The University of Connecticut’s Rainbow Center held their annual Lavender Graduation, a celebration of the contributions and tenacity that queer, transgender and gender non-conforming college graduates display on April 11 in the Student Union ballroom.
Director of the Rainbow Center Kelsey O’Neil began the ceremony with a land and labor acknowledgement.
Assistant Director of the Rainbow Center Ian Shick then explained the history of the Lavender Graduation, saying that at its inception in 1995, there were only three graduates who attended.
They also explained the significance of the color lavender, citing the Nazis’ usage of the pink-and-black triangle iconography to oppress queer, transgender and gender non-conforming people. These colors have been reclaimed to represent resilience from oppression.
The concept of the Lavender Graduation spread across the United States, and the UConn’s Rainbow Center started hosting its own in 2008.
“Lavender Grad has a special place in my heart,” Shick said. “This evening, we gather together for a community working in a system that wasn’t designed for them,” they continued.
Interim Director of the Women’s Center Elise Delacruz gave a welcome address on behalf of the UConn cultural centers. She took a moment to take a picture of the graduates, quipping that she felt like the paparazzi before giving her speech.
“Even as you leave us, you will always be a part of this community,” she said. She also said that the folks who have laid the path before you and those who will come after are also a part of this community.
“You are loved, you are valued,” she added. To end the speech, Delacruz cited a poem about what being queer means as a term of empowerment.
The next section of the ceremony was congratulating outstanding students and faculty. They were selected by the community through voting.
The Avery Point campus’ recipient was Dylan Kormylo, who helps to build a community of LGBTQ+ people accepting of any and all races, genders, sexualities and other identities with the Avery Point Gender-Sexuality Alliance.
The Stamford campus’ recipient was Liam Cohen, who helped found The Space as an LGBTQ+ social space to help build community after feeling like there wasn’t adequate resources for queer, transgender and gender non-conforming people.
In a message they wrote, they said, “You are not alone. We as a community will always be here.”
The Storrs campus’ recipient was Aiden Campbell, who advocates for more inclusive website layouts and media representations as someone who is neurodiverse.
The graduate assistant recipient was Michael Vaccaro, who organized queer STEM programming.
The professional staff and faculty recipient was Dax Sousa, who, as a registered nurse, ensures that LGBTQ+ students felt and continue to feel seen and heard at Student Health and Wellness.
The team leaders of the Rainbow Center were then recognized. Nathan Velazquez is the programs and events lead, Avi Obie is the public relations and social media lead, Anushka Jain is the front desk and operations lead and Grian Wizner is the FAMILEE/IRIS mentorship program lead.
Graduate Assistant Lene Reynolds was recognized for their “student-centered approach” and mentorship building, according to O’Neil. “I have been impressed by their passion,” O’Neil said, finding it hard to put into words just how much Reynolds positively impacts the Rainbow Center community.
Reynolds then led a presentation on the unveiling of the Influencing Readiness, Inspiring Success (IRIS) mentorship program, the re-branding of Fostering Academics, Maturity, Independence, Leadership, Empowerment and Excellence (FAMILEE) mentoring program.
There was growing controversy and concern about the former acronym, so the Rainbow Center community changed it by having the mentors vote on potential new acronyms for the program.
The program has first-year students, second-years and transfers as mentees paired with a Rainbow Center-hired mentor. It was established in the 2002-2003 school year.
“Iris is the ancient Greek goddess of the rainbow,” a member of the IRIS mentorship team said. “The iris is also a part of the eye that is more unique than your fingerprints and more beautiful.”
Wizner said, “You truly are my family,” addressed to the Rainbow Center community. “IRIS will not be the same as FAMILEE, but it will be better.”
Obie designed the IRIS logo: lavender flowers with green stalks bent in different shapes to spell out the acronym. They said they found a lot of meaning in the stages of growth of the flowers in the design, possibly being a metaphor for the progression that mentees will see as they engage with the program.
Assistant Director of Bias, Education and Response at the Office of Community Standards James P. Walker-Scott gave the keynote address. He started his speech by saying that he’s proud to be a gay Black man. He went to an Irish Catholic college and wondered to himself, “Could I be straight enough?”
He continued, “There was one word that happened to stick in the back of my mind: ‘enough.’” He gained the resolve to say, “I have to be enough for myself.” Walker-Scott stressed the importance of being kind to others and yourself.
He then had the audience say “You are enough” to the people next to them. Walker-Scott ended the speech by saying, “Lead with kindness and you will be enough.”
During the reception at the Rainbow Center, O’Neil said, “This is the largest [Lavender Graduation] class, more than 50 grads. I am incredibly proud of the graduates who have shown up. We’re very excited to see where they go next.”