On Thursday Sept. 26, the Washburn Forensic Science Club gathered for its first meeting of the year in Benton Science Hall at 5 p.m. A total of 30 students were in attendance out of 33 members.
“The ultimate goal of WU FSC is to get more people interested in forensic science by giving them little information about what forensic science is and how it’s used,” said Sam Meyer, senior forensic investigation major and former president.
The organization is open to all Washburn students even though most members were from forensic science majors.
“The Forensic Club meeting is a fun place for students to learn new things and it actually showed a lot more about forensic science, not just like a slideshow,” said Sebastian Hernandez, freshman biology major with a minor in forensic science.
During the meetings, the group usually sets up different stations with arrangements for students to try out forensic science activities.
At the first station there was an alternative light source which is a valuable tool in forensic science for detection, documentation and analysis of various types of evidence.
The students were given alternate light source kits to help them see fluids and fibers on a sheet of cloth that cannot be seen through the naked eye.
At the second station there was a footprint impression which was used to determine the number of people at a crime scene. Different footwear impressions left at a crime scene indicated that there was more than one person present at the crime scene.
The students created their footprint impressions on the paper and placed them on the table.
‘’I really enjoyed all the hands-on activities at the club’’, said Taylor Redington, freshman forensic science major.
The third station had fingerprinting which was used for the identification of an individual to know their identity, track their criminal record or place a suspect present at the crime scene.
The students applied creams on their hands to create an impression of their fingers using different colors.
The last station had Mikrosil fingerprint impressions. Students applied Mikrosil and hardener cream on their hands to lift their fingerprint impression from their thumbs.
Students enjoyed all the activities organized by the Forensic Science Club. It was a way for students to learn new skills, meet new people and explore different interests.
The next WU FSC meeting is going to be in October which will be based on a Halloween theme with a haunted house mini crime scene set up.
Edited by LeSha’ Davis and Aja Carter
