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ForumStyle Too Casual Dear Mr. Novack, My husband and I are retired, after fifty-six years of combined service, from the English Department of Susquehanna University. We enjoy reading Susquehanna Today; it is interesting and visually attractive, a good way to stay informed about progress at Susquehanna University. However, we are disturbed by the style in which two deaths of distinguished faculty members were reported in the Spring, 2005 issue. Why, in reporting the deaths of the Reverend Edgar S. Brown and Professor W. Murray Hunt did Susquehanna Today initially refer to these gentlemen by their titles and full names and then consistently refer to them later by “Edgar” and “Murray”? Could this be a misguided attempt at populism or political correctness? Both the Philadelphia Inquirer and the New York Times refer to deceased persons by titles and last names throughout. We think referring to the honored dead, to men who served our community well, is too breezy and informal. Death is not an informal matter. This usage robs honorable people of their dignity. Sincerely, Dear Editor, I am shocked that SU would allow such a report to be published. I have always been a proud graduate of SU, until today. I would strongly hope that in the future, you rethink what kind of information is published.
Thank you, Dear Mr. Novack: I realize that hunting is necessary to control animal populations and that hunting safaris benefit the people and economies of African nations. But I regard the use of the word “bagged” and the posting of the numbers of exotic animals killed to be revolting, and certainly not worthy of Susquehanna University and this publication. I truly hope that in the future such information will not be touted in Susquehanna Today.
Sincerely,
Sincerely, Please in the future try to consider a little more carefully what you are publishing in a journal for all the alumni of SU, the majority of which I am sure would agree with my sentiments.
Sincerely, Upon recently opening my post office box, among the bills and junk mail was the Spring 2005 edition of Susquehanna Today. For three decades, this alumni publication has been an abiding and welcome reminder of my days at Susquehanna and has kept me informed about the comings and goings of old acquaintances and unknown others who share the SU bond.
Being one who has been remiss in maintaining personal and institutional ties since leaving Selinsgrove in 1973, this current edition was particularly informative. As I browsed through the articles, it began to play out like an impromptu reunion.
Page 6: A photo of Bob Jordan, a floor mate in Aikens in 1969-70 who I have not seen since then, who is now SU’s women’s tennis coach.
Page 11: A photo of Bruce Turnbull, a former New Men’s (now West Residence) roommate for a single trimester term in 1973, who I’ve not seen in perhaps 20 years.
Page 12: A photo of Bill Foote, who lived across the hall from Bruce and I in 1973, and one of the too few fellow alumni with whom I’ve maintained ongoing and regular contact. In front of Bill in the photo was Mark Kozin, a roommate of Bill’s the following year.
Page 14: A 1973 class note about Sigmund Weis School of Business Advisory Council chair Michael Collins, who lived across the hall from my old room in Aikens.
Page 34: A beautiful tribute to the late W. Murray Hunt, professor emeritus, who, in 1973 drove a gold Karmann Ghia identical to mine and who, unintentionally and frequently, was seen trying to get into my car as I was similarly seen trying to get into his.
My interest grew with each page I read.
Then it came.
Also on Page 34: Among the deaths – Thomas Murphy ’70.
My nostalgic experience immediately turned to melancholy. This friend, who I had not seen since he graduated in 1970 but had often thought about, was gone. The death notice, like most listed, was brief. Surely, those who knew any of the departed fellow alumni felt they deserved to have more written about them. Just as surely, the information provided to Susquehanna Today regarding the passing of alumni is, in most cases, brief and obituarial and therefore lacking the perspective of the personal remembrance of a friend. I can only offer this perspective regarding Tom Murphy but do so in honor of all those whose friends can and may possibly do similarly.
Murph, as Tom Murphy was affectionately known, was one of the first people I got to know at SU. He was the former roommate of the roommate I was assigned upon transferring to SU in 1969 and he made me feel welcome during the process of acclimating to my new environment. At the time I arrived on campus, Murph was living in a house out between Selinsgrove and Kratzerville along the banks of Penn’s Creek. He was friendly and soft-spoken in a distinctive upstate, coal-region accent. He drove a 1954 Buick that was like an army tank and his housemate drove a Corvette. Matching the car to the person at that house was a no-brainer, even for a complete stranger. He was a regular at the old Hotel Governor Snyder and, if the sitcom “Cheers” had been modeled after the “Guv,” then Murph was the inspiration for the character Norm. In fact, every time I have ever watched an episode of Cheers and the customers called out “Norm” when he entered, I have thought fondly of Murph. He was not a dynamo of activity but he was always available to assist a friend in any way he could. He was one of those rare individuals that never did anything that annoyed anyone. The year after he graduated, his former roommate and I occupied the house along the creek in which he had lived. For the second year in a row, in two different locations, I had Murph’s old room.
Tonight I will be meeting a current friend whose wife and mine will be at a wedding shower. The first beer will be a toast to Murph and it will be my wish for all those other departed Susquehanna alumni that their friends will be joining us in similar spirit.
David L. Edwards ’73 |
