Starting the week of May 14, Sonoma State will be hosting a series of cultural commencement ceremonies via zoom for graduating students that identify with their own represented communities. For context on what a cultural graduation ceremony is, the SSU website gives a brief description of what they are. “Cultural Graduations are annual celebrations to honor [various] communities. We invite all graduating students who are a part of these communities and want to participate in these free celebrations to do so.”

There will be a total of four ceremonies representing four different ethnic groups, separated into certain groups in order to properly acknowledge the different cultures and backgrounds. According to the Sonoma State website, “there are four virtual ceremonies this May: Black grad, Asian, Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern grad, Rainbow grad, and Raza grad.”

Asian, Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern grad will take place on Friday, May 14 at 6 p.m., and that will be the only one happening that week. The following week, the ceremonies will begin with Raza Grad on Wednesday, May 19 at 6pm, and continue with Rainbow grad on Thursday, May 20th at 6pm, and Black Grad on Friday, May 21 at 6pm.

Interim Director of the Educational Opportunity Program, Khou Yang-Vigil, was able to talk specifically the Asian, Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern Grad, stating that “while there are multiple cultural graduations for different groups, what sets the Asian/Pacific Islander (API) and Middle Eastern (ME) Graduation apart is that it is an annual celebration to commemorate the graduation success and achievements of specifically our Asian, Pacific Islander, and Middle Eastern students here at Sonoma State University,” she said. “It recognizes the achievements of our students and brings our communities together.”

Yang-Vigil went on to say that, “it is important to be able to honor and recognize the identities and cultural heritage of our students and their families who identify as Asian, Pacific Islander, and/or Middle Eastern. We have a very small percentage of students at Sonoma State University who identify as being part of this community and creating that sense of belonging, a community with other students who have shared experiences, and something to look forward to as our students complete their milestone accomplishment earning their Bachelor’s degree is key.”

Among other social gatherings, the pandemic has greatly impacted how these ceremonies take place. In years past, the ceremonies were held in person with “a reception following the individual ceremonies, welcoming all cultural graduation participants, friends, allies and families to celebrate this momentous occasion with a dinner buffet and performances from ensembles representing the different cultures in attendance,” according to the Sonoma State website.

While they used to have receptions and buffets after the ceremony, they have had to switch to online and remote celebrations. “Although we are not able to be in person to celebrate, we still want to honor and recognize our graduating APIME seniors and by hosting the online Zoom event we are able to provide a space where students and their families (from all over the country and world) can be in community with our Sonoma State campus community to celebrate their achievements,” Yang-Vigil said.

Even with the ceremonies being different this year, certain aspects of the celebrations may be used in future years. “Each year A/PI & ME Cultural Graduation Celebration has a committee that is made up of staff and student representatives and we come together to discuss and assess the previous years ceremonies to help us with the planning for the next cultural graduation celebration.” Yang-Vigil said. “I am not sure what the future of the graduation celebrations will look like post-pandemic, but I am sure we will incorporate some of the new things we have learned during the pandemic into the future celebrations.”

Whether the cultural commencement celebrations happen in person or virtually, they are a great way for students of different cultures to come together and celebrate their success with other students of similar backgrounds. To find out more and to register for one of the cultural commencement ceremonies, head over to hub.sonoma.edu/cultural-graduations-2021.