 | The Cavalier daily May 7, 1973 |  |
Letters To The Editor
'Another Trivial Decision To Bitch About'
Unbelievable is right!
Why is it until now, the last
month or so, there has been no
opposition to the proposed
Observatory Hill dining
facility? It is unlikely that the
construction cost difference of
$.92 million projected versus
1.29 million apparent low bid
is the answer.
I ask this rather elementary
question because the design
stage (planning, schematics,
preliminaries and contract
documents) for this facility has
been in progress for
approximately one year.
If the rags Student Council
has are that earth-shaking then
where was it eight or nine
months ago to air its views?
Sitting on its collective duff up
on the fourth floor of
Newcomb Hall, that's where.
So when Food Services
moves out of Newcomb Hall,
as it inevitably will, let's have
Student Council move into
Food Services old space. This
way it'll be down out that
pompous perch it presently
resides in and may be able to
see what's going on.
As for the editorial's claim
to inconvenience [The Cavalier
Daily, May 1], I question the
fact or fiction of that
statement. Not all classes are
held in Cabell Hall, there is also
the Engineering School which
is right in the middle of both
locations and probably doesn't
care, the Chem and Bio
buildings which are closer to
Observatory Hill and, all those
people that don't have classes
straight through from 8 to 5
and go back to their rooms
around noon anyway to check
the mail or play.
And Mr. Fontana why
didn't you imply your
opposition publicly at a
previous date?
I feel the real answer is a
few people needed another
trivial administrative decision
to bitch about.
So build the facility and be
done with it.
Arch. 4
of May 1, the $300,000
mistake committed in the
bidding as well as the proposed
$1.29 million structure itself
are far more costly than they
readily appear. $939,000 are
provided through a floating
bond issue which must be paid
off with interest over a 20 year
period. Where the extra
$300,000 comes from we have
yet to find out–increased food
prices perhaps, or maybe
mandatory contract
arrangements for all first-year
students?
At first it was thought that
the $200,000 in capital
expansion funds which Food
Services has accumulated over
a number of years would be
used to at least partially fund
this $300,000. However, it has
since been discovered that that
money must go to pay for new
kitchen equipment which also
was not covered in the original
estimate. Add to this the
$15,000 that Food Services is
already in debt and the fact
remains, students are going to
be hit for a wad of wampum
which 1) they don't have, and
2) they have no reason now to
shell out since the new
cafeteria is not even
needed–Ed.)
History And Doom
May I congratulate you on
the issue of the CD devoted to
the history and doom of
McIntire Amphitheater. It was
one of the most interesting
issues of this semester.
Since coming to the
University, I have considered
the Amphitheater and its past
and hopefully future potential
to be the most intriguing
aspect of the grounds. I agree
with those who want to see
grass replacing gravel in this
area, even if it is put out to
pasture from the standpoint of
its original purpose.
Ideally, the greening of the
Amphitheater would be
accomplished using real grass,
however, a compromise
alternative does exist in these
days of technological
advancement. When Scott
Stadium is renovated and
Astro-turfed, the scraps of
plastic grass could be used to
cover the floor of the
Amphitheater. This would
allow parking during the week
and green space on the
weekends, turning the
Amphitheater into one of
those "multi-use areas" so dear
to the hearts of planners these
days.
Science Information
Specialist
| The Cavalier daily May 7, 1973 | |