Seven cross-cultural celebrations held on campus for graduates from underrepresented communities

As the class of 2022 wraps up their final moments on campus, graduating seniors from underrepresented cultural and societal communities were invited to attend cross-cultural graduation celebrations last week to commemorate their time and dedication at Chapman while surrounded by friends, families and their respective communities.

These cross-cultural graduation celebrations, hosted by the Cross-Cultural Center (CCC) and the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), are annual ceremonies that occur in addition to the official commencement ceremonies. According to the CCC website, culturally-specific ceremonies offer an affirmational space for graduating students to celebrate their accomplishments and victories with other classmates and faculty members who share their identity.

There were seven cultural celebrations that occurred in total, including Asian, Pacific Islander and Desi American (APIDA) Graduation, Black Graduation, Disabilities Graduation, Latinx Graduation, Lavender — or LGBTQIA+ — Graduation and Middle Eastern Graduation.

“I attended the Latinx Graduation for my family and because it gave me the opportunity to be around other people from my community that have also been through the same struggles as me,” Nicole Henriquez, a senior sociology major, told The Panther. “For me personally, no one in my family has a bachelor's degree, and so, going to this celebration is a huge accomplishment for my entire family and I.”

The celebrations were held at the Fish Interfaith Center, and while they were widely advertised to all students within these communities, there were no restrictions on student participation nor was it required for any student to participate.

“Cultural graduation celebrations are additions to the university-wide commencement ceremony, and students are free to register for these additional celebrations to share the joy with their friends and family if they choose to,” stated the Cross-Cultural Center in its earlier Instagram post regarding the ceremonies.

All graduation ceremonies for each cross-cultural community featured guest speakers, special performances by student-run groups, a catered meal and  a cultural stole ceremony. Students received distinctive cultural stoles upon attending their respective celebrations, which they will be able to wear to their main graduation ceremony. 

Peace studies and political science professor Dr. Arthur Blaser, who is also the co-director of the disability studies minor on campus alongside professor Brian Glaser, told The Panther these ceremonies are positive in that they celebrate the accomplishments of minority communities, who often suffer from disparate graduation rates in comparison to white college students.

“Some recognition through this event of the importance of students with disabilities graduating is very important in changing some widely held misconceptions and providing more support for this community,” Blaser said.

The Promising Futures Program (PFP), which supports the academic, social and professional development of first-generation college students on campus, also collaborated with the Office of the Provost to host a May 7 graduation ceremony specifically for first-generation seniors. 

“I decided to go to the first-gen graduation because I’ve been very active in the first-generation community as a Summer Bridge (Program) leader and as the president of First-Gen Ambassadors — a first-generation, student-led club on campus (that has operated) for the past year and a half,” said Angelique Acuna, a senior film studies and art history double-major. “Since my first time ever on campus was a first-generation overnight event during my senior year in high school, it was super special for me to be able to see my peers who had been with me during that first summer and celebrate graduation with them at this event.”

The PFP graduation ceremony featured catered food and drinks as well as a few speeches from first-generation faculty and alumni speakers to kick off the ceremony. As the ceremony commenced, graduates went up onstage to receive a red cord along with a red rose. 

Each senior at the ceremony was granted 30 seconds to give a shout out and thank anyone that had supported them throughout their college journey. The ceremony ended with a toast to all the seniors and their families, acknowledging all of their hard work and resiliency.

The various cross-cultural graduation ceremonies serve as added ways to honor the dedication and commitment of several student communities on campus by allowing seniors to celebrate with one another in a more comfortable manner. Cultural graduations will occur annually again in May 2023 for next year’s graduates to attend as well.