Pope John Paul II shot
Pontiff's condition stable; stunned world prays
By DENNIS REDMONT
Associated Press Writer
VATICAN CITY (AP) Pope John
Paul H, shot down by a gunman as he
greeted 15,000 tourists and faithful at his
weekly audience in St. Peter's Square,
came through 5 1 / 2 hours of surgery for six
wounds in "good and stable" condition,
his doctors said early today.
Police quickly arrested a man identi
fied as a right-wing Turkish terrorist who
had vowed to kill the,pope. He told them
after the shooting yesterday that he
"couldn't care less about life."
Doctors said the prognosis remained
"guarded" largely because of the risk of
possible infection, but added that the
pontiff was conscious and breathing on
his own.
As John Paul beamed and waved to the
crowd packed in the sunlit square, shots
were fired and the pope slumped in his
white jeep, witnesses said. Blood stained
his white garments and horrified wit
nesses cried, "Oh no! Oh no!"
The gunman's bullets also wounded
two women , in the crowd, one of them
American.
4
I
1 I
1 ' 1 1 1 '
1 ,4 : : • .
41 1040/k
li tir. 4 ll ' p SW.
, 1 i: ':-.! •
4"03.. 441114 4
~,,,,
\
k'
....
•
‘ 4,
: • 4. , ..,
fsl • ' ,v'
I * o l'
kr- • , . ' - •,,.. A., ...
,a~~.". '.r.
. 4:...z _. ~. n'
• - •
• • A•''' ..4-40".-7".•,?
Two members of the Italian Red Cross cry together in St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, expressing their grief over the
assassination attempt on Pope John Paul 11.
Ortenberg vvithdraws
from race for mayor
RAs: Tough guys or friendly faces?
Editor's Note: This is the first of a three-part series
dealing with University Resident Assistants and
their responsibilities. Today's article concerns the
Office of Residential Life views the RAs' job.
By MARY BETH HORWATH
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Cops or counselors?
Resident Assistants at Penn State must maintain
a delicate balance between the friendly face down
the hall who always has a reassuring word and the
tough disciplinarian who busts a noisy Saturday
night party.
Maintaining this balance is difficult, sometimes
impossible.
Being an RA is one of the most difficult jobs at
the University, said Stan Latta, assistant director of
Residential Life.
"You have to realize that RAs are students
themselves with their own academic and social
commitments," Latta said. "And we put this extra
commitment on top of them. It's difficult."
Max McGee, assistant coordinator for Pollock
/Nittany/Centre Halls, said the RAs' job is two-fold.
"It's their job to consider the welfare of the
University and the student at the same time," he
said.
The roles definitely conflict, and there is a
potential trade-off when RAs try to follow the
W 202 PATTEE
-., ' 'i<,
'' r : .
.;
.~, ,
4 COPIE
the
daily
In Poznan, Poland, a woman said John
Paul's homeland was praying for "the
burning heart of Poland radiating
through the world."
A news release issued early today by
the Vatican and signed by the attending
physicians said, "At the end of the opera
tion, the pope recovered consciousness,
breathing spontaneously, and was in
good and stable cardiocirculatoty condi
tion.
"The patient came through the opera
tion in a satisfying manner. The progno
sis remains strictly guarded in part
because of risks deriving from post-oper
ative infection," the Vatican press re
lease said.
Earlier, the director of the surgery unit
at the Gemelli Policlinico hospital, Prof.
Giancarlo Castiglioni, had termed the
operation "successful" and told report
ers, "The pope was very lucky."
After the 5 1 / 2 hours of surgery and
blood transfusions, the 60-year-old pope
was transferred to the hospital's emer
gency care unit where he was expected to
remain for 48 hours. The surgery began
at noon EDT and ended at 5:25 p.m.
format that Residential Life expects, Latta said.
Maintaining good floor relationships can call for
leniency occasionally, just as controlling a rowdy
floor sacrifices a close friendship. But one can
never preclude the other, Latta said.
"They can't be perfect friends or perfect discipli
narians. We just hope they can develop the personal
relationship on the floor that will enable them to be
both," he said.
McGee said the cop-counselor role depends
mainly on the situation.
"If we have a kid ready to commit suicide with a
can of beer in his hand, we're not too worried about
the alcohol," he said. "But if it's just some guy with
a beer who's out to have a good time, we'll bust
him."
He also said that being a "friend" may have a
different meaning for an RA.
"When a floor wants an RA to be a friend, they
may mean letting them get away with drinking, or
maybe just not bothering them at all," he said. "It's
determined a lot by peer pressure."
Although some of the rules the RAs must follow
and enforce are specifically written out by the
University, such as the alcohol and escort policies,
others are not so clearly detailed. McGee said that
the noise policy is not written out, and varies from
area to area, and even within each area.
"The RAs try to develop an atmosphere in which
olle • ian
4
P + ,
v.e/04 .0 .1 .
'''''-".^ ., v -,,, • :*:,:. . 4‘...1,;..,.. r .. i 'X"
1
,
Police said they arrested a man who
identified himself as Turkish national
Nehmet Ali Agca. Police said the 23-
year-old man kept repeating "I couldn't
care less about life" after being taken
into police custody.
The Italian news agency ANSA said
detectives found on him a hand-written
and signed document that said, "I am
killing the pope to protest against the
imperialism of the Soviet Union and the
United States, and against the genocide
they are committing in El Salvador and
Afghanistan."
In Ankara, Turkish officials said the
gunman was believed to be Mehmet Ali
Agca, a convicted assassin who had
vowed to kill the pope in a letter he left
behind when he escaped from an Istanbul
prison shortly before the pope's visit to
Turkey in the fall of 1979. He was con
victed of killing the editor of the Ankara
newspaper Miliyet, Abdi Ipekci ; slain on
Feb. 1, 1979.
Castiglioni said the pope was shot
twice in the lower intestine. He said one
bullet passed through the body, causing
By MARK FEATHERSTONE
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Thomas Ortenberg, chairman of the Centre County
Consumer Party, has officially removed himself from
the race for mayor of State College.
Ortenberg never officially declared his candidacy
but had been considered a likely opponent to State
College Mayor Arnold Addison in the November elec
tion.
Ortenberg said he did not think he could run for over the weekend, he decided on Tuesday not to run.
mayor, remain at the University as a full-time student The campaigns of Chris Hall and Ray Boyle, the two
and continue to build the Consumer Party. Studying and Consumer Party candidates running for State College
building support for the Consumer Party are more Municipal Council, should not be affected by his deci-
important right now, he said. sion, Ortenberg said.
However, Ortenberg said he would probably run for "I talked it over with the borough candidates and
elected office in the future, but not until after he there's no chance of them withdrawing. This will just
UPI wirephoto
the students respect each other; they try to involve
the students and find out how much noise they're
willing to put up with," he said.
He added that most RAs follow a campus-wide
policy of moderating noise after 1 a.m. even on
weekends.
"RAs basically have to enforce all University
policies, which are fairly specific," McGee said.
However, the alcohol policy is not as strict as it
appears to be, Latta said
"On paper it looks very strict, but there's no way
the RA can hold to that type of enforcement," he
said. "It's a judgment situation they have to
decide whether to confront or ignore.
"As with any job there are extremes at both
ends; some are lax and some are pretty hard-line
about it."
RAs are given the choice of how strictly to
enforce the policy, Latta said, and that interpreta
tion may have important repercussions. •
"RAs who are too lax are really being unfair
unfair to those students who want the rules en
forced, and unfair to those who may be written up
by another RA for breaking the rules," he said.
"The RA may be getting out of an immediate
situation by ignoring it, but there will be problems
later."
Latta said an RA who consistently ignores policy
may be reprimanded by anything from a warning
another wound when it left, and another
stayed in the body and was extracted by
surgeons. The pope also had two slight
wounds on his right arm and one on his
left hand.
• Castiglioni did not say how many shots
were fired at the pope or how many
bullets hit him.
"We have sound hopes that the pope
will remain with us, that he will continue
to live. He wasn't hit in vital parts but
they were not light injuries. Important
blood vessels were just barely missed
and the , pope was very lucky," Castiglio
ni said.
Attilio Silverstrini, Vatican secretary
for public affairs, said the pope "was
serene and prayed" while being taken to
the hospital on the Via della Pineta
Sacchetti about three-quarters of a mile
from the Vatican.
A police officer who jumped onto the
white jeep as soon as the pope was
wounded said, "he suffered• a lot, he
prayed."
Shock was registered worldwide. Mil
lions lit candles in their churches and
joined the prayers of the witnesses to the
shooting who immediately knelt in St.
Peter's Square to pray for the pope's
recovery.
The most traveled spiritual leader of
the Roman Catholic church in history,
John Paul's simple manner and familiar
smile made him known the world over.
See related stories on Page 4
Community expresses disbelief
By ANNE CONNERS
Daily Collegian Staff Writer
Students and local religious leaders expressed shock,
amazement and disbelief over the shooting yesterday of Pope
John,Paul II; commonly referred to as the "People's Pope."
,
"Soine crazy person hot the pope?" Traj Antolick
(6th
computer science) said. don't believe this! What the hell is
going on? Why, he's not even political."
The Rev. Quentin Schaut, rector of the Penn State Catholic
Center, said that Pope John Paul II is a particularly popular
pontiff.
"One would suppose that Pope John Paul would be the last
man to have an attempt like this made on him because he issso
lovable," he said.
Schaut said the attempt on the pope's life was indicative of
the world's problems.
"It's just an incredible thing that the pope of all the people'
would be attacked that way," he said. "It's reflective on the
world in which we're living that something could happen,like
this."
,Several students also expressed the belief that something
intangible was wrong with society.
"Society is sick if someone would shoot the pope," Carolyn
Mullin (3rd-chemical engineering) said. "It's enough to make
someone cry."
Several students could not understand the gunman's mo
tives.
"Why would someone want to shoot the pope? I can see if he
was in political power, but he's a religious figure." Renee
Wilson (13th-health planning and administration) said. "Why
graduated. He said he was not sure what office he would
run for.
Scheduled campaign appearances including one at
the Undergraduate Student Government's Candidates'
Night tonight forced him to announce his intentions
before the primary, Ortenberg said.
"I didn't want to speak (at the candidates' night)
because I was no longer a candidate," he said.
Ortenberg said that after wavering back and forth
.;f:,?-; 7°'"" •
71.- • •.;; V..."'
- -
• 2:,,,,,7.•*;15
u;r:i4
letter to firing, depending on which policy is ig
nored. RAs rarely are fired.
When an RA writes up a student, he or she is
exercising the full range of disciplinary capacity,
Latta said. The period after a "bust" has occurred
is often the most sensitive time, and the counseling
part of an RA's job is made even more difficult.
"Sometimes students transfer their anger to the
RA when they're really just angry at being caught.
They know it's the RA's job and they probably
wouldn't respect them if they didn't do it," he said.
Latta said RAs are expected to be as sensitive as
possible after writing up a student for violating a
University policy, and to consider the student's
previous behavior.
"We want them to personalize the situation as
much as possible. They are not expected to preach.
They have to understand what the person is going
through, explain what will happen and give the
person a chance to ask questions," he said.
"They have to know when to back off."
McGee said that it's not the RA's job to know
everything or to be able to help with every problem,
but rather to know where to send the student for
information or advice.
"RAs know their limitations. They're not clinical
psychologists."
15'
Thursday May 14, 1981 .
Vol. 81, No. 172 18 pages University Park, Pa. 18802
Published by Students of The Pennsylvania State University
Pope John Paul ll
would you want to take your anger out on him?"
However, the Rev. Bernard White of Our Lady of Victory
Church, 820 Westerly Parkway, said there are never logicaL
answers to violence and killing.
"As with , any sudden, sad • news, it's surprising that one
knowi how to react," he said. "As an ancient sage.once said,
`The only way to reason with unreason is not , to reason at all.
"There are many reasons why a person would do this
terrible thing and none of them are good," he said.
One student 'said the attack on the pope was particularly
ironic because of his image as a peacemaker.
"A lot of people thought of him as bringing a lot of peace into
the world," said David Witz (12th-investment and real estate).
John Felleisen (12th-advertising) spoke for many people
when he expressed admiration of the pope.
"He's a great man, an influential person and has special
meaning to a lot of people."
White said the faithful were gathering in prayer and concern
for the wounded pope.
"It's edifying to see so many be very quickly concerned of
the well-being of our church leader," he said. "When the head
of the family is hurt it hurts all of us."
Because of the number of people concerned about thQpope,
the church offered a Mass with the special intention for the
pope's recovery last night, he said.
The Penn State Catholic Center also offered yesterday's
Mass "for the pope and his persecutors," Schaut said.
Tom Eakin, University director of religious affairs, said,
"all of all of Christdom and every person of good will would be
aggrieved by this," he said.
increase the chance of the other (Consumer Party)
candidates winning."
Ortenberg said he hopes to find someone to run
against Addison both because he disagrees with Addi
son's stands on the issues and because he does not like
the idea of anyone running unopposed.
"I can't endorse Addison for mayor," he said. "I
can't endorse a Republican for office. Anyone who is on
the Republican ticket can't stand for the principles I
believe in.
"I'm always against someone running unopposed.
That's bad for democracy. There should be alternative
views."
However, Ortenberg said he would not necessarily
endorse any candidate the Democratic Party might
come up with.
inside
• The University's Hershey
Medical Center helps nursing stu
dents by offering hands-on experi
ence Page 6
• The women's lacrosse team
hosts Maryland in its opening game
in the AIAW national
'championships at 9:30 this morn
ing at Lady Lion Field Page 8
• With tuition and room and
board costs increasing, the Office
of Housing and Food Service is
finding new ways to keep meals
inexpensive but enjoyable... Page 15
weather
Thickening clouds are in store
for today along with temperatures
reaching 67 degrees with an af
ternoon shower or thundershower
likely. Mostly cloudy tonight with
occasional showers and an low of
52. Considerable cloudiness and
cooler tomorrow, a few sprinkles or
showers likely and temperatures In
the upper 50s to low 60s.
UPI Wirephoto