By Cyndi Allison
Your academic major may lend itself to gifting your loved one at Valentine's Day. Maybe you are a music major and can sing your boyfriend/girlfriend a song, or an English major could write a personal poem filled with declarations of everlasting love.
Then there are the science majors . . .
The American Chemical Society (ACS) at Catawba College can't really make the periodic chart very romantic. However, chemical attractions abound within the Big Bang Theory crowd where student scientists are often thought to be rather reserved and distracted by equations running through their heads.
You have not been hanging out in Shuford Science Building on campus if you have not discovered that the crew "across the road" scores high for humor and for passion. Everyone needs a few science friends.
Last year ACS, under the direction of chemistry professor Dr. ChaMarra Saner, found perfect love gifts for their scientific-focused friends and also for those who dance to different tunes in majors like business, history, and religion: microbes. Since microbes are too small to actually see, the Valentine microbes are enlarged and made of soft huggable stuffing and different colored fuzzy materials. They are a bit like the Beanie Babies which were super popular several years back.
If you are the humorous type or want to punk a friend, then you might give them the kissing disease (mononucleosis) – the stuffed variety sold by ACS, of course. Then, there's the brain cell microbe - perfect for anyone trying to increase their gray matter, except these are cute, soft and grey, arriving with a fact sheet. You can learn while you cuddle your new stuffed microbe.
Limited supplies of the microbes available for Valentine's Day included the stuffed toys as well as keychains with microbe minis.
Funds from the project go to support Catawba chemistry students who want to attend the ACS national conference. The conference is an annual opportunity for students to present individual research and to network with others in the science fields.
Catawba's ACS will be selling t-shirts later in the year, so keep an eye out for that project coming up soon.
