Acclaimed director, controversial comedian among speakers for JHU's annual MSE Syposium

The director of the movie Selma, a former vice presidential candidate, and a controversial comedian are among the speakers who will visit Johns Hopkins University this fall as part of the annual Milton S. Eisenhower Symposium.

All events take place in Shriver Hall on JHU's Homewood campus.

The lineup includes:

• Lauren Bush Lauren, model and founder and CEO of FEED, an organization that sells products like tote bags and T-shirts to raise money to feed the hungry (Sept. 24, 6 p.m.; Benefit dinner for FEED at 7:30 p.m. in the Glass Pavilion)

• Dwight Watkins, Baltimore writer whose first book, The Beast Side, was released this week. Watkins earned a master's degree from the Johns Hopkins School of Education in 2011. ("Baltimore Uprising: The People's Perspective," Oct. 7, 7 p.m.)

• Joe Lieberman, former senator and vice presidential candidate ("What Can We Expect from Washington This Year?," Oct. 21, 8 p.m.)

• Alan Dershowitz, criminal defense attorney and civil liberties proponent ("Global Perspectives on Justice and Civil Liberties," Nov. 10, 8 p.m.)

• Ava Duvernay, director of the Academy Award–nominated Selma (Nov. 17, 8 p.m.)

• Josh Ostrovsky, comedian and Instagram personality known as "The Fat Jew," who has been accused of plagiarizing jokes on social media (Dec. 1, 8 p.m.)

Established in 1967, the MSE Symposium is a widely acclaimed lecture series sponsored by the Johns Hopkins University. The symposium is run entirely by undergraduate students at the Johns Hopkins Homewood campus.

All events are free and open to the public. Seating is first-come, first-served, with the exception of reserved seating. Reserved seats can also be purchased for any single event for $25.