Satire has always played an important role in democracy, but a current group of television satirists are more influential than ever with American citizens, particularly younger ones, according to a Penn State researcher.

Sophia McClennen, professor of international affairs and comparative literature, said that Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart, like Jonathan Swift and Benjamin Franklin before them, use satire and parody to poke fun at politics and society with the hope that the humor increases awareness and motivates change.

Despite Pennsylvania's celebrated role as the birthplace of American democracy, the Commonwealth ranked next-to-last among U.S. states in the percentage of residents who said they "talked frequently about politics," in the recently published 2011 Pennsylvania Civic Health Index. Its authors, J. Michael Hogan and Mark Hlavacik of Penn State's Center for Democratic Deliberation, examined a number of measures of social connectedness, community engagement and political deliberation and action, based on data gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Reggie Love will draw from his experiences as a personal aide to President Barack Obama to share "Leadership Lessons From My Time at the White House" with Penn State Abington students at 12:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 7, in Common Break on campus.

"I do agree with policy makers and pundits who say that enforcement alone will not work. It has been the starting point for almost every immigration debate for almost 30 years and look how far it's gotten us."

-- Shoba Wadhia, director of the Penn State Dickinson School of Law Center for Immigrants' Rights, on comprehensive immigration policy reform.