University of Michigan Spectrum Center celebrating student ‘Pride Month’ with ‘Pride Prom,’ ‘Lavender Graduation’
Some universities recognize ‘Pride Month’ in April while students are on campus.
One of the events will be ‘Career Paths & Perspectives: Journeys in Supporting Trans Youth.’
The University of Michigan’s Spectrum Center has released its student “Pride Month” event calendar for this April.
Certain universities recognize “Pride Month” in April instead of June to allow students to participate while on campus.
The Spectrum Center calls itself the “first-ever campus gender and sexuality resource center,” and states that the school’s “Pride Month” is “a time dedicated to celebrating and commemorating lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, queer, asexual, intersex, and two-spirit people and communities at the University of Michigan.”
The month-long series of events starts with a “Pride Prom” on April 4.
Students will then learn about becoming a pro-transgenderism activist in an April 9 event called “Career Paths & Perspectives: Journeys in Supporting Trans Youth,” where they will “have the opportunity to hear from panelists who have worked for local LGBTQ+ organizations, social services organizations, and programming for trans and queer youth.”
Later in the month, the Center will offer a segregated graduation ceremony for LGBTQ-identifying students called a “Lavender Graduation.”
“LGBTQIA2S+ graduates and allies” can receive a special “rainbow tassel, lavender cord, and certificate” during the ceremony, which takes place April 16.
Many universities offer separate graduation ceremonies for LGBTQ-identifying students, including Northeastern University in Boston, which held such a ceremony in December for “all LGBTQIA2S+graduating students and those who wish to celebrate them.”
The Spectrum Center regularly hosts “LGBTQ”-themed events.
In November, the Center recognized what it called “Transgender Awareness Month.” It billed the month as “a celebration and recognition of transgender communities and people” and included a “Name Change Information Session” for “transgender and gender nonconforming people.”
The Spectrum Center hosted workshops in December aimed at teaching “skills to interrupt homophobia and transphobia,” such as “Pronouns 101” and “Towards Solidarity: Allyship in Action.”
The Center recently announced the “QT Research Symposium,” a “half-day, interdisciplinary academic conference [that] will uplift and celebrate queer and trans student research and queer and trans student researchers at U-M.”
Campus Reform contacted the University of Michigan for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
