Whole Foods accused of “brandwashing”

21 Sep 2011, Posted by Hong Zhu in News, 1 Comments

David Chou/The Chronicle

Although technically off-campus, the Whole Foods Market near East Campus enjoys a steady flow of Duke-affiliated customers. Known for its commitment to high-quality, organic foods, the company is a favorite of foodies and health-nuts alike. Author Martin Lindstrom, however, has recently criticized the supermarket for subtly coercing customers.

In a recent article, Lindstrom accused Whole Foods of subconsciously priming customers in a process he terms “brandwashing.” Whole Foods strategically places flowers by the door and ice displays around the store to conjure a sense of freshness. Another tactic involves using chalk on signs to recreate the atmosphere of a traditional marketplace. The store also displays produce in cardboard boxes for its homely, symbolic value.

The implication here, is that these tactics are disingenuous and subconsciously misleading. According to Lindstrom, the store puts out more ice than they need to (apparently hummus doesn’t need to be freezing cold) and unnecessarily sprinkles vegetables with water so they appear fresh. He also says that the cardboard boxes are also a farce, since they are actually a single, large box cut to look like stacks of boxes.

At the Durham Whole Foods, the main door is adorned on both sides with floor-to-ceiling flowers. True to Lindstrom’s description, the hummus was displayed on a cart overflowing with ice, and similar ice displays could be found around the store for other dips. Produce prices were also handwritten, and many of the decorative signs looked like they had been written in chalk.

There were, however, no misleading cardboard boxes to be found—all of the cardboard boxes were, in fact, separable. The water droplets on the vegetables may also be functional rather than deceptively decorative.

Wallace Nunnelly, a Whole Foods employee, said that many vegetables are kept in water before they are displayed to ensure freshness.

These displays allow the store to “give off more of a farmer’s market feel,” Nunnelly said.

Duke students loyal to the store seem to be unfazed by the so-called brandwashing, and many see their displays as perfectly legitimate marketing techniques.

Ryan Garrett, a graduate student in Global Health, described the marketing as “a little gimmicky,” but said that the store “does a good job with presentation.” Although he praised the store’s food quality, he felt that prices were too high.

Freshman Rebecca Holmes noticed that the store’s decorations made its products seem healthier but was also more concerned about the prices.

“When I see something labeled as healthy or organic, I think more expensive,” Holmes said.

Social (in)Security

21 Sep 2011, Posted by Autumn Robinson in News, 3 Comments

“Funds currently in the trust fund will be spent out in 25 years,” said PJ Eric Stallard, a research professor of sociology.

Special to The Chronicle

Let’s first understand what our Social Security program does for us: it keeps retirees out of poverty and replaces income from previous work, according to The Economist.

The Economist argues that our current program worked in the past, but needs to be changed in order to compensate for the fact that our senior population is growing.

More retired women are receiving benefits and more workers have become eligible for a refund, according to Emily Brandon in U.S. News and World Report. The percentage of workers eligible for a refund has increased from 3 percent to 6 percent during the past 74 years. This happened because these workers are earning more than the maximum amount that is taxable to Social Security.

Stallard does not characterize our current Social Security program as being “right” or “wrong,” but he believes that “something needs to be done; adjustments need to be made for it to run indefinitely.”

“Our current program is a transfer program where funds are transferred from [workers] to [retirees],” Stallard said. “The new generations work to benefit the new retirees.”

The bad news is that today’s workers may only be able to pay 70 percent of the retirees’ benefits instead of 100 percent, Stallard added.

What can be done? Stallard says that there are three options and that we (through Congress) can pursue any combination of them:

“One could increase the tax rates or lower the benefits or do a combination of the two. To give the program a higher credit, one can increase the fund on deposit or do a combination of the three.”

According to Don Taylor, an associate professor of public policy, our options are to enforce one or a combination of two reform ideas:

1. Raise the taxable income, raise the age of retirement to 70 (low income workers would be exempt because of their shorter life expectancy) and increase the payroll tax so that 90 percent of workers’ wages eligible for calculating Social Security benefits are taxable, or
2. Cut a percentage of new retirees’ benefits upfront, and allow the benefits to gradually increase over 20 years, so that as retirees get older, their savings will also increase.

Although Taylor admittedly prefers the second option, he says that enforcing either reform will result in reforming health care—once Congress handles Social Security, they would then be able to address the issue of health care costs.

Passing a reform plan for Social Security in Congress will help move us closer to long range economic stability, Taylor said.

The Economist accepts that the financing is what needs to be fixed and that the sooner it is fixed, the less it will cost. Getting rid of our program for a fully funded one would cost more.

Many people agree that our Social Security program needs to be reformed but Stallard emphasizes that “adults should understand the financing problem  [in order] to make a decision on how to address it. Only then can a reasonable decision be made.”

House model soundoff

21 Sep 2011, Posted by Kotoe Oshima in News, 0 Comments

Sophia Palenberg/The Chronicle

Many undergraduates remain uninformed of the new housing model. Those who attended the house model forum hosted by DSG Tuesday may have been enlightened about the house model that comprises of 74 individual houses spread throughout West and Central campuses, with 43 designated for affiliated student groups. The Chronicle’s Kotoe Oshima spoke with students across all years and affiliations to get a sense of the Duke community’s reaction toward the proposed housing plan.

“If your house is in Edens and you have to live in it for three years, it would [stink]. Everyone will try and change out from Edens if they can, then there wouldn’t be much of a house system the university wants.”

—Andrew Bailey, unaffiliated junior

“I have no understanding of what it would be like. I’m happy with the way it is right now, and don’t see the point in changing the current system.”

—Zsofia Solta, Alpha Delta Pi sophomore

“I’m always a fan of the house model. I’ve heard stories from people in it, and it fosters good environment—even friendly competition between houses. But people won’t take kindly to being told where and who to live with.”

—Woojin Kim, freshman

“I was against it at first because it seemed self-segregating—especially with the Greeks. If the University placed everybody in a house [and] made it so you would have to get to know your neighbors for all three years, it could be successful.”

—Modupe Adepoju, Zeta Phi Beta senior

“I really liked the vibe on East Campus—how everyone associated strongly with their dorms, and then you make your friends and choose to live with them.”

—Evan Shea, Wayne Manor sophomore

“I think it’ll be interesting, I like how it is right now.”

—Katie Vo, unaffiliated junior

“I do like it—it’ll be easier to make friends. The houses won’t be as close as SLGs, but there would still be a sense of community.”

—Robinson Ford, freshman

“If they were going to do it, it should be completely institutionalized, and for the process to be random. It really won’t affect us, though.”

—Ariel August, unaffiliated senior

“It’s a good model—definitely worth a try. There are a lot of students dissatisfied with the current system. Living in an SLG, I’ve experienced the strong sense of community, and independent students should be able to enjoy that sense of community too. In the way it is, there are a bunch of SLGs, and independents fill in the cracks, but now they get to be in their own brick.”

—Spencer Paez, Brownstone junior

“I think it will ground you in one circle of friends and will prevent you from branching out.”

—Brianna Welch, track and cross country sophomore

“It’s either going to work really well or really poorly. The intent is good, but there’s a chance it could backfire and lead to a fragmented student body.”

—David Mayer, unaffiliated senior

“I think it’ll be good to build a sense of community.”

—Michelle Nguyen, freshman

“Independents will have an equal footing, it’ll be a good thing if it works out.”

—Ashley Tsai, Brownstone junior

“I don’t know much about it, but I guess it’ll be fine.”

—Marcus Granlund, Delta Sigma Phi sophomore

“Students are told about it, but it doesn’t seem very pressing. People will react negatively because of its newness.”

—Ryan Wong, residential assistant junior

Crazie early birds

21 Sep 2011, Posted by Andrew Luo in News, 0 Comments

Duke was ranked 19th out of 20 top colleges that most favor early decision applicants by the Daily Beast.

Dickinson College comes in at first place, with a near 75 percent acceptance rate for ED applicants, and Dartmouth College finishes off the list with an early acceptance rate of 29 percent.

Other peer universities on the list include Johns Hopkins University (9), Williams College (12), Northwestern University (13), University of Pennsylvania (15), Amherst College (16), Cornell University (17) and Vanderbilt University (18).

Duke and Penn were the only universities on the list that are listed as top 10 universities in U.S. News and World Report’s most recent rankings.

This news for Duke does not come as a surprise for roughly a third of Duke’s Class of 2015. Last fall, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions accepted a record number of 645 students—29 percent of the 2287 applicants—in the early decision pool.

This early admission rate sharply contrasts that of the regular admission pool, which was at a record low of 10.8 percent. Together, these two admission windows brought together a freshmen class of roughly 1700 students hailing from 46 states and 55 countries.

With applicant pools growing and admission rates steadily falling each year, many students breathe a sigh of relief in their early acceptance to Duke.

“I feel that applying early was a great decision,” said freshman Aleisha Khan. “I was thrilled to be accepted and relieved that I didn’t have to stress over any more college applications.”

For other students, getting into Duke via ED was a dream come true.

“From its amazing academics to athletic culture, Duke was my number one choice,” said freshman Yue Dai. “Getting in ED was such a happy moment for me, and it really set the tone for the rest senior year in high school.”

With school starting up again and college application season looming closer, Duke will shortly run another rigorous round of admissions. For the prospective freshmen class of 2016, the Early Decision deadline is November 1.

Birth Control—Side effects: pregnancy?

21 Sep 2011, Posted by Marianna Jordan in News, 0 Comments

Chelsea Pieroni/The Chronicle

How do you handle a situation in which one day, you think you are taking your birth control medication correctly, and the next day you find out that you are pregnant? This has become a plausible situation in light of a statement released on Friday by Qualitest Pharmaceuticals, an Alabama pharmaceutical company.

Qualitest recently issued a nationwide voluntary recall of several lots of birth control pills, according to CNN. This packaging error means women taking certain birth control products run the risk of unwanted pregnancy.

Maralis Mercado, program coordinator and sexual health director at the wellness center, explained that the pills were “inverted,” so the placebo pills were taken first—rather than last—in the cycle.

According to a statement issued by the pharmaceutical company, customers face no current health risk.

“They fail to take into account the risks associated with pregnancy, especially unintended pregnancies,” Mercado said.

She believes that this mistake could have larger implications than perhaps Qualitest is afraid to say.

“How are they going to be able to go back and tell how many people are pregnant because of this mistake?” Mercado asked. “Who is going to provide care for these women that become pregnant?”

Included in the recall are 1.4 million birth control packages, which includes generic medications. Qualitest is investigating the source of the error and arranging for customers to return their pills and report any additional problems.

“From a social justice perspective, it’s an issue,” Mercado said. “Let’s say you’re already poor, as a teenager or college student, and you thought you were doing everything correctly in terms of taking the medication. The fact that [the birth control pills] were reversed is out of your control. Now you have to deal with what comes with being pregnant.”

Janet Hortin, medical director at student health, explained that the recall could involve Duke students who are not taking birth control through the Duke pharmacy. Hortin said in an email that the Duke pharmacy stocks one of the brands, Gildess FE 1/20. However, the pharmacist reported today that none of the recalled oral contraceptives have been dispensed.

“I don’t know if it will become a problem yet; people get their pills from all over the place and only a fraction [of students] get their pills from student health,” Horton said.

Horton added that students should check their pills to confirm that they don’t have a recalled brand. No students have come in so far regarding their birth control, she said.

“But this is important for students to know about, because what if you think you are being protected when in actuality, you aren’t?” Horton said.

Sophomore Flora Muglia said that she didn’t know anything about the recall.

“A lot of people read the news, but this isn’t necessarily something that would fly on everyone’s radar screen,” Muglia said.

For now, women affected by the recall should use non-hormonal forms of birth control.

“Any other physical barrier method is preferable in this case,” Mercado said.