Events
Lavender Graduation 2023
Date and Time
Thursday, April 20, 2023 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
RSVP
You can RSVP for this event
Location
2204 Kirkhof Center (Pere Marquette)
Allendale, MI 49401
Description
Celebrate the personal and academic achievements of LGBTQIA+ and allied students and recognize their contributions to our campus with us! The event will include welcome remarks, awards, a keynote address, recognition of graduates, and a reception with hors d'oeuvres and music.
Historical Context
Lavender Graduation began in 1995 at the University of Michigan
to honor the accomplishments of LGBT and ally graduates. Ronni Sanlo,
the director of the resource center at that time, believed LGBT
students needed their own graduation ceremony like that of other
racial and ethnic minorities on campus. Since 1995, campuses across
the country have hosted their own Lavender Graduations to honor the
accomplishments of LGBT graduates.
The color lavender is important to LGBT history and culture as it is a combination of pink and black: the colors of triangles gay men and lesbians, respectively, were required to wear as prisoners in Nazi concentration camps. The LGBT rights movement reclaimed these symbols of hatred to create a color symbolizing pride and community.
This event also appears on the main events calendar tagged as culturalgraduation, graduation, lgbt, lgbtq, and lgbtqia.
Contact
If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Finn Marcks at [email protected].