Pride Center celebrates LGBTQ+ graduates

Lavender lighting washed over decor and flowers of the same color, turning the usually plain Great Room in the Clayton University Center into a colorful space. 

Pride flags lined the walls, and a stage stood at the center of the room, completing a celebratory scene. 

Each year, The Pride Center hosts a ceremony to honor LGBTQ+ graduates. But the title of this year’s celebration, held Tuesday, was changed from the “Pride Graduation and Award Ceremony” to “Lavender Graduation.”

The term “Lavender Graduation” was coined in 1995 by Ronni Sanlo, who created the tradition at the University of Michigan after being denied entry to her children’s commencement ceremonies due to her sexuality, according to the Human Rights Campaign. 

The color is a combination of pink and black, the colors used by Nazis to denote gay men and lesbians, respectively. According to the Human Rights Campaign, the LGBTQ+ community has reclaimed lavender as a symbol of pride and unity. 

Scott Burden, the director of the Pride Center, said the historic significance was an important motivation to change the name of the ceremony. 

“As we were reflecting on the particular moment right now that queer people find themselves in, we thought it was ever more important to connect to our history so that we can more easily envision our future,” they said. 

Burden, along with Mel Kitchen, the coordinator of the Pride Center, and Ariel Torres, the center’s assistant director, presented at this year’s ceremony honoring both undergraduate and graduate students. 

The event opened with remarks from Burden, who congratulated graduates and explained the importance of the event’s new name. They said the ceremony was dedicated to both celebrating the accomplishments of LGBTQ+ students and the resilience of the community the Pride Center has built. 

Ashleigh Strange, the executive director for the governor’s advisory commission on LGBTQ affairs, delivered the keynote address. They spoke about how tiring it can be to consistently trailblaze in a field and how important it is to rely on support systems to combat exhaustion. 

They also congratulated the graduating class for their achievements on behalf of Gov. Josh Shapiro and themself. 

“I’m so proud of you and proud to represent the governor when I say that he is proud of you,” Strange said. “You’re doing amazing things, will continue to do amazing things.”

Throughout the event, organizers recognized several students and faculty members for their achievements. They also brought graduating student workers on stage for special recognition.   

As Burden and Torres read aloud the names of the nearly 50 graduating students, Kitchen presented each with a rainbow-colored cord to wear at Lehigh’s official commencement ceremony. 

Lu Swider, ‘25, attended the event. She said she was initially nervous about the ceremony because she had never attended one like it before. 

Despite this, she said she was excited to be recognized in a more intimate setting, as commencement can feel overwhelming with thousands of attendees.

“It does feel nice to see everyone and be recognized personally,” Swider said. “Just having a smaller community of people that I know more personally feels nice.”

The event concluded with an open mic session, allowing graduates to share personal reflections and parting words. 

Burden said the ceremony is an opportunity to celebrate students who continue to persist in a system not always designed for marginalized individuals. 

“It’s always both a mixture of sadness and just joy and love, because this moment represents a lot of hard work for a lot of people,” they said. “Our ongoing effort is to build a Lehigh, and really build an environment,  where everybody can see themselves being able to be successful here, and that’s what this moment gets to celebrate.”

Burden, who has worked at the Pride Center for nine years, said LGBTQ+ students have become more visible and more connected in that time — a shift that feels especially important in the current political climate. 

Despite efforts to remove references to LGBTQ+ history at the federal level, they said their existence can’t be erased. 

“That’s why this moment is so special, because what we know about queer people is that we’ve existed forever despite the efforts to restrict us, and we will continue to do that despite ongoing efforts,” Burden said. “An event like this makes it clearly visible of what we’re trying to do.”