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Girl Scouts peddle cookies on campus

The magic of Thin Mints, Caramel deLites and Peanut Butter Patties is that they can cheer up even a grey winter day during midterms.

Girl Scout Cookie booth sales in the Ann Arbor area began this week and campus was no exception.

On Monday, Junior Girl Scout Troop 942 paid the University a visit at their booth on the corner of South University and East University avenues, the beginning of about three weeks of cookie booth sales.

Sales continue at the same corner this afternoon.

College students tend to be very receptive to Girl Scout Cookies, said Marjorie McRoberts, the troop leader.

"(Students) say, 'It brings back memories when I used to sell them,'" McRoberts said.

LSA senior Santhi Periasamy is one of these nostalgic former Girl Scouts. "It was a memorable experience and it was cool," Periasamy said. "Because I was a Girl Scout, and I know what it was like selling them."

Business graduate student Melissa Laske said she buys the cookies because she too remembers her days behind the cookie booth. "Because I sold them as a little kid, I was miserable if no one bought them," Laske said.

McRoberts estimated the troop would make about $800 from one day's sales that would pay for the cookie purchases, camping trips and provide support to the Girl Scout Council.

The troop has eight cookie varieties for sale, in addition to the traditional favorites, reduced-fat Strawberries 'n' Creme and fat-free Cinnamon Oatmeal Raisin Bars.

The marketing experience gives fourth-graders many useful skills, McRoberts said.

"It's good for learning to speak loud ... to be assertive to approach someone," she said.

The first-time entreprenuers learn mathematical skills, too.

"They keep track and record numbers," McRoberts said. "They get to practice and see math in action." She added that the girls do not often have the chance to handle $800 in cash.

In fact, the Junior Girl Scouts agreed that one of the perks of the job is the cash -- "getting the money in your hands," as Alyson Doan put it.

At the same time, a less material reason spurred their enthusiastic marketing style. "To be a good Girl Scout!" Dawn Kalata said.

The troop also said they enjoyed meeting and talking with the customers.

Customers' appetites also benefitted from the transactions.

Explaining her box of Girl Scout Cookies, Laske said, "I have a huge sweet tooth."

Holding many boxes, Public Policy graduate student Aracelis Holguin said she shares Laske's cookie cravings. "I just wanted the Caramel deLites, but they were out, so I got others," Holguin said.

Caramel deLites -- chocolate, caramel and coconut on a cookie -- are called Samoas in other cities in the country.

Once a Girl Scout, Holguin confessed her membership was too brief to sell cookies herself.

Even those who could not be Girl Scouts were helping to clear the display table of the sweets. EMU education graduate student Kevin Pasquarella said, "It's a good cause and it's great cookies. ... I definitely buy them at least once a year if I can find them."