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Page 2 April 12, 2017
Students Approached on Campus by Suspect Pyramid Scheme, Huntersville-based Business Opportunity
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LAURA DUNNAGAN Senior Staff Writer
ver the past month, Davidson students have reported being encouraged to join an alleged pyramid scheme by two Charlotte-area entrepreneurs. The business model requires students to purchase domains in exchange for online access to items that they will then sell to family and friends, earning about two thousand dollars per week for ten hours of work. “I was approached with a job opportunity, people saying they were looking for college students who wanted to get into digital marketing,” said Nick Fantuzzi ‘18. The following week, he had a meeting with Sheri Wang, one of the business’s directors, along with two Davidson students recruiting on her behalf. Olivia Daniels ‘19 also attended as a prospective employee, as she had been contacted about the opportunity. The meeting took place in the Math and Science Center in the E.H. Little Library. “Sheri pulled out a chart about what vendors make from manufacturing to retail. She argued that vendors make less selling through retail stores because they have to go through all these
hoops to get to retail. We would be giving them the option to sell directly from the manufacturer to the consumer, so they would make more money,” said Fantuzzi. Though this can be a valid business model, Wang’s inability to provide sufficient information about her business led Fantuzzi to be skeptical about the validity of the opportunity. “Before I left, I asked what the name of the company was...and she couldn’t give us a name,” commented Fantuzzi. “There’s no name for the whole [scheme], but she said her LLC was called “Without Limits,” apparently registered in the state of North Carolina.” According to the North Carolina Secretary of State Corporations Division, Without Limits LLC is not registered to Steve or Sheri Wang within the state of North Carolina (1). Daniels, who was also recruited to join the business venture, reports feeling uncomfortable with Wang’s proposal. Daniels says Wang did not allow the student recruiters already working for her to answer questions during the preliminary informational meeting. Additionally, Wang encouraged Daniels and Fantuzzi to join her at the Stage II recruitment meeting to be held the following week at Elevation Church, which the
group had rented out, though she did not provide information about the schedule of that meeting. “She seemed to play on our vulnerabilities as students,” says Daniels. “They shouldn’t be targeting students with those kind of [monetary] incentives because that’s not fair.” After the preliminary meeting, Daniels contacted Associate Dean of Students Ernest Jeffries and campus police to alert them to the on-campus solicitation. “There are rules about solicitation,” says campus police Chief Sigler. “People can’t come and help themselves to trying to contact students, faculty, staff--anybody. But, if a student invites somebody to meet with them, they are certainly allowed to do that--this is where students live.” According to these guidelines, Steve and Sheri Wang are not violating Davidson College policy, as recruitment occurs at the invitation of the students presently working for them. “We haven’t seen anything that would indicate any kind of criminal act,” commented Sigler. “We tell people in situations like this that they need to be vigilant about the motives. Read the fine print, and be careful before you commit any resources to any kind of an offer.”
Sigler said that this case is a consumer awareness concern, like IRS or phishing scams occasionally targeted at Davidson students, but no evidence exists that this is a criminal matter. “We’ve talked to the vendor, and the vendor understood the protocol and made no indication that they were going to try to avoid those rules and policies,” says Chief Sigler. “Not all of the students [contacted by the Wangs] feel as though they have been misled, and there are certainly business models that do this and are legitimate.” Steve Wang reportedly works for a subsidiary of Wells Fargo, and Sheri Wang works at Amway. Amway has had previous lawsuits regarding pyramid scheme accusations. Davidsonian staff contacted two students known to have recruited for the Wangs, yet both declined interviews. On multiple occasions, staff also contacted Sheri Wang, but Wang did not reply. Campus police urges other students who have been contacted about this kind of opportunity and are suspicious to report to its office. Citations: (1) https://www.sosnc.gov/search/index/corp
Ortaculture Circulates Petition to Amend Article II of BoT Bylaws Continued from Page 1 ideas for improvement. Solís articulated to the crowd that 21% of private colleges and 70% of public universities have a student member on the BoT. Thus, by doing the same, Davidson would not be moving into controversial territory. Speaker Sarah Mellin ‘20 argued that the Board should change the college’s 50/50 gender admissions policy. “By maintaining a 50/50 gender ratio in admissions, we are actually really disadvantaging qualified female applicants,” she said. Nationwide, women account for roughly 70% of high school valedictorians, according to The Eagle-Tribune. Mellin pointed out that Pomona College and Williams College, liberal arts institutions similar to Davidson in academic rigor and size, had male-to-female acceptance ratios of 15% to 10% and 21% to 18% in 2014, respectively. The rally focused on the lack of direct communication between Board members and the majority of the student body. “Current legislation restricts [the Board] to communicate only with
the SGA President, placing our SGA President in a position where he must convey all issues of the student body, which is a huge burden,” said Ortaculture member Saidah Rahman ‘20, during a speech at the protest. In his speech at the protest, Santiago Navia ‘17 proclaimed, “Nobody knows who the trustees are. Who is holding them accountable? Where is our voice being heard? There is such a big disconnect.” Currently, the SGA President can only attend limited meetings and lacks a vote. Ortaculture hopes that the Board can help provide the desired platform to better communicate with students who feel marginalized and grant students a space to voice their general concerns about the college. Many students may not be aware of a governing law of the Board which states, according to Davidson’s website, “At least twenty-five percent of the Board members will be a member or an affiliate of a Presbyterian Church (USA) congregation.” This requirement reflects a desire by Davidson to maintain some of its Presbyterian roots. The President of the college must also be a Presbyterian. Article IV, subsection IV of the bylaws, reads, “It is natural and desirable that the
educational service of a church-related College should be carried forward from one generation to another by persons committed to the Christian faith.” Up to 20% of the Board members may be non-Christians. Some students feel that with the heightened priority of religious diversity on campus, the quota is now obsolete. In addition to peacefully demonstrating, Ortaculture sought to garner attention for its petition, which is currently circulating throughout campus both online and in paper form. The text of the petition begins, “The hope of establishing a more accessible system of communication between the BoT and the Davidson students whom they represent.” It goes on to “demand an amendment to Article II (Meetings of Trustees) of the Davidson College BoT bylaws to require the attendance of at least 20% of the BoT members at a public town hall.” The full Board meets twice annually, and the aforementioned town hall would occur within seven days of each full body meeting. As of Sunday, April 9th, the petition has 152 signatures. 200 are necessary to send it to the SGA and call for a referendum. If a referendum
passes by a simple majority vote, then the Board must debate the issue at its fall meeting. “The administration has been understanding and has agreed to meet with us to better understand our own goals and perspectives,” said Solís. This week, President Quillen is expected to meet with Ortaculture to discuss the issues the group has brought forth. BoT member Virginia Richards ‘85 expressed, “We would like to endeavour to improve students and student voices and make sure we are understanding of what is relevant to students here at Davidson.” As Solís stated, the petition and rally’s goal is to make Davison a better place. While transparency is an issue, the school is annually becoming increasingly diverse. As evidenced by students’ frustrations, the school has not progressed enough, and student-led bottom-up movements like Ortaculture’s are seen as essential if students’ concerns are to be effectively heard by the administration. Solís concluded, “This is not supposed to point fingers...this is a movement for transparency. We do not want to alienate anybody.”
Metrolina Property Development Provokes Environmental Concerns Continued from Page 1 protect humans from the dangers associated with its exposure (4). However, once buried, asbestos can reemerge in a number of ways. A popular theory to explain the reappearance of asbestos in Davidson in the 1980s is that a groundhog buried into an asbestos cap and pulled asbestos to the surface, which rain and wind then spread (1). At Thursday’s community meeting, Jordan Garrard, on-scene coordinator for the EPA, warned of the potential a “severe rain event” has to wash away the topsoil and re-expose asbestos. Of particular concern is the hill behind the warehouse, which is vulnerable to erosion. Digging into the ground for utility maintenance or new construction could also disseminate the asbestos. Asbestos has been linked to lung cancer, mesothelioma, and asbestosis (4). The main cause of mesothelioma is asbestos exposure (5) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that between 1999 and 2005, over 18,000 Americans died of malignant mesothelioma (6). Some estimates of total deaths attributable to asbestos exposure are far higher; the Environmental Working Group estimates that 10,000 Americans die every year from diseases caused by asbestos (7). Most people who die of asbestos related illness are white men, presumably because of exposure through work in construction, installation, or mills (6).
The asbestos contamination in Davidson, a residential area, is uncommon. At the community meeting, Garrard noted that typical asbestos remediation sites are industrial properties. Eighty-six-year-old Evelyn Carr has lived in Davidson for her whole life. When asked about the impact asbestos has had on the community, Carr said “...my daddy died from it, my husband died from it. That whole lot up there ain’t nothing but asbestos.” Multiple people at the community meeting, including Mayor John Woods, recalled playing, during their childhood, on what some now call “asbestos hill.” The EPA has committed to sample the yards of residents upon their request and to remediate asbestos contamination this summer. Garrard stated that funding has already been allocated for asbestos remediation in Davidson and that potential federal cuts to the EPA budget would not have an impact on the project. The responsibility to clean up the source site, however, falls on the owner. It is unlikely that any long-term steps will be taken to remediate the asbestos contamination on the mill property unless it is required by the state as part of a plan for developing the property. Attendees of the community meeting expressed mixed reactions to the prospect of remediation and development. Business owners in the region, who could stand to benefit from development of the Metrolina property, expressed worry about the effects of the EPA’s presence and
of asbestos remediation efforts on business operations. Specifically, business owners expressed concern about the impact EPA operations would have on both customer and delivery parking near the Metrolina property. Garrard said that businesses would be allowed to remain open, but some roads around the Metrolina property may be closed during the remediation period. Evelyn Carr voiced worry about the impact increased traffic would have on the residents. Carr was particularly concerned about children crossing the street, stating, “They not thinking about the children. That’s what really, really bothers me.” Development of the Metrolina property could contribute to gentrification of the town by driving up property taxes and expanding residential and commercial spaces. These spaces will likely be more expensive than many long-time residents of the town can afford. The EPA expects to be involved in cleaning asbestos yards through August, although Garrard noted that the project could face unexpected roadblocks and delays. In all likelihood, asbestos contamination of the Metrolina warehouse will not be addressed unless, or until, it is developed. If you are interested in obtaining more information, please contact emtayloe@davidson.edu.
Citations: (1)http://wfae.org/post/davidson-mill-redevelopment-unearths-asbestos-old-tensions (2)http://www.lakenormanpublications.com/ herald_weekly/old-asbestos-concern-affectsnew-project/article_8090e85c-6a52-11e6-a5230f22102fee6d.html (3) https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causesprevention/risk/substances/asbestos/asbestosfact-sheet#q3 (4)https://www.epa.gov/asbestos/learn-aboutasbestos#exposed (5)https://www.cancer.org/cancer/malignantmesothelioma/causes-risks-prevention/whatcauses.html (6)https://w w w.cdc.gov/mmwr/pre vie w/ mmwrhtml/mm5815a3.htm (7)http://www.ewg.org/asbestos/facts/fact1.php