On Friday, March 28, Calvin released their report to synod outlining changes to the university’s policy on faculty and staff alignment with certain denominational positions. The report’s wording has left some students uncertain about how it would affect the atmosphere on campus.
The report comes after Calvin’s parent denomination, the Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA), instructed Calvin and other denominational institutions to “review and revise” their policies on faculty and staff who disagree with the CRCNA’s confessions. These confessions, which outline the denomination’s official position on key theological issues, came into more focus after Synod 2022 ruled that the denomination’s position against “homosexual sex” had confessional status.
Calvin’s report noted that “all employees and trustees” would be expected to align “personal and professional conduct. . . including, but not limited to, teaching, scholarship, advocacy, and public pronouncements, as well as advising, guiding, and mentoring students” with Synod’s interpretation of the confessions.
John Witte, dean of students, wrote to Chimes in an email that this report would not change the culture of mentorship at Calvin. “I know the people who work most closely with students (all types of students), and they are truly caring and loving professionals,” he wrote. “Our work of helping students to thrive academically, socially, and spiritually doesn’t change. Regardless of theological interpretations, we want this to be a place where all students can find acceptance. ”
Andrew George, vice president of human resources, agreed. “We do not get to mutual agreement quickly or easily,” he wrote to Chimes in an email. “It is also true that Calvin is a place where we can and should lean into such a challenge…to be a place for speaking our thoughts and concerns, listening to our neighbors, maintaining a posture of learning, and supporting and loving each other. Calvin employees (staff and faculty) carry the responsibility of serving each student — pointing them to following Jesus as they seek to thrive in our community.”
Student leader of the Disability Inclusion Project (DIP), Marina Cerrone, fears forcible changes to the university may impact minority groups at Calvin. Cerrone states, “It’s going to significantly impact students’ abilities to be able to comfortably share about what they’re going through.”
Cerrone also raised her concerns about the lack of transparency provided to students at Calvin. “It feels very silencing, and we have to start opening up conversations about it,” said Cerrone. Cerrone suggests that the Calvin administration should open up a panel and “if you have time and opinions about Calvin’s response to Synod, it’s an opportunity to come in and just speak to students through respectful dialogue.”
Grace de Waal Malefyt, a freshman majoring in sociology and PPE, is organizing an event to do just that. Titled Calvin & the CRC: A Synod Conversation, the event seeks to create a space for students to learn more about the CRCNA and these recent decisions. The event will be held on April 29 at 5 p.m. in the Meeter Center Lecture Hall. It will be structured around a lecture by Campus Pastor Mary Hulst about the CRCNA’s history and where we are with the denomination today, followed by a Q&A session. De Waal Malefyt said that she was inspired to create this event because she “felt like so much of the communication was through screens and written statements. And I think it’d be super cool to create a face-to-face space where students could come, ask questions, learn about Calvin’s relationship with the CRC and create this opportunity to connect, listen and engage in person.”
De Waal Malefyt emphasized the importance of helping to make students a part of these kinds of conversations. “I think there’s been a lot of conversation about students, but not always with students,” she said. “And I think hopefully this presentation and Q&A will take a step towards making students feel heard [through] asking questions, sharing concerns, reflecting together, and [considering] how these changes affect the Calvin and greater community. And it’s not about having all the answers, but about creating a space for honest, respectful dialogue rooted in empathy.”
De Waal Malefyt said that she believes it’s vital to involve students in this conversation because of their integral role in shaping Calvin’s atmosphere and helping to fulfill its mission. “Calvin’s mission statement, for me, calls us to think deeply, act justly, live wholeheartedly, and that means being active participants in our communities, not just observers. And students deserve to be heard and included as we work together to shape the Calvin community into a place where we want it to be,” she said.
