Last Thursday, Nov. 2, Ben Stein entertained and educated St. Olaf students with a hour's worth of wit and wisdom.

Stein entered the chapel reciting a few Bob Dylan lyrics and asked the audience "Does anyone know that one?ŠAnyone?" a take on his famous line in the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. For the first 20 minutes Stein entertained the audience with jokes about trial lawyers, genies and what not to do if you're pulled over for drunk driving.

Stein's main goal on Thursday night was to express a concern for human life. "I think it's time for a third revolution," he said. "A revolution of respect for all of human life, which I believe has already started."

Abortion was the first issue Stein addressed. "No matter how old a child is, it's still alive and still a human being, " he said. Alternative options such as adoption and cutting taxes for single moms were also mentioned in his argument to preserve life. "Every child should be a wanted child and that should be sponsored by the nation as a whole," he said.

This issue wasn't taken lightly by some of Stein's audience who created a heated debate, questioning his motives and commitment to life when he supports a candidate who is in favor of the death penalty. Stein's response to the argument was "the criminals are guilty, not the babies."

Stein also stressed the necessity for respecting the elderly. "You should not have to be restricted medication or pain relief because you're older. No one has the right to assume that because you will be dying soon means you want to die at that moment," he said.

Stein showed concern for elders being given overdoses of morphine and hospitals restricting pain medication based on fear of addiction. "Hospitals are there to make people at ease and should supply pain medication," he said. "It's not like they [elders] are getting their walkers and going out to buy crack."

Stein's third concern was the lack of education in school systems. He said that movies like Mallrats and Road Trip are entertaining, but in no way a form of life. He has noticed through the different college lectures he has made and through family and friends that "the bottom is dropping out of mass culture."

"The war to protect life is starting in a big way," Stein said. "Open your minds for a little while. Once you start thinking about life's possibilities it's hard to go back. I don't think this country is going to change drastically depending on who is elected‹that is not the concern," he said. "We live in a great, great country with a lot of strength and dignity and it's not going to go to hell if the wrong man is in office. We need to focus on what we want and that is to make the world a better place and for good things to happen to everyone. God's work is our work."

After graduating from Columbia University with honors and Yale Law School as class valedictorian, Stein took on a variety of different careers. He has been a trial lawyer, taught at the American University, University of California Santa Cruz and at Pepperdine University.

Stein has also been a speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Ford, a columnist for the Wall Street Journal and many other publications and has published seven novels and eight nonfiction books.

He is also extremely well known for his acting in movies, television and commercials. His signature role as the monotonous teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off has been ranked as one of the 50 most famous scenes in American film. In commercials Stein has been a pitchman for Clear Eyes, Pizza Hut and many others. His most recent project has been hosting the Comedy Central gameshow "Win Ben Stein's Money".