directly related to free trade, and the specialized skills of countries such as China and India often lead to higher quality goods imported to the United States.

He added it is important for workers to continually improve their "skill sets" in order to stay competitive in the workplace and maintain a job.

"It may be hard in the short term to pay for additional schooling, but it is necessary if you want to keep a job in the long run," Mateer said.

He added that he spent about 10 hours preparing for the debate, memorizing his slides and preparing for possible arguments from Chuderewicz.

Chuderewicz said much of his preparation was done by students, and added he received more than 100 reports and presentations from his classes about topics including outsourcing and child labor.

Although many students at the event supported their professor, some were more objective in their opinions of the debate.

"They both had strong points, even though Chuderewicz had to argue against what he believed," Joe Clark (freshman-business management) said. "Mateer had stronger points to argue so it gave him an edge."

Economics Association Secretary Lindsay Cerminara said Chuderewicz did not accurately counter Mateer's arguments.

"I think it was interesting, but I don't think Chuderewicz's argument was that good," she said. "Free trade is the way to go and he didn't offer many good arguments or rebuttals."

Although Ryan Starr (freshman-marketing) is one of Mateer's students, he felt Chuderewicz did a better job in the debate.

"I think Chuderewicz really knew what he was talking about," he said. "He was really well-prepared and well-informed."

McLeod said the department would like to expand the debate in the future to include face-offs with professors in other subject areas.