Attendance tips 1,000 for several fall events at Rider

If you host it, will they come?

At Rider this fall, the answer has been a resounding yes.

Several events have attracted more than 1,000 students, as traditions new and old continue to gather steam around the University.

A number of events — Cranchella, Broncapalooza, the I Love College dance party, now in its seventh year, and the fall concert, featuring PnB Rock, Young M.A. and Flipp Dinero attracted more than 1,000 students each.

"Throughout the University, we have been working hard toward a goal of building a vibrant living and learning community for our students — both inside and outside the classroom," says Vice President for Student Affairs Leanna Fenneberg.

The large turnouts began right at the start of the semester with a jam-packed schedule of events that welcomed students to campus. Students participated in the festival-like Cranchella, a giant class-wide photo of students arranged to form the letter R and a bike building event that benefited the local community in need of new bicycles.

Reflecting the University’s inclusive and diverse community, September events included the LGBTQ Welcome Dessert Reception, a Diverse Welcome Reception, and Broncapalooza — events highlighting involvement opportunities in more than 150 diverse clubs and organizations, 15 fraternities and sororities, 19 club sports, 60 intramural teams and 15 multicultural clubs. In October, a Coming Out March took place in front of Moore Library. The event recognized National Coming Out Day, observed annually to celebrate and raise awareness of the LGBTQ community.

"We want the student experience at Rider, including events and opportunities on campus, to reflect the fact that our student population is becoming increasingly diverse," Fenneberg says. “We want students of all identities and backgrounds to feel a sense of belonging and respect at Rider.”

Last year's freshman class was the most diverse in University history, including 45% of incoming new students identifying as racial minorities as well as other underrepresented identities including first-generation students, socioeconomic class, LGBTQ identities, and diverse religious affiliation. The trajectory continued with this year's freshman class.

Earlier this month, Moustafa Bayoumi, author of this year's selection for Rider's Shared Read, How Does It Feel To Be a Problem: Being Young and Arab in America, visited campus to discuss the book. Later this month, New Jersey's attorney general, Gurbir Grewal, the first Sikh-American attorney general in United States history, will be at Rider for an event open to the campus community and the public.

Campus life shows no sign of slowing down as students adjust to autumn and enter the midway point of the fall semester. One of Rider's newest and most popular traditions, Scream Screen, takes place on Oct. 19. The event, hosted 107.7 The Bronc, New Jersey’s best college radio station for the past three years, transforms a section of campus into a drive-in movie experience, with students voting on what scary movie is shown.

“It’s the campus’s fall premiere event," says senior filmmaking, TV, and radio major and the radio station’s website director Matthew Mysholowsky. "Anyone who is anyone is going to go to Scream Screen, just for the sheer fact of having fun with their friends and watching a movie. There’s a lot of food, lots of games you can play, lots of candy, of course, and we have the biggest drive-in movie screen on the East Coast.”

Homecoming, which is open to students, faculty, staff, alumni and the general public, arrives the following weekend, on Oct. 27. The annual event returned last year after a 14-year hiatus.

“I’m glad this event is becoming a tradition on campus," says Student Government Association President Olivia Barone. "The Homecoming committee really worked hard to incorporate many different organizations with events all day long and all over campus."

In addition to attracting a large number of students, this year's schedule of events might also be changing some recalcitrant students' attitude toward attending.

“I don’t normally like to attend school-sponsored functions,” says Hailey Hensley, a first-year student majoring in public relations. “But Rider has been putting out some pretty good ones this fall, and I’m excited to see what’s to come.”