28 February 21 • 2019
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 February 21, 2019/16 Adar 1 5779
for college students by college students

HMD Girls Night!

Comfortable atmosphere sparks 

discussion and empowerment.

Marcella Bluth } jewish@edu writer L

et’
s have a girls night!” So, 
we actually did.
On Jan. 17, Hillel of 
Metro Detroit had its first “Girls 
Night” event to talk about sex 
and healthy relationships — 
and it was a success. This event 
took place at HMD’
s student 
lounge on the sixth floor of the 
Student Center at Wayne State 
University. With the guidance of 
HMD Program Associate Olivia 
Berlin, a committee of WSU 
students Alexis Potoff, Rachel 
Peysakhova and I formed to 
plan the event. 
We partnered with AEPhi, 
a Jewish sorority on campus. 
They were excited to co-host 
our event and had quite a few of 

their members show up.
About 30 “girls” attended a 
fun night that started with a 
build-your-own sushi bar dinner 
and mocktails. Once everyone 
made her rolls and was suffi-
ciently covered in sticky rice, we 
made our way to hear the panel 
that included Ann Rayford, 
nurse practitioner from the 
WSU health center, WSU’
s Dr. 
Richard Slatcher, who specializes 
his research on the topic of rela-
tionships, and Elana Gotfriend, 
a sex therapist. 
To begin, we asked questions 
written in advance. Once the 
group stared to warm up to our 
panel, we transitioned to an 
open-floor format. Additionally, 

there were visual aids, demon-
strations and pamphlets to fully 
educate the attendees. 
“I thought it was an amazing 
event,” said Monica Merzin, Jewish 
heritage and ritual chair for AEPhi. 
“The sushi was really fun to make, 
and I loved how we were able to 
freely ask questions in an open and 
comfortable setting.” 
It felt like our girls left as 
women; feeling more empow-
ered, educated and ready to take 
on life with a newly found com-
munity of supporters behind 
them: community that celebrates 
girl power. @

Marcella Bluth of Southfield is a junior at 

Wayne State University in Detroit.

L

ate in my sophomore year, members of the 
Michigan State University Hillel staff reached 
out to me, believing I would be a perfect fit for 
the Ryan Rosman (z’
l) Jewish Business Association 
(JBA) internship for the university’
s Jewish Student 
Union (JSU). With this internship came the respon-
sibility of immersing Jews on campus in the world 
of business and the opportunity to be active in the 
pro-Israel movement on campus. 
Although wary of voicing my pro-Israel stance as 
college campuses are full of conflicting opinions, I 
chose to apply for the role and was selected. After my 
first semester as the JBA intern, I can definitively say I 
made the right decision.
It was through my involvement in JSU that I had 
my first contact with Hasbara Fellowships, a pro-Is-
rael campus activism organization that brings hun-
dreds of students to Israel every summer and winter 
to give them the information and tools to return to 
their campuses as educators about Israel. 
Hasbara Fellowships approached Hillel and JBA 

Hasbara 
Fellowship

MSU student advocates for Israel 
by focusing on the positive.

Kyle Zaback } jewish@edu writer

Madeline Byrne, Monica Merzin, Robbie Robinson and Emma 
Mcgrath at the HMD/AEPhi “Girls Night”

MSU student Kyle Zaback, 

front right, during a Jeep 

ride in the Golan Heights 

during the Hasbara Israel 

Training Program 

about bringing the Start-Up Nation 
Technology Fair, an expo showcasing 
on-the-rise Israeli start-ups, to MSU. I 
was thrilled to be the on-campus coor-
dinator of this event, which allowed 
me to accomplish my business-aligned 
goals in JBA while also advocating for 
Israel.

During the fair, I connected with 
the Hasbara Midwest regional advis-
er who told me of the organization’
s 
Israel Training Program and suggested 
I apply. The program is an exclusive 
16-day Israel advocacy training trip 
focused on offering pro-Israel student 
leaders the opportunity to gain lead-

