Hofstra set to hold four 'Identity-Based Commencement Celebrations'
Four “Identity-Based Commencement Celebrations” are set to occur at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
The school will soon celebrate a 'Umoja Scholars LLC Graduation Ceremony,' a 'Lavender Graduates Ceremony,' a 'First-Generation Graduates Ceremony, and a 'Graduates of Color Ceremony.'
Four “Identity-Based Commencement Celebrations” are set to occur at a private university in Hempstead, New York.
Later this May, Hofstra University will be hosting a “Umoja Scholars LLC Graduation Ceremony,” a “Lavender Graduates Ceremony,” a “First-Generation Graduates Ceremony,” and a “Graduates of Color Ceremony.”
According to Hofstra, the school’s Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion, Residential Life, and First-Generation Support and Engagement offices typically hold such occasions each May.
“Our Graduates of Color Ceremony is a time for graduating students of color to celebrate their achievements,” an event web page says. “Our Lavender Graduation Ceremony is a time for LGBTQ+ identified students and their allies to celebrate their achievements.”
Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion (IEI) at Hofstra is organizing the Lavender Graduation and Graduates of Color ceremonies. Students who register for either ceremony are asked to provide their preferred names and pronouns, with “they/them” being an option.
The graduation ceremonies are not the only identity-based programming IEI offers to students. From April 22-28, the office commemorated “Lesbian Visibility Week,” which “aims to celebrate and uplift the many different individuals who all identify under the umbrella of lesbianism.”
IEI also recognized “Trans Day of Visibility” on March 31, which was Easter Sunday.
Hofstra Residence Life is planning the Umoja Scholars Graduation Ceremony for May 8, which will “celebrate the graduating students in this diverse residential student group and their achievements.”
The First-Generation Graduates Ceremony will take place on May 17, which is organized by the Office of First-Generation Support and Engagement.
[RELATED: Hofstra University relocates Thomas Jefferson statue. Students still aren’t satisfied.]
In November, Campus Reform reported that Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman called upon Hofstra President Susan Poser to resign over her response to the Israel-Hamas war. At the time, Blakeman suggested that Poser found a “moral equivalence between Hamas’ terrorist slaughter of innocent women and children with the contested political agenda of the Palestinian people.”
Campus Reform contacted Hofstra University, Intercultural Engagement and Inclusion, Residential Life, and First-Generation Support and Engagement for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
