RIT Holds Sixth Annual Lighting The Way Ceremony on Sept. 2

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RIT holds its sixth annual Lighting The Way ceremony on Sept. 2 to welcome female students and Darci Lane-Williams, new director of the Center for Women and Gender.

A ceremony that aims to help women feel supported and inspired by Rochester Institute of Technology will welcome female first-year, transfer and graduate students during this week’s orientation events.

RIT will hold its sixth annual Lighting The Way ceremony at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“The purpose of this ceremony is to create a tradition to welcome women to RIT and to symbolically pass the light of learning to the next generation of students,” says Donna Rubin, founder of the event, former director of RIT’s Center for Women and Gender and newly appointed RIT assistant vice president for the student wellness initiative.

The ceremony will begin in the Gordon Field House with a video and performance by ENCORE!, the RIT women’s a capella group. Speakers for the event include Mary-Beth Cooper, RIT senior vice president for student affairs, and Rubin, who will pass the torch to incoming director Darci Lane-Williams. The women will then lead a processional with LED candle-lit lanterns along the Quarter Mile to a dessert reception at the Brick City Café.

“Lighting the Way will continue to be a highly anticipated event for many years to come. I am thankful for the opportunity to continue this tradition and celebrate the achievements of women here at RIT,” says Lane-Williams.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Women and Gender, RIT’s Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs and RIT’s Office of the Vice President of Finance and Administration.

Lighting the Way is modeled after the University of Pittsburgh’s “Lantern Night,” a 91-year-old tradition at the school.