Facing a crowd of more than 200 students Tuesday night in Kedzie Hall, ABC "20/20" news anchorman John Stossel spoke about the importance of free market.
"Capitalism is vile on college campuses, and it is good for people to hear that point of view," he said before the lecture.
Stossel also addressed the disadvantages of government regulation in his speech "Freedom and its Enemies."
"When the government protects us from the bad stuff, it also protects us from the good stuff too," Stossel said in his speech. "Free markets are far better at keeping us safe than these rules are."
A 1969 Princeton University graduate, Stossel has received 19 Emmy Awards throughout his journalistic career, which spans more than 30 years.
Stossel joined "20/20" in 1981 and is most recognized for his "Give me a Break" reports, which take a skeptical approach on a wide array of issues ranging from pop culture controversies to censorship and government regulation.
MSU College Republicans sponsored Stossel's appearance with $1,000 from membership dues. The rest was paid for by Young America's Foundation, a national conservative foundation. Stossel's average rate for an event is about $15,000.
Jason Miller, Michigan Federation of College Republicans, chairman and State News columnist, said he was first approached with the idea of creating an event for Stossel by a member of Young America's Foundation while attending a conference last July.
"I was told Stossel found out he was going to be in Michigan and he wanted to come and do an event for either MSU or U-M," Miller said. "I was asked if I could create an event on short notice and naturally, I pushed to get the event at MSU."
Stossel drew a crowd that exceeded expectations set by the MSU College Republicans.
Several members of the audience laughed whenever he sarcastically spoke of his experiences as a reporter and the negative effects of the media using scare tactics to hype unrealistic fears.
"Its a big country, and lots of nasty stuff happens to people," Stossel said. "But if we scare everybody about every ant, people won't be able to focus when the elephants are coming."
Political Science senior Matt Coleman arrived early for Stossel's speech and said it was important to have Stossel speak to students.
"He is a more-conservative speaker, and there are not a whole lot of those on campus," he said.
Not everyone within the audience readily identified with some of the issues Stossel addressed.
"I agree with most of what he said, but sometimes I thought he was a bit arrogant," Spanish freshman Bernie Issa said. "At times he contradicted himself, but on a whole, I thought it was a good presentation."
Stossel concluded his speech by saying who should be considered a hero today in America.
"America's heroes today are not people like Ralph Nader," he said. "America's heroes are students like you."
