AMHERST — A longtime chapel at Amherst College will be consecrated during a multifaith ceremony Thursday with the aim of providing a formal sanctuary on the campus prior to the inauguration of Donald Trump as president.
The ceremony to make the Chapin Chapel sacred, at 11 a.m., will be led by staff with the college’s religious and spiritual life.
“We want to do this before the 20th to strengthen the case for Chapin Chapel as the central sacred space on campus and a place that can be a true sanctuary, if that is needed,” said Paul Sorrentino, director of religious and spiritual life.
Meanwhile, college officials say the event is privately organized by multi-faith religious advisers who use the campus chapel.
“They are not acting on behalf of the college,” Caroline Hannah, a college spokeswoman told the Gazette.
“As we previously emphasized, we indeed care deeply about the concerns of students who may be worried about immigration issues, and that is why we are providing a wide range of resources to assist those individuals. At the same time, we have upheld the law and always will,” she said.
Trump has pledged to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an immigration policy under President Obama that allows students who entered the country as minors to remain in the United States, assuming they are in school or have completed school and have no criminal record.
Previously, Amherst College President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin joined the presidents of Smith, Mount Holyoke and Hampshire colleges in sending a letter to “our country’s leaders” supporting the continuation of DACA.
“This is both a moral imperative and a national necessity,” the letter states. “America needs talent — and these students, who have been raised and educated in the United States, are already part of our national community. They represent what is best about America, and as scholars and leaders they are essential to the future.”
Sorrentino said that having a consecrated chapel can mean a safe space for students who might be affected by a Trump administration decision to rescind DACA.
With a kitchen and bathrooms, Chapin Hall, Sorrentino said, is a suitable place for students to come if Immigrations and Custom Enforcement takes action under a Trump administration. Chapin Hall is also a short walk to Valentine Hall, the dining commons for the campus.
Generally, law enforcement won’t encroach on a church unless it is pursuing someone with an arrest warrant. At least 450 churches, according to a recent New York Times article, are already part of what is being called the Sanctuary Movement.
Department of Homeland Security press secretary Gillian Christensen said in an earlier email that existing ICE and Customs and Border Protection policies guide enforcement at “sensitive locations,” which include colleges and universities.
“The ICE and CBP sensitive locations policies, which remain in effect, provide that enforcement actions at sensitive locations should generally be avoided, and require either prior approval from an appropriate supervisory official or exigent circumstances necessitating immediate action,” Christensen said by email. “DHS is committed to ensuring that people seeking to participate in activities or utilize services provided at any sensitive location are free to do so without fear or hesitation.”
Even so, students at Amherst College, in a November rally, demanded that college officials issue a public written policy in which the college pledges to refuse voluntary sharing of records with federal immigration officials, refuse federal immigration agencies physical access to the Amherst campus, prohibit Amherst College Police Department from inquiring about an individual’s immigration status, continue its need-blind admissions policy for admitted students regardless of their immigration status and remove the “alien status” section in the college database for students.
Though the chapel, housed in Chapin Hall, first held a service Nov. 5, 1958, college officials have no records of a service where it was consecrated or sanctified, Sorrentino said.
The consecration is expected to last less than an hour, Sorrentino said, with prayers being offered by ministers and others in faith communities.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
This story has been updated.
