Lavender Celebration is a ceremony to celebrate LGBTQIA+ members of the graduating class. The ceremony includes an alumni guest speaker, recognition of graduating students and presentation of lavender cords.
All graduating students whose lived experience, scholarship and/or leadership have contributed to a positive LGBTQ+ climate on campus are eligible to be Lavender Graduates. If you are graduating in the calendar year (May, August or December), you can participate in the ceremony.
While the Lavender Celebration celebrates the achievements of LGBTQIA+ students, the celebration is open to all students without regard to race, gender, national origin or other characteristics. Students, staff and faculty are welcome to join the celebration!
Lavender Celebration 2025
Congratulations to the class of 2025 graduates!
For the seventh consecutive year, we celebrate our queer and trans graduating students (undergraduate and graduate) and their accomplishments through our Lavender Ceremony. Our ceremony this year will be held in on Sunday, April 27, at 2 p.m.
Celebration events will include a slideshow with information about your degree(s), academic achievements, outstanding service and plans after graduation, and a Lavender Celebration package that included students’ certificate, honor cords and other gifts from the LGBTQ+ Resource Center.
RSVPs are required to attend this year’s ceremony. Participating graduates must RSVP by Friday, April 18. Celebration attendees must RSVP by Wednesday, April 23.
Lavender Celebration Award Nominations
New this year, we have three awards that undergraduate seniors can be nominated for. See below for criteria for each award and to access the nomination form. Award nominations are due Tuesday, April 1.
This award recognizes outstanding advocate service at Syracuse University, honoring an undergraduate senior and member of the LGBTQ+ community for centering experiences of their community through:
- Consistent engagement with community service and/or advocacy opportunities on or off Syracuse University’s campus.
- Demonstrated commitment to activism and service rooted in principles of diversity, equity and inclusion beyond the classroom.
- An ability to navigate conflict and create tangible solutions.
- Dedication to establishing community through coalition-building across groups.
- Leaving a lasting impact on the LGBTQ+ community through an outstanding commitment to being an active voice for change.
To nominate a student for this honor, please fill out the Cecilia Gentili Award nomination form.
This award recognizes an undergraduate senior for their important contributions as a (heterosexual and/or cisgender) friend and ally of the LGBTQ+ community at Syracuse University through intentional engagement with LGBTQ+ issues on a consistent basis through explicit action. This action may include:
- Making connections with queer organizations for important causes.
- Going above and beyond amplifying LGBTQ+ voices by curating safe spaces to empower members of the LGBTQ+ community.
- Pursuing continued education on LGBTQ+ identity and experiences.
To nominate a student for this honor, please fill out the Magnus Hirschfeld Award nomination form.
This award recognizes academic excellence at Syracuse University, honoring outstanding research and scholarship that centers the lives and experiences of the LGBTQ+ community throughout various disciplines and intersectional approaches. Undergraduate senior honorees may be recognized for:
- Commitment to exploring queer issues and/or history within their academic pursuits.
- Outstanding performance in class assignments or projects as well as general participation.
- Direct engagement with research in their field as a queer individual and/or in research with a focus on the LGBTQ+ community.
Direct engagement can include:
- A research paper or project.
- Presenting research.
- Work as a research assistant or intern.
- Teaching Assistant (TA) position or leadership in a research course or lab.
To nominate a student for this honor, please fill out the Nikki Giovanni Award nomination form. Please note: Only faculty or professional staff can nominate graduating students for this award. Self-nominations will also not be accepted.
If you would like to be recognized but cannot or do not want to participate in the ceremony, please contact Emily Stewart at estewa09@syr.edu.
If you have any questions or concerns about Lavender Celebration, please email lgbtq@syr.edu or call 315.443.0228.
History of Lavender Graduation
According to the Human Rights Campaign, the Lavender Graduation Ceremony was created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, a Jewish lesbian who was denied the opportunity to attend the graduations of her biological children because of her sexual orientation. It was through this experience that she came to understand the pain felt by her students. Encouraged by the Dean of Students at the University of Michigan, Dr. Sanlo designed the first Lavender Graduation Ceremony in 1995, which was attended by three graduates.
The Significance of Lavender
Lavender is important to LGBTQ+ history. It is a combination of the pink triangle that gay men were forced to wear in concentration camps and the black triangle designating lesbians as political prisoners in Nazi Germany. The LGBTQ+ civil rights movement took these symbols of hatred and combined them to make symbols and color of pride and community.