T T S U L S
BLAKE MYCOSKIE: Conscious Capitalism and the Future of Business Sunday, March 2, 2014 • 7 p.m. • Green Center for the Performing Arts, Kresge Auditorium Doors for students with DePauw ID open at 5:45 p.m. Doors for general public open at 6 p.m.
The Secret Gardener page 6&7 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2014
Indiana’s Oldest College Newspaper
VOL. 162, ISSUE 32
Students find bugs in produce from campus food provider By JULIE BLOCK news@thedepauw.com
First-year Elizabeth St. John’s rasberries, bought from the Den, containing a dead bee. COURTESY OF LEX GAUMER
First-year Mary Reising enjoyed her Strawberry Fields salad at The Den last week until she looked down to find a bug in the strawberry she was about to bite into. Disgusted, she threw away her food, but not before taking a picture of the bug to send to her friends. Two other first-year DePauw University students have recently experienced similar food situations with their fruit from DePauw dining facilities. Many other students have complained about contracting food poisoning from the fish at the two oncampus dining halls. While Reising states that her lunch experience last Wednesday was revolting, she did not talk to any of the Den staff about the bug she found. “[I] picked up a strawberry, and, thankfully, looked down and saw the bug,” Reising said. “I'm never the person to complain about my food. I feel too bad. I know the people in the Den are always busy, so I don't like to be an inconvenience.” Neither first-year Elizabeth St. John nor first-year Grace Pittner spoke up about the bugs in their food either. St. John found a dead bee in a package of raspberries that she bought from the Den approximately
three weeks ago. Pittner found what she believed to be a white worm in an orange that she was eating at the Hub over Winter Term. “I was casually eating [the raspberries] while I was catching up on my Netflix in between classes,” St. John said. “All of a sudden I looked down and there was the dead bee. I texted it to my pledge class GroupMe because I was just so revolted.” Pittner reacted similarly to her situation, and she explains that she is now careful when consuming any type of fruit at either The Hub or The Den. “It’s the same provider, so any fruit I get, Den or Hub, or even any of the cafes, I’m skeptical,” she said. “I didn’t get an orange here for probably two months [after the incident].” Hearing about these incidents shocked General Manager for Bon Appétit Jason Rose, as none of the students came forward with their findings. He explains, however, that it is much more common for bugs and other insects to be found in fruit than it would be in other food, because the food is grown on local farms and the products are exposed to wildlife and insects. “Obviously these come from farms,” Rose said, “and when you’re talking about fruit and stuff, it does at-
tract wildlife. Its not abnormal to see something like that.” Reising realizes that the fruit attracts bugs and does not blame Bon Appétit for the bee in her salad.
“I was casually eating [the raspberries] while I was catching up on my Netflix in between classes. All of a sudden I looked down and there was the dead bee.” -Elizabeth St. John, first year
“I don't think The Den is unsanitary or nasty,” she said. “I appreciate The Den and The Den workers. I just happened to have a bad experience, and I don't think that should be entirely reflective of The Den and the staff.” Despite her belief that the Bon Appétit staff is not entirely to blame
Food | cont’d on page 2