Latin Error Etched Into UT Tower Shooting Memorial
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AUSTIN (AP) - A new memorial for the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting is etched with what Latin professors say is an embarrassing mistake that's literally set in stone.
The granite memorial unveiled this week honors victims on the 50th anniversary of sniper Charles Whitman climbing atop the 27-story clock tower and opening fire. Seventeen deaths were ultimately attributed to Whitman.
Etched above the names of the dead is the Latin word "INTERFECTUM," which is equivalent in English to "killed." But UT classics professors say that version of the word is impersonal and singular.
Professor Lesley Dean-Jones says it's a mistake any of her first-year students would have caught and that her department wasn't consulted on the wording.
University officials said Thursday the memorial can be fixed.
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