Wren Cross Status Up-date

I am posting this immediately. It is an up-date on the status of the Wren Cross at the Wren Chapel at The College of William and Mary. I should state by way of disclaimer, that I am not affiliated with the Save the Wren Cross movement. I have completed graduate studies there and the College with its history, standards, and status are dear to me. PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: SaveTheWrenCross.org November 27, 2006 Email: info@SaveTheWrenCross.org _________________________________________

One Letter of Complaint Largely Responsible for Decision by College of William & Mary to Remove 100 Year Old Cross from College’s 274 Year Old Chapel William & Mary Responds to Freedom of Information Request by Producing a Single Letter of Complaint about the Wren Cross Written Prior to Cross Removal Order; College Staff Indicates that Disclosed Letter “One of Many” Received That Complained About the Cross Online Petition Calling on William & Mary’s new President to Rescind His Cross Removal Order Now Exceeds 5,000 Signatures WILLIAMSBURG, VA — In response to a request under Virginia’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for all correspondence with the President of the College of William & Mary complaining about the presence of a cross that was until recently on permanent display in the College’s historically Christian chapel, the College’s office of University relations has recently released one single such letter of complaint. “It leaves one almost speechless”, said senior Benjamin Locher, one of the student leaders of the SaveTheWrenCross.org effort and the individual who made the FOIA request. “Can it be that a single letter led to the removal of a cross that had been on the Chapel’s altar table for nearly 70 years? Could a single person’s opinion have so largely played a role in the whitewashing of William & Mary’s collective history?”, asked Locher. “The Wren Cross had been on the altar in Wren Chapel a lot longer than W&M’s leadership has been alive. Surely, there must have been at least scores of complaints made about the Wren Cross before the president ordered the cross removed. I think the College should disclose all complaints about the cross that were submitted before the president’s decision. If requested, Virginia law requires it. Otherwise, what W&M tradition will next be toppled by a single complaint?” Junior and fellow SaveTheWrenCross leader Joseph Luppino-Esposito adds, “On one hand, we have so far a single letter of complaint prior to the removal of the cross. On the other hand, our petition effort now has 5,000+ names of students, alumni, Virginians, and others who want William & Mary to reverse its decision, restore the Wren Cross to the altar table, and follow the policy that was in place before.” (SaveTheWrenCross.org is an ad hoc coalition of students and alumni of the College of William & Mary who are opposed to William & Mary’s new President Gene Nichol’s October 2006 order to remove the 100 year old Wren Cross from permanent display on the altar table in Wren Chapel, to be used henceforth in Wren Chapel only during "appropriate religious services". The Wren Cross had been a permanent fixture on the Wren Chapel altar since it was given to the College by Williamsburg neighbor Bruton Parish Episcopal Church in the 1930s. SaveTheWrenCross.org is dedicated to the return to the policy that governed the display of the Wren Cross in Wren Chapel prior to President Nichol’s order to remove it, which permitted any group or individual using the Wren Chapel to remove the Wren Cross upon request during their use of the Wren Chapel.)

Due to gene nichol's demonstration of poor judgement, I suggest that it is time to get a new president for The College of William and Mary. The sooner, the better. Was gene nichol acting at the request of one "thin-skinned" complaint or was the letter a ruse under which he could cover his action? You know, "the letter made me do it." Lest we forget, the Wren Chapel is a Christian chapel. From how many other Christian chapels will crosses be removed if this precedent is allowed to stand?