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2,000 names on petition seek restoration of cross 
William & Mary officials had removed it 'to make chapel more welcoming'

A student-organized petition has been presented to the Board of Visitors at William & Mary College, seeking the restoration to the historic Wren Chapel of a two-foot-tall bronze altar cross that had been present for decades.

It had been removed recently on the order of school managers to make the chapel "more welcoming" to visitors, but students and alumni are protesting.

The petition at the start of the day had about 1,400 signatures, but by the end of the day the count was nearly 2,100 calling on the school's governing board to return the cross, according to a current count on the website for the SaveTheWrenCross.org campaign.

The petition is addressed to College President Gene Nichol, who in October ordered a small, century-old cross to be removed from the Chapel, a 274-year-old facility used for both religious and secular events on campus.

"We, the undersigned students and alumni of the College, and concerned citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia, disagree with your order to remove the Wren Cross from display on the Wren Chapel altar," the petition says.

"The Wren Cross was given to Wren Chapel by Williamsburg neighbor Burton Parish Episcopal Church in the 1930s and has been a fixture on the altar ever since that time. Before your order, the policy was that if a group or individual using the Wren Chapel desired to not have the Wren Cross on display during their use of the Wren Chapel, then the Wren Cross was removed during such event and then returned to the altar.

"We petition you to rescind your October 2006 order and return to the policy that had governed the display of the Wren Cross prior to your inauguration as the 26th President of the College on April 7, 2006."

Vince Haley, a 1988 graduate, set up the website and launched the campaign when he found out what had happened.

The school's board made no immediate announcement on any action after it was briefed on the situation, but its meeting continues for another day.

William & Mary junior Joe Luppino-Esposito said the removal of the cross was offensive to Christians "and an action that should shock the conscience of all people of faith."

"In the name of tolerance, we have intolerance; in the name of welcoming, we have hostility, and in the name of unity, we now have division," he said.

Are William & Mary students "so fragile" that the mere symbol of religion "should reduce them to a pool of blubbering Jell-O?" asked R. Greg Paszkiewicz, Class of '94.

If the banishment of the cross is allowed to stand, asked Bill Reidway, Class of '95, what will happen to other symbols?

"By conceding that students and citizens have a solemn right not to be offended by public symbols, and by elevating above all else the sensibilities of those who may not feel sufficiently 'welcomed,' [Nichol is] setting the stage for the exclusion from society all things religious, ethnic, and cultural."

Lt. Hunter Abell notes in a letter to Nichol that, "Thomas Jefferson, William & Mary's most famous alum, described the teachings of Jesus Christ as '[T]he most sublime and benevolent code of morals which has ever been offered to man.' Surely the continued presence of a religious symbol celebrating the life of a man who advocated one to, 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you,' is in accordance with William & Mary's highest values."

The removal got started with an e-mail from Melissa E. Engimann, assistant director – historic campus. "In order to make the Wren Chapel less of a faith-specific space, and to make it more welcoming to students, faculty, staff and visitors of all faiths, the cross has been removed from the altar area."

Nichol then confirmed that plan.

Will the words to the school song, specifically the reference to: "God, our Father, hear our voices, Listen to our cry…" also now be edited, the website asks.

"By the logic of President Nichol's order … it is difficult to understand on what principled basis the text … survives. If Nichol believes that the Wren Chapel is not welcoming to all due to the presence of the Wren Cross, then certainly the presence of the words … that call out to God our Father will not be welcoming to the secular and the anti-religious among the students," the website says.

Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor also recently was appointed the new chancellor of the college. In was during her tenure in the Supreme Court that a growing intolerance by the court for religious symbols – particularly Christian symbols – in public places became evident.

"From the time of Thomas Jefferson and John Marshall, William and Mary has been distinguished by its unusual ability to educate young people to become national and international leaders, and I intend to do what I can to ensure that the college is able to extend that tradition well into the future," she said.