Monday, October 19,1987/The Battalion/Page 3 State and Local fS Story of trapped child prompts emotional impact from nation 5 the classroor . ie the profess I MIDLAND (AP) — The ordeal of j t p i 18-month-old Jessica McClure, , , Bped for days in an abandoned notnerday. Hshaft, had an impact that went )or are (wool lyond the rescue effort. just standing tg. Chatting, Tatting. Perhaps it was her isolation in the /ell deep below ground level or the arrowing way she hummed, sang Bigs and cried “Mama” while pass- ng 58 hours in darkness. Or maybe L ‘ m ' |Was just a glimmer of mischief her po/iticalsciV J esrevea ^ e “ ' n a famil y snapshot. >t for The K^ en a mu( ^" ca ^ e ^ paramedic Hd the scratched and bruised girl ■ the chill night air Friday, a pe- ■ of agony ended for the girl’s ■ 'Hly — and for people half a world jst gr/th> rescuers with a water-powered Yy|0O ; ■ chiseled rock within inches of rlcGlure, calls from around the torkl backed up at the Midland Po- ^ |e J5epartment, which had 12 dis- T nUIV* at T ers answer i n g the phone in- Livlui Jead of the usual one night-shift iispaicher. IBhe child’s plight was an extraor- ■y story during an extraordi- week. On Friday alone, the ■ Jones industrial average A Afl/5jlllJ(l unfied wild ly- wiping o ut $145 bil- A^rwk^rtpniv'orth of stocks in one day and ?M?7HWWp|:v Reagan checked into a hospi- foi a breast cancer operation. Paramedic: Leaving infant in hole was difficult decision MIDLAND (AP) — The hardest thing a paramedic said he ever had to do was to leave toddler Jessica Mc Clure behind in a dark under ground shaft. “I told her we would be back,” said Robert O’Donnell, who was the first person to touch the 18-month- old girl more than two days after she fell into a dry backyard water well. Grasping the child and pulling her out might have snapped her neck or spine, O’Donnell said, so he reluctantly radioed back that the tunnelingjob was not yet finished. Back above ground, O’Donnell and the other paramedics avoided each others’ eyes for fear of break ing into tears, he said. Several of the pediatricians ques tioned whether O’Donnell should be sent back down once the tunnel was widened because they sensed his dis appointment and the emotional drain of his first try, he said. But he insisted he could handle the descent and was allowed down the final time at 7:30 p.m. O’Donnell estimated he took about 10 minutes after getting a good grip on Jessica’s pants to ease her from the tight trap. Theii O’Donnell locked eyes with Jessica and thought, “That’s the pre ttiest girl that I have ever met,” he said. The same day, a Canadian infant became the youngest heart-trans plant recipient ever, Ethiopians warned of another wave of famine, an Iranian warship fired machine guns at a helicopter carrying an American television crew and a mis sile hit a Kuwaiti ship flying the American flag, wounding the Amer ican captain. But none of the events tugged at hearts and drew compassion on such a grand scale as the saga of “Spunky Jessica,” as some newspapers called her. Famous and obscure, rich and poor, people responded as if they had known McClure all her life. The outpouring of emotion was partic ularly striking to Flarvard University sociologist David Riesman, author of “The Lonely Crowd” and other landmark studies of Americans. For years, Riesman has lectured on what he calls the boy-in-the-well syndrome. “Americans are extremely gener-. ous when we can identify with a per son or a small group and the most dramatic example is a boy in a well,” Riesman said from his home in Cam bridge, Mass. — where he, too, fol lowed accounts of McClure’s rescue. “People can be slaughtered in An gola or Israel can bomb Lebanon three times in a week and neither in vites similar American interest, not to mention generosity,” he said. But some people saw the toddler’s retrieval as an example of patriotic valor in the face of trouble — some thing like the rescue of hostages. “Whenever you see something like this, it makes you realize we’re a great nation,” said James Powell, a resident of Midland. The baby’s mother put it another way. “I’m just so glad we got her back safe,” she said. “The whole world has her back.” rmer singer Stevens cancels talk at A&M By Elisa Hutchins Staff Writer Yusuf Islam, known during his jig career as Cat Stevens, will appearing at Rudder Theater might as originally planned. The former singer converted to le Moslem faith in 1977 and was to eak at A&M to promote a better iderstanding of the religion on be- dflf the Muslim Students’ Asso- ation. Before converting to the Moslem ithl Islam/Stevens had many re- irding hits during the ’70s includ ing “Morning Has Broken” and “Oh Very Young.” Islam, a British citizen, was not able to leave London with his family as scheduled because his four chil dren did not have the appropriate visas. “The visas will be issued, but it will take a few days,” said Ahmad Jarrah, MSA member and coordinator of Is lam’s visit to A&M. “His schedule is too full to arrange another time to speak at A&M during this lecture se ries.” He was to have arrived Sunday night in Houston and begun his lec ture series at A&M. Islam will now begin at Southern Methodist Uni versity in Dallas on Tuesday. Islam apologized by phone to Jar rah and to A&M students for cancelling. He told Jarrah the situa tion was out of his hands, and that he could not let his family meet him at A&M. His wife is pregnant and he did not want her traveling alone. Islam’s lecture series is intended to make American students more aware of the Moslem faith and relate it to world events — such as the cur rent Persian Gulf situation, Jarrah said. After speaking at SMU Tuesday, Islam will conduct two lectures in Houston including one at the Uni versity of Houston and at universi ties in Tuscon, Ariz. and Ann Arbor, Mich, before returning to England. His first lecture in Houston on Thursday will be on the importance of the Koran, the sacred book of Moslems. It will be held at 1 p.m. at UH in the student lounge. Later in the evening, “Islam —-Fu ture of Mankind” will be discussed at 8 p.m. in the Houstonian Hotel at 111 N. Post Oak Lane. Anyone in terested in attending either lecture in Houston can call (713) 467-2337 or (713) 520-6010 for more informa tion. in.—. m in What’s up Monday HILLEL, JEWISH STUDENT FOUNDATION: will have a meeting at 7:30 p.m. at the Hillel Building, located at 800 Jersey St. PI SIGMA EPSILON: will have an executive board meeting at 6 p.m. on the second floor of the Pavilion and team B — Beepers will play volleyball at 9 p.m. in the Read Building. MUSLIM STUDENT ASSOCIATION: The scheduled ap pearance of Cat Stevens to speak at 7:30 p.m. at Rudder Theater has been canceled. Check the story on this page for details. HIGH SCHOOL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND RECRUIT MENT: General information about the High School Public Relations and Recruitment Committee will be given at 5:30 p.m. in 226 MSC. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION: will have a guest speaker from Hurst Murchison Investment Bankers at 7 p.m. in 153 Blocker. FRESHMAN LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS: will meet at 8:30 p.m. in 301 Rudder. ATHEIST, AGNOSTIC AND FREETHINKERS SOCIETY: will meet at 7 p.m. in 305A-B Rudder. ALPHA PHI ALPHA: The Rev. Arthur Hernandez will speak at 8:30 p.m. in 701 Rudder. LEGISLATIVE STUDY GROUP: will have a meeting at 9 p.m. in Rudder. Check the screen in Rudder for the room number. INTRAMURAL SPORTS: Entries open for bowling singles in 159 Read. DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY: will have a symposium on religion in classical antiquity Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon and from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in 601 Rudder. CLASS OF ’90: Applications for committee positions are available until Friday in 216 MSC. Tuesday POLITICAL SCIENCE SOCIETY: will meet at 7 p.m. in 229 MSC. PI SIGMA ALPHA: will meet at 7 p.m. in 229 MSC and team C — Dotted Lines will play volleyball at 9 p.m. in the Read Building. WRITING OUTREACH: Martha Casey will discuss “Corres- g ondence: Business Letter Writing” at 6:30 p.m. in 110 locker. TAMU SADDLE AND SIRLOIN CLUB: will meet at 7 p.m. in 115 Kleberg. Items for What’s Up should be submitted to The Battalion, 216 Reed McDonald, no less than three working days be- fore desired publication date. setter suitedie: od of capital® e ie opportunitit: ce a slice ofSo'i ,1th center. Lit! re free except fc ester and ant Soviet Union.it: on a day which! , as in theSotifi >r — not tomtf- the whole five /eryone$15a quality service* ents withrespefl lacoirora o-SJD ?