Commencement ceremonies were held at CSULB for the past 3 days. Among the graduates were the Lavender Grads who held their own graduation ceremony on May 10th, including Jeffrey Au Spafford who graduated with a BA in Journalism.
During his time at CSULB, Jeffrey served two terms as president of Delta Lambda Phi, a national social fraternity for gay, bisexual and progressive men. The organization has been very committed to supporting many non-profits such as Beacon House, 1736 Family Crisis Center, GLAAD, LA AIDS Walk.
He was also part of the transgender taskforce, a group of students who worked with CSULB Administration to include gender identity on the list of protection for CSULB applicants and worked with the Associated Students, Inc.’s Senate to create a new Secretary of LGBT Affairs position on the ASI President’s Cabinet.
I am sure his family is very proud of Jeff, and that all the families of Lavender Graduates are equally proud. A successful academic career and earning a degree is something to celebrate, especially when you consider how many young people fall into drug abuse, gang violence, or just flounder at the difficult choices life presents.
With this in mind, I was surprised at the amount of controversy the Lavender Graduation seemed to generate (see Penn Points: Second Annual Lavender Graduation at CSULB). They stayed in school and finished, even though some of them were picked on, some of them were overlooked, and some of them faced the hard realities that we all face. Why not celebrate?
Lavender Graduate Jenny Rundenza ; Cabrillo High School GSA advisor Denise Sarno; and Long Beach City Councilwoman Tonia Reyes Uranga, Keynote Speaker at Lavender Graduation 2008
“This year’s Lavender Graduation Celebration turned out to be a tremendous event for family, friends, loved ones and allies to be in one room to honor, highlight and recognize the achievements of such talented and wonderful LGBTIQA members in our community,” said Jeffrey Au Spafford, event co-chair. “The entire day was beautiful, and I could not envision a better day filled with aesthetics, love and positive energy. With hard work from all the student and staff volunteers on the committee, we were able to execute another memorable occasion and tradition that will live on in CSULB LGBTIQA history.”
Congratulations to all of the 2008 graduates!