Last October, the administration of Virginia’s College of William and Mary removed the 100 year old Wren Cross from the school’s 274 year old Wren Chapel. In an Op-Ed published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, college President Gene Nichol explained the rationale behind the removal, as related by W&M’s daily DoG Street Journal:
“I may be the only person left in America who hasn’t written an op-ed about the Wren Cross. And that’s odd. Not only did I instigate the whole thing, but I’m an editorialist from way back,†Nichol said. “Having been vilified in newspapers and living rooms, on Fox TV, and on the floor of the House of Delegates – just once, in this format, I ought to explain myself.â€Â
Nichol shared a letter from Religion Department Chair Marc Raphael expressing optimism over how potential Jewish students touring the Wren Building will perceive the College now that the cross is not regularly displayed.
Raphael also described a conversation with an alumnus who “blamed the increasing number of non-Christian students accepted since his graduation for everything wrong with the College.â€Â
Nichol was quick to dismiss the latter story as unrepresentative of the alumni of the College, but lamented that non-Christian students held poor perceptions of the College because of the display of the cross.
“So, for me, the cross decision wasn’t about political correctness, or the ACLU, or the secular liberal left. It was, first and last, my reaction to these daily, destructive, quiet costs,†Nichol wrote.
Nichol discussed the College’s goal to be welcoming to students of all faiths.
“These heady goals are essential to the College’s future. They’re more important than the wishes of a donor, or a pundit, or a political hatchet manâ€Â
Nichol is also quoted saying:
“I am heartsick to learn of this decision. It represents a serious setback to the College. And while I know it is intended to make a policy statement, ultimately it only hurts our students,â€Â
What is he referring to here? It can’t possibly be the decision to remove the cross, given that the decision was his. No, it’s another decision, that of well-to-do alumnus James McGlothlin to withdraw a planned $12,000,000 gift to the College. Oh, the heartache! What’s a tolerant, secular, progressive, liberal thinker to do when faced between the competing interests of protecting the feelings of non-Christians from the destructive display of a cross in a chapel and the desire to take a big pile of cash from a nasty old Christian? Heady goals or filthy lucre?
Apparently, the answer is: “Screw the feelings and take the money.”
The College’s Committee on Religion in a Public University announced today that the Wren Cross would be returned to permanent display in the Wren Chapel.
The Cross is to be housed in a glass case and will be displayed with a plaque describing the historical roots of the Wren Cross.
The Committee is set to announce this decision in a joint press conference with President Nichol at 4:30 p.m. today.
UPDATE: It has just come to my attention that Gene Nichol sits on the Board of Directors of the Virginia ACLU.
Alrighty then.
It’s a non-secular cross.
BECAUSE OF THE PLAQUE!
Nothing so concentrates the mind like the prospect of a ($12 million cross) hanging.
I suppose that it would be tempting to broad brush academic attitudes towards Christianity as expressed by the stunning comments of Nichols.
I have Jews in my immediate family (including a niece who converted and is married to an Iranian Jew.) They would universally be puzzled by the idea that Jewish students touring an historical chapel would somehow be appalled at the display of a cross. This is muddled, PC thinking of the worst kind and is only further darkened by Nichols caving in to a money demand.
Historical perspectives ar important at William and Mary as long as they don’t include the long history of Christian founding and nurturing of that institution. What a waste of time.
By God, I admire a man who sticks to his principles!
Integrity. A valuable commodity, and one I’m prepared to pay for handsomely.
I understand that Amanda Marcotte was a consultant on this. On the ripping out of the cross that is. And the shifting of blame to everyone else. Oh, and caving when the cash cow was threatened.
But they stood on their principles to show those benighted godbags, eh?
Churches have no place on campus if for no other reason than the unacceptable names of their constituent parts. “Nave” is demeaning and “apse” — well! “Transcepts” are welcome, however. For the diversity.
God forbid that the President of the University take the offended potential student’s reaction to the cross as an opportunity to help them learn.
Potential Student:
I’m Jewish. That cross offends me
University President:
The one in the Chapel?
Potential Student:
Yes.
University President:
Well, you’re young and a dumbass. Complete four years of education at this institution and you’ll be older, wiser, and more employable plus you’ll still be Jewish
–
Whether or not anyone “caved for cash”, it was remarkably stupid for a church-founded uni to cave to PC-ism by removing the cross in the first place, wannit?
TW: Wasn’t that Martin Luther’s point52?
Why don’t those 2non-christian” students grow a bit of thicker skin? Just an idea, you know.
Speaking of hypocrisy, more than 2% of George Soros’ investment portfolio is in (drumroll, please) HALLIBURTON!
True story.
Font, for example.
Pew.
Lady Chapel.
Pulpit. hee hee.
For some background, I dated James McGlothlin’s niece for 4 years – he’s rich as hell, a major league ball buster and a huge supporter of the school (my recollection is the law school’s electronic courtroom is named after him). He wrote my recommendation to W7M’s lawschool, though I still didn’t get it in (LSAT scores not quite where they needed to be).
I have a sneaking suspicion he first said “put it back” and was told they would not- then he said “fine, screw you, you’re not getting my money” and they caved. Money talks and he’s got more than anyone I’ve ever met. He never struck me as incredibly principled but its good to see him using his stroke for good not evil.
furriskey stole my intended riff on principles. Bastard.
That’s hilarious.
I guess that’s what bullshit walking sounds like.
What a peculiar location to find a cross – a chapel. Almost as peculiar as finding a Torah in a synagogue.
Odd, what?
Worse than that, Jim. I stole it from Peter Cook & Dudley Moore. RIP.
O.K., so I mispelled transept. Kiss my flying buttress.
Money–or the threat of refusing it–can always be used for good.
Rood screen…fnarr fnarr…
The sad thing isn’t so much that the cross was dumped and a $12M donation had to be threatened to get it back.
The sad thing is the regents have left this Nichol ‘bag in his job.
Important rule of politics: if they insist it’s the principles, not the money… it’s the money.
Regards,
Ric
Revised important rule of politics: if they insist it’s the principles, they’re lying.
Blanket rule of politics: anytime a politician uses the word principle—or doesn’t—he’s lying.
Money talks.
Higher education is a business.
End of story.
He’s in the ACLU? Check that box of videos in his closet…