Wheaton College Alumni Magazine Spring 2014 | Page 29

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“When I got to chapel that day, I was so excited for worship,” Shalom says. “I
experienced the presence of God in ways I normally didn’t in chapel. But then
‘chapel tweets’ happened. Ignorant and racial messages were written, directed at
me and my friends.”
Following the chapel service, Shalom drew near to her sister, Karis Parker ’12,
and other Asian, African-American, and Latino students who felt personally
attacked. She went to her sister’s apartment, and heard friends tell her they no
longer felt safe in chapel because they were told their form of worship wasn’t
legitimate. Elsewhere on campus, she felt isolated and alone.
“No one said a word to me about it from my floor, in Anderson Commons, or in
my classes,” Shalom says. “I remember walking down the hallway time and time
again with tears in my eyes, with no one asking me if I was okay. I wanted someone
who wasn’t involved in the chapel service to care about the pain my community
was facing.”
In the days, weeks, and months that followed the incident, students were
invited to respond and try to make sense of things through open sharing,
confession, campus-wide seminars, and conversations with administration.
These efforts augmented the College’s pre-existing efforts and longstanding
commitment to ethnic diversity and racial reconciliation—an ongoing
conversation during President Emeritus Duane Litfin’s tenure that has continued
under President Philip G. Ryken’s leadership (see “Wheaton’s Christ-Centered
Diversity Initiatives” at right).
Administrative changes are imperative to making Wheaton a healthy place
for students of all racial and ethnic backgrounds, but the true test of change lies
in the lives of students. In spring 2012, a group of nearly 100 students joined
President Ryken in the rotunda of Blanchard Hall for a time of prayer while
they presented him with a petition titled The Diversity Initiative: A Petition for
Institutional Change.
The petition called for intentionally diversifying worship experiences, a clear
plan for intercultural education, better communication for a framework of
racial and cultural diversity, increased support for the Office of Multicultural
Development, and prioritizing the desire for greater diversity through enrollment
and recruitment efforts, among other things.
Erik Most ’13, who posted some of the #chapeltweets, was on his way to
Dr. Ryken’s office to seek forgiveness for his actions when he accidentally found
himself in the center of the petition gathering.
“In my efforts of repentance and reconciliation, I walked into the epicenter
of the people who weren’t too fond of me at that particular time,” Erik says.
“I had the option to turn around, put my head down and run, but I figured there
was no better avenue to repent because these were people most passionate
about the hurt I’d inflicted. I wanted to offer repentance and hopefully work
toward reconciliation.”
Erik says he’ll never forget the embraces and forgiveness extended to him
by Maurice Henderson ’13, Julian Henderson ’14, and President Ryken.
“I was a perpetrator out of ignorance and lack of racial awareness,” Erik says. “It
was an incredibly painful and emotional experience for me. But I realized it’s only
when our identities and public image are completely shattered that we’re truly able
to experience the delight of the Father. In the moment I feared judgment, and
knew I deserved to be cast out, I was embraced and loved.”

Wheaton’s Christ-Centered
Diversity Initiatives
In addition to the existence of the
College’s Diversity Council and Visiting
Minority Scholar program, Wheaton has
taken a number of strides forward with
initiatives to build unity and deepen ethnic
diversity. Following are some recent
changes:
Relocated the Office of Multicultural
Development to the Beamer Center, at
the center of student life.
Offered the first five Nieves
Scholarships, which provide full tuition
for Latino students.
Opened Shalom House, a residence
program for students from diverse ethnic
backgrounds to work toward unity and
racial understanding, in fall 2013.
Hired an additional Spanish-speaking
admissions counselor, and launched a
series of webpages for wheaton.edu in
Spanish.
Funded a new Racial Diversity Grant
that encourages student groups to host
events or invite speakers who bring
unique perspectives on diversity.
Hosted Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president
of The National Hispanic Christian
Leadership Conference, for an on-campus
session on the Hispanic evangelical
church and its connection to Christian
higher education.
Organized Inhabit: Building Christian
Unity, a conference attended by more
than 300 Wheaton students that included
keynotes and workshops by distinguished
Christian leaders to explore racial and
ethnic inclusivity in the body of Christ.
The vision for the conference came from
John 17, Jesus’ prayer for all believers:
“that all of them may be one…”

Shalom Parker ’15

W H EATON .EDU / M A G A Z I N E

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