ITHACA, N.Y. -- With her 50th birthday approaching, entertainer Whoopi Goldberg decided to bring along a band to give herself a treat: being able to sing in the show. And with an insistent beat, Goldberg's birthday indulgence opened her show Oct. 28 to a Cornell University crowd of about 4,000 with hits like "I'm Still Standing" and "L.A. Woman."

Goldberg's appearance in Barton Hall coincided with this year's annual First-Year Family Weekend. Describing both the indignities and liberties that accompany aging with often scatological anecdotes, she provided a vivid introduction to Cornell life for visiting parents.

From the recent indictment of I. Lewis Libby Jr., Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, to the appropriation of the Bible for political causes (and her ambition to perform a show "in the voice of God"), Oscar-winner Goldberg strode irreverently from controversy to controversy.

On the subject of Hurricane Katrina, she speared the U.S. government's belated efforts to ease the hardships of the poor. "It seems like we've just discovered that there are poor people in this country. Where were they before? They weren't all in New Orleans," she said. Having recently visited hurricane-devastated towns on the Gulf Coast, she ended her appearance with an appeal for donations, from bicycles to portable gas burners, for hurricane survivors.

During a question-and-answer session at the end of Goldberg's performance, a student dressed in a nun's habit introduced himself as the president of Ithaca College's Goldberg fan club, known as "Sister Act," and requested a duet after the show. She said maybe. She also said, contrary to rumor, that she hasn't and doesn't plan to buy land in the Finger Lakes but has good friends in the area.

Concluding her performance with some final thoughts on aging, aimed at the older half of the audience, Goldberg counseled forbearance: "You are probably going downhill, but it's a nice, slow ride."

Kerry Gilfillan is a writer intern at the Cornell News Service.