Marian Wright Edelman, president of the Children's Defense Fund, described violence as "the ugly, malignant disease that has devoured America and has spread to young children" in a speech last night to an audience of about 500 at the ARCO Forum.

Using statistics and anecdotes, Edelman, who spoke at last year's Class Day ceremonies, described the horrors of youth violence in the U.S. in her address, which was entitled "Children and Violence."

Edelman said that 25 children are killed in the U.S. every two days. She said the number of children killed in 1991 was twice the number of soldiers killed in the Gulf War and Somalia combined.

Homicide is also the third leading cause of death among children between five and 14 years of age, she added.

Edelman also said youths who have witnessed or been victims of violence are affected psychologically.

"I have met 10-year-old children who think constantly about death," Edelman said. Inner city youths "sometimes dream of reaching the age of 18, and some think that prisons are safer than the streets."

She attributed the causes of youth violence mainly to child-neglect, the lack of gun control and the breakdown of communal and spiritual values.

"We have not valued thousands of children's lives, so they don't value ours," Edelman said.

Edelman said preventive measures such as community programs and gun control are more important than building prisons.

She also urged the public to be more open about the problems of youth violence.

"We should break our silence on the breakdown of values," Edelman said. "Children need to be respected, and we should not ask them to be responsible for problems we have created."

The audience gave Edelman a standing ovation at the conclusion of her address.

Marvin Daniels, a mediation coordinator at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School who was present at the speech, said he agrees with Edelman's views.

"My response to the address was one of support and enthusiasm," Daniels said. "She addressed the seminal issues."

But not all members of the audience were satisfied with Edelman's remarks. One student, who would only give her name as Ellen, said that while the address was "inspiring," it offered "nothing new."

"I've heard the statistics many times," Ellen said, "and would have preferred [Edelman] to speak more about the specifics of what they are doing."

A graduate of Yale Law School, Edelman holds honorary degrees from many institutions, including the Kennedy School of Government. She was the first Black woman to be a member of the Mississippi bar and is a former director of the Harvard Center for Law and Education.

Edelman is now president of the Children's Defense Fund, which aims to "provide a strong and effective voice for the children of America," according to its charter.