The Daily O’Collegian

The OSU Ethics Center held an open forum about whether Murray Hall should be renamed Tuesday night in the Student Union Little Theater.

The petition to un-name Murray Hall has sparked controversy on campus, and many people want to voice their opinions. To help understand the issue, two speakers, Randi Eldevik, English professor and Bill Bryans, history professor discussed their views.

Both speakers are professors in the Arts and Sciences college, so the forum will show two sides of the argument from departments that will be using the building.

At the October 9th Faculty Council meeting, the recommendation to support the petition to change the name of Murray Hall and North Murray Hall had the support of the administration. When the full petition is put together and received, they will consider it according to procedures outlined in OSU Board Policy 2.05, “Naming University Facilities at Oklahoma State University.”

The forum, titled “Should Murray Hall Be Renamed?” may help decide the fate of the building’s names.

Mediator Eric Reitan, assistant professor of philosophy, introduced the speakers and briefly described how the night would proceed.

Reitan, an associate professor of philosophy, said the purpose of tonight’s debate is to air opinions on whether Murray’s name should be removed not what the new name should be.

Eldevik, who is supporting the removal of Murray’s name from the buildings, said she doesn’t think Murray deserves the honor of having a building named after him. Murray, an Oklahoma governor and central figure in the drafting of the Oklahoma constitution, was a racist and there is evidence of this in his writings.

In the early 1960s, Eldevik said she saw news footage of civil rights movements put down with hoses and dogs. She said she knew in her heart that it was wrong to treat people that way. Furthermore, Eldevik said

Murray was opposed to higher education except in agriculture and tried to interfere with OSU so it would only be an agriculture college.

Murray went on record saying he was against higher education. He said it took too many people off the farm and kids going to college form tastes in things they couldn’t afford, like art and books, and turned them into “high toned bums.”

Eldevik said she was inspired by the student petition from two years ago to change the names of the buildings. The current initiative came out of the council because there are many Arts and Science departments that are going to be housed in Murray Hall when the renovation is complete.

Eldevik said she wanted to make it clear that she does not just want to erase history.

“I don’t want to sweep the shameful facts about Murray under the rug, and that’s not my purpose in asking that the building be un-named,” Eldevik said. “I think there should be an educational display about Murray somewhere in or outside of the building.”

Bryans went second with his opinions on the un-naming of the buildings.

Bryans is against removing the name from Murray Hall not because he thinks Murray was a “good” guy, but because of the historic significance of the building to OSU.

As a preservationist, Bryans believes in keeping buildings historical and authentic as possible.

“They’re the products of their time,” Bryans said. “And they are physical links to the past that I think serves a useful purpose.”

He also doesn’t think that decision should be made until all sides of Murray have been examined.

Bryans said Murray is more than what he’s been portrayed by the people wanting his named removed from the building.

“He’s a very complex figure,” Bryans said. “He’s widely recognized as one of the most significant people in Oklahoma politics.”

As a historian, Bryan believes that the whole picture should be looked at before a decision is made.

He said a similar event at a Colorado University was resolved only after much study and a hundred page report. The university decided to rename the building.

Bryans said he has no problem with the building being un-named, he just doesn’t think it should be done hastily, and there should much more study and information found out about Murray before a concrete decision is made.

Bryans thinks this research will not only serve the purpose of gathering information, but also as a way to teach the university about it’s past. He thinks this whole issue can be used as an educational experience.

However, the un-naming process is not taken lightly, and there are numerous factors that have to be weighed before a decision is made.

University policy states:

“Once a building name is assigned and made part of the official University building inventory, its name will not change unless a request for change is considered, evaluated, and accepted through the procedures outlined in this policy [see sections 9.1-9.9]. Because of the large amount of staff work involved in changing inventory and maintenance records, and because of the potential for confusion and the cost of replacing signage, stationery, class schedules, maps, and other published material, the names of buildings should not be changed without careful deliberation and without offering a well-documented benefit to OSU.”

It is not as simple as tearing the lettering from the side of a building. Un-naming and renaming a facility is an arduous process that OSU will not take frivolously.

After each speaker was done, the audience was eager to put their opinions in the ring.

Thad Leffingwell, psychology professor said he is not only supportive of the buildings being un-named, but dividing them into two separate buildings with two separate names.

Leffingwell, an associate professor in who works in North Murray Hall, said that the buildings are only joined by a small walkway, so each building should get a new name.

Jason Kirksey, political science professor, said educators on campus who want to build a better future will have a hard time explaining why we have a building named after a bigot.

Kirksey, who will be moving into the building, thinks that the university has avoided this issue for far too long and that now’s the time for change.

“It’s not about history at all, it’s about the future,” Kirksey said. “And when you have standing at the gateway to this campus that building named after a known and avowed racist, what kind of message are we sending?”

Most attendees agreed that the university should postpone the dedication ceremony and the decision until more information and further research can be achieved.