Koch speaks frankly at U.

Speaking on racism, crime, Louis Farrakhan and Bill Clinton, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch dazzled a crowd of almost 200 people with his wit, humor and frank opinions last night. The speech, sponsored by Connaissance and entitled "The Future of American Cities," focused mostly on race relations and Koch's opinions of various well-known people. The 90-minute presentation at the University Museum's Harrison Auditorium included a question-and-answer session. Koch started his speech by saying that "the number one issue in America today is the issue of relations between the races -- which are deplorable." He added that he was sorry he did not "see any black members of the University here?because it would add to the discussion." Koch spoke for a long time on Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, saying that Farrakhan has led African Americans to separate themselves in society. "I believe that what we have seen in the black community is a decision on the part of black leaders to go their own way, to separate themselves from mainstream America [and] to end their relations with whites," he said. "That's what we're seeing. That's the Farrakhan phenomenon." Koch went on to compare Farrakhan with Adolf Hitler. "He's the second most important leader amongst blacks in the country [behind Jesse Jackson]," he said. "He is extraordinary as a speaker, he's a spellbinder -- absolutely -- and so was Adolf Hitler." Koch said the two leaders are similar because each instructed his constituents to blame other people and not themselves. He also said that "white fear of black crime" is a major force in dividing the two races, and that the fear is real and warranted. He cited "federal arrest figures" which showed that black males in the United States -- who comprise six percent of the population -- commit 45 percent of violent crimes in the country. The former mayor also voiced disgust with President Bill Clinton, for, among other things, his handling of recent foreign affairs. He said he reluctantly supported Clinton at election time, but that Clinton turned out to be "far more radical than we knew when we elected him." Koch did manage to talk about himself and his experiences as mayor, but not before blasting one more person -- former New York City Mayor David Dinkins, to whom he lost the nomination for a fourth term as mayor. "The reason that David Dinkins lost [a re-election bid] was that he was a lousy mayor," Koch said, evoking laughter from the audience. "I hoped he would be a good mayor, he was a lousy mayor, and that's why he lost." Koch said that as mayor of New York, he tried hard to improve the city's image. "When I came in, New York City was on the edge of bankruptcy and that was extremely important, but the most important thing was that New Yorkers had lost their spirit and were ashamed of being New Yorkers," he said. "And I think I did bring back that spirit?I recognized when I became mayor that it was important that I become the spirit of the city." Koch currently has his own radio and television shows five days a week in New York, is an adjunct professor at New York University, and will be publishing his sixth book in April. Coming from a poor Jewish- and Polish-immigrant background and rising to become mayor of the nation's largest city, Koch proclaimed that "America is a great place, when you consider what it has done for so many people." He ended his speech by urging students in attendance to enter the world of politics "to help it along," and not to "stand by and allow things to happen without your participating." Connaissance members said they were very pleased with Koch's presentation. "I really liked it -- it was a great speech," said Connaissance Chairperson and College junior Jesus Guerrero. "I just hope our next speech will be this big." Vice Chairperson and College sophomore Carlye Pollack agreed. "I thought it was entertaining, lively and powerful," she said. "He gets his points across very eloquently, [and] I think people enjoyed the humor." Guerrero said he was "not very happy" that the audience was not diverse. "I can't force people to come," he said.