Opinion

SAINTS PERSPECTIVE, SCCC President Brad Bennett

In less than two weeks, Seward County Community College will start a new semester. It’s an electric time here on campus, as we greet returning students, welcome new ones, and set off on something that feels like an adventure. I admit, I get excited about the start of the school year. It’s full of possibility. This is the big step that our SCCC Saints have worked so hard to reach. They are excited, a little scared, still young enough to dream big.

That is the theme our admissions team has chosen as they recruited students across our service area all last year, and continuing through the summer: Have a dream, be the dream, seize the dream. The words remind of us of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the old slogan, “Carpe diem!” Seize the day.

SAINTS PERSPECTIVE, SCCC President Brad Bennett

Can you believe it’s August already? Summer has gone by in a flash, and we’re feeling the “back to school” energy at Seward County Community College.

Students arrived on campus this week, ready to start conditioning and training for the second-ever Saints soccer season and women’s volleyball. We were thrilled to get them settled in. There was just one hitch: the 90 students living in the dorms needed to eat. And our campus cafeteria was still closed as we wrapped up renovation work.

GUEST COLUMN, Howard Dean, former National Democratic Party Chair

The extreme heat that recently blanketed the United States is a clear sign of climate change. But rising temperatures are fueling more than just hotter summers. Climate change is contributing to the spread of drug-resistant infections. And alarmingly, the medicines we use to fight those pathogens are losing their effectiveness.

Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, occurs when bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens evolve to resist the effects of medications, making common infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death. Recent figures link AMR to nearly 5 million deaths annually -- far more than the combined death toll of AIDS and malaria. By 2050, more people will die of drug-resistant infections than currently die of cancer.

MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron

Continuing a series on Jesus and His ministry, this week we'll look at how He talked to people differently depending on their situation and their needs. To the multitudes, He shared parables about seeking the lost; He had compassion on the crowds, and offered mercy to the needy. Then to His disciples He presented ethical guidelines for their behavior. As we examine the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5 through 7), we should keep in mind the different ways that Jesus approached each group, and let those guide our dealings with others.