University of Oklahoma plans to hold identity-based graduation ceremonies
The school will hold several ceremonies segregated by ethnicity and gender identity over the course of three months.
There will be five ceremonies and will include American Indian, Asian, Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ students.
The University of Oklahoma is planning to hold several segregated graduation ceremonies over the course of three months.
A total of five identity-based ceremonies will be held at the school from April to June and will include American Indian, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, and Lavender students, which honors LGBTQ-identifying students.
The graduation ceremonies serve as a “unique form of graduation that offers a more intimate celebration of students’ academic journeys,” accorinding the university’s website
[Related: Dozens of universities host segregated graduation ceremonies based on ‘identities’]
The first ceremony, the “American Indian Graduation Celebration,” will take place on May 5. According to the school’s website, it is “an essential event during Spring Commencement festivities.”
The following day, the “Latinx Graduation and Achievement Banquet” will be held, honoring “the many accomplishments [Latin] students have achieved personally, professionally, and academically every year.”
On May 7 is the “Asian American and Pacific Islander Graduation,” which will recognize “the journey … of Asian American and Pacific Islander graduates.”
The following month, the school will host its “Lavender Graduation.” The school notes that “Lavender Graduations began in 1995 at the University of Michigan as a cultural celebration for LGBTQ+ students of all races and ethnicities in order to acknowledge their achievements and contributions to the university as students who survived the college experience.”
The ceremony will recognize “students with their chosen names [and] the correct pronouns,” and will celebrate “the fullness of who they are.”
[Related: These universities are hosting Lavender Graduations this spring]
The final graduation, the “Black Excellence Ceremony,” will take place on April 19 in collaboration with African American Programs and Services.
The University of Oklahoma, the Gender + Equality Center, and the school’s Multicultural Programs and Services, and African American Programs and Services have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
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