I am writing in response to the May 12 Daily Forty-Niner article, “With a Little Help from Their Allies.”
On behalf of the LGBT Resource Center at CSULB, I would like to thank contributing writer Charity Nguyen and photographer Cindy Chiang for their coverage of the 2008 Lavender Graduation celebration.
Nguyen’s article was well-researched and captured the emotional and enthusiastic tone of the event perfectly. We appreciated her contacting us in advance for pre-event interviews and she was careful to interview a range of students at the celebration to obtain different reactions. Nguyen also conveyed the essence of each keynote speaker’s message, placing each set of comments in context.
We are also grateful to Chiang for her documentation of the event. Her photo of the 2008 Lavender Graduates featured on the front page was a riveting portrayal of the nearly electric atmosphere.
We were grateful for the support of campus administrators. President F. King Alexander sent remarks to be read to the class of 2008 and College of Liberal Arts Dean Gerry Riposa helped distribute commemorative certificates to the graduates. Assistant Dean of Students Jeane Relleve Caveness and Jeff Klaus, the director of Student Life and Development, delivered remarks on behalf of the Division of Student Services.
We were also pleased to welcome elected officials Long Beach Vice-Mayor Bonnie Lowenthal and Councilmember Tonia Reyes Uranga to the event.
The LGBT campus community is appreciative of support shown for the 2008 Lavender Graduation Celebration from both on- and off-campus allies.
– Dr. Kirstyn Chun,
LGBT Resource Center Faculty Adviser
CAPS Staff Psychologist
