The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 99, No. 14, Ed. 1 Tuesday, April 12, 2011 Page: 2 of 4

                                
Brand Staff
Elyse Hahne
Editor-in-Chief
Kelsie Nygren
Managing Editor
Natalie Case
Advertising Manager
Sarah Cash
Features Editor
Ezra Worley
News Editor
Nathan Day
Layout Editor
Stephanie Teoh
Chief Photographer
Callie Rankin
Chief Copy Editor
Eric Roten
Business Editor
Adam Dearion
Entertainment Editor
Kylie Chye
Op/Ed Editor
Izak Santana
Religion Editor
Austen Massey
Sports Editor
Brittany McDonald
Special Projects
Editor
Adriel Wong
Editor Emeritus
James Morgan
Circulation Manager
Amanda Williams
Assistant Layout Editor
Larissa Shaheen
Rachael Henderson
Aubrey Faught
Photographers
Brian Crawford
Mindy Rodgers
Ryan Garcia
Cody Herrera
Lex Tan
Richol Richards
Alexis Chuah
Anna Sterling
Tabitha Vanderstoep
Nicholas Neppach
Staff Reporters
Terry Minami
Adviser
Sweetwater
Reporter sup-
ports The Brand
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publication and
printing needs.
Editorial Policy
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2
NEWS/FEATURES
Mayor’s 5K walk, run, and wheel
By Elyse Hahne
Editor-in-Chief
Step right up and sign up for the Mayor’s 5K
walk/run on April 16, 2011. All are welcome to attend.
The Mayor’s 5K run/walk/wheelchair l-mile family fun
run will start at the Civic Center in downtown Abilene.
The 5K run has an option to be chip recorded. Late reg-
istration is $25 for the 5K and $15 for children under
18. You can sign up by filling out the registration form
(http://www.abilenerunners.com/files/Mayor%20
5Kregistration2011.pdf) or sign-up online by visiting
http: // www. active .com.
The Major’s 5k event is sponsored by the Major’s
council on Physical Fitness, Kids in the Kitchen, Abilene
Runner’s Club, and the City of Abilene. The Major’s
council on Physical fitness functions to create a healthier
community. Created in 2008, Mayor Archibald created
an annual campaign to focus on a healthier community,
and provide outreach education and physical opportu-
nities. The council supports various fitness activities and
programs and allows for the Mayor’s idea to stay alive.
Kids in the Kitchen provides opportunities for kids to
learn how to create healthy meals and snacks by bring-
ing in chefs and nutritionists. Kids in the Kitchen is sup-
ported by the Junior League International, Inc. and its
members. The Junior League focuses on empowering
today’s youth to make healthy choices and reverse the
rise of child obesity. The Abilene Runner’s club allows
for runners to come together and run. Various races and
opportunities are available on their website.
The Major of Abilene has moved to create a health-
ier community and this is one way to help him reach his
vision.
Where did my money go?
By Kylie Chye
Opinion Editor
Successfully filed your taxes and received some
cash back? Where did you shovel that wad of cash?
Hide it in a hole in the garden due to worrisome bank-
ing issues from the past? More likely, whatever surplus
of cash you have is drained to pay for running that metal
box on 4 wheels parked in front of your house.
A report from Washington mentioned that con-
sumer spending rose for the past month or two. It is
not surprising to see the increase in consumer spend-
ing because most of these expenses come in the form
of higher energy prices. With gas prices averaging
$3-55 per gallon (as of the day I’m writing this article,
03/30/2011), most of our income is spent on trying to
shuttle us back and forth from work, simply to earn
more money to fuel our cars. It is such a sad little cycle
we live in these days. The economy is starting to look
more favorable but higher energy costs will stunt initia-
tives to kick-start the economy, even though it forces
people to spend more. By cutting back on other goods
and services such as vacations, household goods, and
meals at restaurants that necessitates the injection of
cash flow into the economy, we ultimately slow the eco-
nomic growth of the country because consumer spend-
ing account for approximately 70-80 percent of growth.
Most of us do not have the luxury of endless zeros
in our bank accounts. Many struggle daily with their
household budgets. Thanks to ever-rising energy costs,
consumers have to choose and prioritize on spending.
This is opportunity cost at its best. Instead of saving
up and affording that down payment for a new house,
that same amount of money is chipped away to pay for
gas. With the hike in gas prices, it is only logical that
other consumer products will increase in price. Fresh
fruits and vegetables are pricier and pricier due to the
increased transportation costs to deliver them from the
source to our supermarkets. Businesses increase their
prices to pass on the extra expenses they incur onto
their customers. Psychologically, we^ are all affected by
the gas prices. Our need to pay more rattles confidence
because we feel poorer and are more likely to tighten
our belts to curb spending.
Flippant spending is uncalled for, but spending
on necessary items is crucial to maintaining economic
poise. Hopefully, some change may come. For now, car-
pool as much as you can and drive less.
Fukushima working to fix remaining reactors
By Ezra Worley
News Editor
Last month’s massive earthquake off
the shore of Japan is even now being fol-
lowed by several aftershocks of tremendous
strength, with a 7.1 last Thursday night. The
Thursday aftershock knocked out power yet
again for the nuclear power plants, but they
were quickly restored by Friday. Soon after
the March 11th earthquake, and all through the
aftershocks of the next few days, the failure
of the country’s power plants (the Fukushima
Daiichi plant in particular) caused quite a
scare, with fears that radiation leaks could
poison the surrounding region. It became
apparent that the Daiichi plant had sustained
severe damage, and after continuous work,
the plant was under control.
Fears were elevated yet again, how-
ever, when word broke out that radioactive
water had been spilt in the area. Although
there was much hype, there was no danger.
Authorities stated that only about four liters
of lightly radioactive water had been spilt.
Since the initial earthquake, three of the
plant’s six reactors are now under control, but
the other three still pose a significant danger.
Cooling water is being continuously
pumped into the reactors in an attempt to
drop their core temperature slowly over time,
in the hopes that they can once again be put
to use. Failure to cool the reactors for a period
longer than 24 hours could pose dangerous
risks of radiation build up. There have been
significant aftershocks in the region that have
interfered with this, such as the incident on
Thursday. Although things are once again sta-
ble at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, one can
only hope that they stay that way.
Extra Chapel Credit Opportunities
By Amanda Williams
Asst Layout Editor
As the semester comes to a close, some seniors may find themselves short on chapel
credits and unable to get all of these credits through campus events. Whether this is your story,
or you simply want to find a place to serve, there are many ways to get those chapel credits
around Abilene. Here are a few fun ways to get chapel credits without costing you a dollar!
One option for fun community service near HSU is Love and Care Ministries. Love and
Care has many ministry opportunities all over Abilene such as feeding the homeless, clothing
distribution, and witnessing to people of all demographics. There are different opportunities
on each night of the week as well as weekend long ministry opportunities several times a year.
Group community service can be scheduled by contacting Love and Care through their web-
site, LCMin.com. This is one of the most convenient ministry options because of its location at
233 Fannin Street (minutes away from campus), and because of the flexibility of their service
schedule.
Two other great community service opportunities are with the Friendship House and
the Haven House, both components of Connecting Caring Communities. Friendship Houses
are located in two areas of Abilene, each offering a variety of opportunities for community
outreach.
The goal of the Haven House is to reach every neighborhood in Abilene, and provide a
place of comfort and shelter for the people. The Haven House constantly needs people who can
commit to work in various neighborhoods, providing volunteer opportunities anywhere from
once a week to daily service.
Other chapel credit opportunities include service projects with groups such as the Boys
and Girls Clubs of Abilene and BSM missions. Students cart learn more about these mission
opportunities at the monthly BSM meeting, or by visiting AbileneBGC.com. Don’t let chapel
credits be the reason you don’t graduate; find a way to serve the community today!
Concerned About A Growing China? You’re Not the Only One
By Austen Massey
Sports Editor
An unsettling reality headed into the 21st century is the rise of an increasingly
multipolar world, with the U.S. still leading the way, albeit not with the gusto it once
had. The consensus view among international economists is that China will be the
world’s fastest growing economy in the near future, and concerns are that they are
using unfair trade practices to achieve this. It has been widely analyzed that emerging
economies, such as India, Brazil, and China will recover quicker from the interna-
tional financial crisis than developed countries in the “western world.”
Concerns over China’s rise are growing. A BBC poll released in March surveyed
28,000 people in 27 countries to find that negative views of China’s rise are higher
than ever. However, they are not uniform. Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times
columnist Tom Friedman blames the growing negative views on emotion, saying that
in western democracies the situation is “psychologically unsettling,” and rightly so.
Any country would be frustrated with 8% unemployment, while a single party dicta-
torship plows through and experiences growth.
Trade policy is a key concern. Five developed countries believe China practices
unfairtrade, including the U.S., Italy, Japan, South Korea, and Germany. It is widely
cited that China manipulates the foreign currency exchange market to hold the value
of the Yuan down, creating an immediate disadvantage for trading partners, as they
would already be operating at a deficit. Negative views of China’s economic rise have
risen since the last poll conducted in 2005.
However, on one continent, China is being greeted with open arms for obvi-
ous reasons. Africa is particularly enthusiastic about China’s eagerness to invest, and
African nations have the most positive view of China. Nigeria polled at 82% favor-
ability and Kenya polled at 77%. Some critics have claimed that this is just a ploy to
exploit Africa’s resources, a different verse of the same song that has been playing for
hundreds of years.
China may create anxiety for certain people but, nevertheless, western entre-
preneurs just see another investment opportunity. Much of the concern may simply
be a matter of pride. According to Andrew Walker of the BBC, “More than a billion
consumers are going to buy more goods and services as their living standards rise and
Chinese firms will not be able to supply everything.” If the west can turn this into a
challenge and not a perpetual fear, then the resulting free market competition should
benefit everyone. 1
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