Letter from the Editor: herpes in the bookstore?

By Lory Mishra

In the 9 issues I have served as the Editor-in-Chief, I never felt so compelled to write you all a Letter from the Editor, as I do now. Something very strange is happening in the bookstore and it would mar my journalistic integrity if I didn’t tell you about it. A few days ago, I walked into our very own bookstore in the MTCC to purchase a few school supplies for some of my classes. Towards the end of my trip to the bookstore, I noticed some new additions: large, bright stuffed toys. The bookstore has had some quirky merchandise in the past but these stuffed toys definitely caught me off guard. Some of them were odd but cute, like the squarish “Bad Breath” or “Yeast” but there were three in particular which need public attention.

Okay. I need you to not freak out when you read this. Take it like an adult would. The IIT campus bookstore is selling herpes, chlamydia, and gonorrhea stuffed toys. I’m not making this up.

When you first pick up one of these microbes, they just look sort of funny because they are mostly big pieces of fabric with two big eyes. And then you read the tag and think to yourself, “Hm, who would want to cuddle with herpes at night?” I know I would be a little hesitant but according to the bookstore staff, these unconventional stuffed toys are selling quite well. The idea came from a student worker in the bookstore, Meagan Saratt. In a short interview with Meagan, she told us that she first encountered these microbes at a Kappa Phi Delta Risk Management event. “It was a fun way to learn about STIs and I thought it would be cool to sell them at the bookstore,” she said. Meagan, who also added that “The bookstore rocks!”, reported that there have not been any complaints about these quirky stuffed toys. As I fully expected, she told us that most people simply pick up a toy, throw it at their friends, and follow up with “Haha, I just gave you the clap!”

Upon some quick research, I discovered that The Giant Microbes series is very extensive and includes such microbes as swine flu, salmonella, and the common cold. The bookstore offers a fairly good selection of these microbes at a reasonable price and if nothing else, they would be a great conversation piece at parties. I would highly recommend that you stop by the bookstore soon and figure out for yourself if you’d like to snuggle with chlamydia after a rough day of classes.