This is being driven largely by students. Expect it to be even bigger next year.
The Harvard Crimson reports:
Harvard Affiliates Celebrate University’s Expanded Pride Programming, Thanks To Student AdvocacyHarvard significantly expanded its University-sponsored programming in honor of Pride Month this year, drawing praise from BGLTQ affiliates who said they hope the momentum of expansion continues into future years.The programming included Harvard’s first-ever University-wide Lavender Graduation, the establishment of the Evelyn Hammonds Award for Exceptional Service to BGLTQ+ Inclusion, the illumination of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences’s Lehman Hall in rainbow colors, and the first-ever Harvard social media post celebrating Pride on the University’s official Instagram account.Members of LGBTQ@GSAS, the affinity group for BGLTQ graduate students, initiated the formation of a Pride task force in January, reaching out to fellow students and administrators to begin brainstorming ways the University could honor BGLTQ affiliates during Pride.James G. Evans, the vice president for advocacy at LGBTQ@GSAS and a Ph.D. student in History, said he and other students collaborated with administrators to make two of the institutional milestones happen: the first University-wide Lavender Graduation and the first Harvard social media post commemorating Pride month.“We wanted this year to be the first time that the University officially recognized both Pride and a University-wide Lavender Graduation,” Evans said. “And so what we decided was best was to roll those two things together.”
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY