The University’s March 31 civil rights compliance report to the Department of Justice detailed a new set of changes within the Division of Student Affairs, including the discontinuation of funding for and administration of several affinity-based student initiatives and graduation-related ceremonies.
The report, which was submitted as part of the University’s October agreement with the Justice Department, states that Student Affairs no longer organizes or hosts the Donning of the Kente Ceremony, the Lavender Ceremony or the Multicultural Recognition Ceremony, all of which are identity-based graduation ceremonies held in connection with Final Exercises. It also states that student-led affinity initiatives that had previously operated within the Division — including the Black Male Initiative, Black College Women and the Black Presidents Council — are no longer administered by Student Affairs, and the Division no longer funds them.
But what do these changes look like in practice, and how are the students and communities connected to these groups experiencing them?
While the report outlines these changes in administrative terms, The Cavalier Daily spoke with students, alumni and University officials to understand how those changes affect communities in practice.
Affinity initiatives move outside Student Affairs
The Black Male Initiative, Black College Women and the Black Presidents Council have historically served as spaces for community building, mentorship and peer support among Black students on Grounds. According to a 2023 one-pager from the Office of African-American Affairs, the Black Male Initiative was established in 2011 and focuses on academic success, retention and economic empowerment for Black male students.
Black College Women, founded in 2015, provides a community-oriented space for Black women to connect and navigate shared experiences at the University as well as provide a platform “to work towards the elimination of historical race, gender, class, cultural and religious barriers to success for young Black women.”
The Black Presidents Council has historically brought together Black presidents of Contracted Independent Organizations and aimed to “shape the experience of Black students by strategically supporting the whole of the Black community through advising, advocacy and celebration.”
These groups had previously operated within the Division of Student Affairs — often with administrative support and funding through the Office of African-American Affairs — before the changes outlined in the March 31 compliance report.
University spokesperson Bethanie Glover told The Cavalier Daily in an email statement that the Black Male Initiative, Black College Women and the Black Presidents Council all applied for CIO status in fall 2025 and have operated independently since then.
Glover also noted the role of past institutional support in sustaining these organizations and pointed to funding and administrative assistance from the University as factors in their previous operations.
“Past funding provided food and other resources for [the Black Male Initiative, Black College Women and the Black Presidents Council] meetings and events throughout the academic year,” Glover said. “Additionally, administrative support from the Office of African-American Affairs assisted these groups with room reservations and scheduling prior to the groups becoming [CIOs].”
David Hawkins-Jacinto, executive director of strategic communications in the Office of Student Affairs, wrote in an email statement that the Black Male Initiative has “served primarily as a student-driven peer network for supporting U.Va. students,” and he said the Black Male Initiative, Black College Women and the Black Presidents Council have had no formal connection with the Office of African-American Affairs or the Luther P. Jackson Black Cultural Center since applying for CIO status.
While the University has ended its formal administrative role in these groups, Hawkins-Jacinto said that the Office of African-American Affairs will continue to provide a sense of community for students.
“As it has done since its foundation 50 years ago, [the Office of African-American Affairs] will continue to serve as a place of connection and belonging for all our students on Grounds,” Hawkins-Jacinto said.
The University did not make senior administrators within Student Affairs available for interviews on the changes. After initially agreeing to an interview, Hashim Davis, assistant dean for the Office of African-American Affairs and director of the Black Cultural Center, later said he had been directed by Student Affairs leadership to refer questions to senior officials within Student Affairs and the Office of African-American Affairs.
The practical effect of the change, however, has looked different from the student side.
Momore Del-Davidson, fourth-year Batten student and member of Black College Women, said the organization has long depended on institutional support not to define its mission but to sustain how it operates in practice. She said Black College Women has always been primarily student-run, but University support made it possible to provide food at weekly meetings, order books and reduce logistical barriers for members.
Del-Davidson is a co-chair of one of Black College Women’s sectors called ITCOMS — meaning “In The Company of My Sisters” — which meets weekly and was built to create a space for conversation and to debrief on issues affecting members, whether political or not.
“There’s so much that we’re exposed to that we don’t always have an outlet to discuss with, especially with people that have different opinions than us,” Del-Davidson said. “Even though we’re Black college women, we come from all over the diaspora, and a lot of times we don’t agree, and my perspective on things [has] shifted and changed.”
She said that ITCOMS created an environment where members could speak openly and feel heard in ways that are not always possible in academic settings.
“A lot of times, we’re silenced in classrooms and in discussions,” Del-Davidson said. “To have a space where you can actually speak up and your voice matters, it not only empowers you in that space, but empowers you when you leave that space and you know that you belong here.”
She said that prior to the compliance report changes, support through Student Affairs and the Office of African-American Affairs meant the organization did not have to compete for funding with other CIOs and could reliably sustain weekly programming.
Without that support, she said, the organization’s model has become more difficult to maintain. Because many funding sources do not support recurring meetings, providing food — which she described as a key factor in attendance given the midday meeting time — has become inconsistent.
“At the end of the day, if you have four classes in a day and you have to choose, ‘Am I going to eat or [am I] going to ITCOMS?’ I’m not going to be mad at anybody who’s choosing to eat,” Del-Davidson said.
Del-Davidson also said the loss of consistent funding has made it harder to retain membership and sustain programming, adding that the group’s book club has largely stopped operating because members can no longer afford the cost of books which were previously covered.
She added that while the organization continues to operate, the changes have made sustaining that space more difficult.
“We were knocked down, but we’re not defeated,” Del-Davidson said. “We’re gonna still keep trying our best.”
The Cavalier Daily reached out to the Black Presidents Council via email and did not receive a response by publication. Additionally, The Cavalier Daily attempted to contact the Black Male Initiative via an email address listed on the HoosInvolved CIO website but received an automated response indicating that messages to the list are restricted to moderators.
Graduation ceremonies restructured
The March 31 report also formalized a shift in identity-based graduation ceremonies. According to the report, Student Affairs “no longer organizes or hosts the Donning of the Kente Ceremony, the Lavender Ceremony or the Multicultural Recognition Ceremony.” While the report states that student and alumni groups may continue the ceremonies without University funding or organization, the University has since listed similar events as part of its 2026 Final Exercises schedule, explicitly noting they will be hosted by the U.Va. Alumni Association.
These ceremonies have historically served as optional, identity-affirming celebrations alongside Final Exercises. The Donning of the Kente Ceremony recognizes Black graduates and celebrates African heritage and achievement, often through the presentation of Kente stoles. The Lavender Ceremony honors LGBTQ+ graduates and their contributions, while the Multicultural Recognition Ceremony has served as a broader celebration of students from diverse cultural backgrounds.
The Cavalier Daily reached out to Carissa Temerson, assistant director of Multicultural Student Services and director of the LGBTQ Center, for comment on the changes but did not receive a response by publication.
As the responsibility for these events shifts away from Student Affairs, Lance Guthrie, Class of 2014 alumnus and chair of the Queer Alumni Network board of directors, shared a statement from the U.Va. Alumni Association — an alumni-led 501(c)(3), noting that certain graduation receptions will continue this year.
“The U.Va. Alumni Association … will be hosting graduation receptions this year,” the statement read. “These events mark students’ transition into the alumni family and the start of a lifelong relationship. While certain details of the events may be reimagined, the spirit of celebration, recognition and belonging will always be at the heart of planning.”
The University’s Final Exercises schedule now includes four Alumni Association-hosted events — the Multicultural Graduate Reception, Kente Graduate Reception, International Graduate Reception and Lavender Graduate Reception — each held on graduation weekend at Newcomb Hall. The events are described as honoring students from diverse cultural backgrounds, Black students, LGBTQIA+ students and allies and international students or those who have studied abroad, and include remarks from student and alumni leaders.
The events are distinct from the previously Student Affairs-supported ceremonies but reflect a continuation of similar traditions under a different organizational structure.
Brendan Maupin Wynn, class of 2014 alumnus and former chair of QVA — which works to support the University’s LGBTQ+ community through philanthropy and engagement among alumni, students, faculty and staff — said in an interview with The Cavalier Daily that changes surrounding the Lavender Ceremony became apparent even last year, before the agreement with the Justice Department.
According to Wynn, QVA has long supported the LGBTQ Center and the Lavender Ceremony. Wynn said that in the past, QVA has provided around $10,000 annually in funding to the LGBTQ Center.
He said the Lavender Ceremony, founded in 2010 through the LGBTQ Center, often recognizes between roughly 50 and more than 100 students, each of whom is individually acknowledged through personalized slides highlighting their experiences and accomplishments at the University.
Wynn said he arrived at last year’s Lavender Ceremony and was surprised to learn the Alumni Association had stepped in at the last minute. He said he initially saw Lily West, president and CEO of the U.Va. Alumni Association, and assumed she was just attending in a supportive role. He later realized the Alumni Association was not simply attending, but had stepped in to organize the ceremony after learning the University had planned to cancel it.
“Up until days before the ceremony, U.Va. was planning to cancel it and tell students that they weren’t going to be able to have these celebrations,” Wynn said. “The Alumni Association stepped in with hours to go to make sure that there was a seamless transition for students.”
Wynn also connected the ceremony’s importance to his own experience as a student, describing the LGBTQ Center and its programming as critical to his ability to find community at the University after being estranged from his family.
“I would have had a hard time making it through U.Va. without the LGBTQ Center,” Wynn said. “U.Va. had a plan in place right away so that I could go to school after being abandoned by my parents, and I made so many friends right away in the LGBTQ Center, and I still got to celebrate all of my accomplishments that my parents would never have cared about or approved of at [the Lavender] ceremony.”
While the University has shifted away from organizing these ceremonies in compliance with the Justice Department’s agreement, similar events continue at other public universities in Virginia. William & Mary is planning to hold a Donning of the Kente Ceremony and Lavender Celebration, and George Mason University will have a Lavender and Women and Gender Studies Cording Ceremony.
Critics argue changes are necessary
The changes outlined in the March 31 report come after months of public and political pressure on the University over diversity, equity and inclusion programming.
In March 2025, the Board of Visitors voted to dissolve the University’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Community Partnerships. Since then, outside counsel and the University have undertaken a broad review of policies and programs for compliance with federal anti-discrimination law.
The Jefferson Council, an alumni group that has pushed for the dismantling of DEI programming at the University, had previously criticized identity-based graduation ceremonies on its “Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at U.Va.” website, arguing they raised legal and ethical concerns and amounted to segregated programming.
“The Donning of the Kente Ceremony … is yet another instance of a de facto segregated graduation ceremony, thinly veiled as a cultural celebration,” the website reads. “With its emphasis on Kente cloth … and its alignment with racial and cultural themes, the ceremony clearly targets Black students, even while maintaining the nominal fiction that ‘all students are welcome.’”
Jefferson Council President Joel Gardner said he sees the latest changes as both legally necessary and beneficial to life on Grounds.
“A public university should not be funding or supporting any groups over another,” Gardner said.
He said privately funded groups are free to have their own celebrations, but those celebrations are different from institutionally organized ones. Gardner also said he remains skeptical that the University has fully moved away from the framework it says it is dismantling.
“In order to have effectively ended this, all the [DEI] officers should have been let go and all of those departments should have [been] shut [down],” Gardner said. “The key word now is … ‘community.’ … They just took ‘DEI’ and made it ‘community.’”
The Jefferson Council’s “DEI at U.Va.” website also displayed a video released by FOX News in October 2025 showing University staff discussing efforts to continue certain diversity-related programming under different names. In the video, a staff member described “doing the same stuff” while “changing the names a little bit” to avoid scrutiny.
The footage referenced changes later detailed in the March 31 compliance report, including renaming “Queer Brunch” to “Cozy Brunch” as part of Student Affairs’ effort to “emphasize broad participation by all students.” According to the article, a University spokesperson said the video was recorded weeks before the Justice Department agreement and was not related to it, though the March 31 report documents the same event renaming as part of the University’s compliance review.
For students and alumni who have participated in the affected spaces, they say the changes are less about branding than about continuity, access and recognition. Del-Davidson said organizations such as Black College Women do not function as exclusionary spaces, but as places where students with shared experiences can feel heard. Wynn said the Lavender Ceremony fills a similar need at the end of a student’s time on Grounds.
As Final Exercises approach, many of those groups are continuing their work independently, even as questions remain about what long-standing traditions and support structures will look like moving forward.
