Commencement season is now behind us. As the celebrations have ended, it is a good time to reflect on recent commencement-related developments.

Over the last two years, universities have cancelled (and here and here) “convocations that recognize Black and LGBTQ+ students, citing the Trump administration’s campaign to rein in diversity, equity and inclusion programs.” That campaign generally has had consequences nationally.

Latino USA offers a perspective on Latina/o graduation celebrations worthy of consideration:

“The Save Mart Center in Fresno, California is packed. Thousands of family members fill the arena, while over a thousand graduates prepare to walk the stage at the 50th Annual Chicano/Latino Commencement Celebration at Fresno State. Located in the heart of California’s Central Valley, this is the largest, bilingual, bicultural affinity graduation celebration in the entire country.

Created as a response to a very specific kind of invisibility, one that showed up in mispronounced names, absent cultural traditions, and the feeling that many Latino families did not fully belong in academic spaces, this ceremony does something a little different: it reads the names of the parents and family members of the graduates while they walk across the stage and collect their diploma. Because even though their degrees are handed to one person, they still represent the labor of an entire family. For many graduating students, this ceremony also carries the weight of generations of sacrifice, migration, and hard work from family.” (bold added).

Latino USA follows three graduates, and their families through one of the largest celebrations of its kind, exploring what it means to earn a degree and honor those who made it possible.

Are these kinds of celebrations unlawful? Should they be?

I have attended a Latina/o undergraduate commencement at UC Davis. It was a joyous occasion with families allowed to walk the stage with their graduate.