Rider’s Women United, having a ball and empowering women

By Sofia Santiago

Guests in glittering gowns waited in line to get their coats checked by two masked ushers outside of the Cavalla Room. Once directed inside, the stylish students were immediately greeted by a red carpet that paved the way into the transformed space for the evening. 

On March 30 at 6 p.m., Rider’s Women United club, in collaboration with the Culture n’ Trends club, Rider’s chapter of the NAACP, the Educational Opportunity Program Women in Action Academy   and the Center for Community and Belonging hosted the Women’s Empowerment Masquerade Ball.

Students were invited to attend wearing formal attire to create an elegant, fun and inspiring atmosphere. Masks were optional, as the main purpose of the event was to discuss the ‘mask’ that represents the roles women are expected to play and how to stay authentic despite it all. The event also celebrated impactful female figures and wrapped up the club’s Women’s History Month events.

Junior elementary education major Rihanna Johnson, the president of Rider’s Women United and the political action chair for Rider’s NAACP chapter, gave further insight about the purpose of the Masquerade Ball.

Johnson said, “[People do not often look] into the mask and the roles that women have to wear every single day of our lives to fit into some type of standard, regardless if it’s a workplace standard, if it’s school, if it’s classroom.”

On the left side of the room stood a stage and podium under the projected schedule for the evening, overlooking the luxuriously decorated dinner tables. 

On the right side of the room, mocktails, refreshments and catered Olive Garden salad, chicken fettuccine alfredo and marinara meatballs were arranged. Past the food table was a reserved open ‘ballroom’ area for dancing.

The night started off with opening remarks by Johnson and soon after guests were invited to get food, which was served at the tables by members of Rider’s Women United. The plates, table cloths and decorations followed a golden and royal blue theme, most of which were paid out of pocket by the club members themselves due to a reduced club budget.

“This is here to empower you, for you to come and have fun, for you to chill, eat with your friends. That’s why we wanted to pay out of pocket. We wanted to make sure the event happened so the Rider community can have a safe space like this,” Johnson explained.

Refreshments were provided courtesy of the Culture n’ Trends club, and were in honor of Marsha P. Johnson, an activist and a key figure of the LGBTQIA+ rights movements of the 1960s and 70s.

“It’s becoming increasingly more important for marginalized groups, specifically women, specifically queer women, to be able to get their voices out there,” said Eden Lewis, senior English major and president of Culture n’ Trends. “And to be able to feel like they have community and that there are other people like them, who are going through the same thing, who will actually uplift them and not hold them back.”

Then, a guest speaker took the stage: Rider alumna, Aniyah Parks ’20. Her speech focused on the importance of advocating for themselves and being intentional about their academic journey. The inspiration for her speech came from her reflections from her time at Rider, getting her undergraduate and masters degree and now, her journey in getting her doctorate degree while working at Montclair State University as the Assistant Director for the Health Careers Program.

“I’m telling students to always be true to yourself, but also, when you are saying something,                       be intentional … And never say no to opportunity, because you may never know where that may take your future,” Parks said in regard to her speech.

After Parks concluded her speech and answered questions, students were encouraged to participate in a ballroom dancing lesson choreographed by freshman dance education major Nizya Reese. 

Finally, guests strutted down the red carpet to showcase their extravagant outfits. Even as the event was drawing past 8 p.m., the supposed ending time, attendees were still on the dance floor enjoying themselves while dancing to “Boots on the Ground” by 803Fresh and “Cupid Shuffle” by Cupid.

What could have been another sit-down lecture workshop was turned into what Johnson described as an event that is, “People just bringing people together.”