I wondered all along why I came to Hope. Matt Shepard’s death had an extremely profound impact upon my life. Not to mention the events of 1998-99. Those days as rough and difficult as they were for some people really were my pinnacle of all my five years there. Those days were my reason for coming to Hope. I had finally found my voice. Thank you, Jane R. Dickie, for taking on and doing this awesome history. You were and still are our champion!
Jason Sanicki
Dr. Jane Dickie, a retired member of the Hope College psychology faculty who was the founding director of the college’s women’s and gender studies program, presented the college’s 2024 Affirming LGBTQ+ Students Lecture on Thursday, March 21 in the Maas Center Auditorium.
The lecture was based on Dickie’s current paper, “The Call and Response for Justice: 50 Years of LGBTQ and Allies Struggles — Hope College, 1972-2022.” It was through Dr. Dickie’s work that she developed a calling and passion to seek justice for all people regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, class and ability. She truly feels that God nudges her and calls not so subtly, to speak out on these issues and to act as an ally.
