RE LOG Spring '25

32 Ransom Everglades LOG SPRING 2025 By Victoria M. Beatty ’00 Last month, I had the esteemed privilege of interviewing Darrow Dutcher Hodges ’63 . It is not every day that one is afforded the opportunity to have an intimate conversation with such a wise yet youthful soul. Although light and funny, our encounter was packed with profound insight. So, it is with great joy that I share this experience with the RE community. In 2016, Ms. Hodges, also fabulously referred to as “Dutch,” alongside her brothers Arthur Dutcher ’69 and David Dutcher, created the Douglas Vogt Dutcher ’80 Fund for Equity & Justice. The endowment was created to support inclusive programming and help students develop cultural competency. Dutch and her siblings endeavor to use the fund to support RE’s continued efforts in ensuring all students feel a sense of belonging to and inclusion in the RE community. They strive to be particularly attentive to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) students, their families and allies. Douglas Vogt Dutcher ’80 , Dutch’s baby brother and former RE student in whose honor the endowment was created, was the youngest of the five Dutcher children. Doug, as she fondly refers to him, was openly gay during a time sexual identity was simply not discussed, according to Dutch. Yet, she has fond memories of how loved and accepted Doug felt during his time at RE. When asked to elaborate further, she recalled there were other gay RE students who went to school with Doug that often struggled with their identity. As she phrased it, students were frustrated “trying to be one kind of person when you are a different kind of person inside.” Truth is, there are many LGBTQ students in schools nationwide who feel exactly how those RE students felt in 1980. Part of my responsibility as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Consultant to Ransom Everglades is to work with Director of Inclusion and Community Engagement Wendell Graham ’74 to ensure that all students at RE, regardless of their strengths or identities, feel they are a part of the school community and included in the feeling of belonging among other students, teachers and staff. Research has shown that LGBTQ youth are bullied and feel socially isolated at higher rates than non-LGBTQ students, which can negatively impact academic achievement and identity- development. Dutch believes the equity and justice fund can help RE students avoid these traumatic experiences by supporting special programming that allows LGBTQ youth to feel seen and included Legacy of Inclusion: A Chat with Darrow Dutcher Hodges ’63 , creator of Ransom Everglades’ Douglas Vogt Dutcher ’80 Fund for Equity & Justice Darrow Dutcher Hodges ’63