Sophomore’s Critique: Minority students lack campus voice

Leadership, to me, is defined as the ability to guide or direct a group. Some people believe that you can be a born leader; however, this is not the case. Leadership is something that must be worked on throughout your lifetime to be achieved.

Being a leader on Rider’s campus is not a hard task to accomplish. If you really want to become one, there are many opportunities to do so, such as joining a club or participating in a workshop. Not only is it a life-changing experience, but it is also a valuable quality to possess.

Despite this, it seems as though minorities are rarely holding leadership positions.
As a Guatemalan student, I find this observation to be quite upsetting since we have so much to offer to the Rider community. Minorities are quickly breaking their minority status at Rider University. We have a very diverse group of minorities that range from Asian, Latino, African American and many more, who also have an expansive opportunity to become leaders on campus.

Interacting with many minority clubs on campus, it is a simple task to name all the minority students who actually hold a leadership position, considering that there aren’t that many.

Most of these students who take the advantage of the opportunity hold multiple positions in different organizations and clubs. However, I believe that there should be more minority students participating as leaders on campus.

After so many years of being seen as incapable of accomplishing things, this is our time to show our ancestors that their blood and tears were not shed in vain. We need to show the student body we have a lot to offer to Rider University.

It has come to my attention that many students in the minority community are scared to take action. There is no need to be scared of finding something beautiful within yourself that gives you a satisfying feeling. Leadership is a hard value to own, but once you acquire it, I can honestly say you will never look back.

– Walter Saravia

Sophomore secondary education and English major