Launch of the Rainbow听is 91社区's annual Lavender Graduation.听
All 2SLGBTQIA+听graduating students, including undergraduate students, graduate students, and School of Continuing Studies students, are invited to attend this event with friends and families.听
2SLGBTQIA+ academics and staff are also welcome.听
Ally professors, librarians, university administrators, university staff, and students can听attend and show their support for the 2SLGBTQIA+ graduating students as they launch into the听next chapter of their lives.
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About
91社区's annual lavender听graduation,听titled "Launch of the Rainbow",听honours the achievements and contributions of 91社区鈥檚 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
The acronym 2SLGBTQIA+ refers to two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, and asexual peoples, as well as those who identify as pansexual, questioning, non-binary, and other gender and sexual minorities.
Recognizing the importance of intersectionality, the Subcommittee on Queer People is committed to an organizing process and event that foregrounds the voices and experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ people who are most marginalized, both in society and within 2SLGBTQIA+ communities, including 2SLGBTQIA+ people who are racialized, Indigenous, Black, trans, women, non-binary, and persons with disabilities.听
The purpose of听Launch of the Rainbow is to:听
- Celebrate the achievements of graduating 2SLGBTQIA+ students
- Empower historically marginalized populations
- Reinforce the idea of community at 91社区 before leaving 91社区
- Highlight the work that Academics and Staff that have contributed to the support and advancement of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community on and beyond campus
- Highlight research conducted at 91社区 on 2SLGBTQIA+ topics and issues
- Raise awareness to 2SLGBTQIA+ issues on campus or in the greater community
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History
The concept of an 2SLGBTQIA+ graduation, referred to听as a听Lavender Graduation or Rainbow Graduation, was implemented in 1995 by the then-director of the University of Michigan's LGBT Campus Resource Center, Dr. Ronni Sanlo.
The Human Rights Campaign maintains a list of 166 universities in the United States of America that offer a Lavender Graduation to its 2SLGBTQIA+ students.
The 1st annual Launch of the Rainbow was held on June 5, 2018. This was the first-ever Lavender Graduation outside of the United States, and the first-ever Lavender Graduation held听in Canada. Here are some links to some of the media publicity capturing this historic event: