OneWheaton Homecoming Event Draws Hundreds

A momentous occasion.

That’s how one attendee of the OneWheaton Homecoming event in Glen Ellyn described an evening that marked a gathering of Wheaton students, alumni, family and friends who came out to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) community at the evangelical college—one town over.

As the evening featuring Grammy-nominated Christian music artist and out lesbian Jennifer Knapp as well as OneWheaton panelists unfolded, supporters and the curious trickled in by ones, twos and groups to quickly pack the sanctuary at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn. During her performance Knapp discussed the acceptance of her sexuality. She said many people told her she was gay before she herself knew she was a lesbian, including her own mother.

More than 200 gathered at the church to fellowship during the college’s homecoming weekend. Some were wary of speaking publicly, but others embraced the occasion and their sexuality.

 “I told her ‘I wish you had told me sooner, it would have helped,’” Knapp said to a chorus of laughter.

For some of the attendees of the OneWheaton event the evening marked a true homecoming. Frances Motiwalla graduated from Wheaton College in 2000 and never looked back. She moved to Los Angeles to work with a political organization. But after connecting with LGBTQ Wheaton alumni through social media, she felt compelled to return to her alma mater.

“This is a real coming out, being here, being ourselves,” Motiwalla said.

During college many other LGBTQ students either denied their sexuality or were not cognizant of the feelings they had, she said. Her struggles with sexuality dated back to a young age. Motiwalla said she tried to pray for the stirrings to go away and repressed them for a while, even dating boys. While at Wheaton she said she never dared cross the school’s hard line on sexuality. But, after leaving Wheaton Motiwalla said she could not deny who she was and wants other Wheaton students who may be struggling with sexuality to know there is support out there.

“That’s what this weekend is about. This is a reassertion of our whole self as part of the community,” she said.

Susan Nordlof returned to her alma mater after an absence of 21 years. But after becoming a supporter of the efforts of OneWheaton, Nordlof, with her 14-year-old daughter in tow, returned to Wheaton. She said she wanted to support the LGBTQ community in their “wholeness” and show them love that she believes the school officials sometimes fail to show. One event that compelled her to support OneWheaton was the alumni magazine’s refusal to include the name of the same-sex partner of a college friend in a birth announcement. Nordlof said the school sat on the announcement for nearly a year before publishing a heavily edited version without sending a notice to her friend of their decision.

“She was deeply hurt and it was heart-breaking,” said Nordlof, who now lives in Philadelphia.

The idea that her alma mater could cause such pain to a former student soured her opinion of the institution. But as the presence and message of OneWheaton has gained traction in the evangelical community, Nordlof said she wanted to be part of the change in Wheaton.

The same is true for Susan Schmalzbauer, who is also friends with the alumna who had birth announcement issues.  She called the school’s actions unkind especially in light of her own lack of trouble having a birth announcement published in the alumni magazine. The announcement submitted by Schmalzbauer and her husband, also a Wheaton graduate, was published verbatim, she said.

“For me school was a wonderful loving place, but it breaks my heart that it was a place of pain for so many people,” Schmalzbauer said.

Witnessing the pain of students and alumni struggling to accept their sexuality is what compelled some alumni to form OneWheaton. The organization launched in January, partly in response to a college " In April some Wheaton College alumni created a splash after passing out a letter of support for gay students at Wheaton College and in the evangelical community.