Virtually celebrating cultural communities

By Kyle Hobstetter on May 18, 2020

As Towson University continues to grow and change, its mission remains the same—to foster inclusion, collaboration and relationship building. 

The Center for Student Diversity (CSD) ensures that from the moment students set foot on campus to the moment they graduate, their backgrounds and cultures are honored and celebrated.

While this year’s spring Commencement ceremonies have been postponed, the CSD still wanted to honor its communities.

This May, the center partnered with several student and campus organizations to host online celebrations for members of the LGBTQ+[BROKEN LINK] and LatinX communities graduating this term. 

For the staff of the CSD, whose offices are usually full of visiting students, these celebrations are bittersweet. 

“This is a nice way to say we’re still here, and this is really important,” says Erin Rook, assistant director of student development and diversity. “We always say how resilient our community is—both the entire TU community and also the populations we serve in the CSD. 

“We talk a lot about resiliency, so being able to say there is a massive pandemic, but we’re still going to put these celebrations together...This is what we do. We move on and figure out how to make it work.” 

Lavender Celebration

Each spring term, Rook helps to put on the Lavender Celebration to honor graduates from Towson University’s LGBTQ+ community. This year’s celebration was supposed to be bigger than ever.

It’s the 25^th anniversary of the first Lavender graduation in the nation. (TU calls it a celebration to honor the entire LGBTQ+ community.) The first ceremony took place at the University of Michigan in 1995 with just three students. 

Today, over 200 colleges and universities, including Towson University, offer Lavender graduation ceremonies for their students. But this year’s Lavender Celebration was different because the CSD held it online. 

Initially, Rook was afraid an online celebration would be too depressing for the students. But they were still interested. 

“The student response has been, ‘Yeah, this is pretty cool, and we’re going to get to see each other again,’” Rook says. “This is a nice way to say 'We’re still here, and this is really important,' and it’s been received pretty well.”

The Webex videoconferencing event had the same format as the in-person celebration: a PowerPoint slideshow honoring the graduates; remarks from LGBTQ+ advisers, faculty and alumni, and a video from TU President Kim Schatzel.

The event ended with a group photo where each student held up a piece of paper with a word dedicated to the Class of 2020. 

For Rook, who reflected on the graduates during the event, this is one of their favorite times of the year.

“It’s such an important event because so many students come out, or feel safe in their identity to come out, during college,” Rook says. “Everyone gets a community in college. But for LGBTQ+ students, if this is your first dose of being yourself in your community, it’s so much more important to have them celebrate that achievement with you at the same time.”

Rook has planned to hold a “re-do” in the fall. Alumni, faculty and staff will get to celebrate the graduates again at a special event held at the Minnegan Room later this year.

LatinX Celebration

It was supposed to be Vanessa Gonzalez-Wright’s first spring Commencement ceremony. The assistant director of student development and diversity at TU is used to firsts in her professional career.

Most of the roles along her professional journey have been running pilot programs, starting new initiatives or being the first person in a position. The fact that she hosted the first virtual LatinX Graduation Celebration just makes sense to her.

“It will never replace the in-person celebration,” Gonzalez-Wright says. “Even though it’s my first one, I’m grateful that I get to be the person who can do something different.

“Our LatinX community is small, but they contribute greatly to the campus community. I think the ability to celebrate them during graduation and have this moment of reflection is super important for me because I get to see their growth and development.” 

The event, which was held over Cisco WebEx Meetings videoconferencing, featured students wearing their special serape graduation stoles Gonzalez-Wright mailed last week. The event featured a “live DJ,” special video messages from faculty and staff around campus, student speeches and recognition of this year’s graduates.

It was still a celebration, but Gonzalez-Wright understands it’s not the same. While she knows students may feel a little slighted they didn’t have a Commencement ceremony, no one can take away the education they earned.

“What they gained and what they learned is something they can take away with them forever,” Gonzalez-Wright says. “I hope they feel proud in what they accomplished and, as they move forward, know to not be afraid to be themselves.”   

There are several ways to get involved with programs offered by the Center for Student Diversity. Reach out through emailing the staff directly or by through the department’s email address. Stay up to date on programs and events through Facebook and Instagram. Students can also visit the CSD office on the third floor of the University Union when campus reopens.

This story is one of several related to President Kim Schatzel’s priorities for Towson University: Diverse and Inclusive Campus.