Special graduation ceremonies celebrate community members’ involvement, successes

For many UCLA students, a smaller community within the student
body provides them with the support necessary to complete their
degrees. These students often choose to cap their college
experience with a special community graduation ceremony.

Both undergraduates and graduates who identify themselves as
members of six such on-campus communities ““ from the African
Student Union to the American Indian Student Association ““
will have the opportunity to participate in unique graduation
celebrations.

These graduations, which many students attend in addition to
their departmental and college commencements, focus on celebrating
the students’ accomplishments and their communities’
contributions to their successes.

The 90 students participating in the Samahang Pilipino
Celebration will march in Royce Hall to a processional of
indigenous music.

Each student will have 30 seconds to thank family members and
say anything else they feel is important, said Pia Palomo, a
fourth-year philosophy student who plans to participate in the
Samahang ceremony.

Palomo said the aim of the Samahang graduation is to celebrate
the community’s achievement, not just each student’s,
and to recognize every friend and family member’s involvement
in the student’s accomplishment.

Palomo said she plans on walking in the Samahang Celebration
because she was inspired by the Samahang graduation she went to as
a freshman.

“I felt the community’s presence,” Palomo
said. “I felt like I was part of a bigger plan.”

Philip Duldalao, a fourth-year microbiology student, said he is
planning on participating in the Samahang Celebration because the
student group was important to him in adjusting to life at
UCLA.

“Because I started out my college experience with
(Samahang), I wanted to end it with them,” Duldalao said.

Duldalao explained that Samahang made him feel connected to a
“root organization.”

Duldalao added that he doesn’t think there are many
opportunities to celebrate Pilipino culture.

Another “root organization” is celebrating its
graduates’ accomplishments in a similar manner.

At the Asian Pacific Islander Celebration, each student will
have 10 seconds to make a personal statement, said Priscilla Chen,
a third-year political science student and a member of the API
graduation committee.

Students have the option of wearing ethnic clothing and making
their personal statement in their native language.

Chen said the celebration is special because at the time it was
founded in 1983, there were half as many Asian Americans at UCLA,
and many graduates were the first in their family to complete a
college degree.

“It’s about recognizing the family, friends, and
community,” Chen said.

Chen said many students who participate in the API Celebration
also participate in one or two other graduation ceremonies.

A smaller commencement, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and
Transgender community graduation is highlighted by vocal
performances and speeches by prominent community members and offers
another UCLA community an opportunity to commemorate their
graduating seniors.

The LGBT ceremony, called the Lavender Celebration, is open to
anyone who wants to participate, said Steven Leider, a student
affairs officer at the LGBT Campus Resource Center.

Leider said participants include people who minor in LGBT
studies, students who identify themselves as LGBT or anyone who
considers themselves an ally of the community. Leider said he
expects 40 students to walk in the ceremony.

In addition to celebrating the achievements of the students, the
purpose of the Lavender Celebration is to provide a final positive
UCLA experience for its participants, Leider said.

Leider explained that for many students who become openly gay at
UCLA, the experience can be very difficult.

“We want their last memory on campus to be a happy one,
rather than dwelling on the bad things that happened,” Leider
said.