Rain or Shine, Queensborough’s First Lavender Ceremony was one to Remember
Poor weather might have forced everyone indoors, but there was nothing but good vibes at the CUNY Queens Lavender Ceremony last Thursday.
The Lavender Ceremony is an annual celebration conducted on numerous university/college campuses nationwide to honor LGBTQIA+ students and allies. Its first iteration was held at the University of Michigan in 1995, and by 2001 there were over 45 such ceremonies held nationwide.
And that number has only risen since then — CUNY counting itself among them.
In the case of Queensborough, since 2023, we’ve coordinated with the other Queens-based colleges — Queens College, LaGuardia Community College, York College, and CUNY School of Law — to host the ceremony on a rotating basis.
First it was at QC, then York, and this year it was our turn.
The graduating students were the stars of the celebration, who entered the Student Union accompanied by the near-deafening cheers and applause of the many attendees who came to support them.
President Christine Mangino (She/Her), who gave a speech which highlighted the significance of the Lavender Ceremony, as well as Deputy Director of LGBTQ+ Affairs for the Govenor Chanel Lopez (She/Her), Queens Borough Advocate for the NYC Public Advocate Norris Johns (He/Him), and Deputy Queens Borough President Ebony Young (She/Her), who also gave speeches of their own, were just a few of those in attendance.
Yet even in the presence of such illustrious figures, the students remained in the limelight; and after receiving words of praise and encouragement from various staff members across CUNY, the graduates went up in front of the room to receive their Certificates and Honor Cords.
Afterwards, the students were treated to one last round of cheers and applause, marking the end of Queensborough’s first Lavender Ceremony.
This year’s Lavender Ceremony was helmed by LGBTQIA+ Specialist Lamar Greene (They/Them), who was more than willing to endure the challenges of being the hosting college if it meant properly honoring the graduates.
“I think it’s a great opportunity to be able to honor the graduates. It reminds me of my own Lavender Ceremony when I was a student graduating from college. It’s been a great opportunity to honor the students in this way, it’s been overwhelming and daunting in some respects since it’s my first year, but I’m still grateful to be able to honor the graduates, and I hope they find it meaningful and they reminisce about it years down the road.”
Of course, they weren’t alone in putting this year's Lavender Ceremony together, they credit many others for helping make this possible, including JC Carlson (They/Them), LGBTQIAA+ Programs Coordinator from Queens College, CUNY LGBTQIA+ Consortium, CUNY Office of Student Inclusion and Initiatives, and the New York City Council.
“[Queens College] has been partnering with us to do some of the external planning, while we’ve been doing some of the internal planning for the campus. So, planning the logistics, the food, doing registration, decorations, and all that stuff.”
And those were just the tip of the iceberg.
Other tasks, such as music, determining the text for the pamphlets, and even coordinating with local government officials who would be speaking at the ceremony, meant there was plenty of planning needed to ensure it was one to be proud of.
And judging by the reception of the graduates, Greene and the other organizers certainly do.
From being appreciative of the community’s support, to repeated praise of the organizers and speakers, the graduates’ praise was nothing short of glowing.
“I thought the ceremony was great,” said Victoria Ramos. “It was beautiful and was amazing to be a part of.”
“I felt the event was really cute — I really loved it,” said Jasmin Saldarriaga. “It was really well-organized. All the speakers were great, It was really nice — I loved it.”
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