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."