Stephen Murray: Embracing critique of a beloved institution
Stephen Murray is a University of Virginia graduate of the Class of 1993 with a distinguished major in History. A Virginian since birth, Murray heard about the University at a young age, and to him it was part of the fabric of the state and a likely option for his future. While UVA seemed to be the straightforward path for Murray, his time at the University was filled with a variety of new opportunities. From involvement in the University Guide Service and Class Council, to time spent on Resident Staff and founding a co-ed acapella group, Murray explored a multitude of spaces. In addition to all of the time spent on extracurriculars, he also pursued his academic interest in history. He describes the ability “to go many different directions at once,” as one of the nicest parts of going to UVA. For Murray, all of the directions he went while a student gave him his community, his friends, and ultimately shaped the way he reflects on his days at the University today.
As Murray states in his interview, “the people shape your experience.” Among these people were Professor Ed Ayers, a prominent historian in American History and the 19th Century South, and Murray’s thesis advisor, as well as Marutha Ray of the German department. Ray was a professor who mentored Murray not only in his academic pursuits, but also as he took on leadership roles, including a spot on Resident Staff. Murray describes these influential people as “cross-overs,” as they integrated themselves into the different directions he was pursuing at UVA, rather than restricting their impact to one pocket of his University experience.
As a way to extend the support Murray felt as an undergraduate to UVA’s young alumni, he worked alongside UVA Class of 1991 President Jennifer Snalick to instigate the Young Alumni Council. They felt the board serving alumni at the time was not representative of the diversifying UVA population; it wasn’t evolving with the student population. Together they worked to form an entity that would both re-engage the UVA administration in learning about the needs of their graduates, as well as provide points of connection and involvement for recently graduated alumni.
In addition to being a civically engaged student, Murray was also creatively engaged. One of his proudest accomplishments from his UVA years remains creating the New Dominions, a co-ed, and initially all first-year acapella group on grounds. The “New-Dos” became the fifth acapella group at UVA, as well as the oldest co-ed group on grounds. Murray explains that the vision for New Dominions arose when he and two other students from his first-year dorm noticed a missing link in the acapella world-- a need for a co-ed group that could also serve as a community for incoming first-year students. While the group quickly shifted to include all years, this group began in 1990. Murray describes the experience as “pushing on an open door” through student self-governance to create something new that would grow bigger than himself. And while he does note that creating a performing arts group is different in a variety of capacities than leading something like a civil rights activism group, he felt a deep sense of support during his pursuits. Moreover, when looking at the ways that acapella has expanded since the 1990s, Murray sees a parallel to a general increase in inclusivity. There is always more room for a broader mix of voices, even in such a specific subgenre like acapella.
When he wasn’t working with his acapella group, Murray was giving tours of the University. His involvement in the University Guide Service connected more directly to his academic interests. He even served on the organization’s executive board as Historian. During his time in that role, he remembers discussions centering around increasing the amount of content on tours that discussed topics like the use of enslaved labor at the University, Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings, and other topics that would contribute to a more nuanced representation of UVA. Murray goes on to reflect on the organization itself in a similar vein, critiquing the way it seemed to present an archetypical university student, but praising the way it could effortlessly pull people in to find their niche. Overall, Murray’s reflection on UVA comes through a similar lens of critique and gratitude.
“I appreciate what this place is more because I know where it has blind spots about itself, where I think it maybe hasn’t actually pulled its own weight, or has a place to go… but, it hasn’t lessened my love of what this place is and what it can be.”
When asked what his tour of the University would look like today, Murray explains that his story of UVA can be tied to physical places. Whether it be the more obvious trademark UVA features, or underrated locations that hold personal memories, the impact of his four years shows through stories of those spaces. For Murray, the Lawn symbolizes his most vivid memory of UVA, and his view of what the University represents to him. Murray was a lawn resident during the 1992-1993 school year, and one of his most culminating memories is from the spring of that year. In honor of Thomas Jefferson’s 250th birthday, the University held what felt like a never-ending celebration. The day was filled with influential speakers that reflected the international climate of the time. As the Berlin wall came down in 1989, Mikhail Gorbachev was among the featured speakers. Fireworks riddled the night sky, and through it all, the lawn was filled with picnics and joyous crowds.
“[The celebration] was about us but it was also about something… wider, because it was the importance of this place and the institution and the people who had been here in the context of the American experience.”
While Murray’s most vivid memory of UVA includes this deep celebratory atmosphere, he explains that there is now a split screen in his mind when thinking back to the Lawn. On one hand, he sees celebration and hope, and on the other he sees images of the neo-Nazis in Charlottesville and on the Lawn from August 11 and 12, 2017. Working as a historian in Berlin, Germany, at the time, Murray emphasizes how crushing these images of people copying the sentiments from the worst parts of Germany’s history were. With the memories of both joy and pain, Murray sees the Lawn as a multifaceted symbol of both beginnings and boundless aspirations for who we can one day be, as well as a reminder of the ways we fall short of those dreams.
“You both need to see the thing which the institution… aspires to be, but also be very clear-headed and open-eyed about where its blind spots are and where it actually hasn’t fulfilled that promise… that’s not cutting the place down, it’s actually in a very...more realistic sense being able to appreciate a place for what it is.”
Murray reflects on what UVA was in the 1990s with the same multifaceted view. He described the political climate as much more cohesive than today, while also noting that many issues weren’t even explored to the extent that they are now. One specific area Murray referenced was the LGBTQ community at the University during his four years. As a gay man, he had no vision of coming out during his time at the University, and he sees the people who did come out publicly as “very brave,” because it wasn’t as commonly done at the time. They were stepping into an unknown at the University, and looking back Murray speculates on how he may have come to terms with his sexuality more quickly had there been more LGBTQ visibility on grounds. However, Murray also notes how widely accepted the culture seemed to be at the time, referencing memories of hearing “not gay” chanted during the Good Old Song. While Murray emphasizes that he can only speak from his own experience, he sees this is just one example of what he described as, “a false cohesion, just because one side of the debate wasn’t even being surfaced.”
Through all of the different directions pursued, challenges faced, relationships gained, and reflections made, UVA continues to impact Murray. As an institution with a strong set of guiding principles, it pushed Murray to develop his own set of principles--a preliminary belief of what was right and wrong. For Stephen Murray, UVA gave him a guiding sense of morality that manifested as a hypothesis written over the course of four years to be tested and revised through every experience thereafter.