If the fighting in the Middle East continues, the consequences will be dire, said a former Penn State professor of Middle East history who spoke on campus last night.

The speech was titled "Middle East Crisis: Causes and Consequences" and was delivered by Arthur Goldschmidt, who taught at Penn State from 1965 to 2000.

Goldschmidt asserted that many Americans need to change their attitudes about the Middle East, saying that they are too influenced by the Bush administration and have prejudices against Muslims and Arabs.

"If we carry on the attitude that Americans can't stop the fighting, we can be mighty sure that the fighting will continue," Goldschmidt said.

In his 35-minute speech, Goldschmidt gave the mostly middle-aged and elderly audience a brief review of Middle East history. His speech was mostly geared toward people who had a fluent knowledge of the region's politics and history.

Goldschmidt addressed both the Americans and the Muslims in the auditorium of 100 Life Sciences Building.

He advised Americans who were in favor of a cease-fire to write to their congressmen or discuss the issue with their friends.

"But be prepared to listen to their opinions, too," he said.

He advised the Muslims in the audience to invite Americans to their mosques and community centers, so that they would become better informed about Islamic culture.

The end of Goldschmidt's speech was greeted with thunderous applause when he concluded, "We ought to be doing everything we can to get away from the present, very dangerous situation."

During a question and answer session after the speech, one man who claimed to be from Lebanon frantically asked Goldschmidt why attacks from Israel had ultimately killed a disproportionate amount of civilians in his home country.

"I don't speak for the Israeli government," Goldschmidt said. "Civilians are dying on both sides."

Responding to a question about which medium is the fairest in its coverage of the Middle Eastern conflict, Goldschmidt said he enjoys National Public Radio and Al-Jazeera.

"I think Al-Jazeera has done a marvelous job of bringing out issues," he said.

Muslim Student Association was the main sponsor of the event. Their student advisor, Mansoor Aleidi (junior-chemical engineering), said that his organization was aiming to shed light on views that are not broadcast in the media.

"We want to stop all the violence and bloodshed," he said.