Dîner en Cran brought new experiences to the table

By Cal Sutton

Red envelopes flooded Rider Student Life’s Instagram account, along with vague invitations and RSVP opportunities emailed to student organizations and select Rider community members.

The posts started on Sept. 15, with a new post coming out each subsequent day. Hype generated by students who saw the posts was high.

Walking through the hallways at Rider on the days leading up to the event, speculation could be heard about what the event could possibly be.

On the day of the event, Sept. 24, a final announcement was made on the Student Life Instagram account, as well as through a universitywide email. Such announcements outlined what to expect from the event: a dinner at 5 p.m., followed by a toast and giveaway.

Chris McQueen, director of campus activities, was a prominent factor in the creation of the new iteration of Cranberry Fest.

“Dîner en Cran was really about taking the history and spirit of Cranberry Fest and creating a new experience around it — something that could bring students, faculty and staff together in a way that felt intentional, welcoming and distinctly Rider,” McQueen said. 

As students entered the event, they received red raffle tickets and chatted amongst themselves. They found seats around the long table set up on Alumni Drive next to Daly Dining Hall and were greeted by other students and administrators.

107.7 The Bronc was playing music and many overlapping conversations were had over the dinner, which included options such as chicken, pork, salmon and salad, along with desserts such as mini baked goods, apple cider donuts and caramel apples.

McQueen noted that Dîner en Cran was made to be a less stimulating event for a reason. The calmer nature of the dinner was facilitated in hopes to cater to students who may not like the high-energy atmosphere of many Rider events.

Melvin Lewis, a sophomore sports media major, said that he just happened to stumble across the dinner while exiting the parking lot, not knowing about the social media posts or the campuswide talks of a mystery event.

“I finished going to the mall with my friend, Chris, and then we were talking, like, ‘we want some food,’” Lewis said. “And then [we] came right into the parking lot and was like, ‘oh, they’re having this big event, so might as well.’”

After many students finished eating and moved on to having conversations with their friends and the people in their area, ribbon wands and light-up foam sticks were handed out to be props for a photo opportunity.

At 6:30 p.m., an announcement was made for those in attendance to stand with their ribbon wands and foam sticks for the group picture.

The novelty giveaway item that had been teased during the event’s promotion was the light-up foam sticks, adorned with a sticker branded with the event’s name, Dîner en Cran.

On the other side of conversations in anticipation for the event, Rider Student Life came under scrutiny for its reliance on artificial intelligence to create the graphics to be posted on the Instagram account.

Karla Ritter, a senior film and television major, was one of the first students to publicly criticize the posts made by Rider Student Life.

“I think [departments using AI] is honestly such a cop-out,” Ritter said in an interview with The Rider News. “It’s incredibly disheartening seeing professors and staff using artificial intelligence to create things that they know other students can do for them.”

In response to the critical feedback about the event’s AI-generated advertisements, McQueen said, “AI was a tool used to help develop some of the promotional imagery and concepts. AI helped execute some visual concepts within a very compressed timeline.”

McQueen continued, saying, “I also recognize that there are larger conversations happening about AI, creativity, sustainability and ethical use. Those conversations are valuable, and part of working with any emerging technology is continuing to listen, learn and be thoughtful about how it is used moving forward.”

Dîner en Cran was different from usual on-campus events, but fresh leadership across university departments showed this change is necessary and something to learn from.