It was only one week ago when Alexandra Dougherty '11 and Narre Heon '11 decided to found Brandeis University's first club dedicated to cheese. Their reason?"Because we really like eating cheese, and everyone loves cheese," said Heon.

When the duo began the process of getting the club chartered by the Student Union, they were surprised at how easy it was to rally outside support. In fact, it took only one round of obtaining signatures in the Usdan Student Center to reach the required 135 signatures and 15 permanent members required for University recognition.

"We just went around asking people if they liked cheese, and the response was extremely positive," said Dougherty.

"We actually didn't realize how easy [starting a club] was at Brandeis. But then again, we haven't gone to the F-Board yet," said Heon.

The co-presidents, or the Big Cheeses, as Dougherty and Heon call themselves, plan on making a club that's not just about eating cheese. They spoke of exploring the science and history of cheese as well as possibly supporting dairy farmers. At their meetings, they plan on not just serving cheese but also offering various complementary dishes such as crackers and fruit.

The first official meeting of the Brandeis University Cheese Club will be today at 8 p.m. in the South Campus Commons. The goal of the meeting will be to see how many students are interested and to give the leaders an idea of what to expect. Learning what people want from the club will provide a good starting point for the newly formed club.

"We're looking for suggestions, because we want to cater to people's tastes," the duo said. They mentioned wanting to promote vegan and kosher cheese.

For the past week, Dougherty and Heon have been busy getting the word out on campus.

"The last week has been a lot of brainstorming and planning," said Heon. "We also had to hang up fliers and rip off tape in the cold."

Even within the short period of time, the response for the Brandeis University Cheese Club has been very enthusiastic. The Facebook group for the club, for example, already has 350 members, and over 100 students have replied as attending the first meeting on Tuesday.

Heon recalls overhearing students talking about looking forward to the Cheese Club while she was flyering for their first event. "I heard them say they were excited for the Cheese Club, and I told them that I was too!" Heon said.

So how did the two founders develop their passion for cheese? Dougherty explains that they have always enjoyed getting cheese at Trader Joe's and Hannaford and having wine-and-cheese gatherings with their friends.

"I really like plain goat cheese with honey and pine nuts," said Dougherty. "However, my favorite type of cheese would have to be Manchego."

"I usually like to eat the cheese plain first, to really taste it, then have it with other things," said Heon. "My favorites include smoked Gouda, or in fact any type of Gouda, and French cheeses like baked Brie."

Dougherty is double-majoring in Environmental Studies and International and Global Studies, and Heon is double-majoring in Philosophy and Health: Science, Society, and Policy.

"Starting the club doesn't feel like work," Dougherty said. "We just want people to be happy, because cheese is supposed to make you happy."

"We have a lot on our plates," Heon said. "But we always have room for cheese.