“‘We bake cookies, and we don’t rape people on the streets,’” sophomore Cody Brown, president of Cookie Baking Club, quoted. “Well, that’s how Mrs. V (Van Wardhuizzen) puts it.” Mrs. V, Cookie Baking Club’s sponsor, countered that she was quoted out of context and that she really regrets saying anything on the subject. “What I said was that we don’t want people running around after school. You’re in high school – act responsibly.” Cookie Baking Club, new this year, has already garnered much attention and some support. An average of 30 people shows up each time at Cookie Baking Club’s biweekly meetings, but according to Mrs. V, 51 different people have attended. The club meets after school on Mondays from about 3:15 to 4:30 in Mrs. V’s room. “I wanted people to be more into the school, to meet more people, and to break away from groups,” Brown said. “That’s why I started Cookie Baking Club.” “It’s not just about getting fat; it’s about enjoying people,” Mrs. V said. “When people gather around food, they talk more and get to know people more. It’s a great event.” To those guys out there who think they are too “manly” to bake cookies – women’s work? – Brown would give you “just a nice hearty laugh”. “Why not bake cookies?” he asked. Normally, Cookie Baking Club makes many different varieties of cookies, and everyone gets to sample each variety (each person gets about 6 to 7 cookies). For example, in the second meeting, they made peanut butter blossoms, no bake choco-oatmeal cookies, sugar cookies, snickerdoodle cookies, and candy-topped peanut butter cookie pizzas. However, “there isn’t such a thing as ‘extra cookies,’” Mrs. V said. “They have purposes – they’re not just leftovers .” For example, Coo kie Baking Club made German cookies once, so they decided to give the leftovers to the German students. Other times, the cookies have been saved to be sold at a bake sale at school the next day. “That’s how we pay back Mrs. V,” Brown said. Club members brainstorm cookie ideas during their meetings, and Mrs. V and her husband buy the raw materials. She also helps them make the cookies and shows them new techniques, like brushing eggwhite onto cookies. "But Dr. Avise was worried about a bunch of guys making cookies," Brown continued. "He didn’t want us to have bake sales every week.” Dr. Avise, however, said that he never said anything about being worried about guys making cookies. He said, “The reason was that we try to spread out the bake sales and other fundraisers so no one monopolizes them – we don’t want two bake sales on the same day.” He also indicated that baking cookies isn’t the most worthwhile cause, with which Brown agrees and at which he takes no offense. “It’s completely true,” Brown said. Mrs. V disagrees that baking cookies isn’t worthwhile. “Baked goods are the most overpriced food item in grocery stores,” she said. “If you can save money by baking your own cookies, that’s an economic thing. It’s a skill.” In the meantime, Mrs. V said that the Club might go elsewhere for bake sales. Cookie Baking Club’s unofficial goal is "to be the school. Overinfluential." Brown said, "We want to take people from other clubs and plop them into our club: we are imperialistic.” A fter a brief pause, he said, “That was a joke. There’s not much of a goal; we just try out new recipes. I’ve never had a strawberry cookie before. I want to make that.” More seriously, Brown said that after his club has a decent stock of extra money from bake sales, they will probably donate to Mica or other local food kitchens. Brown also had a final message for all WEB readers. "Submit t-shirt designs!" he said. "Give them to me or Mrs. V. The theme has to be Cookie Monster, but it can’t too obvious. He can’t just be eating a cookie." If you’re interested in joining Cookie Baking Club, their next meeting is on October 12. They’ll be making Halloween cookies!