By Nicole Kirkner
Copy editor
@nicolekirkner
Close to 200 people from this university’s Jewish community attended the first annual J-Dated event at Ultrabar in D.C. Thursday night.
The 18-and-up “Jewish formal,” organized by seniors Rashel Maikhor, a communication major, and Rebecca Mogil, a nursing major, was designed to give members of the UMD Jewish community an opportunity to come together before the semester ends.
“Our goal of the event was to create a night where people could show up and have an amazing time and create memories with friends, all while strengthening and building the UMD Jewish community,” said Maikhor.
Maikhor and Mogil said that the idea for the event sparked this past summer when they decided to create a formal style event for the Jewish community during their senior year. The two said they decided to reach out to a promoter to help plan the event.
“We got in contact with a promoter that puts on different events and has a strong tie to different groups on campus,” said Mogil. “We spoke with him and described the atmosphere we wanted, and told them that we wanted a fun and different experience outside of campus.”
The event was sponsored by Thursday Boot Company, and two pairs were raffled off in a giveaway to J-Dated guests. Ezra Roberts, a junior chemistry major, and Rebecca Goldstein, a sophomore psychology major, won the event, according to the J-dated Facebook event page.
“Our friend and newly-appointed Kedma VP, Aaron Yitzhaky, approached us about Thursday Boots Co., which he is an ambassador of, sponsoring a portion of the event,” said Maikhor. “We were more than happy to work with him, and Thursday Boots Co. even offered to raffle off two pairs of boots to students who signed up and paid for J-Dated.”
Tickets cost $15 for those who purchased them before Nov. 18, and cost $18 between Nov. 19 and Dec. 5.
“This may be the first J-Dated of Maryland history, but we are confident that the future Jewish leaders of Maryland will continue this tradition for semesters to come,” said Mogil.
Mogil and Maikhor said everyone loved being able to come together.
“J-Dated was awesome because it was a way to go out with your friends and have a good time outside of College Park,” said Tamara Brown, a senior family science major. “It was a way for a lot of people, who normally wouldn’t, to bond together and just have a fun night out. It was also a great way to de-stress before the craziness of finals. It was a night everyone will remember.”
