Finding Belonging: Riverdale’s Expanding Affinity Program
From making dumplings in the Asian American Alliance to meeting NBA player Kevin Love in Boys Leading Boys, affinity groups are a foundation of Riverdale’s cultural climate. This year, as more students strive to express their unique identities, new affinity groups have been created for them to do so. According to the Riverdale website’s own definition, affinities aim to “strengthen the entire RCS community” They offer opportunities outside of the classroom to “find support, connection, and a voice at our school, … foster deep reflection, … [and] facilitate positive identity exploration and development toward the larger goal of creating an inclusive and thriving community.”
This year, in pursuit of creating an even more supportive school environment, Upper School Affinity Coordinator and Director of Community Engagement Ms. Ciara Everett worked alongside student leaders to announce three new affinity groups at Riverdale: Living in Faith and Trust (LIFT), Neurodiverse Voices (NDV), and South Asian Student Alliance (SASA). “The good thing about Riverdale’s affinity program is that we have an affinity group that everyone can go to. Whether you want to go to an affinity group that’s based on your religious identity, your sexuality, your gender identity, or even your cultural identity, there’s a space for you to go,” said Ms. Everett.
Recognizing a gap in Riverdale’s affinity program for students of Christian faith, the student leaders of LIFT sought “to create a space where students who share our faith could come together… discuss their beliefs, study the Bible, and enjoy fellowship.”
Student leaders Audrey Kim, Ethan Kim, Lucas Rosado, and Xavier Bandur-Rosen, all sophomores, shared their aspiration to create a place centered around belonging and community, hoping that students could “gain more knowledge and confidence in their relationship with each other and with God.” Audrey Kim described the LIFT meetings as “a space where I can share my faith and connect with people from Riverdale who understand and share these values.”
Connection under a set of shared values is a common goal of affinity groups. According to student leaders, juniors Gigi Griffin and Mimi Ascher and sophomores Zoey Levin and Emery Friedman, NDV aims to help neurodivergent students navigate Riverdale’s “rigorous academic environment.” They hope to foster “a safe space where like-minded people… who face similar challenges… can come together.” The presence of the affinity group will enable students to learn about resources “that help neurodivergent students thrive,” they said.
To create an inclusive community, NDV will allow all members to “speak without raising hands or needing to be called on.” Everyone, from neurodivergent people to allies to those just interested in the topic, is invited to participate.
In an effort for increased diversity among ethnicity-based affinities, juniors Ameer Qureshi, Rishan Kothari, and Sascha Chodry created SASA to “celebrate and have discussions on the diversity within the South Asian student body as well as creating a stronger sense of community within this multiethnic population… [by] creating a safe space for all students.” They created the affinity with the intent to discuss the diverse cultures and backgrounds of South Asia, which they say often go underrepresented in other affinity groups like AAA. They hope to “hone in on a more specific region rather than all of Asia, to increase the cultural engagement and engagement with students as a whole.”
Affinity groups are a way to find one’s place among a supportive, tight-knit community in an exacting school like Riverdale. The expanding affinity program is a testament to successful community engagement, and the creation of additional groups will allow students of all identities to find their own sense of belonging in their school community.
