Wild Oats brings ‘corntainer’ to Eugene
Biodegradable food
containers are becoming
increasingly popular
throughout the Northwest
By Ali Shaughnessy
Senior News Reporter
A new kind of food container has
hit Eugene: the 'corntainer,' a plastic
like container that is completely
biodegradable.
A Portland Wild Oats Natural Mar
ketplace was the first store in the na
tion to offer NatureWorks PLA, a
commercially viable polymer derived
completely from renewable resources.
After the success in the Portland store,
the comtainer moved to all of the
Wild Oats stores in the Northwest, ac
cording to Mark Cockcroft, Wild Oats
Western regional marketing manager.
The comtainer has "worked beauti
fully," Cockcroft said. "Customers
have loved it, and the staff has been
really excited."
According to a Wild Oats press re
lease, the process of creating the com
tainer generates 15 to 60 percent few
er greenhouse gases than the
petroleum-based material it replaces.
Kurt Luttecke, the Natures/Wild
Oats area director of operations, said
in a statement that NatureWorks was
a giant step in continuing efforts to
seek the cleanest, freshest and most
environmentally sound products and
procedures that contribute to the
health and well-being of Wild Oats
customers and employees.
"Not only are these new contain
ers 100 percent natural,'' he said, but
"they're as functional or better than
the plastic tubs the industry uses as
far as strength, clarity and sealing in
the flavor and aroma of our deli
products."
University senior Carrie Sabin, a
Wild Oats customer, said she has al
ways tried to be environmentally con
scious, but has never come across any
thing like NatureWorks.
"1 love that 1 can use the container
and then just throw it in my compost
pile, "Sabin said.
However, not everyone has their
own compost pile. For that reason,
Wild Oats has decided to put its own
compost bins inside the stores where
people can compost their comtainers.
According to Cockcroft comtainers
put in bins at the store are then used
in the compost fertilizer that Wild
Oats sells to the general public.
"We're taking something from the
ground, using it, and then putting it
back into the ground," Cockcroft said.
"Now customers can use compost
that they helped to create."
Turn to CORNTAINER, page 6
FIG
continued from page 4
discuss the theme of their FIGs. Each
FIG also has a teaching assistant who
acts as a mentor for freshmen.
"It's really the College Connection
component that makes a FIG
unique," she said.
About 1,100 freshmen are in one
of the 48 available FIGs.
The FIGs, which each consist of
about 25 freshmen, are named ac
cording to their focus and each in
clude classes pertaining to the sub
ject. The Anthropology and Folklore
FIG, for example, offer Anthropolo
gy 110, English 250 and a College
Connections course, English 199.
Other focuses include Environmen
tal Studies, Psychology and Philoso
phy and Business
The program was originally creat
ed at the University about 20 years
ago by Academic Advising Counselor
lack Bennett. Bennett said he created
the concept because freshmen were
sometimes academically and socially
isolated when they first came to the
University. He said that through the
use of older students and faculty as
mentors, freshmen could become
more connected with one another
and the campus.
"It gives them an academically
based social connection," he said.
Giard said the program has ex
panded over the past 20 years, espe
cially the residential component.
About half of the FIGs are residential,
which means students in the pro
gram live together in the same resi
dence halls. Each residential FIG has
a FIG academic assistant who also
lives in the residence halls. She said
this benefits students because they
get to know people in their classes
who they can study with.
Coordinator for first-year pro
grams Gretchen H. Lieberman said
freshmen don't have to sign up for a
FIG that coincides with their majors.
"What we try to encourage stu
dents to understand is that any of
these are good for them," she said.
"This is an opportunity to explore
new topics and areas of study."
Senior Ricky Chen, who is a FIG
academic assistant this fall, said the
program connects freshmen with
campus resources and provides them
with information they can use to be
successful during their college ca
reers. Me said the program set the
tone for his study habits when he was
a freshman.
"I realized that this was a big uni
versity," he said. "I took advantage of
the opportunity."
A 2001 University study showed
that, overall, freshmen who were in
FIGs tended to have a higher GPA
than those who were not in the pro
gram. The program has also lowered
the rate at which freshmen drop out
of the University, Lieberman said.
Associate Professor of Psychology
Sara Hodges teaches Psychology 202
and the College Connections course
for the Psychology and Anthropolo
gy FIG. She said she notices a differ
ence between the students in her FIG
and other students
"They seem much more engaged
in the lectures," she said, adding
that FIG students, for instance, may
sit closer to the front and often sit
together.
Contact the higher education/student
life/student affairs reporter
at chelseaduncan@dailyemerald.com.
CRAFTS
continued from page 1
workshops in glasswork, jewelry
making, metalsmithing and "sock
monkeys," where participants learn
to construct stuffed monkeys from
cream and brown socks with con
trasting red heels.
"The Craft Center is a great place
for students to meet people, relax and
make something for their families,"
she said.
Although the Craft Center's cur
rent facilities have attracted many
artists, Gerards said adding room
for future and existing workshops
would be beneficial.
"We are in need of more space,"
Gerards said. "We are hoping to ac
quire the space of the Child Care
Center in order to expand our
woodshop and add a glass-blowing
workshop."
The Craft Center was founded in
1973 by Adell McMillan, former di
rector of the EMU, who was inspired
by craft workshops she had seen at
other universities. McMillan hired
sculptor Tom Urban as the first coor
dinator and late University jewelry
professor Max Nixon to design the
Craft Center's space. The Craft Center
existed solely as an open studio until
1974 when workshops began.
"Adell once told me she never
imagined that the Craft Center would
become this successful," Craft Center
coordinator Diane Hoffman said.
Today, it still functions as an open
studio while offering nearly 50 differ
ent workshops each term. Prices range
from $5 for one-day workshops to
$66 for an oil painting workshop.
Some materials are included; others
must be purchased.
Prices are lower with a term pass,
which allows an artist access to
Craft Center tools and facilities dur
ing open hours. They can be pur
chased for $8 by University students
and their spouses, for $15 by Uni
versity staff and their spouses and
$20 by all others.
Eugene resident Anne Eagle said
she has enjoyed the Craft Center's
weaving and stained glass workshops
and is looking forward to learning
new weaving techniques in the fall.
"There's a core group of us who
keep coming back to the weaving
workshop, and we learn something
different every time," she said.
Fall registration will continue un
til workshops are full. The Craft Cen
ter will also offer two sales this fall: a
ceramic pot sale on Oct. 30 and an
open house and art sale on Dec. 2.
Hoffman said the Craft Center is
important because people are free to
be crafty just for their enjoyment.
"The Craft Center is a service the
University community wants," Hoff
man said. "There aren't many places
like this in Eugene where people can
take craft classes without being art
majors at the University."
Contact the Pulse reporter at
natashachilingerian@dailyemerald.com.
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