"Tommorrow Night, Trump"

Donald Trump, who UB students chose to headline the Distinguished Speakers Series, will speak Thursday night at Alumni Arena.

The billionaire real-estate mogul recently gained fame with a younger audience from his popular reality television show "The Apprentice."

"We have a very high expectation for Trump," said Student Association President Anthony Burgio. "First and foremost, he was the number one speaker through the student poll, and he got the greatest number of votes. It was kind of an obvious choice."

Bill Regan, director of special events, said although Trump's popularity certainly elevated over the past year, UB has featured him in the student survey for the speaker series in the past.

"I've had a lot of issues from older people about the speaker choice," Regan said. "Trump isn't someone a 60-year-old would want to see, but with the student support, they may come to listen to what he has to say."

Although Regan said he was hoping for a sold-out show, on Tuesday afternoon the event had sold 4,500 tickets. He said he was hoping to sell 500 more by Thursday night, which would leave thousands of the arena's seats still empty.

Gary Williams, a freshman architecture major, said he became interested in Trump when he started watching "The Apprentice," a reality show that pits people against each other for a management position in one of Trump's businesses.

"It's an all right show," Williams said. "I really just watched it to see him say, 'You're fired!'"

Regan said he hopes most students agree that Trump is an interesting speaker choice, and is hoping for a great turnout.

"SA feels ownership over the series," he said. "I do my darnedest to deliver the student choice speaker.

Aaron Henderson, a freshman architect major, said he really wanted to see Trump speak but he has a conflicting class.

"It's a hard gig to book, and it's a good student choice," Henderson said. "He's really famous and everyone wants to see him. I mean, it's Donald Trump. I wanted to go, because I'd probably never get to see him any other way."

Burgio said he realizes it's a slight gamble to bank on Trump to deliver a solid performance.

"There's no guarantee like we had with Bill Clinton, Rudy Giuliani, or Cosby. But with all the hype, we hope he delivers," he said. "But that's a risk that the university and SA is willing to take."

Tickets in all price categories are still available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Thursday at the box office in Alumni Arena, or by order on tickets.com. Students can purchase a ticket for $10 with valid student identification.