Area students named to Parkland College Fall 2023 Dean's List

CHAMPAIGN - In order to make the Parkland College Dean's list, students need to achieve a minimum grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0-grade scale for the semester they are being honored. If a student class load is less than 12 hours in that semester, they can still make the Dean's list if they achieve a 3.5 cumulative GPA for 12 or more hours in the academic year. Here is the list of area students who achieved academic success last fall.

Fithian
Warren D. Durbin

Oakwood
Christopher J. Mann

Ogden
Canyon D. Alwes
Abigail M. Behrens
Hannah B. Fox

Pesotum
Claire D. Markstahler

Philo
Kristina A. Bletscher
Preston D. Bollman
Devin A.. Brocksmith
Nolan C. Decker
Marlena R. Finical
Evan J. Lefaivre
Hunter L. Olson
Amy N. Ray
Stella Ritchie
Holliston E. Thomas
Natalie A. Weller

Royal
Christian J. Schluter

Sadorus
Kaylee A. Largent
Noah J. Schroeder
Victoria L. Wells

St. Joseph
McGwire N. Atwood
Susan D. Baldner
Mason P. Behrens
Myles B. Blakley
Taylor E. Burch
Kennedi M. Burnett
Alyson P. Davis
Abigail G. Dow Sr.
Benjamin C. Dowers
Shanice S. Edwards
Grace A. Flessner
Dakota N. Franzen
Samantha R. Gonzales
Jacey M. Lewis
Elijah E. Mock
Kambry R. Orcutt
Christian F. Perez
Rebecca A. Steinbach
Alaina G. Tanner
Lauren K. Trankina
Jill C. Uken
Raegan E. Young

Sidney
Mary G. Bryant
Samuel C. Gilbert
Jodeann M. Hamilton

Tolono
Eric W. Anderson
Calli A. Chandler
Delaney M. Kamradt
Arthur D. King Iii Iii
Jolie K. Meyer
Maddie J. Reed
Sara J. Steffens
Raena A. Stierwalt
Luke I. Williamson

Urbana

Rachel N. Aders
Dilichukwu C. Agu
Luciana Alvarez
Kiana Amindavar
William D. Arana
Sabina Arthur
Audrey N. Babcock
Corben J. Babcock
David M. Baker
Ciel E. Baptiste
Angel R. Bond
Ebenezer . Boti
Audrey J. Boudreau
Chloe K. Brock
Evan J. Bullock
Chloe D. Byrd
Monica M. Carr
Ariana R. Chambers
Jason Chen
Ryan R. Cipkar
Breanna F. Davis
Tyler A. Devon
Phillip T. Durst
Meghan B. Edwards
Isaac R. Ellis
Jordan W. Ennis
Sammie L. Fair
Jordan E. Fritch
Morgan A. Frush
Veronica P. Gabel
Gildardo Garcia
Haley K. Gibbs
Santiago Gonzalez Ahuerma
Nicole K. Gremer
Jesus Guzman-Garcia
Mason Hanks
Mallie A. Hanner
Kelsey F. Hayes
Alejandro J. Hernandez
Matthew R. Horner
Amari C. Johnson
David N. Kabeya
Brandi L. Katrein
Urbana

Willow I. Keys
Lisa Kirwan
Minghao Lan
Jeffrey W. Lee
Carson G. Lewis
Bienvenue M. Lugano
Lea Antonia Mahringer
Michael L. Miller
Manuel Miori
Rebecca S. Murdoch
Ron Itzhak R. Naftali
Ashlynd F. Norvask
Katrina C. Oliva
Oscar I. Orozco
Min Young Park
Michael L. Parrish
Ben A. Pond
Hunter L. Pudlo
Matteo L. Puli
Lula C. Randolph
Paulina M. Reynoso-Ixcoy
Nibaw O. Robertson
Leire Rodriguez Najera
Carmen J. Sanchez
Collin S. Schiff
Samantha T. Schulte
Stuuti Sharma Poudyal
Abbie N. Skaggs
Adam B. Skousen
Clifton E. Smith
Jordan C. Smith
Patrick R. Sweeney
Sumaya Islam Tonney
Nathan M. Torres
Chioma P. Ugwu
Evan T. Unzicker
Dominick J. Vieira
Thao T. T. Vo
Cora R. Welch
Maurion Wicks
Lera L. Wilson
Yuxuan Wu
Qilin Xie

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Commentary |It’s not ‘Inflation’ — We’re just getting ripped off

These corporate giants have no plans to bring prices down anytime soon.

by Lindsay Owens & Elizabeth Pancotti

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Many Americans are still experiencing the sticker shock they first faced two years ago when inflation hit its peak. But if inflation is down now, why are families still feeling the pinch?

The answer lies in corporate profits — and we have the data to prove it.

Our new report for the Groundwork Collaborative finds that corporate profits accounted for more than half — 53 percent — of inflation from April to September 2023. That’s an astronomical percentage. Corporate profits drove just 11 percent of price growth in the four decades prior to the pandemic.

Businesses have been quick to blame rising costs on supply chain shocks from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. But two years later, our economy has mostly returned to normal. In some cases, companies’ costs to make things and stock shelves have actually decreased.

Let’s demonstrate with one glaring example: diapers.

The hyper-consolidated diaper industry is dominated by just two companies, Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark, which own well-known diaper brands like Pampers, Huggies, and Luvs. The cost of wood pulp, a key ingredient for making diapers absorbent, did spike during the pandemic, increasing by more than 50 percent between 2020 and 2021.

Corporate profits accounted for more than half of recent price increases. To stamp out inflation once and for all, we need to crack down on price gouging.

But last year it declined by 25 percent. Did that drop in costs lead Procter & Gamble and Kimberly-Clark to lower their prices? Far from it. Diaper prices have increased to nearly $22 on average.

These corporate giants have no plans to bring prices down anytime soon. In fact, their own executives are openly bragging about how they’re going to “expand margins” on earnings calls. Procter & Gamble predicted $800 million in windfall profits as input costs decline. Kimberly-Clark’s CEO said the company has “a lot of opportunity” to expand margins over time.

It’s not just diapers — while many corporations were quick to pass along rising costs, they’ve been in no hurry to pass along their savings. A recent survey from the Richmond Fed and Duke University revealed that 60 percent of companies plan to hike prices this year by more than they did before the pandemic, even though their costs have moderated.

Photo: Israel Albornoz/Unsplash

Corporations across industries, from housing to groceries and used cars, are juicing their profit margins even as the cost of doing business goes down. And they’re not hiding the ball. Since the summer of 2021, Groundwork began listening in on hundreds of corporate earnings calls where we heard CEO after CEO boasting about their ability to raise prices on consumers.

Now we hear something slightly different: CEOs crowing about keeping their prices high while their costs go down.

PepsiCo raised its prices on snacks and beverages by roughly 15 percent twice in the last year while bragging to shareholders that their profit margins will grow as input costs come down. Tyson’s earnings report flaunted how their higher prices have “more than offset” their higher costs. The CFO of Hershey said last quarter that pricing gains more than offset inflation and higher costs.

So what can we do about it?

The Biden administration has taken important steps to rein in corporate profiteering and address the longstanding affordability crisis, from eliminating junk fees to strengthening global supply chains and cracking down on corporate concentration.

With the 2017 Trump tax cuts set to expire, Congress should also take this opportunity to raise taxes on corporations. Taxing profits helps disincentivize price gouging and profiteering because large corporations will have to send a greater share of their windfall to Uncle Sam.

We’ve come a long way in bringing inflation down since its peak in 2022. But stamping out inflation once and for all will require a concerted effort to rein in the corporate profiteering.

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Elizabeth Pancotti

Lindsay Owens

Lindsay Owens is the Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative. Elizabeth Pancotti is Strategic Advisor to Groundwork. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.

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