Photograph of cupcakes from the 2018 Lavender Graduation, held by UNT Special Collections. The cupcakes lay on a tray, and there are two types: vanilla with white frosting and chocolate with chocolate frosting. Each of them have a round piece of chocolate on top with a green eagle symbol. Lavender Graduation ceremonies have a rich history and began with the first Lavender Graduation at the University of Michigan in 1995. The first Lavender Graduation ceremony was created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, the Director of the Lesbian and Gay Programs Office at the University of Michigan. Dr. Sanlo, who had been denied admittance to her children’s commencement ceremonies because of her sexuality, realized there were no recognition ceremonies to honor the lives and achievements of Queer and Trans students. With the extra stress and pressure placed upon Queer and Trans college students, Lavender Graduation ceremonies are an important rite of passage that offer recognition and inspiration to students. Lavender Graduation ceremonies are open to all graduates, those within the Queer and Trans communities and their allies. The tradition is continued today at hundreds of institutions across the nation and the Pride Alliance is honored to add UNT’s name to that list.

Photograph of people cleaning up a garden from the Big Event, held by UNT Special Collections. The image shows a wide vies of a garden in a building's outside courtyard, with several people in white t shirts standing in various places around it cleaning it up.

Photograph of a group of people at the 2018 Lavender Graduation, held by UNT Special Collections. The image shows a group of six people sitting around a black table. The two furthest on the left are the graduates in their outfits with purple stoles around their necks, rainbow stripes on the ends of it. On the farthest right is a young man in a striped sweater, to his left another young man and the two people in the middle older woman. Behind them is a long table of refreshments, and on their right another table of people partially seen. Lavender Graduation ceremonies have a rich history and began with the first Lavender Graduation at the University of Michigan in 1995. The first Lavender Graduation ceremony was created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, the Director of the Lesbian and Gay Programs Office at the University of Michigan. Dr. Sanlo, who had been denied admittance to her children’s commencement ceremonies because of her sexuality, realized there were no recognition ceremonies to honor the lives and achievements of Queer and Trans students. With the extra stress and pressure placed upon Queer and Trans college students, Lavender Graduation ceremonies are an important rite of passage …

Photograph of a graduate from the Spring 2018 Lavender Graduation.

A photograph of a student walking across the stage during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. He is wearing his green regalia with his new stole and is headed towards a microphone. People are seated in a group behind him and there is a table and podium behind him as well. The projection screen lists names of students who are receiving a stole at the ceremony.

Photograph of African American graduates from Spring 2018, held by UNT Special Collections. The photograph shows a big group of African American men and women on a stage in their green graduation robes and caps, as well as their stoles with a traditional striped African print on it. They graduates stand on a stage in front of a white screen titled "Spring 2018 Graduates" with twelve columns of their names. Some of the audience is seen watching them, taking pictures.

A photograph of two student walking across the stage during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. They are wearing their green regalia with their new stoles and are headed away from the microphone. People are seated in a group behind them and there is a table and podium behind them as well. The projection screen lists names of students who are receiving a stole at the ceremony.

Photograph of three people at the 2018 Lavender Graduation, held by UNT Special Collections. The image shows three people sitting close to each other at a round table. The person on the left is a girl with long blonde hair wearing a dress, in the middle is one of the graduates wearing a purple stole, and the person on the right wears a black t shirt. Lavender Graduation ceremonies have a rich history and began with the first Lavender Graduation at the University of Michigan in 1995. The first Lavender Graduation ceremony was created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, the Director of the Lesbian and Gay Programs Office at the University of Michigan. Dr. Sanlo, who had been denied admittance to her children’s commencement ceremonies because of her sexuality, realized there were no recognition ceremonies to honor the lives and achievements of Queer and Trans students. With the extra stress and pressure placed upon Queer and Trans college students, Lavender Graduation ceremonies are an important rite of passage that offer recognition and inspiration to students. Lavender Graduation ceremonies are open to all graduates, those within the Queer and Trans communities and their allies. The tradition is continued today at hundreds of …

A photograph of a student receiving her stole during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. She is wearing her green regalia and is standing with a man in front of the stole table as he puts one around her neck. A woman is holding the next stole and others are seated beside her.

A photograph of a student speaking during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. He is wearing his green regalia with his new stole and is standing on the stage behind a microphone. People are seated in a group behind him and the projection screen reads "La Raza Ceremony".

A photograph of people gathered on the stage and the projection screen during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. One man is walking across the stage with a plaque and gift bag in his hand. The screen has the agenda on it and reads "Folklorico De North Texas - Welcome/Raza History - UNeTe Community Awards - UNT Alumni Association - Presentation of Graduates - Closing remarks/reception".

A photograph of a young woman on stage during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. She is wearing her green regalia and stole from the event. She is standing behind a microphone and a screen with the winner of the UNeTe Lifetime Achievement Award, Thomas Lazo, on it is behind her.

Photograph of a woman by rocks from the Big Event, held by UNT Special Collections. The image shows a young woman in a white t shirt and jeans kneeling by some rocks on the dry ground.

Photograph of people making shirts at tables from the Clothesline Project at the University of North Texas, held by UNT Special Collections. The image shows three different people at tables with shirts laying in front of them as they decorate them with paint. The Clothesline Project was started in Cape Cod, MA, in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women and serve as a vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions. The Clothesline Project takes place multiple times during October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Students and community members may create a shirt which allows each survivor to tell their own story, allowing those who are still suffering in silence to understand they are not alone.

A photograph of a young woman on stage during the UNT Multicultural Center's People of Nia ceremony. She is wearing her graduation regalia and is holding onto a microphone. The projection screen behind her lists all of the students receiving their special stoles.

A photograph of people gathered on the stage and the projection screen during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. The screen has a list of students on it and the border is a design similar to the stoles.

Photograph of a group of people having lunch at APAEC 2011, held by UNT Special Collections. The image shows a big group of people sitting on the floor or on steps, all nearby each other. The room is lit by the windows behind the, letting sun through. Some of the people hold Wells Fargo bags. APAEC stands for Asian Pacific American Empowerment Conference, an annual conference that happens every year at UNT.

A photograph of a young woman on stage during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. She is wearing her green regalia and stole from the event. She is standing behind a microphone and a screen listing names and other officials are behind her.

Photograph of a woman picking up trash from the Big Event, held by UNT Special Collections. The image shows a woman kneeling on the ground picking up trash with a big black trash bag next to her. Another woman can be seen in the background also picking up trash.

Photograph of hanging shirts from the Clothesline Project at the University of North Texas, held by UNT Special Collections. The image shows a far view of rows of shirts hanging on a clothesline, all of them of various colors. They are seen behind a table that also contains stacks of shirts. Over the front of the table is a green banner that says "Multicultural Center" and "University of North Texas." The Clothesline Project was started in Cape Cod, MA, in 1990 to address the issue of violence against women and serve as a vehicle for women affected by violence to express their emotions. The Clothesline Project takes place multiple times during October, which is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Students and community members may create a shirt which allows each survivor to tell their own story, allowing those who are still suffering in silence to understand they are not alone.

Photograph of a graduate from the Spring 2018 Lavender Graduation.

A photograph of a student speaking during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. She is wearing her green regalia with her new stole and is standing at the microphone. People are seated in a group behind her and there is a table and podium behind him as well. The projection screen lists names of students who are receiving a stole at the ceremony.

Photograph of a speaker at the 2018 Lavender Graduation, held by UNT Special Collections. The image show a speaker behind a podium with a green plaque in front of it. On the plaque are the letters UNT in white. On the right side the projector screen can be seen with the Lavender Graduation title on it, surrounded by a circle of lavender. Lavender Graduation ceremonies have a rich history and began with the first Lavender Graduation at the University of Michigan in 1995. The first Lavender Graduation ceremony was created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, the Director of the Lesbian and Gay Programs Office at the University of Michigan. Dr. Sanlo, who had been denied admittance to her children’s commencement ceremonies because of her sexuality, realized there were no recognition ceremonies to honor the lives and achievements of Queer and Trans students. With the extra stress and pressure placed upon Queer and Trans college students, Lavender Graduation ceremonies are an important rite of passage that offer recognition and inspiration to students. Lavender Graduation ceremonies are open to all graduates, those within the Queer and Trans communities and their allies. The tradition is continued today at hundreds of institutions across the nation …

A photograph of people gathered on the stage and the projection screen during the UNT Multicultural Center's La Raza ceremony. The screen has text and a border that matches the design of the stoles.