The Colbert Nation has become the Colbert Campus, as Stephen Colbert, the Emmy award-winning comedy host, has descended upon the University of Pennsylvania’s Zellerbach Theatre for the week.

Colbert arrived at Penn last weekend to begin a special filming of his show, The Colbert Report, in anticipation of the April 22 Pennsylvania primary.

Through his satirical news show, which appears on Comedy Central, Colbert has transformed the way students learn about the news - an effect noticeable at Penn.

“The show certainly helps bring people into the process,” said College freshman Aaron Ross, who was in the studio audience last night.

Colbert has a “really effective” use of satire, Ross said, which enables him to “be more effective at exposing the fallacies” of the political pundits and politicians than the news media.

One news host did appear on the show last night: Chris Matthews, the host of MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews and a native-Philadelphian.

Matthews, when questioned by Colbert on whether he would run for the U.S. Senate in 2010, said that being a senator was a life-long ambition, but did not say for sure whether he would run.