This month, Hamline added two new student organizations after Hamline University Student Congress gave funding to the Hamline University Baking Association (HUBA) and the Chemistry Club.

HUBA, created by sophomores Lee Miller and Luke Hallbeck, was inspired by the two leaders’ interest in being involved with a student organization that they would enjoy.

“We had joked around for a while about starting a baking club because we wanted to be a part of a Hamline organization, but we didn’t feel like any of the current clubs fit us,” Hallbeck said. “After enough people told us they would love to be in a baking club, we decided to make one for real.”

Both Miller and Hallbeck are thrilled to meet other Hamline students who share their excitement about baking and experimenting with new recipes.

“Our main goal is to just have a good time as a group of students baking stuff together and becoming friends,” Hallbeck said.

Hallbeck said a majority of the funds they received from HUSC will go towards purchasing the supplies and ingredients needed for baking so the members of HUBA would not have to contribute any of their own money.

Though HUBA has yet to have their first meeting, Miller and Hallbeck already have ideas on what activities will take place at the meetings.

“Eventually we plan on meeting once or twice a month to bake recipes that the group will have voted on,” Hallbeck said. “We also have some ideas of having bake-off competitions and maybe some field trips to local bakeries in the Twin Cities.”

Hallbeck said that many students have already expressed interest in joining the organization. HUBA will hold its first meeting on Thursday, March 13. Those interested can check the HUBA Facebook page for more information.

Chemistry Club was also created to establish a group where students with a passion for chemistry can meet and explore their scientific interests.

“A few of the professors and students expressed a desire to create more of a community with the chemistry students,” junior and President Aileen Scheibner said. “The overall inspiration for creating Chemistry Club was to form a scientific community in which chemistry students could exchange ideas and connect to the larger chemistry community within the Twin Cities.”

The idea behind Chemistry Club is to show students that learning and experimenting with chemistry does not always have to be so serious.

“Our goal for Chemistry Club is to create a fun environment in which students can learn a little bit about chemistry,” Scheibner said.

Though Chemistry Club was created through the chemistry department, it is not restricted to just chemistry majors. The organization’s members are interested in showing what chemistry can do to those who do not study it.

“I am most looking forward to building a greater sense of community within the chemistry department, and reaching out to non-chemistry majors to show them how cool chemistry is,” Scheibner said.

With the funding the organization received from HUSC, Scheibner said that the club will be putting on demonstrations for Hamline students to take part in and learn more about how chemistry works.

Chemistry Club has already had a few monthly meetings this year, but Scheibner has plans for what is ahead.

“Some of our events we have done this year have been creating flubber, turkey crafts, liquid nitrogen ice-cream and more,” Scheibner said. “We plan on tie-dying scarves this month as a fundraiser for Relay for Life.”

Currently Chemistry Club’s membership stands at about five to fifteen students showing up to each event. However, Scheibner hopes that the club develops a stable membership once the organization becomes more recognized.

Chemistry Club will hold their next meeting towards the end of the month and is open to anyone who is interested.

Both clubs impressed HUSC representatives with their leadership and mission to get up and running.

“I see a lot of potential from these two organizations,” said HUSC Student Organizations Chair Jenni Peredia. “Both organizations have phenomenal people that reached out to me and we were able to get them charted in a matter of days.”

Peredia said she was also impressed by the passion that both of the clubs’ leaders have for the content of their organization, which is something she likes to see in student organizations.

“I am glad that HUSC and Hamline can give students the opportunity to embrace what they love to do and share it with the student body,” Peredia said.

Peredia is excited to see what is next for these two new organizations and the possibility of other new clubs being established at Hamline.

“I already foresee great things from the Chemistry Club and HUBA and I am also happy new organizations are rising up to cater to the different interests of the student body,” Peredia said.