University of Virginia Library

Letters To The Editor

McIntire— Back To Its Former Demi-Self

Since the noble efforts to
restore the McIntire
"Amphitheater" have been so
much in the news, I believe this
community should understand
that what we actually possess is
not a real amphitheater. In the
literal and classic senses, an
amphitheater would be an oval
or round gallery rising above an
arena.

No doubt a student-faculty
committee will be appointed to
determine the exact geometry
of the McIntire structure; I am
reasonably sure, from a cursory
visual examination, that Mr.
McIntire has endowed us with
something less than a complete
amphitheater. To be more
specific, we have
approximately half an
amphitheater.

Fortunately, our language
has prefixes to describe this
abbreviated condition. Thus,
we may have a semi-amphitheater,
a
hemi-amphitheater, or a
demi-amphitheater. "Semi-" is
too filled with innuendo,
suggesting that the structure is
incomplete or lacking. "Hemi-"
usually means strictly half, and
since the remainder of the
amphitheater has not been
located, we cannot know
whether we have exactly half.
Clearly we ought to use
"demi-", connoting half of, or
less than, the usual size.

The acceptance of the term
"demi-amphitheater" by the
pro-restoration group has more
advantages than mere accuracy.
For instance, to the immense
bureaucratic machinery which
must examine and approve the
expenditures relating to the
McIntire demi-amph., one
might argue persuasively that
funds are being sought only for
the northern part of the
amphitheater, funds for the
southern part to be raised by
public subscription.

Doubtlessly, the various
committees would be
impressed by this show of
public spirit and would readily
grant funds for restoration of
the northern sector. The
public, of course, would be
perfectly safe as there is no
southern portion.

Proponents of restoration
could assuage critics by
offering them parking
privileges in the southern
section of the amphitheater,
which if it proved to be more
than half an amphitheater,
could bring in more revenue
than the parking facilities in
the present structure.

Obviously there is no end to
the advantages that my result
from the restoration of the
McIntire demi-amphitheater to
its former demi-self and all
may be facilitated by adopting
the appropriate terminology,
though opponents are sure to
contend that the restored
demi-amph. isn't half what it
used to be.

Questions Spirit

I am writing to express my
feelings in regard to your
editorial of April 24, entitled:
"One to the Road". For the
following reasons, I question
whether the editorial was
written in the spirit of
responsible journalism:

In last Friday's Cavalier
Daily, a staff reporter cited
the following items
pertaining to the accident.
"Mr. Cummings stated that