The Pride Resource Center will host the annual Lavender Awards Ceremony May 2 to celebrate the accomplishments of graduates apart of Colorado State University’s LGBTQIA+ community. The ceremony is open to all who wish to attend.
Six awards will be presented, including the Morris Price Jr. Outstanding Alumnx Award, the Pride Legacy Award, the Rainbow Inspiration Faculty/Staff Award, the Sascha J. Franzel Ally Award, the Shining Star Award and the United in Action Award.
“It gives us an intentional moment to celebrate joy and community,” said Maggie Hendrickson, the PRC director. “This is a way for students to feel pride as a family, invite who they want to, use their chosen name and just kind of be their authentic self. Everyone deserves to be celebrated authentically.”
The awards ceremony stems from a long history of LGBTQIA+ discrimination, which led the community to carve out spaces where it could exist more freely. The color lavender has historically been used as a covert way for members of the LGBTQIA+ community to recognize each other without risking prosecution.
“An event like this, where the community can come together in resilience, is a great opportunity to help show that we are here, we are strong, we are together and that no matter how hard they try, they can’t kill us in a way that matters.” –Morgan Snyder, ASCSU Accessibility Caucus chair
Lavender awards ceremonies, sometimes referred to as lavender graduations, have been practiced across the nation for decades.
“We’ve kind of carried on that tradition of not having a separate graduation ceremony but just another celebration for folks to feel like they don’t have to hide a part of who they are in order to be celebrated,” Hendrickson said.
ASCSU Accessibility Caucus Chair Morgan Snyder, who graduates in May, said it is important to remember the history of LGBTQIA+ subjugation, especially given recent actions by President Donald Trump.
“We’re currently having (an) administration in the federal government that wants to take us back to not even the ’50s (but) to like pre-Teddy Roosevelt times,” Snyder said. “An event like this, where the community can come together in resilience, is a great opportunity to help show that we are here, we are strong, we are together and that no matter how hard they try, they can’t kill us in a way that matters.”
Another graduating student, McKenna Waldrop, said community is important for graduating students who are nervous to enter the world.
“We want to be able to celebrate each other in ways that historically might not have happened,” Waldrop said. “Especially, like, nowadays, we just like to lift each other up and recognize that even though we’re moving into the next phase of our lives, we’re not losing community at all with the people we went to college with or the people who we share identities with.”
The PRC has been an integral source of community for many students at CSU, providing a variety of resources and support to anyone in need.
“I came there when I first got to CSU, and I’ve gone there like almost every day I’ve been here,” Snyder said. “It basically connected me with a community, provided resources and basically helped me on my journey to help better understand what to do with my life and what to think about for post-grad.”
Waldrop said the PRC helped them accept their changing identity and feel more comfortable as an adult.
“For me, it’s played a huge part in trying to figure out who I am as an adult,” Waldrop said. “The Pride Center specifically kind of helped me realize that (identity) is always going to change, … and that doesn’t have to be scary or threatening. It can be really fun to find out who you are over and over and over again.”
As someone who attended last year, Waldrop said students can expect an inviting and emotional ceremony where graduates and members of the PRC can express their mutual appreciation and well wishes.
“Expect a lot of cheers, a lot of happiness, probably some people who are crying because they’re going to miss their friend who’s going to be graduating, or they’re excited for where they’re going to go,” Waldrop said. “It’s usually just very warm and loving and kind when we’re all together taking photos, sharing old stories with one another (and) eating cake.”
The event will be held in Lory Student Center Theater, and anyone planning to attend is encouraged to RSVP prior. Graduating students who cannot attend but want a lavender graduation cord can pick one up at Pride Resource Center during hours of operation.
“We’re here to celebrate everybody, no matter how they identify,” Hendrickson said.
Reach Chloe Waskey at news@collegian.com or on social media @CSUCollegian.
