Betsy Dole Visits The University of Olivet

Betsy Dole speaks in front of an audience in the Cutler Student Center Community Room. Photo by Maggie Berner

OLIVET- The final speaker for Women’s History Month at The University of Olivet, Betsy Dole, the first female chair of The University of Olivet’s Board of Trustees, came and spoke on Wednesday, Mar. 27 at the Cutler Student Center.

Joshua Van Wyhe, coordinator of housing and gender inclusive initiatives, helped to organize the event.

“It’s great to get to know the founder of our organization and hear the wealth of experience that she has had over the last 92 years of her life, culminating in her new book. So talking about progressive Christianity, and activism, looking at topics such as LGBTQ rights, women's rights, social justice on many different folds, and we’re just really excited to have Betsy on campus,” he said.

During the event, Betsy Dole read an excerpt from her memoir, Using my Voice: a Journey of Progressive Christianity and Social Activism, and talked about her experience with throughout her life.

Betsy Greensmith Dole's memoir, Using my Voice: a Journey of Progressive Christianity and Social Activism. Photo by Maggie Berner

“My point is, I want women to recognize that they have a voice and that their voice deserves to be heard and to be respected and to do that in whatever contexts they find themselves. And they may find that they may be able to make real change because of that,” said Dole.

Kaitlin Meis, a freshman who works in the Women and Gender Resource Center was also in attendance at the event. “[Dole] spoke out about a lot of like she realized that she wanted to use her voice and she did. She made a change with that, and I think that's really inspiring, and I want to be able to do that too,” she said.

By Maggie Berner