Security and seating will be tight as DePauw University prepares for Malala Yousafzai to come to campus for the first Ubben Lecture of the 2017-2018 school year.
Yousafzai is the world's youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for her work supporting girls education efforts around the world. In October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head by a member of the Taliban in the Pakistani city of Mingora on her way home from school. Since then, she has dedicated herself to sharing her story and helping other girls receive an education.
The event will take place on Monday, Sept 4 at 7:30 p.m. The doors to the Lilly Center will open at 5 p.m. and the Neal Fieldhouse will open for students at 5:45 p.m. and for the rest of the public at 6 p.m. The program is free to anyone who wishes to attend, but students will have priority seating. Students will need to show their student ID in order to gain access to the venue.
The Neal Fieldhouse will have seating for 5,000 people, with overflow seating available in Kresge Auditorium in the Green Center for Performing Arts. News networks outside of DePauw will be able to record Malala’s opening speech for five minutes, but members of the DePauw community, including alumni, will be able to Livestream the event through the University. Details of which can be found on the DePauw University website on September 4.
Security, of both Yousafzai and the audience, is one of the biggest priorities in the planning of the event.
“There will be some extra security measures,” Charlene Shrewsberry, assistant director of Public Safety, told The DePauw. For Monday’s event, all visitors will have to go through metal detectors and no bags or personal photography or recording devices will be allowed into the venue.
Public Safety, the Greencastle Police Department, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office, Indiana State Police, NOLAN Security firm and Malala’s own private security team will all be present.
Special adviser to the president and coordinator of the Ubben Lecture Series, Ken Owen ‘82, said if you are a student and you want to get in, you will be able to. Owen told The DePauw the university is working to make “as few barriers to entry as we can.”
At the end of the formal program, Yousafzai will be taking questions from the DePauw community that will be asked by members of DePauw student media. Questions can be submitted at ubbenquestions@depauw.edu and several questions will be asked by student media at Monday’s event.
The Ubben Lectureship Series was established in 1986 by DePauw graduates Timothy and Sharon Ubben ‘56. Yousafzai is the 108 participant of the series. She is the youngest Ubben speaker to date. Past lectures include David Cameron, Bill Clinton, Yeonmi Park and Margaret Thatcher.
Most recently, Yousafzai spoke to students at the University of Monterrey in Mexico City, Mexico about the effects of spreading hate and the importance of tolerance and acceptance of others, not just in Mexico but around the world.
Later this month, Yousafzai will begin attending Oxford University in the United Kingdom to study philosophy, politics, and economics.
“I detect a level of excitement with this one (Ubben Lecture) I haven’t before,” Owen told The DePauw, “We’re really lucky.”