As senior creative writing major Jamey Rabon prepared to graduate from Columbia next weekend, the college’s Lavender Ceremony offered something personal: a chance to celebrate being both first-generation and openly queer alongside classmates who understand that journey.
“It’s nice to be surrounded by fellow artists, fellow queer people, to know that although Columbia talks a lot about community, it’s like now we’re actually kind of seeing it in action,” Rabon said.
About 25 students gathered in The Hive on Thursday, May 7 for the college’s 8th annual Lavender Ceremony. The room was covered in lavender, from flowers and balloons to programs and graduation cords.
The event was sponsored by the Student Diversity and Inclusion office at the college, and was a part of the Pride in May series, which concludes on Friday, May 8 with the Unity Ball from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
One of the organizers, Matthew Rillie, coordinator of education and community development in the SDI office, said that the event has grown every year as it recognizes what it takes to graduate as a queer person.
At Columbia, meaning around the Lavender Ceremony runs deep for the college community. According to 2025 enrollment data from the college, about 40% of students identified as LGBTQ+ at the time of entry.
“Lavender graduations, I think, are so special because it recognizes that your journey was unique as queer people, and I think especially as queer and trans folks right now,” Rillie said.
Lavender ceremonies originated in 1995 at the University of Michigan to honor students in the LGBTQ+ community.
At the Columbia ceremony, students received lavender-colored graduation cords, and two students sang.
One of the performers, senior music production major Darion Fenner, who will be playing at the Unity Ball, thought it was a great opportunity to perform at the event.
“I’m also a queer student, a queer artist, and I really wanted to see them and support them — the people who worked so hard to graduate this semester,” he said.
After the performances, Interim Senior Vice President and Provost Suzanne McBride thanked those in attendance for making Columbia the diverse and inclusive campus that it is.
“No one can truly understand what it took for each of you to be where you are now, but each of you in this room know both the challenges you face and the victories, the many victories you’ve already achieved,” she said during her remarks.
While ASL-English interpretation major Bee Bagley enjoyed the event, they suggested having more than one event for students who were unable to attend because of conflicting schedules. They added that they would like to see even more events centered around the LGBTQ+ community.
“I really appreciate this event as a non-binary student and it feels very meaningful to be in touch with the community as a part of graduation, where it can feel very procedural — and so this is more community and personal, so it’s nice and then we can feel celebrated more specifically,” Bagley said.
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