Former presidential candidate Michael S. Dukakis discussed next month's election and encouraged students to become politically involved in a speech at Harvard Business School yesterday.

The speech kicked off a three-day Election 2000 symposium at the business school, as well as Harvard Law School and the Kennedy School of Government.

Dukakis, a former governor of Massachusetts who was the Democratic nominee for president in 1988, touched on several key issues in the upcoming election, including the federal budget surplus, the minimum wage, health care and campaign finance reform.

He criticized both candidates for not taking a more aggressive approach to health care reform.

"I think it's a national embarrassment that over 40 million people don't have health insurance," he said.

Dukakis started off his speech by joking, "If I knew anything about presidential politics I'd be here in a different capacity."

But throughout his hour long speech, he discussed his personal insights into the electoral process.

"Running for the presidency is the hardest thing any politician will ever have to do," Dukakis said. "You are totally walled off. It's a surreal world that you're in."

Dukakis attributed low voter turn-out in recent elections to the two parties' abandonment of grassroots organizations.

He also predicted that in the next six weeks, the Democrats will increase their use of grassroots organizations in their campaign.

Most of all, Dukakis urged listeners to get involved in public service.

"The thing that makes public life so exciting is that you can make a difference," he said.

Mimi T. Aye, a student at the business school and the Kennedy school who is on the symposium's organizing committee, said that conference leaders chose Dukakis to start the event because "he represents someone who has run for president before and thus provides unique insight to the presidential election."

The Election 2000 Symposium is sponsored by two groups affiliated with the graduate schools, The Consortium on Global Leadership and Recombyne, a venture capital firm. The program aims to educate voters about the issues in the upcoming presidential election.

Aye said the goal is to "raise awareness about the election, the candidates and the issues at stake."

The idea for the symposium was born in March when Joshua B. Singer, then a first-year business school student, had lunch with a professor to talk about the presidential candidates' views on tax cuts.

"We have such a wealth of talent around Harvard. We wanted to bring all these people together," Singer said.

The symposium will continue today and tomorrow afternoon at the three graduate schools.

Panels will include faculty members, journalists and politicians, on topics ranging from health care to the Supreme Court. The symposium will culminate in a debate-watching party tomorrow night.