Another College Hosted Separate Graduation Events

The University of Nevada, Las Vegas hosted five “affinity” graduation events earlier this month, Campus Reform reported, including celebrations for Asian and Pacific American, “Latinx,” Native American, African American, and LGBT students.

“Please join us for our Affinity Graduations sponsored by Student Diversity Programs; which include APMIE, Latinx, Lavender, and Native Convocation,” the school wrote, adding that participating students would “be provided a stole to wear at commencement as a part of the ceremony.”

The university system’s Reno campus offered similar graduation celebrations, Campus Reform reported.

“By recognizing and honoring different cultural traditions and themes, the celebrations create spaces where students can feel proud of their heritage and share it with others. These celebrations help foster a sense of belonging and inclusivity for students of diverse backgrounds,” student supervisor Emily Thao-Singh in a campus statement.

The affinity celebrations were scheduled to take place ahead of the university’s official spring commencement ceremonies.

In April, “Dirty Jobs” Host Mike Rowe blasted Harvard University’s use of affinity celebrations, asking, “What better way to celebrate Harvard’s rich commitment to diversity, [than] by encouraging diverse groups to celebrate separately?”

“These [affinity] celebrations allow students to separate themselves from each other based on their racial and ethnic identities, and then, celebrate graduation with their own kind,” Rowe wrote on Facebook.

“I’m old enough to remember when this was called ‘segregation,’” he added. “At Harvard, they call it ‘affinity.’ To be fair, Harvard’s website says these celebrations are not in lieu of the official graduation, and open to all students who pre-register. But the celebrations themselves are clearly labeled, and the invitees are hard to misconstrue.”

Other schools have offered similar ceremonies for years. In 2021, The Daily Wire reported that Columbia University would host six separate graduation ceremonies segregated by student race, sex, and income. Days later, Columbia clarified that the segregated events were not graduation ceremonies, but celebrations.

The College Fix reported at the time that in response to the backlash the university received for the segregated “Multicultural Graduation Ceremonies,” the school’s website was quietly changed to call them “Multicultural Graduation Celebrations.”

The Fix reported in its original article on the ceremonies that they were in addition to the graduation ceremonies for the entire “Ivy League university and its individual schools.”

“In most instances, these smaller, multicultural gatherings evolved from ceremonies originally created by alumni and students,” a school spokesperson told the outlet in an email. “The gatherings are voluntary, open to every student who wants to participate, and have become a highly anticipated and meaningful part of the Columbia graduation experience.”