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 William and Mary College Reaches Compromise to Returns Cross to Campus Chapel

A compromise announced today will permanently return a brass cross to the chapel at the College of William and Mary in a prominent display rather than its previous altar post.

The compromise was offered as a recommendation by a panel comprising alumni, students and others formed by President Gene Nichol in response to outcry created by his decision to remove the cross.

"This has been a challenging task for the committee, but it has produced a compromise that allows for permanent display of the cross in the chapel, while remaining welcoming to all," Nichols told the Associated Press.

“We knew our short-term mission was to come up with a proposal that would allow this college to come together and move forward as a community. We are confident this recommendation accomplishes that goal. We now look forward to examining the broader question of the role of religion at a public university,” said Alan Meese and James Livingston, co-chairs of the Committee on Religion in a Public University, which produced the recommendation, in a joint public statement reported by the school's newspaper, The Flat Hat.

In November, Nichol told the college’s Board of Visitors that he ordered the 18-inch brass cross to be removed from the post where it stood since 1940 because it “sends an unmistakable message that the chapel belongs more fully to some of us than others,” reported The Flat Hat.

Some College of William and Mary alumni began holding back donations until it was permanently restored. Competing online petitions were initiated with more than 17,792 people having signed their names a petition condemning the decision, started by 1988 graduate Vince Haley while more than 2,136 students, alumni and others signed a document supporting the cross removal.

A pity, though, that it took money to do what the courts and the First Amendment could not.

I am not too sure if I like this or not, because there is NO compromising when it comes to the message of the Cross ( CHRIST) and where was it displayed before and where is the new location?

Sister Tina, I believe that it is going to be returned to the chapel.

It was sitting in front of the pulpit. It is now going to be placed in a prominent display (glass display case) rather than its previous altar post.

Students want Wren Cross explanation 
Altering tradition calls for 'thorough accounting'

Students and alumni from the College of William & Mary who assembled more than 17,000 names on a petition protesting the college president's arbitrary decision to remove a donated cross from the historic Wren Chapel say they are glad it's being returned. But they also want an explanation for what happened.

Supporters of the cross displayed in the chapel for decades put together their protests at Save The Wren Cross, and had lobbied since last fall against President Gene Nichol's sudden abandonment of tradition at the nation's second-oldest university.

The university, which assembled a special committee that was given the responsibility of dealing with the situation as reports surfaced that Nichol's actions could cost the school a $12 million donation, announced just this week that the cross would be put on permanent display in a special glass case in the chapel.

"We are very thankful that the Wren Cross will be returned to permanent display in Wren Chapel," supporters of the cross said. "We urge the Committee to follow through on an implementation of a cross display practice that is consistent with those used by other Colonial Colleges with historic Christian chapels."

The group also said it would urge the committee "to follow through on its original charge to examine broader questions involving the role of religion at public universities, and to solicit a wide spectrum of student, alumni, and community input.

"Specifically, there is still a significant amount of clarity that the Religion Committee can provide to the issues involving the display of the cross. With the removal of the cross from Wren Chapel last October, there was a theory advanced over the last several months – as late as March 1 – about the inappropriateness of the ongoing display of a Christian cross in an historic Christian chapel. With the Committee's unanimous recommendation, this theory has clearly been repudiated. Yet, in the 71 word recommendation by the Committee, no explanation has been advanced for why its new approach to the cross display policy has been adopted," the group said.

"We believe it is important to ground in sound reason and logic the rationale for departing from the previous cross display policy that had been in place for nearly 70 years.

"This is especially important since we are a university community, and since as the second oldest university in America – and one of her great liberal arts universities – the decisions made on this campus have great significance. They must be thoughtful, made with deliberate consultation, with accountability, and above all, with respect to the traditions and heritage that make William and Mary the Alma Mater of a Nation.

"When we proceed to alter traditions, a decent respect for public and College community opinion would suggest that a thorough accounting and explanation for such a departure is warranted," the group said.

It was last fall when WND revealed that university administrator Melissa Engimann circulated an e-mail noting that the cross in Wren Chapel was going to be placed in permanent storage to make the chapel "less of a faith-specific space."

Nichol said he'd gotten a complaint about the cross, and order it removed without consultation. As the number of names on the Save The Wren Cross petition rose, he admitted he "acted too quickly and should have consulted more broadly" in the decision to remove the cross. In an unsuccessful attempt to repair the damage done, he dictated that a plaque would be put up in the chapel and the cross would be put on the altar for extended hours on Sunday.

Sandra Day O'Connor, under whose watch on the U.S. Supreme Court tolerance for Christian symbols in public locations eroded significantly, is chancellor, but she's declined to return WND calls seeking comment.