Congressman Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., will return to his alma mater Saturday to host a roundtable discussion on foreign policy with students.
Michal Berns, president of Penn State Hillel and a student liaison for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), said she thought of the event after Thompson expressed interest in visiting Penn State while she was lobbying the congressman in both his local and Washington, D.C., offices.
Berns (junior-media law and policy) said she wanted to provide students and student leaders with "the opportunity of a lifetime" -- meeting face-to-face with a U.S. congressman to ask questions and offer their opinions on current events.
Thompson said he is excited to visit Penn State, meet with members of the student body and have a meaningful discussion.
"I have to say: No. 1, I'm an alumni and getting on campus is always a good thing," Thompson said.
Topics Thompson said he'll address include the threat of a nuclear Iran and what it means for Israel, the United States and the entire world, as well as Israel's role as a strong U.S. ally.
Because the congressman is not sure who will be present at the discussion and what they'll want to discuss, he said he is open to talking about anything on students' minds.
"It's important for me -- this is the kind of thing I do all throughout the district, in communities, in many different formats and at universities," Thompson said. "I always look forward to doing that."
The congressman visited Israel this August and said he will share his experiences with members of the roundtable -- including his newly strengthened belief in the importance of Israel as a Jewish state.
Thompson had the opportunity to visit with both Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Shimon Peres while in Israel he was receiving military and security briefings and touring border settlements. The trip was intense, he said, and he didn't get much sleep -- but it was "definitely well worth it."
Alex Smith (senior-finance), who recently stepped down as president of College Republicans because he is graduating later this month, said he is attending the event because Thompson is a "great guy."
Smith has met with Thompson before and said he thinks the discussion will be a good opportunity to discuss new developments in Washington. For one, he'll probably bring up health care at the discussion.
Other students said they will attend the event just to satisfy their curiosity about what a member of Congress is like in person.
"I've never actually spoken to a congressman, so I'm interested to see how different they are from members of Parliament," said Judith Flacks, a junior exchange student from England's University of Sussex.
