FREE TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR CLARENCE THOMAS SPEECH

U.S. Supreme Court Judge Clarence Thomas will speak about the changing legal system April 30 at 7 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

Advance tickets are free.

A reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. at Dr. Ramiro Icaza's home in Jackson. Cost is $75 per person.

A private dinner will be held after the speech. Persons interested in attending the reception or the dinner should call 651-2896.

The event is sponsored by the Conservative Club, the Young America's Foundation and KZIM Radio.

"We are extremely excited about hosting Justice Thomas on our campus," said Nathan Cooper, coordinator of the event and president of the Conservative Club.

"Few people will be shaping the public policy process as Thomas will be over the course of the rest of our lives," Cooper said.

The money raised at the reception and the dinner will help defray the $15,000 cost, including a $10,000 honorarium for Thomas.

Cooper earlier had said that Supreme Court justices weren't allowed to accept honorariums. But he said Monday that the judges can accept honorariums.

Any profit from the fund raisers will go to the Conservative Club and for future lectures at Southeast.

Cooper said federal marshals and university police will provide security for Thomas' visit.

General admission tickets are available free of charge at the Southeast Missourian, KZIM Radio and the information desk at the University Center.

Tickets also can be obtained by sending a stamped, self-addressed envelope to: Conservative Club, P.O. Box 2151, Cape Girardeau, 63702. Reserved tickets for floor seating are $10 each and can be purchased by writing to the above address.

Thomas was a legislative assistant for then-U.S. Sen. John Danforth from 1979-1981.

He served as assistant secretary for civil rights, Department of Education, from 1981-82, and chaired the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission from 1982-1990.

From 1990-91, he served as a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia circuit.

President Bush nominated him as an associate justice of the Supreme Court and he took his seat on the court on Oct. 23, 1991.