With the start of classes among us, there is a nervous, yet excited energy felt throughout campus. Students and faculty alike have once again begun their Sunday night rituals to prepare themselves for the semester and the new week ahead. Unfortunately, there is a group on campus that must now change their Sunday night routine because there is no Sunday Mass.

I am deeply disturbed by Wesleyan’s handling of the forced termination of Father Bill [former University Catholic Chaplain William Wallace]. Without any forewarning to the students, Wesleyan decided to quietly fire Father Bill during the summer, perhaps hoping to avoid uproar or to avoid bringing attention to the matter.

Being a first-generation Catholic American and graduate student, I belong to a small minority on Wesleyan’s campus. Starting my graduate career at Wesleyan in 2016, I recall my orientation where I learned about the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life [ORSL]. What I also recall was a lack of mention about the Catholic group on campus and the weekly Mass that occurred in the chapel every Sunday. For years, I lived and worked quietly in my faith. The one day a year I showed my faith was on Ash Wednesday, where I received odd looks, [and] was told that I “have dirt on my forehead.” In my experience, (and other graduate students’ experience) Wesleyan has not supported those that are religious, especially those of the Catholic faith.

In 2020, when I was taking my biweekly walk to Fayerweather to get COVID tested, Father Bill approached me after I returned an item a student unknowingly dropped. The thank you Father Bill gave me turned into a whole conversation about our faith and the Catholic group on campus. After being a member of the Wesleyan community for four years, I learned that there was weekly Mass on campus because of someone else’s accident.

After my conversation with Father Bill, I immediately began attending Mass, a tradition I followed because it reminds me of home. Father Bill has been there for me personally in these short few years I have known him. Shortly after we met, my grandfather passed away. Unable to attend his funeral in Poland, I grabbed coffee with Father Bill. He expressed his condolences and offered his prayers to me, my family, and my grandfather. As someone who was going through a tough time, this prayer meant the world.

Other Catholic students I know and met through the Catholic organization have also been greatly impacted by Father Bill. He created a community through the events he organized, including recreational events like the annual ski retreat and volunteer events to help the greater Middletown community, such as working at the soup kitchen on Main Street. He opened his door to every student that needed his help. I specifically know that international graduate students have spent Thanksgivings and Christmases with him and his family. During this family-oriented time, these students were able to have a new family in a country where they are otherwise alone.

I am one of many Catholic students who have received his support, but his impact does not end with the Catholic community. Father Bill also supported the Muslim community when the Muslim chaplain, Imam Omar [former University Muslim Chaplain Omar Bayramoglu], was fired. He also supported the Protestant students by including them in our Ash Wednesday Masses. Students who do not belong to a faith have told me that they know and have spoken to Father Bill. He relentlessly worked for ALL students, not just those that shared his faith.

Wesleyan’s administration has stated that there is a quick turnover for chaplains in the ORSL. This may be the case, but the question lies: why are chaplains who support and advocate for their students, in addition to students of other faiths, being terminated?

Reading [Director of Religious and Spiritual Life] Rabbi David Teva’s letter to the University felt like salt being rubbed into a wound. While I am very happy for the hiring of Muslim and Protestant chaplains, I have hesitations about the hiring process. Why was the voice of students not considered during the hiring process, and why was it completed quietly? This leads me to wonder: why is the University not listening to the Catholic students (and faculty) who are voicing their support for Father Bill?

I have seen many faculty [members] urge the University to allow Father Bill to return to the ORSL and to continue his ministry on campus. I am writing on behalf of students, especially graduate students, in support of Father Bill’s return. I implore the administration to rethink their decision and to ponder: why was an individual as active on campus as Father Bill was, that supported students as much as Father Bill did, forcefully terminated?

Angelika Rafalowski is a graduate student and can be reached at arafalowski@wesleyan.edu.

[Editor’s Note: Teva’s all-campus email on Sept. 7, 2022 indicated that a number of students were consulted in the hiring of the new chaplains.]