Multicolored lights illuminate the glistening alley of Homestead Bowl on Jan. 28 as Jewish Student Union members eat food, hurl bowling balls and form connections with each other. Throughout the school year, JSU hosts a variety of different events to boost interconnectivity within the Jewish community, president Mai First said.

JSU hosts weekly school and outside-of-school events one to two times per month, junior executive board member Lana Kataeva said. The outside-of-school events involve other local high schools and are organized collaboratively to create a community for Jewish students,  Kataeva added.

Events such as these are a way to make clubs more fun and interactive for members and officers work hard to find affordable and accessible venues, Kataeva said

“There will generally be some sort of fun activity like bowling or ice skating, we’ve even done laser tag,” First said. “Even members who aren’t super active in JSU can attend. The ultimate point is to encourage and bring together the Jewish community even outside of school.”

First said many logistics in planning out-of-school events focus on timing and formulating when events can take place to ensure everyone who wants to can attend. Additionally, a lot of planning goes into lowering the individual cost to members so more students can attend, First said.

“These events are really meant to be fun [and] a good time,” First said. “You get to see friends from other schools and meet other members of the community, so it’s a really fun experience to have on the weekend.”

Around 10-15 members of HHS JSU attend such events, and many do so to bond and see their Jewish friends from other schools, First said. 

“Some members have their only connection to Judaism through JSU and provide a lot of people with the sense of a small, tight-knit community they would otherwise lack,” First said. 

The best part of the bowling event was meeting many new people in the Jewish community, JSU member Mika Levy said. 

“It’s pretty fun hanging out with people of my culture and community,” Levy, a freshman, said. “It’s very rewarding and nice meeting new people.”

The price of admission to events never bothers Levy, she said, because the costs are so subsidized among members. She said she looks forward to every event. 

“Outside-of-school events are a really engaging way to get people involved in clubs, and other clubs should definitely look to do similar events,” Levy said. “I love all the out-of-school events JSU organizes.”