University Of Missouri-St. Louis: Lavender Graduation Celebrates 30 LGBTQ+ Students Completing Their Degrees

Hazelwood MO

19 May, 2022

3:36 AM

Description

Press release from the University of Missouri-St. Louis: May 16, 2022 Graduation celebrations began even before the University of Missouri–St. Louis held the first of six commencement ceremonies over the weekend. A crowd of nearly 100 people turned out to honor the accomplishments and perseverance of 30 LGBTQ+ students taking part in Lavender Graduation on Thursday afternoon in the Century Rooms of the Millennium Student Center. As student speaker Megan Camp noted in her remarks, those students have overcome the odds. "The American Psychological Association reported that one third of LGBTQ+ students drop out of just high school," said Camp, who earned a master's degree in social work. "So to all the graduates here tonight, you overcame the high possibility of being part of a dropout statistic, and that's why achievements like this must be recognized and celebrated." Lavender Graduation is a tradition started by educator and author Ronni Sanlo, who identifies as a Jewish lesbian and who had been denied the opportunity to attend the graduations of her biological children because of her sexual orientation. She held the first Lavender Graduation at the University of Michigan in 1995 while directing what would come to be known as the Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Affairs. By 2001, there were 45 Lavender Graduations held across the country, and that number has continued to rise to more than 1,000 over the past two decades. UMSL's Office of Student Involvement has been holding formal, public Lavender Graduation ceremonies since 2018. Camp and fellow graduate Amanda Lopez Cachan each spoke to an audience of friends, family and members of the UMSL faculty and staff about their experiences pursuing their education while finding acceptance within themselves and from people around them to live as their authentic selves. "Our community empowers us to live a life of authenticity," Camp said. "I know this because every time I'm in public with my partner and we see another couple from the LGBTQ+ community, we turn and whisper so silly like, 'Oh my gosh, they're like us.' Going back to my self-discovering journey, it wasn't until a few months ago that I completely let go of what others would think because I just wanted to stop living what felt like a double life with my family. This is when I realized there's so much empowerment in the self-acceptance of their own identity." Lopez Cachan described herself as disenchanted with higher education when she enrolled at UMSL two years ago after earning an associate degree at Marshalltown Community College in Iowa. But she got a job as the LGBTQ+ and diversity initiatives student programs manager in the Office of Student Involvement. "This job challenged me as a person, but it was also the first indicator I had that, 'Hey, maybe I am going to be OK at this school,'" Lopez Cachan said. "The queer community at UMSL is small, as you all probably know, but it was what I needed to motivate me." While pursuing her degree in political science, she has served as the president of PRIZM, UMSL's Queer-Trans-Straight Student Alliance, and also has been the president of the UMSL chapter of Associated Students of the University of Missouri and the fundraising chair for the Women Empowering Women at UMSL. "I want to congratulate myself, and I want you to do the same," Lopez Cachan said. "All of us have this beautiful, creative stories inside of us. And it's time to be proud of ourselves for it. I want all of you to think about your journeys to this moment and be thankful for your resilience, your perseverance and yourself. Thank you all for being a part of the UMSL LGBTQ+ community. I know that with your presence you gave all of us a place to feel comfortable enough to reach our goals. I felt alone before finding you." Ariana Smith, UMSL's former LGBTQ+ and Diversity Coordinator, served as the master of ceremonies for the event and presented each of the graduates with lavender chords and a purple stole with rainbow-colored stripes and a pink triangle. Tanisha Stevens, the vice chancellor for diversity, equity and inclusion, and Chancellor Kristin Sobolik also delivered remarks and offered their congratulations during the event. Professor Susan Kashubeck-West, the associate chair in the Department of Education Sciences and Professional Programs, gave the keynote address to conclude the program. She congratulated the graduates and encouraged them to apply the perseverance they learned while pursuing their degrees to the continued fight for LGBTQ+ rights. "What we do matters," Kashubeck-West said. "A lot of people doing small things can create big change, and so I encourage you to not wait for those opportunities for advocacy to come to you but to search it out." This press release was produced by the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The views expressed here are the author's own.