Over the past several days, I have spent much time in introspection concerning our College, its connection to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), the values we hold important, and the recent events surrounding Executive Orders issued by the President that will curtail the immigration of foreign nationals into the United States. I’d like to offer my reflections on this issue using the frame of our institution’s history to explain why we have grave concerns with the current Executive Orders.
Our College was founded in 1870 after the purchase of Franklin College by the Religious Society of Friends. The original building that now is named College Hall as well as the land surrounding the building were purchased for approximately $11,000 and Wilmington College was to be a place where those interested in an education steeped in the values of Quakerism could find refuge. At that time, Quakers had been in America for over 200 years, having come from England in the late 1650’s to escape persecution for their religious practices and beliefs. While the majority of independent colleges and universities have some religious affiliation, there are only 14 colleges and universities in the United States that were founded by Quakers. We have a unique heritage among American institutions of higher learning and because of the basic tenets of Quakerism, we have a special responsibility to practice a set of overarching values which we believe to be important in the lives of our students, faculty and staff.
Fundamental to the founding of our College in 1870 were the core values that we continue to practice today. We value diversity and believe that the light of God is found in every person. We believe that all persons, regardless of age, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation/identity, ethnic origin, or physical ability are worthy of respect and deserve justice. We honor and respect those different from us and believe that through the development of a community that strives to find knowledge and truth, we can live and work with peoples from all walks of life. We believe that a just and welcoming society is a more peaceful society.
Thus, it is antithetical to the values that we hold to be important for our College to not be a voice for those who seek refuge from civil war, religious persecution, or other atrocities that have an impact on their daily lives. To be sure, all of us want our country to be a safe place, free from threats to our daily lives by terrorism. However, we believe that applying what can too easily be interpreted as a religious test to those who seek asylum in our country is not congruent with national security or represents the character of a country that was founded by immigrants who came to the New World seeking to find refuge from discrimination and oppression. We would argue that the State Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service already perform extensive background checks and vetting of refugees and asylum seekers, often taking two years or more to ascertain the suitability of those who wish to enter our country.
Wilmington College does not currently enroll any students from the countries that are included in the Executive Order. However, we have students and employees who are naturalized citizens from the Middle East, some of whom are practicing Muslims, and we have students who come from around the world to study on our campuses. Our message to all of them is that they are welcome and safe here and we will do what we are able to do to support them as they seek knowledge and truth during their educational studies, just as we do for any student who enrolls at Wilmington College or any employee of Wilmington College.
In 1656, George Fox, the founder of the Religious Society of Friends, wrote in his journal the following:
Be patterns, be examples in all countries, places, islands, nations wherever you come; that your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of Godin everyone; whereby in them you may be a blessing, and make the witness of God in them to bless you.
At a time of great persecution, Fox believed that the good in people overcame the “ocean of darkness and death” and encouraged believers to recognize the light of God in each other as a blessing to one another. At this time, our College must reiterate our core values and be a light for those who justly seek asylum in our country, irrespective of their faith and country of origin.
Respectfully,
Jim Reynolds