Graduation Celebrations

Lavender Graduation at UNC Asheville

Held once each semester (Fall & Spring), Lavender Graduation is a cultural celebration that recognizes graduating LGBTQIA students of all backgrounds. During this ceremony, these students’ accomplishments are recognized and we celebrate their impact on the UNC Asheville campus! Students’ friends and/or families have the opportunity to speak to and about the graduate, telling others of the student’s accomplishments, expressing their pride, and offering well wishes for the future. The speaker then drapes the cord over the student’s shoulders, symbolic of embracing the past and welcoming the future.

Lavender Graduation event bannerThe History of Lavender Graduation

The Lavender Graduation Ceremony was created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, a Jewish Lesbian, who was denied the opportunity to attend the graduations of her biological children because of her sexual orientation. It was through this experience that she came to understand the pain felt by her students. Encouraged by the Dean of Students at the University of Michigan, Dr. Sanlo designed the first Lavender Graduation Ceremony in 1995.  This special ceremony serves to celebrate LGBTQ students and student allies of all races and ethnicities for their achievements and contributions to the university during their tenure. This is a cultural celebration that recognizes the difficulties of achieving in a climate that is often less than desirable for LGBTQ students and allies.

 


 

Donning of the Stoles even bannerWhat is Donning of the Stoles?

Held once each semester (Fall & Spring), Donning of the Stoles has a rich history. Donning is borne out of the Kente Commencement Ceremony, during which African American students are bestowed with Kente cloth stoles to signify their African heritage/origins, celebrate their cultural pride, and be recognized for their achievements.

Keeping similar traditions, the Donning of the Stoles ceremony here at UNC Asheville is a time in which students of diverse cultural communities and various racial/ethnic backgrounds have their accomplishments recognized and their achievements applauded by the campus community and their loved ones.

Various key people from across the campus community take this opportunity to explain the tradition of the ceremony and its cultural significance, as well as their pride in this year’s graduating class. Students’ friends and/or families have the opportunity to speak to and about the graduate, telling others of the student’s accomplishments, expressing their pride, and offering well wishes for the future. The speaker then drapes the stole over the student’s shoulders, symbolic of embracing the past and welcoming the future.