LGBT students honored
in Valley’s first Lavender Graduation ceremony
CALEXICO — In an effort to celebrate wider acceptance of gender diversity, a group of more than 20 graduating college students who identify as members of the LGBT community were part of a special ceremony held Saturday afternoon at the San Diego State University-Imperial Valley campus library.
The Valley’s first ever Lavender Graduation ceremony presented 26 students from SDSU-IV, Imperial Valley College, Northern Arizona University-Yuma and Arizona Western College with a lavender honor cord they could wear during their campus graduation and a certificate of distinction.
The event was created in collaboration between the IV LGBT Resource Center, NAU-Yuma and SDSU-IV.
“The LGBT community has faced so much scrutiny over the past few years that straight people haven’t,” SDSU-IV student Gilberto Barajas said. “Not to say they don’t need to be recognized, but they don’t go through what the LGBT community has faced, like scrutiny, hatred and prejudice. The whole reason we show pride is because we want to show that we’ve struggled, but we’re getting through all the hard times.”
Graduating students, who aren’t LGBT who identify as allies of the LGBT community, were also welcomed to participate and receive a lavender cord.
Barajas spoke during the ceremony and explained the meaning behind the color of the cords being lavender instead of the traditional rainbow colors used in the LGBT rainbow flag.
When the two colors that symbolize hatred, black and pink, are combined, they create the color lavender, Barajas stated.
“The color symbolizes pride and community,” the SDSU-IV student said. “During World War II, homosexuals that were forced in concentration camps had to wear a pink triangle on their left side, while lesbian women were deemed as political prisoners and were forced to wear a black triangle.”
Barjas and NAU-Yuma student Diana Rivera were each recognized with an Outstanding Student Award during the ceremony. Barajas and Rivera also played an essential part in organizing the graduation.
As keynote speaker for the event, former Imperial County Superior Court judge Donal Donnelly said he believed the cords had the symbolic meaning of being lifelines for each student.
“You’ve all been able to benefit from this lifeline,” Donnelly said during his speech. “I know with your own strength and courage, you’ve pulled yourself along this line, and I encourage you to always look back behind you, and if you need to, bring others with you. When we’re tethered together, life gets better.”
Earlier this year, the two Outstanding Student award recipients, who also volunteer at the IV LGBT Resource Center, pitched the idea of a Lavender Graduation to the center’s founder and Chief Executive Officer Rosa Diaz.
Originally planned to take place at a community hall, SDSU-IV’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Donna Castañeda worked alongside Barajas and Rivera so that the event could be held at the SDSU-IV campus. Rivera believed the event was symbolic, as just less than 10 years ago, it was frowned upon to identify with the LGBT community.
“It is definitely something that Imperial Valley and Yuma counties have had a hard time accepting,” Rivera said. “This is just a great way to show that the LGBT movement has come a long way, and it’s getting bigger. It used to be considered like it was a bad thing, but it’s really not. Love is love.” The IV LGBT Resource Center founder said the event was also created as an outlet for LGBT members to comfortably express who they are.
“A lot of times students that are of the LGBT community, they go and they participate in graduations and other community events while having to not disclose who they truly are.”
Diaz noted students who openly identify as members of the LGBT are more likely to drop out of school.
“A lot of times LGBTQ students stop going to school, or drop out of high school, because there’s no encouragement and there are no role models,” Diaz said. “And also because of bullying and because of fear of being outed.”
The IV LGBT Resource Center founder said the event will continue for many years to come, and she hopes it will serve as encouragement for LGBT members of all ages.
“We plan to do this every year to acknowledge LGBT students who have graduated so they can then be role models to young LGBT students in elementary, junior high, high school, and encourage them they should not drop out or be ashamed of who they are,” Diaz said.
The LGBT Center will also be hosting a Lavender Graduation for high school students on May 26 at the Old Post Office in El Centro.