Joseph S. Nye, dean of the Kennedy School of Government (KSG), introduced the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson as "the most impressive orator of our time" at yesterday's KSG Class Day speech.

"Whatever happens," quipped Nye before Jackson's talk, "it is difficult to sleep through one of his speeches."

Indeed, as Jackson spoke, there was nary a shut eye at the ARCO Forum. Jackson, who is president and founder of the Rainbow Coalition (please see profile, page B-5), drew large amounts of applause throughout his speech, pausing only to allow for occasional whoops and cheers of approval to die down.

Jackson's talk, true to form, was interspersed with biblical analogies and parables.

"Jesus was born in the slum," Jackson said, comparing Christ's plight to that of countless disenfranchised groups in the U.S., "to an unmarried mother, who didn't have the right to vote, who didn't have the right pedigree. He was born outside, with the smell of manure. Jesus was born in the slum, but the slum was not born in him."

Jackson started off his talk by condemning the growing disparity in wealth between rich and poor Americans.

"For the rich there is no ceiling," Jackson said, "for the poor there is no floor."

This disparity, according to Jackson, cut across ethnic lines, despite popular stereotypes.

"Most people are not black or brown; they are white, female, and young...Most poor people are not on welfare; they work everyday. They catch the early bus. They sweep the floors. They clean our soiled sheets when we get sick. And when they get sick, they can't afford to sleep in the beds which they have made," Jackson said.

Jackson said there was something wrong with a nation that constructed first-class jails and second-class schools.

"Most rural and urban schools are not wired for the Internet, but all the jails are," he said.

Jackson also criticized U.S. foreign policy in Kosovo.

Jackson, who traveled to Belgrade in May to free three American POWs, has been calling for an end to the NATO strikes against Serbia since his return.

Echoing an oft-repeated criticism, he said NATO's handling of the Kosovo crisis, while well-intentioned, was profoundly misguided.

"Our intent was to do all that we could to avoid killing civilians, but civilians have been killed by the thousands...Our intent was to help rescue and secure the lives of 1 million people. Instead, we have completely disrupted the lives of 14 million people," he said.