The LGBTQA Advisory Board hosting the second annual lavender graduation where those aligned with the community can receive a rainbow colored cord for graduation.

Lavender graduation will take place at 4 p.m. May 9 in the Tarble Arts Center Atrium where those in the LGBTQA community can show their pride for themselves and the community.

To register, graduating students can go to the lavender graduation page on the Eastern website. Those interested must register before midnight May 6.

At print date, roughly 80 had signed up to go to the graduation to receive a cord and 40 seats are still available.

Katherine Johnson, the student representative for the advisory board, said the advisory board wants to recognize those who in the community and their time at Eastern.

“They just want to recognize all of their efforts and all they done at Eastern,” Johnson said.

She added the lavender graduation will just be a gathering of those to celebrate the accomplishments of like-minded people the day before graduation. This will allow them to keep those contacts alive.

The advisory board wants those in the LGBTQA community to know they were-are still welcome.

“This allows people to have a graduation where they are accepted for who they are,” Johnson said.

Johnson said she believed the cords meant more then just a token for whom they identify with.

“Being on stage and going through graduation with these cords, allows them to show everybody that ‘Hey, I am who I am. I love being myself and I am not afraid to show that to the rest of the world,’” Johnson said.

Jarad Jarmon can be reached at 581-2812 or jsjarmon@eiu.edu.