Diversity and inclusion programs (DIP) would appreciate your support as we celebrate seniors who identify as QTBIPOC (LGBTQIA+ and/or BIPOC) on Wednesday, May 5, from 6:00 to 7 p.m.
Soon it will be possible to RSVP on Engage, and in the meantime please help us spread the word by sharing the form below with classes and student networks. We are using this form so we can feature seniors’ accomplishments and time at UP. We’re gathering graduating students, as well as staff and faculty to celebrate our accomplishments over our time at UP. The deadline to submit responses is Monday, April 19.
Here is the link to the form: QTBIPOC Graduation Celebration.
We recognize that there may be some concerns as to why DIP is not hosting individualized graduation ceremonies for different identities on our campus. We know that QTBIPOC experiences are not the same for everyone, and while we one day hope to host graduation celebrations for all affinity groups, we do want to highlight the intersectionality of identities on our campus. We also want to recognize the collective power many graduating seniors and other students and supporters used to fight for change amidst the Black Lives Matter movement over this past year. We also recognize that some communities have larger numbers than others, and some more individualized celebrations would be very small. The last issue is DIP’s capacity and numbers; we simply do not have the numbers in our staff to host multiple graduation ceremonies. However, we hope to one day celebrate everyone’s accomplishments with separate ceremonies.
For more information reach out to Rebecca Seibert at seibert@up.edu or Yuri at hernandy@up.edu.
All University community members who identify as Latinx (Latino/Latina/Chicano/a/Hispanic, etc.) and work at UP in any capacity, including adjunct, faculty, staff, and administration, are invited to contact Yuri Hernández Osorio, who serves as diversity & inclusion program coordinator in students activities. Hernández Osorio hopes to form an informal group for Latinx employees. She hopes to create an email list so the group can stay in contact, organize events, and share trainings and resources. The overall mission is to gather and provide informal support to each other. To join the group or for more information contact Hernández Osorio at 
Yuridia Hernandez-Osorio joined the Office of Student Activities on August 3, 2017, as the new coordinator for diversity and inclusion programs, according to Jeromy Koffler, student activities. She is a 2015 University of Portland graduate with a bachelor of arts in social work, and won the Joseph S. Gallegos Award for Outstanding Service and Leadership in Social Work that same year. Since her time at UP, Yuri completed her masters of social work at the University of Michigan, where she served as an intern at Wayne State University’s Latino/a and Latin American Studies Center.