People are saying …

What a difference three months make. As Adlai Stevenson University students return to classes, Donald Trump is now the Republican Party’s nominee to be the President of the United States, and Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee. Green party candidate, Jill Stein, and libertarian party candidate, Gary Johnson, are both hoping to participate in the Presidential debates on September 26, October 9, and October 19, but will probably fail to garner 15 percent standing in the national polls to qualify. (SU will have debate watching parties in the Rockland Banquet Room, and a student debate on October 26). Be prepared for some fireworks.

The national elections are crowding out other news stories: A cease-fire in the war in Syria; England leaving the European Economic Union; the spread of the Zika virus that causes microcephaly (small heads) in newborn infants. Fires in California, floods in Louisiana and Ellicott City. The good news is, you can still find cute cat videos on Youtube.

One of the best classes at Adlai Stevenson University is called “A History of Now,” in which students research and write on recent events in the news. The subjects they have written on so far include police brutality, Hillary’s health, and White Nationalists who support Donald Trump.

Karalyn writes: Right now $14 billion are stranded out at sea. Hanjin Shipping Company, from South Korea, filed for bankruptcy and left85-90 shipping vessels to fend for themselves. The company is $5 billion in debt, and cannot afford to dock the vessels, which means they have the boats circling the oceans or anchored down. The crews are still aboard the ships and are running out of food, fuel, and water.

(Your Christmas presents may not arrive until next spring.)