The CDI: A critical campus resource

By Jay Roberson

Everyone on campus knows me as Jay, but little do they know, Rider’s Center for Diversity and Inclusion was the first place I shared my real name as a freshman. Rider was a fresh start for me, especially as a nonbinary student, and the CDI gave me the strength and skills to take pride in my identity. 

The summer before my freshman year, I was accepted into the Multicultural Student Leadership Institute, recently renamed the All Broncs Build Emerging Leaders, Opportunities, Networks and Growth-Mindsets (BELONG) Alliance. This meant I got to move on to campus a week early, which was what I was initially most excited about.

My first week at Rider was a cultural shock. I had come from a town where the population was 80% white; my teachers often avoided the topic of race, gender and identity, only bringing it up where “necessary.” 

To meet such a supportive, diverse group of people so early on in my college career was a great privilege. I remember thinking to myself: ‘I’ve learned more about the world in my first week of college than I did in my first 18 years of life.’ 

Through this program, we were required to attend cultural events through the CDI and seminars where guest speakers offered professional and personal development. We were told the best leaders were honest and authentic. After years of feeling silenced because of my identity, for the first time, I felt like my voice mattered. 

A year later, I became a peer leader for the Multicultural Student Leadership Institute program. It was really valuable for me as a future educator to guide first year students through their first semester at Rider. The CDI has always offered me the opportunity to grow and learn more.

Most importantly, the CDI has been a place of peace and solidarity. My sophomore year, I lost a majority of my friends and felt more lonely than I had in years. The CDI was the only place I felt wanted; each time I walked through the doors I knew someone would be willing to hang out and talk with me. 

The day after my friend Raven passed away in October, the only place I could think to go to was the CDI. Though I had not visited the CDI in a long time, everyone was quick to support and comfort me. CDI Director Jasmine Johnson went out of her way to support me not only the day after his death, but the weeks following  as well, despite not knowing me too well. 

The connections I have made at the CDI will stick with me throughout the rest of my life. Those same people I met my freshman and sophomore year through MSLI are the people I continue to receive support from, regardless if they still go to Rider or not. 

With President Donald Trump’s recent executive action threatening DEI activities on campuses, cutting programming like the All Broncs BELONG Alliance would be a tragedy for students. It is essential that students within minority groups feel they belong somewhere, and the CDI is the perfect space for that.

Without the CDI, I would be nowhere near as prepared to start my job as a high school English teacher in September. More importantly, without the CDI, I would not have had the support and community I needed to make my way through college. 

Coming to college was terrifying, but the CDI made that process a little bit less scary. Within my first week, it provided me with friendships that will last me a lifetime. It has offered me security in my identity and the tools to stand strong as a nonbinary person.

The CDI is not just another space on campus, it is a necessity for students coming from diverse backgrounds.

Jay Roberson is a senior English and secondary education major