Dear Argus Readers,

I read the recent articles about the firing of Wesleyan’s Catholic chaplain, Father Bill. I was not just disappointed that he was fired, I was also upset and angry. As a student at Wesleyan, I remember Father Bill very well and have fond memories of him. In fact, I do not know how I could have gotten through Wesleyan had it not been for him. He was always present on campus and remembered everyone’s name. He reached out to everyone and made a huge difference in people’s lives.

I have always thought of Wesleyan as a community. Even when the school did not feel like a community, Father Bill made sure to help me feel that I was indeed a part of a community that cared for each other. Too idealistic? Possibly. But that was what Father Bill stood for at Wesleyan. He strove for idealism. And that is why so many students, past and current, think of him so fondly and are shocked that he was fired, in all likelihood because he stood up for the students and challenged the terrible decisions that continue to be made by administrators.

As an alumna, I have seen the horrible mismanagement of human resources by the current administration of Wesleyan. I remember very well how they hired a man with a record of sexual misconduct to oversee Wesleyan’s Title IX proceedings and sexual assault cases. It was in 2016. He was fired only after Wesleyan had come to learn about his sexual misconduct through an article from the Boston Globe.

I remember just how angry students were about his hiring, but also about the lack of disclosure and transparency regarding the circumstances. It is not so difficult [to find] an arrest record. It’s now six years later, and here we are. Wesleyan spends all that time searching for a new Muslim chaplain and ends up almost choosing a man with an arrest record. Unfortunately, it sounds like not much has changed.

Father Bill always stood by the students, had our backs, and lifted us up. He is not the one who should have been fired. The ones who should have been fired are the same ones in positions of power who failed us years ago and who perpetuate the same mistakes and failures today. They’re the ones who need to go.

Gayon Yang was originally admitted to Wesleyan as a member of the Class of 2019 as a 2015 Korean Freeman Asian Scholar.