Whoopi Goldberg
Irvine Auditorium
Saturday, 8 p.m., $10
Twice a year, SPEC Connaissance invites a keynote speaker to grace the floors of Irvine Auditorium and address our young, impressionable, Ivy League ears. Finding an appropriate speaker is somewhat of a careful art - who is interesting enough to get the ever-critical Penn student body to dole out ten bucks, yet remain more relevant to society than reality TV stars ?
SPEC has successfully sacked the skinny quarterback that is this dilemma with this fall's pick: everyone's favorite African American, eyebrow-less comedienne. Whoopi Goldberg will grace us with her presence Saturday night to answer audience questions and speak about her experiences - and the woman has a loaded arsenal of material to discuss.
Unless you passed your entire pre-Penn existence in a nuclear fallout shelter, you're aware of Whoopi's ubiquity in the entertainment industry. In addition to her long list of acting credits in films and TV shows, Goldberg performs stand-up comedy and hosts her own syndicated radio show. And move over Baba Wawa, because Whoopi has recently joined the illustrious cast of The View.
Yet aside from owning a lot of precious metals - she's been awarded with an Oscar, Grammy, Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe - Goldberg has also done good for humanity through her extensive charity work. Yes, Sister Mary Clarence has expanded her social aid past miraculously teaching tone-deaf choirs of nuns to sing. Goldberg serves as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and is committed to increasing AIDS awareness and helping children's welfare.
Goldberg will undoubtedly be an entertaining speaker - humor is her job - but on top of the laughs and husky voice, you'll be amazed at the accomplishments achieved by the woman who developed her stage name after the phrase, "if you get a little gassy, you've got to let it go"
