The president of the College of William & Mary has used an appearance before the school's Board of Visitors to defend his actions in ordering the removal of a bronze cross from the historic Wren Chapel, but board members were given no opportunity to consider the actions or respond, officials said.

College spokesman Brian Whitson told WND that President Gene Nichol "did make some remarks during a regular report to the board" but since a petition drive asking the school to restore the cross to the chapel was not on the board's agenda, no action was taken.

WND broke the story on Oct. 27 that the two-foot-tall, century-old cross had been removed on the order of school managers to make the chapel "more welcoming" to visitors.

At the start of the school's board meeting, there were about 1,400 signatures on the petition. However, by the time the meeting concluded more than a day later, the count was past 2,600 and climbing, according to a count on the website for the SaveTheWrenCross.org campaign.

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According to a copy of his statement, which was provided to WND by the school, Nichol told the board, "the display of a Christian cross – the most potent symbol of my own religion – in the heart of our most important building – sends an unmistakable message that the Chapel belongs more fully to some of us than to others.

It makes it appear "there are, at the College, insiders and outsiders. Those for whom our most revered place is meant to be keenly welcoming, and those for whom presence is only tolerated," he said.

That, he said, is bad for the school.

"I make no pretense that all will agree with these sentiments. The emotions and values touched by this dispute are deeply felt," he said. "I have been pleased to learn that students of disparate religions have reported using the Chapel for worship and contemplation for the first time."

Whitson didn't want to elaborate, but he would confirm that the decision to remove the cross was because Nichol "heard from a number of people, asking that we rethink the practice of the cross."

A WND call asking for a comment from former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who recently was named chancellor of the college, was not returned. It 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.

Whitson said those complaints came from within the college community, that is, among the faculty, staff and students. The old policy was to have the cross in place on the altar, and remove it upon request. The new policy reverses that.

Nichol told the board the thought that his actions "disrespect the traditions of the College, or, even more unacceptably, the religious beliefs of its members" would lie "heavy on my heart."

However, he said that wouldn't make him change his mind.

Petitioners are objecting to the policy change that removes from the Wren Chapel, a 274-year-old facility used for both religious and secular events on campus, a cross that had been donated early last century.

"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.

"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," said junior Joe Luppino-Esposito.

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.

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