UPenn Lavender Graduation to be hosted by intersectional LGBT Center
The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia will host a Lavender Graduation for LGBT-identifying graduates on Thursday, May 16 at the Harold Prince Theater.
Last year’s Lavender Graduation keynote speaker was Alex Gino, an 'Award-winning author of queer and progressive middle grade fiction.'
Another Ivy League school will soon host an identity-based graduation ceremony.
The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia will host a Lavender Graduation for LGBT-identifying graduates on Thursday, May 16 at the Harold Prince Theater.
“Lavender Graduation is the historic, national celebration of LGBTQIA+ graduates,” an event page says. The ceremony will serve as “a celebration of the queer and trans communities’ accomplishments for commencement.”
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The Penn LGBT Center is the organizer of the upcoming event. According to its website, the center “enriches the experience, fosters success, celebrates victories, and affirms the existence of Penn’s LGBTQ+ undergraduates, professional and graduate students, staff, faculty, and alumni using the lenses of social justice and intersectionality.”
An annual ‘Lavender’ ceremony for graduating students who identify as LGBT has become a tradition at UPenn ever since the first Lavender Graduation took place in 2014.
Last year’s keynote speaker was Alex Gino, an “Award-winning author of queer and progressive middle grade fiction.” Gino previously served on the board of NOLOSE, “a fat-positive, queer, feminist organization dedicated to supporting radical fat acceptance and culture.”
The Lavender Graduation is just one of the numerous services the Penn LGBT Center provides to students.
According to its website, the center affirms that “sharing your pronouns/asking people’s pronouns is a valued practice showing respect for the people with whom you interact” at UPenn. An extensive overview of the importance of pronouns and various transgender-related terms, such as “Deadnaming” and “Agender,” are expanded upon on the center’s web page.
UPenn students can also learn how to change their preferred names, pronouns, and gender identity on the university website.
Campus Reform has covered various instances of other Ivy League schools holding similar identity-based graduations, like the “Lavender Celebration,” “Black Celebration,” and “Asian American, Pacific Islander, Desi-American (APIDA) Celebration” at Harvard University.
Campus Reform contacted the University of Pennsylvania and the LGBT Center for comment. This story will be updated accordingly.
