He’s not Garry Trudeau or Michael Moore. But P.J. O’Rourke is a man unto himself.

‘I consider him a high-profile, high-visibility guy,’ said Patrick Farrell, an information officer of the Office of Academic Affairs. ‘I’m very excited to hear what he has to say.’

O’Rourke will speak tonight at 7:30 in Hendricks Chapel, continuing the trend of high-profile political commentators visiting Syracuse University. The speech will double as a part of Syracuse Symposium 2004: Humor and a part of Syracuse University’s Lecture Series, and is free to any who wish to attend.

However, many students are asking themselves who O’Rourke is.

‘He’s a sports commentator, right?’ said Josh Miller, a sophomore television, radio and film major, before being reminded of O’Rourke’s true claim to fame as a social commentator.

‘I knew he was coming,’ said Dan Seals, a junior biology major. ‘I just didn’t know who he was.’

While many students may be confused by O’Rourke’s identity, Farrell is confident that many others know of the man both Time magazine and The Wall Street Journal have referred to as ‘the funniest writer in America.’

‘He’s not exactly invisible in the media,’ Farrell said. ‘He is around.’

Though O’Rourke may not have the name recognition of a Moore or a Trudeau, he might just be as equally as accomplished. As a right-tilting political and social commentator, O’Rourke has written three New York Times best-selling books and has appeared on ‘Good Morning America.’ He has also appeared on shows of cable networks such as VH1 and C-SPAN. His visit to SU provides some balance in the spectrum of the symposium’s politically inclined speakers.

‘It’s guaranteed to be very interesting,’ Farrell said. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if he made some irreverent comments over the course of the evening. He is an absolutely appropriate choice.’

Now, the once in-the-dark Miller agrees.

‘It’s a great idea,’ he said. ‘There isn’t a balance on this campus. If you’re going to have Michael Moore, you need to have someone with an opposing point of view.’

Farrell hopes other students realize this same thing before the speech begins tonight. O’Rourke deserves every bit the audience Trudeau and Moore received, he said.

‘This is someone who has a unique perspective on things and is certainly not shy about sharing it,’ Farrell said. ‘It should be eye-opening.’

Published on October 18, 2004 at 12:00 pm