From the Editor: Rider digs through a year of snowfall
In the blink of an eye, another school year has flashed by. This year was filled with reasons to smile and be proud, as well as reasons to be somber. This year was also filled with many inches of snow, leaving the campus pothole-ridden and marked by winter. Now, as the semester comes to a close, everyone is embracing spring after a cold winter, and professors and students alike scramble to cram in lessons. Because the year sped by so quickly, let’s take a trip through the past.
New Year, New Changes
Memorial Hall on the Lawrenceville campus was renovated to fix noisy air conditioners and provide students with some much-needed peace and quiet. Daly’s also revamped its menu and now serves dishes with more of a restaurant feel, as opposed to that of a cafeteria.
Another important change arrived with alterations in Rider’s alcohol and cyberbullying policies. The revised alcohol policy now prohibits any individual under the age of 21 from being in the presence of alcoholic beverages in any location besides the Rider Pub or approved events. Rider also took steps to strengthen its policy on cyberbullying, broadening its consequences to any form of electronic communication that is used to intimidate, humiliate, threaten, harass or discriminate against any individual.
Shows
Rider was successful in displaying a host of excellent shows and productions. Plays and musicals such as Reasons to be Pretty, Metamorphoses, and Our Town played in the Yvonne and Bart Luedeke Center Theaters. One of year’s biggest productions came with A Chorus Line as it danced and sang its way across the BLC Theater stage and into the minds and hearts of the audience. Another high point came as Kelly Rowland and We the Kings visited Rider and performed for students in the Student Recreation Center.
Eco-Friendly University
The past year has been a very “green” one for Rider. The Princeton Review once again named Rider on its list of green, eco-friendly universities and colleges. The school also began work on the Trigen Plant, which will use natural gas as a source of electricity.
SNAFUs
No school year is complete without its share of complications. Students applying for housing were faced with multiple glitches in the application process when some students could choose their rooms before their time slots, resulting in an elongated process for everyone. The year also came with its fair share of flurries as students lost nearly a week’s worth of classes due to the harsh winter.
Awards
Pride was brought to Rider by the men’s swimming and diving team, and Rider’s Model U.N. team. The swimmers and divers were crowned champions for the third season in a row at the MAAC Championship in Buffalo, N.Y. For the sixth consecutive year, Rider’s Model U.N. team, representing Indonesia this year, received the Outstanding Delegation award.
Goodbyes
Rider University’s President Mordechai Rozanski announced his plans to retire, going into effect July 31, 2015. Dean Robert Annis of the Westminster Choir College also announced his retirement, his last day at the university being Dec. 31, 2014. Rider was also faced with the loss of two valued members of the science community. Dr. Bruce Burnham, professor of chemistry in the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics since 1998, passed away at the age of 51. Colleen Dillon, an administrative specialist in the Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, passed away at the age of 55 of an aneurysm. The university will miss President Rozanski and mourns the loss of these two loved members of the Rider family.
From winning awards to performing shows, it is the students who have helped create such a memorable year. As the end of this road quickly approaches, there are always memories to look back on and remember. Here’s to hoping that the next school year will be as memorable as this one that is coming to a close. Thanks for the memories, and have a wonderful summer!
The weekly editorial expresses the
majority opinion of The Rider News.
This week’s editorial was written by the Opinion Editor, Samantha Sawh.
Printed in the 04/30/14 edition.
