January 23, 2015 Vol. 90, No. 11
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NEWS
@HUStudentPubs April 25,The 2014 Facebook: Link Vol. 89, No. 18
online at thelink.harding.edu
@HUStudentPubs Facebook: The Link
online at thelink.harding.edu
OPINIONS
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
FEATURES
3B
LIFESTYLE
4B
GRANT SCHOL | The Bison
NEEDTOBREATHE will be back to perform at Harding on April 18 at 7 p.m. in the Benson Auditorium. The band last came to Harding in April 2012. Tickets go on sale on Feb. 3 for CAB Pass holders and on Feb. 4 for all other students and the general public.
Gas prices still under $2 Gas prices have plunged in recent weeks, and many around the country are continuing to enjoy record lows well into 2015. According to GasBuddy, an online service and app that analyzes gas prices, the state average for Arkansas is leveling out at just under $2 per gallon. The cause of the drop in oil prices is too much supply, too little demand. With an increase in oil production and a boom in shale fracking across the United
GRAPHIC BY CINA CATTEAU
mden -- Henry
Source: www.gasbuddy.com, www.eia.gov
3&4A
SPORTS
1&2B
FEATURES
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CAMPUS LIFE
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Searcy, Ark., 72149
NEEDTOBREATHE States, the world market is bubbling over with oil. Moreover, the Middle Eastern oil monopoly, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), has refused to decrease its rate of oil production. Now, the market is drowning in oil, and, as basic economics demands, the price of gas has been driven to the lowest average cost since 2009. This shift in prices could not be better for freshman Pierce Fonville. “I saved around $25,” Fonville said regarding his trip to Harding from Fort Worth, Texas. According to Diane Swonk, the chief economist at Mesirow Financial, America’s population as a whole is projected to save billions of dollars in 2015 on account of cheap gas. Swonk also said in the Mesirow blog, “low prices at the gas pump have been a lifeline when wages have fallen short for too many households.” However, the benefits of the masses come at the cost of the few. The economy surrounding the oil industry has taken a financial beating because of the dip in value. The solution to the shortage of money means limiting the budget, and limiting the budget can lead to downsizing. According to KERA News, this spells bad news for Texas. Being one of the largest oil producers in the country has
OPINIONS
Flu impact worse than past years By Shelby Dias Student Writer
By Zach Burgan Beat Reporter
2A
NEWS
Searcy, Ark., 72149
potential for a state, but the unpredictability of the economy can send even the biggest monopolies running for the hills. Thousands of employees have already been let go on account of the still-plummeting gas prices, and more layoffs are expected. Fonville said he remains hopeful for his home state, comparing the process to pruning a tree. “It’s a reciprocal system,” Fonville said. “Those jobs are going somewhere else, hopefully in America.” Phil Flynn, a senior energy analyst at Fox News, disagreed. He referred to the dropping cost as a “price shock” that can “do real damage to the economy.” Should OPEC’s intentional continuation of oil production go on for too long, oil production in the U.S. could come to all but a stand still, and more jobs could be lost. Thus, OPEC can regain its former totalitarian control over the oil market. Flynn referred to cheap gas as a good thing only if the prices are a result of American growth and stability in the economy. However, he said “when cartels move to actively manipulate prices to try to force competitors out of business and dump oil into an oversupplied market it causes undue strain and a shock to the economic system.” GasBuddy estimates that each household will save an average of $750 this year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu infections resulting in illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths are at elevated levels throughout the country. This season, the Arkansas Department of Health has reported 23 deaths, 17 occurring in patients 65 and older. The increase in the number of cases and the severity of the flu this season is due to a mutation of the H3N2 strain that began after this year’s vaccination was already developed. According to Director of Student Health Services Lynn McCarty, the current vaccination includes the H3N2 strain. “The problem is that influenza or that type of virus can be very tricky,” McCarty said. “It can morph into a little bit of a different bug than the one they were initially aware of.” Sophomore Breanna Scott said that she and her mother both got the flu shot this year, but her mother still got sick. “It’s never really 100 percent effective, but I’ll probably end up continuing to get the flu shot unless I have a bad experience with it,” Scott said. McCarty said instances of the flu on campus have been sparse and have occurred before the winter break. White County Medical Center Infection Control Specialist Mary Lou Adams said that
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Pediatric deaths in the U.S. caused by the flu
several cases in White County have led to hospitalization. “The elderly are the main ones that get hit hard,” Adams said. “We are having a lot of children test positive for the flu, but we haven’t had any children in the hospital yet.” Symptoms of the flu include headache, body aches and fever above 100 degrees. Although the flu can last for nearly a week, McCarty said an early trip to the doctor and an antiviral like Tamiflu can lessen the severity of the illness. “Most of the time when you get the flu it hits you like a ton of bricks,” McCarty said. “If it does happen, if the student comes over we can try to get them into a doctor very quickly and hopefully get them on the road to recovery more swiftly.” With the official flu season continuing through March, McCarty and Adams encourage students to take preventative measures such as hand washing, avoiding touching hands to the mouth and face and getting vaccinated. “If you haven’t already gotten your flu shot, even though it is not as effective at preventing it, it is still good to get,” Adams said. “If you catch the flu after you’ve had the shot, it will usually be a milder case.” Flu vaccinations are available at doctors’ offices and drug stores such as Walgreens.
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season
Sources: www.Arkansasonline.com & the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Graphic by Cina Catteau
Hundreds of rehearsals just to be ‘Famous for Fifteen’ Spring Sing practices in full swing By Kristina Kiser Student Writer
Students have a chance to be “Famous for Fifteen” during this year’s Spring Sing production. Rehearsals have begun for club shows and for the auditioned roles for the April show. One of the professors who plays a critical role in the production is Cindee Stockstill, producer of theatre. Stockstill has worked with the theatre department and the production of Spring Sing for 21 years, giving her experience with a wide variety of Spring Sing themes leading up to this year’s “Famous for Fifteen.” “Spring Sing 2015 explores the desire for fame and fortune, and the fleeting nature of notoriety,” Stockstill said. “The show will examine the real meaning of being famous. Fame matters most when we are honored for meaningful achievement and service with the glory being given to God.”
Arielle Saunders, page 1B
Stockstill said she believes every student on stage wants the chance to have his or her 15 minutes of fame and are willing to work hard for it. There are many different groups that contribute to Spring Sing every year. Apart from the social clubs, one of the important groups of people involved with Spring Sing are the students who are chosen to perform throughout the entire show: the hosts and hostesses, ensemble members, vocalists and jazz band. Regina member, junior Janna Mix, will perform as an onstage vocalist and with her social club. She said she is excited about the wide range of performances. “There is going to be a huge spread of music and costumes,” Mix said. “From hippies, to pregnant ladies, to Jedis and spies, throw in some wizards and oompa loompas and you’ve got yourself a ‘Clue’ of what Spring Sing is going to look like.” Senior Brandtly Wheeler will perform as a member of the en-
LINDA FERELLE | The Bison
Senior Michael Crockett and sophomore Kaitlin Belitz lead Spring Sing rehearsal on Jan. 20. The show, themed around the board game Clue, includes women’s social clubs Sigma Phi Mu and Regina and men’s social club Chi Sigma Alpha. semble for his fourth year of Spring the first time. know people who I may not have Sing. Wheeler has participated in “I love being involved with gotten the chance to know before,” various club shows as a friend in Spring Sing, but what I think Wheeler said. the past, but will be taking the always keeps me coming back is Spring Sing is April 2-4 at 7 stage as an ensemble member for the chance to get to meet and really p.m. and at 2 p.m. on April 4.
Appreciating music, page 3A
Injured Senior returns to school, page 2A
New opinions section editor Hunter Beck shares why music is so important to him.
Zack Roehl is back in the nursing program after recovering from an almost deadly accident.
Patriot Values, page 3B