To the Calvin Administration & Calvin Community re the Forced, or Pressured, or Voluntary Resignation of President Wiebe Boer for Alleged “Unwanted”
and/or “Inappropriate” Communication(s)
I cannot communicate my surprise and disappointment when I opened a Calvin University email update on 2/27/24 to find out that Calvin President Wiebe Boer had resigned due to a vague allegation of “inappropriate” and/or “unwanted” communication with a member of the Calvin community who was not a student. The only thing I have since heard or read is that it was not “sexually explicit nor physical in nature” but it was “concerning”. Initially I thought I read that he was “forced to resign” but now the reports I read say he volunteered his resignation.
This is all very shocking and disturbing – not
just that Mr Boer allegedly (maybe admittedly, I am not sure) committed such “unwanted and inappropriate” communications, but that it automatically leads
to voluntary or forced resignation. When it is reported he volunteered to
resign, this may just be a gracious summary; or it may be true, in which case I
ask whether it is really so necessary and urgent for Mr. Boer to resign? Will
we be allowed to judge for ourselves based on the actual details of the alleged
communication(s)?
Is Calvin administration being too hasty and
contrary to the Christian profession of the college? Sure, Calvin wants
“excellence” in academics but also everything that comes with Christ as well:
including prayerful consideration, repentance, forgiveness, grace, reconciliation, and ultimately, we hope, redemption. There’s a lot to consider in the mission
statement of Calvin in addition to solely excellence and perfection including
that which is “wise and virtuous” (grace & forgiveness is a Christian
virtue). Also: “In
saving grace God kept His covenant promises to our world, acting
unconditionally in the person of Jesus Christ to redeem humanity and all
creation from sin and evil. The risen Christ is Lord of all, reconciling all
things to himself and calling people to salvation through faith alone, which is
a gift of grace alone. The Holy Spirit” https://calvin.edu/offices-services/provost/files/RIMStatement.pdf also;
about believing and belonging: “Teaching and learning at Calvin College are
rooted in its Reformed commitment to believing and belonging and are shaped by
the pervasive sense that we come into being, live, and serve in a world
created, sustained, and redeemed by God in Christ. “I am not my own, but belong
body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ— so
begins the Heidelberg Catechism…both believing and belonging shape the mission
of Calvin College as an institution of higher education that focuses on
teaching, learning, and scholarship…”
How can Calvin administration say they are being true to
the mission statement of the University if they do not attempt to work thru the
cycles of Christian grace & redemption that are an essential aspect of
“belonging” to the community?
Also, there’s lots of talk in the mission statement about
“learning”. Sure, learning in the academic setting is often thought of as
classroom learning: memorizing, reciting, analyzing, composing, etc; but
learning also should be happening on the emotional and spiritual levels …
including “the challenge of becoming agents of reconciliation and renewal
that God is working in the world, learning what that might mean and where it is
taking place.”
To cut somebody off without the opportunity for
repentance is the opposite of the above. As such, the administration is not
being an agent of reconciliation in such regards. It’s closer to being part of
the problem of today’s “cancel culture.” One little slip-up and “you’re
gone, buddy.” But then we still do not know the exact details of the
alleged inappropriate communication that was not sexual etc. What was it?
Threatening? Belittling?
Or simply “unwanted”? With only one person? I’ve sent out unwanted emails that people are
not receptive to, especially when I was starting my Christian ministry. People don’t like a lot of things- even good
things. I started doing “street evangelism” as well- offering people the
opportunity to accept Christ. Lots of people don’t like that either. Nor do
some of them like Jesus Christ. You can’t force them to accept Christ and do
what’s best for themselves. So I don’t persist if they do not respond with interest.
But it’s initially “unwanted”. Am I
guilty too of inappropriate and unwanted communication if I try to reach people
with the Good News of Jesus Christ? God forbid.
I think the Calvin community has a right to know more
details about all that has transpired so that we can be an active &
integral part of living out the Calvin mission statement. We need to know and
offer input and prayer and healing and reconciliation opportunities. Otherwise
it feels more like we are part of a dictatorship. Until we know more, we are
left feeling as if being a member of the Calvin community is somewhat an
oppressive community – or heavy-handed; without grace and forgiveness.
You may say, “This is the president of the college,
for goodness sake; not a freshman… he should know better.” Well, unless we
know the details of what he is accused of, it is only a handful of
administrators who are making the conclusion. He should know better about what?
We don’t know! And who are these
administrators? All we can do is speculate, which leads to one imagining the possibility of administrators who have a
grudge against Mr Boer, or even being part of a coup against him, for all we
know.
For all of the above reasons I am calling upon the Calvin
administrators to identify themselves by name and position with ALL of the
important and relevant information regarding the resignation of Mr Boer. We are
all big boys and girls (ie adults) who have a right to be made privy to this
information as part of the Calvin community so we can be sure that not only
whether Mr Boer committed something “unforgiveable”, but whether the
administration itself is committing its own transgression against Mr Boer as well
as the Calvin community.
Needless to say, the Calvin administration does not
“own” Calvin College like a private business. We need to be able to trust the
administration but unless we know more information and details we are left
hanging in a state of chilling unsettled state of being, wondering whether the
administration itself is being too heavy-handed and excessively persnickety
& absurdly finicky, or whether they made a fair decision based on the
facts; based on this being 2024 and not 1950, or something like that.
WE need to know more information and
details! WE have the right to know more information &
details !
Stan Van Der Blank
