Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman and State Senator Jake Corman will visit Penn State next week for “A Bipartisan Forum on the Cost of College Education,” discussing issues concerning Penn State students. The event, organized by Lion Caucus, begins at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 11 in 101 Thomas.

“In the absence of the Great Debate, this forum will serve as a fantastic opportunity for students to learn more about issues pertinent to them,” Lion Caucus President Zach Robinson said. “We’ve had Lion Caucus members from both sides of the aisle bring these two prominent state politicians to campus. I couldn’t be more proud of the work done by our organization to make this event a reality.”

The Great Debate is traditionally an annual event organized by the College Democrats and College Republicans, in which each group brings a prominent party leader to campus for a debate. Last year’s debate featured former Vermont governor Howard Dean and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer, but the organizations are not putting on the event this spring.

“[The Cost of College Education Forum] is definitely not being held in place of the Great Debate,” College Democrats President Katierose Epstein said. “The College Democrats did not aid in planning it as an organization.”

Epstein said the College Dems organization is instead planning a separate event for later this month in conjunction with the LGBTQ Student Roundtable and Black Caucus.

College Republicans also said in a statement that the Cost of College Education Forum was “not intended to be a replacement for the annual Great Debate.” The statement condemned the College Democrats for allegedly pulling out of the event this year, saying the cancelation was “a loss for Penn State’s student body as a whole, as this event has historically been the largest attended political event at Penn State and was a major component of our campuses’ political dialogue.”

It appears members of Lion Caucus hope this forum event will serve a similar purpose as a bipartisan event to further political dialogue among students.

“What excites me about the forum event is that it gives students the chance to hear legislators focus on an issue that unites us all: the cost of higher education,” Lion Caucus President-Elect Mariana Garcia said. “Students will have the opportunity to get direct answers to the questions often left unanswered by some incredible speakers.”