{"id":52226,"date":"2022-05-25T10:36:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-25T14:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=52226"},"modified":"2022-05-30T20:32:49","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T00:32:49","slug":"emu-hosts-historic-first-lavender-graduation-and-other-lgtbq-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2022\/emu-hosts-historic-first-lavender-graduation-and-other-lgtbq-events\/","title":{"rendered":"EMU hosts historic first Lavender Graduation and other LGBTQ+ events"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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This spring, Eastern Mennonite University hosted its first Lavender Graduation to honor LGBTQ+ graduates and alumni. The event recognizes LGBTQ students of all races and ethnicities and acknowledges their achievement and contributions to the university. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The graduation ceremony was the first such ceremony among the Mennonite colleges and universities in the USA and Canada, according to Vice President for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Jackie <\/strong>Font-Guzm\u00e1n<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And as such, it was also the culmination of several events during spring semester centering LGBTQ+ history and story — of individuals, the community, and the institution itself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such events are important for building community, for affirming values, and helping to heal, said Font-Guzm\u00e1n in her speech welcoming the audience to the graduation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRituals are one of the oldest ways to mobilize the power of community for healing,\u201d she said \u201cToday, through this ritual, we make the caring for our community tangible, we enact and affirm our values, we create a space of protection and safety, and we create an opportunity for authentic transformation. Students, you have made this space possible through your leadership and passion. EMU is a better place today because of you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The student-led organization Safe Space has long been contributing catalysts to this groundswell of activity seeking to celebrate, support and listen to the LGBTQ community at EMU. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In October 2021, Safe Space and EMU\u2019s new Office of DEI helped to sponsor another inaugural event — the university\u2019s first celebration of National Queer History Month. The evening lecture<\/a> featured author, activist, and public historian Gregory Samantha Rosenthal, PhD, speaking on their book \u201cLiving Queer History: Remembrance and Belonging in a Southern City” (University of North Carolina Press, 2021). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also beginning his groundbreaking work last fall was graduate student Conner Suddick<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suddick, a second-year student at the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, was an early recipient in the first cycle of DEI Inclusive Excellence Grants<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more about his work on two innovative and groundbreaking projects centering LGBTQ community and history below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A few students pose for a group photo at Lavender Graduation. (Photo by Rachel Holderman)<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Lavender Graduation<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Approximately 100 graduates and alumni were honored in front of a standing-room-only audience during a late afternoon Lavender Graduation ceremony at the Discipleship Center. The program included two student speakers, sharing their stories about being a part of the LGBTQ+ community, and representing undergraduates and graduates. Professor Kathy Evans<\/strong>, education professor and faculty advisor to Safe Space, gave the keynote address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participants were given rainbow stoles to wear during EMU Commencement ceremonies later in the week. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Graduates at EMU traditionally wear these colorful vestments, which symbolize countries or regions of the student\u2019s intercultural travels and\/or their identity. Since 2016, EMU has hosted a Donning of the Kente ceremony<\/a> for graduating students of color and international students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first Lavender Graduation ceremony was hosted in 1995 at the University of Michigan and since spread to many universities across the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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LGBTQ+ Historical Collection at Sadie Hartzler Library<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n