Senior Memoir: Ian Murphy

Photo by Gerardo Trujillo

I was planning on leaving The Leader at the end of my sophomore year. I wasn’t super vocal about it at the time, but as opinions and photo editor, The Leader was a relatively small part of my life and I was getting busy enough. Following Editor-in-Chief elections in the spring, my plan was to quietly leave the room, never to return.

Changing my mind was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

I’m an incredibly headstrong individual. If I want something done, it will get done. I’d prefer not to be the only person doing it, but if I have to, so be it.

The Leader needs to report to the most pressing concerns students, staff, and the broader community hold. Of the many “directives” I’ve helmed while editor, this was always paramount. This year featured more on-deadline stories, longer and more in-depth coverage with more follow-up issues, and just flat-out more issues of the newspaper being printed.

This is by no means an easy feat. This year we, as a paper, received more pushback from administration than ever before while I have been involved. Following what has felt like an “information embargo” being put in place in the fall, staffers have not been allowed to directly speak with any of the President’s Cabinet, and any information about EU’s operations, good or otherwise, has come in the form of brief press releases.

I worry about what this means for the future of The Leader’s ability to report. Without the ability to speak with admin, what’s to stop the student body from assuming the worst? We’ve already seen this start to creep in with instances like the new Langhorst Field addition, which didn’t have a clear completion timeline or budget, or yet another annual tuition increase justified only by a written statement claiming it could have been worse. This isn’t a response that instills trust in EU’s administration.

The good news is, we’ve been writing despite it, and successful! This semester has had some of our best writing in The Leader’s history and I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it. I have encouraged my team to write about what’s close to them and their friends, and they’ve responded by discovering stories and sharing the unique and amazing lives of folks on this campus most people have never considered before, going well beyond re-posting press releases from outlets and finding a way to make sure these stories that you readers want to hear are told.

It is perseverance that will keep The Leader alive and bring it to new heights.

The perseverance to ensure all sides of an issue are represented fairly and accurately. The perseverance to seek out stories that might otherwise be missed. The perseverance to follow up with administration, even if they continue to try and block us out.

Perseverance is proof that you can’t get rid of an issue by ignoring it. Perseverance is proof that you’re not afraid of caring too much, or being called annoying, or taking “no” for an answer because you know your actions are just.

Sometimes, the greatest advice is the simplest. Richard and Reinhold Niebuhr have their words etched in stone because their advice is worth following.

For me, the Serenity Prayer is invaluable. I’m not the best at attending church, or maybe following Christ’s teachings to a tee, but accepting what isn’t in my control, and making damn sure I’m working towards what is, is part of the stubbornness that makes me who I am.

Maybe even more pertinent than Reinhold Niebuhr’s words, though, is Richard’s.

“The most urgent need of the present generation is light and warmth, the light of knowledge and the warmth of high ideals,” said Richard Niebuhr. It’s inscribed on the entrance to the Frick Center, and has been my internal Leader motto this year.

Our high ideals of truth, wisdom, and perseverance will provide us and you with the light of knowledge. Not just of any potential misgivings on campus, but of the power of unity that comes from knowing your peers, your professors, your bosses, your friends and your family.

I’m not quite done with college, though I’m technically wrapping up my literal time here on campus. I’ll be abroad in the fall and graduating mid-year, so while I’m not here in-person, I’m still keeping tabs on campus and looking forward to what light and wisdom the future Leader, and future EU, will hold.