Days before graduation, thirteen students gathered in Scott Hall, surrounded by friends, family, and faculty to be honored in their own congratulatory ceremony. They donned rainbow stoles and celebrated their achievements as members of the LGBTQ students at Northwestern.
Lavender Graduations are held at universities across the nation to honor and acknowledge the achievements of LGBTQ students. Lavender is an important color in LGBTQ history, although the origins of the association is debated. The Human Rights Campaign says that the hue combines the two colors that Nazis used to signify gay men and lesbian women in concentration camps, pink and black, respectively. The LGBTQ rights movement repurposed these hateful symbols as a symbol of pride.