Ohio Governor Richard Celeste will speak at NIU Friday on behalf of the Michael Dukakis/Lloyd Bentsen presidential ticket on the issue “Making Higher Education Affordable.”

“If Dukakis and Bentsen are elected, they will be putting an end to the Reagan/Bush assault on education,” said Richard Schmack, DeKalb County Coordinator for the Democratic Party.

The Reagan/Bush assault on education refers to the 16 percent cut in education and the reduction of money for Pell Grants that the Reagan administration has made during its eight years in office.

Dukakis and Bentsen’s position on higher education states educational cuts will be stopped and the current trend of reducing Pell Grants will be reversed if they are elected to office, Schmack said.

As part of their position on higher education, Schmack said the Democratic Party has introduced the Student Tuition and Repayment System. This system, if enacted, would allow students to pay back their student loans through a payroll withholding program.

The 10 a.m. lecture will be held in the Carl Sandburg Auditorium at the Holmes Student Center. A reception, beginning at 9 a.m., will be in the center’s Clara Sperling Skyroom.

Steve Franklin, public information specialist for NIU, said Celeste has been designated by the Dukakis/Bentsen people to serve as a roving spokesman on educational issues. Celeste, a democrat from Ohio, was chosen because Ohio is a northern industrial state and carries a significant number of electoral votes.