Rutgers Jains bring students together with hot chocolate and games

The Rutgers University Jains hosted a “Hot Chocolate and Chill” game night in the College Avenue Student Center on Tuesday.

The evening was filled with games where the students were split into two teams to compete in competitive Pictionary. The club provided cookies and hot chocolate. To ensure the Jain community could adhere to their core principle of nonviolence towards plants and animals, the marshmallows for the hot chocolate were vegan.

WRSU spoke with Rutgers Jains President Raj Kapadia and Vice President Naman Shah about how the event was for all students to connect with each other and relax during midterm season, emphasizing hospitality in their approach.

“We were trying to have a lot of international students, and other students from different states, who come here and they’re trying to find a community,” Kapadia said.

Jainism is a minority religion in India with a small community at Rutgers University. Kapadia and Shah cited the need to bring Jain students together, explaining the motivation behind the club’s founding in 2022.

“Being a minority religion means that you have a smaller community, especially in a big school at Rutgers, and this club was founded by Raj four years ago to sort of like build this community up together and have a good turnout,” Shah said. “And we’re so happy to see so many people around us today at this moment.”

Story by Julia Saker. Maryam Malihi also contributed to this report.