HOLLAND – People who "take scripture seriously" can have different views about human sexuality, Hope College leaders said Friday as they recast a policy that a prominent group of alumni had charged was narrow and discriminatory.

But some members of the alumni group said the college trustees did not go far enough in changing the policy, which was amended after months of discussion with on- and off-campus groups.

College President James Bultman said that the key change is that the policy addresses all areas of human sexuality and not just about homosexuality – and that there is room for disagreement.

“Hope has always been a place where professors and students can engage in discussion and debate,” he said. “To say that Hope prevented discussion of these issues in the past is absolutely false. But our belief is that these discussions work better when both sides are presented.”

The policy, approved by the 32-member board of trustees Friday, states that campus groups supporting sexual issues deemed contrary to church teachings would continue to not be recognized.

The issue flared in March when a number of influential alumni lined up against a 1995 policy they believed shun homosexuality on campus and created an unwelcome environment for faculty, students and guests.

One member of the alumni group, former Time and Newsweek correspondent Bruce van Voorst, a 1954 alumni, said the trustees did not go far enough.

“They're still so far behind the curve, it's unbelievable,” van Voorst said. “When are they going to raise their antennae and realize what is going on in the rest of America?”

Van Voorst said the recent repeal of the “don't ask, don't tell” policy allowing gays to openly serve in the military as well as the the appointment of two openly gay federal judges and states allowing homosexuals to marry shows that Hope is behind the beliefs carried by much of the rest of the country.

Among the leaders pushing for the moves are two children of past Hope College presidents, a retired Reformed Church in America minister, a former ambassador and distinguished journalists and athletes.

The group formed in the wake of the college rejecting Academy Award-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black's offer to show his film and hold a discussion about sexuality.

Bultman said the debate over Black “is old news,” and that he was allowed to speak about film making, his area of expertise, “but did not have the educational credentials” to speak about other topics, including sexuality.

College leaders at the time said Black's notoriety as an advocate for gay rights would not contribute constructively to the ongoing exploration and discussion on campus.

Black later presented his film "Milk," starring Sean Penn as gay-rights advocate Harvey Milk, at the Park Theatre. He also wrote a blog about his experience at Hope and in Holland.

The new statement notes that the college “promotes the indispensable value of intellectual freedom and recognizes that there are Christians who take scripture seriously and hold other views.

“Hope College affirms the scholarly examination and discussion of all issues surrounding human sexuality as well as educational programming on a variety of human sexuality issues.

“Hope College affirms the dignity of every person as a creature made in the image of God and thus worthy of our earnest respect, our insistent protection, and our self-sacrificing love.”

The statement also acknowledges Hope's support of teachings of the Reformed Church in America, its sister denomination, the Christian Reformed Church; and the Roman Catholic Church.

“Sexuality, including longing and expression, is a good gift from God and a fact of our existence affirmed in the Christian scriptures and by the Church throughout the centuries,” the statement reads.

“This biblical witness calls us to a life of chastity among the unmarried and the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman.”

While the statement allows for study and discussion of sexuality, the college “will not recognize or support campus groups whose aim by statement, practice or intimation is to promote a vision of human sexuality that is contrary to this understanding of biblical teaching.”

E-mail Dave Murray: dmurray@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/ReporterDMurray