The Lavender Ceremony at Mount Holyoke is a recognition ceremony honoring our LGBTQIA+ Graduates sponsored by SGA Lavender Committee, the Jeannette Marks House, and Office of Community and Belonging, Division of Student Life. This year's ceremony will be held on Sunday May 3, 2026 in Gamble Auditorium.

During the celebration, we will honor graduating seniors through faculty/ staff reflections, refreshments, and a gift for all seniors who register. Attire is semi-formal or business casual.

All registered seniors may invite up to five (5) guests. Complete the submission form no later than Friday, March 27, 2026, 11:59pm EDT to officially register for the ceremony. To request an application email community-belonging@mtholyoke.edu.

Event access:

• Location, paths of travel to the location, entry: Located in Gamble Auditorium in the Art Building. There are three entrances to the Art Building: if entering from up the hill there is a door off Gateway Road that leads to the third floor of the Art Building where an elevator is located at the end of the hall that leads to the ground floor. If entering from the bottom of the hill, the Art Museum’s main entrance is located on a curved driveway off Lower Lake Road which opens to the ground floor main hall where check-in/refreshments/etc. will be located. This entrance leads to the top of Gamble Auditorium which requires going down a large set of stairs to get to the front stage. where there is a life as well as a smaller staircase that both can be taken directly to the front stage of the auditorium without having to descend the larger staircase.
• Bathrooms closest to space: Near the entrances at the top of Gamble Auditorium there is a single-stall, accessible bathroom. Near the front entrance to the art museum there are multi-stall gendered bathrooms.
• seated/standing/moving: Participating seniors will be sitting for most of the ceremony. When tassels are being presented, participants will be asked to exit their seated rows and stand in a line while individually being called up to receive a tassel. Once they have received their tassel they may return to their seat. Navigating to their seats may require ascending or descending stairs. There is a row of seats on the same level as the stage where the tassels will be handed out that do not require ascending or descending stairs during the ceremony.
• lecture/participatory: Most of the ceremony will be lecture style with remarks from various guests and at the end participants will be asked to participate by (when/how instructed) making their way to the front stage to receive a tassel.
• Food: Refreshments will be provided in the main hall outside the Art Museum following the ceremony with gluten-free/nut-free/vegan options as well as options taking into account all allergens noted on the registration form. Refreshments will be labeled with a dish name and allergens.
• Student only?: No, family/friend/faculty/staff guests that are directly invited by the participating students will also be attending.