Pride and achievement radiated from the Kent Student Center Ballroom on Thursday, May 1 as Kent celebrated its LGBTQ+ graduates in the newly renamed Lavender Celebration.
The Lavender Celebration, formerly known as Lavender Graduation, is a pre-commencement event where LGBTQ+ students and allies alike are celebrated for both their academic and personal accomplishments. Lavender Graduation was originally founded by Ronni Sanlo in 1995 at the University of Michigan and made its way to Kent State in 2013.
“I feel like just uplifting all voices is a really important thing, and that’s what this event is all about,” said Ken Ditlevson, director of the LGBTQ+ Center. “There are so few differences between non-LGBT and LGBTQ+ when folks get to know us and they see us and hear our stories; we’re just like everyone else.”
During his opening remarks, Ditlevson explained that the color lavender was chosen for this event to pull together the pink triangle, which identified gay men in concentration camps, and the black triangle used to identify lesbian prisoners. The goal of this was to reclaim these symbols of hatred and transform them into a symbol of pride and community.
“This is a transformative experience that our students have and to walk alongside that journey and to watch them and to support them and to make sure they’re able to thrive,” said Eboni Pringle, the senior vice president of Student Life. “It’s the most powerful role that a person can play in someone’s life because this is not an easy journey.”
The ceremony consisted of a student keynote address by upcoming graduate Autumn Jacobs, an alumni keynote address by Pete Finnerty, who graduated from Kent in 2017, and a presentation of several awards given out by the LGBTQ+ Center.
Lauren Vachon, an associate professor of LGBTQ studies, was one of many involved in planning the Lavender Celebration and took home the Delores Noll Distinguished Faculty/Staff Award for her efforts. Vachon had been nominated for this award for several years, but this was her first time winning.
“I really wanted one of these, I think more than I really knew,” said Vachon. “It means a lot just to be recognized, because I think that this work is hard sometimes.
Following awards, graduates took to the stage one at a time to introduce themselves, give recognition to those that have helped them on their personal and professional journeys and receive their rainbow stoles.
“It felt like a really exciting opportunity to kind of wrap up the past four years and celebrate my journey at Kent State and coming into my own queer identity,” said Alex Miller, senior visual communication design major.
This year’s Lavender Celebration recognized 71 graduates and had over 300 guests in attendance.
“I thought today was phenomenal,” Ditlevson said. “This place was packed and to see so much loving in this one room is so amazing.”
Connor Nagy is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].