The "Delete Button" - Cleanser of Email Inbox or Mind and Soul?

The "Delete Button"

By Enas Elmoshands

There is a sense of relief that comes with cleaning out your mail inbox, a feeling of, ‘Ahh. Now I can relax.’ A feeling that could only be perfected if we had a cup of tea in our hand, a sleep mask, and a couch to unwind on. When that delete button is clicked, we are de-cluttering our space of unnecessary things, the way we would our closet. It’s as if we are starting over, making room for new messages and opportunities. Time does not matter; the email we receive in January is just as erasable as the email we receive in May. The only matter of importance is the message and the sender of the message. It’s pure detoxification; only, there is no starvation or consumption of liquid vomit juices involved. Can I get a hell yeah? So if we are so willing to rid ourselves of technological and bodily toxins, why are we so hesitant to detoxify our lives? Why is it we accept poisonous things in our lives when we can’t accept those things in our interspace? Why can we erase the hateful email our friend sent us one week ago but we can’t erase the friend who sent it? Why can we let go of once important information when we can’t let go of once important experiences (keep in mind letting go does not equal forgetting)? We all know the past has an effect on who we are, on our past (the we interpret it), our present (the way we live it), and our future (the way we look towards it). We don’t need to be psychology majors or had to have read nine hundred pages on Sigmund Freud to know that tidbit of information. Yet, the knowledge is pushed to the back of our heads because we simply can’t handle the struggle it would bring if we face it- if we face the pain, the anger, the guilt, and the aching nostalgia we have come to associate our past with.

We’re living in a constant-as stagnant as it gets. Yet, we have the illusion that we’re moving forward. But how can we move forward when our feet are buried years beneath neglected conflict. That hateful friend who holds the punishing power to make you feel unworthy is just one layer of the many layers you have yet to peel back. I am not an expert; I am simply a human being, not a girl-not yet a woman (where’s Britney Spears when you need her?), a daughter, a sister, a cousin, a friend, and a student. The only expertise I have to offer is that which I learned from personal experience. We all have our stories to tell. However, if that is so, how do we express repressed story? How do we bring to life the feelings we refuse to feel? If we don’t walk out tomorrow morning, and breathe in the fresh, polluted air, and let the warmth of the sun hit our face, and if we aren’t mindful of what’s going on now, we will never tell our story the way it is supposed to be told; the way it deserves to be told. It will be clouded by denial, repression, and confusion. For we never took the time out to look back and pick away at the seams, to rip apart the clothes, the bags, to throw away the shoes, to remove all the excessiveness of our canvas and see it for what really is- what we made it to be without all the distractions. If it’s just a plain white canvas and you see nothing-you should rethink what you thought was so right. Yet if you stand back and that canvas is bursting with so much color that it burns your eyes with its boldness, and hurts your heart with its fullness, then that is the moment where you can feel as relieved and detoxified as you did the moment your inbox read, ‘empty.’

Tomorrow is today and today is yesterday. This cannot wait. Your life cannot wait. You cannot wait. The more you put yourself on hold, the more you put friends, family, work, school, and reputation before your own needs, the harder it is to revive what has been dead for so long. There is hope for everyone, in everyone. The opportunities are boundless; the things you discover about yourself will amaze you. You will finally meet that girl or boy or woman or man everyone’s been talking about. But you have the advantage- you get to become that person’s best friend. You get to become you and come back home to who you really are. This all sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? But you’re probably wondering how on earth you’re supposed to achieve such fantasticalness. Here are a few tips I’ve learned:

1. Meditation: Okay. DON’T PANIC. I know the thought of meditating scares you. Heck, it scares me and I’m starting to get the gist of it. But don’t rule this out- getting in touch with your physical being will lead to your oneness as a whole. A simple twenty minutes a day (I prefer the morning to get a good start) will do wonders. Don’t be surprised if you feel as if there is an eternal golden meadow in the pit of your stomach: that’s what we like to call inner peace.
2. Physical Activity: I don’t mean to make this sound like some sort of diet plan but being active does help. I don’t mean you need to go to the gym and labor away for two hours; no, a simple ten minute walk outside will make you feel good. There’s something about being in tune with nature that inspires us to be in tune with ourselves.
3. Alone Time: This does not equal isolation; having a social network is healthy. Yet, we still need down time to relax and be alone with our thoughts. Our thoughts should not scare us; we should not view them as “mind-rape.” Our thoughts are collections of our goals, ideas, beliefs, and so on. We need to come to terms with the way our mind works and if we don’t like it, change it.
4. Limit Internet, Phone, TV Usage: It’s entertaining, amusing, time consuming, poisonous crap. Believe it or not, all those weight loss and skin care commercials seep in to your brain and affect you. The media’s obsession with perfection affects you. Other people’s drama affects you. Facebook and Twitter affects you. And it’s rare for it to be a positive effect.
5. Optimism: I’m not asking you to be Ponyo here. If you giggle and smile more than you speak, then you need to seek professional help. I’m just asking you not to be so hard on yourself. Don’t be your own worst enemy; it’s not good for your mental health. Be the impartial observer who is curious about the emotions and situations you’re experiencing. Let everything sink in without the harsh reprimand you usually serve yourself.

These are just a few tips that I hope will aid you in your journey to you.

Valentine's Day [Fact vs .Fiction]

Valentine's Day [Fact vs .Fiction]

By Enas Elmohands

Valentine's Day. The holiday of pink balloons, chocolate, red roses, and diamonds. Oh, and love of course. But when you push aside all that hishposh, what is Valentine’s Day?

Well, the origin of the day lies somewhere between 300-400 AD when Constantine the Great legalized Christianity and established it as the official religion of the Roman Empire. However, the pagans who adopted Christianity did not want to abandon all the traditions they had before converting, one of them being the fertility festival, Lupercalia. The festival honored Lupa, the she-wolf who, according to legend cared for Remus and Romulus, the two brothers who founded Rome. The celebration included priests sacrificing animals such as goats. Boys would then slice the dead animals into strips, dip them into sacrificial blood, and run through the streets slapping around women who believed this form of abuse would bring them fertility. Later, in the same day, all the young women in the city would put their names in a large urn where the city’s bachelors would choose one and become paired for the rest of the year with the chosen woman. Most of these matches often ended in marriage, hence the romance aspect (I mean, you can say being pummeled with raw meat is romantic but let’s leave that matter to personal taste). This delightful day originally took place on the fifteenth of February but because Christians didn’t like the idea of pagans celebrating, well, their paganism, Pope Gelasius named February 14th Valentine’s Day (also changing the day) in honor of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers. Bet you didn’t know that, huh?

Yet, even so, the holiday we celebrate today is starkly different from the one celebrated centuries ago. Valentine’s day became a business. Just like Halloween, its purpose is to serve CEOs of companies such as Hallmark, Hershey, and Zales. The proof is in the fact that in the United States, Valentine’s week is ranked #1 in chocolate sales in which consumers spend more than $400 million. Furthermore, U.S. consumers spend an average of a $102 on Valentine’s gifts with a national total spending of almost $15 million. All for what? To express love? Why is it that we float through life, mindless, except on the labeled days we must act the way expected of us? Why is it that in order for someone to feel appreciated and loved, that said person has to wait until a specific day of a year? Why must we go the extra mile to dote on those we love when we should be going an extra two miles everyday, regardless? I understand it’s heartwarming and special and all that nonsense to have a day designated for love. But I say every day should be designated for love. So for all those out there who are serious about the depth of their emotions, prove it by freeing yourself from the oppression known as commercialism and express yourself through truth, not material things that will soon go to waste one way or another.

Christina Aguilera's Downward Spiral

Christina Aguilera's Downward Spiral
by Alannah Dragonetti

It seems that everyone this week is discussing when Christina Aguilera confused the words to the national anthem at Sunday’s Super Bowl. Regardless of the fact that it has been a relatively slow week in news, people are shocked that such a seasoned performer could make such an amateurish error. Not only had Aguilera known about her Super Bowl performance for weeks prior to the actual day, but she has most likely sung the national anthem at other high profile events. The singer brushed her mistake off by saying, "I got so caught up in the moment of the song that I lost my place. I can only hope that everyone could feel my love for this country and that the true spirit of its anthem still came through."
I, however, believe Sunday’s lyrical confusion will be the last public appearance the singer makes before it is announced that she has checked into a rehab facility. The word flub alone, although strange, is not the reason I predict rehab in Aguilera’s future. It is just another piece of evidence that the singer’s life is spiraling downward. In October, She filed for divorce from Jordan Bratman, her husband of five years. Since the divorce, she has been seen with Matthew Rutler, a production assistant she met on the set of box office disappointment, Burlesque, which was supposed to her acting debut . Rumors of the destructive nature of Aguilera’s relationship with Rutler have been circulating as of late. Various sources have accused Rutler of using Aguilera for her money and musical connections (Rutler is in a band). Aguilera is also alleged to have confronted Julianne Hough at an event in February. She is even rumored to have wandered into Hurt Locker actor Jeremy Renner’s house intoxicated and passed out on the bed.
In addition to Aguilera’s rumored erratic behavior, her appearance has changed drastically. This period of Aguilera’s life is reminiscent of Mariah Carey’s mental health crisis in 2001, which came to a head after Carey made an erratic appearance on MTV’s TRL. This period also calls up images of Britney Spears and her public bouts of instability. From the beginning of their careers, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears have been pitted against each other as rivals. Spears was always the more well known of the two, but Aguilera has always followed just one step behind. While Britney is putting her very public and severe mental breakdown behind her, Aguilera may once again be following in her footsteps.

Top 10 Guitar Players of the 2000ʼs

Top 10 Guitar Players of the 2000ʼs
By: Jake Stamoulis

People say the past decade has been a dark age for rock guitar, but these ten axe heroes have given us their fair share of tasty licks and solos!

10. Slash
The 2000ʼs have definitely not seen the ex-Guns nʼ Roses star in his prime, but you have to give him some credit for sticking around past his contemporaries. With a couple of classic Velvet Revolver songs, an impressive new solo album, and a big, albeit corny, appearance in Guitar Hero 3, Slash is the 80ʼs hero that just wonʼt let up.

9. Ezra Koenig
Quite frankly, whoever came up with the insanely catchy riff in “A-punk” deserves a spot on this list. But the Vampire Weekend front-man is more than just a one-trick pony. The frantic chords in “Cousins” and delightful melodies in “Oxford Comma” prove that Ezra can really play that semi-hollow guitar. Who knows what the next decade holds for this Columbia grad.



8. Tom Delonge
After a string of now legendary pop-punk hits with Blink 182, Tom has gone on to play with side-project Boxcar Racer and his brainchild Angels and Airwaves. He may not be the most technical guy in the world, but heʼs no slouch when it comes to catchy octave riffs. Now Blink is back and Tomʼs ready to spawn the follow-ups of Blink hits like “All the Small Things”, “Whatʼs My Age Again”, and “Down.”



7. Billie Joe Armstrong
2009ʼs 21st Century Breakdown might be a step in the wrong direction for superstar band Green Day, but there was once a time not so long ago in the early 2000ʼs where Billie Joeʼs catchy guitar work was front and center on the airwaves. The year was 2004, and the album, American Idiot.



6. Chris Shiflett
Chris Shiflett emerged onto the scene with a million to one audition for modern rock giants the Foo Fighters. Shiflett usually plays the supporting the role to Dave Grohlʼs rhythm work, but his fiery solos on tracks like “Long Road to Ruin” and octave runs on “Best of You” and “Long Way Back” present some of the most interesting showcases of axe work on modern radio today.



5. Josh Homme
He may be a bit lacks on the vocal performances, but Josh Homme has the guitar chops to make up for it. With his eclectic combination of vintage amps and old school riffage, Joshʼs playing harkens back to the days of Sabbath and Zeppelin. No wonder he jams with bass god John Paul Jones in Them Crooked Vultures.



4. Claudio Sanchez
One listen to the opening of “Welcome Home” brings back memories of Alex Lifesonʼs music with Rush. He even sounds like Geddy Lee with those voice pipes. And he didnʼt like Rush when he started out... The Coheed and Cambria front-man displays his considerable skills with the axe on such tracks as “The Suffering” and “Sanitarium.” Watch out for this guy.




3. Matthew Bellamy
Yet another frontman, Muse leader Matt Bellamyʼs creative guitar lines blend hard edge rock and exotic scales. A capable keyboardist and vocalist, Mattʼs guitar lines in songs such as “Time is Running Out” and “Hysteria” have all the catchy-ness of his choruses. You know that Muse is on the radio when you here Matt chunking away.




2. Johnny Rzeznik
Longtime frontman for multi-platinum artists the Goo Goo Dolls, the pretty boy Rzeznik started his career as a gritty punk rocker from Buffalo, New York. He formed the Goo Goo Dolls in 1987 with bassist pal Robby Takac, and the rest as they say is history. The 90ʼs saw the Dolls release “Iris”, “Black Balloon”, and “Slide”, all mid-tempo acoustic numbers that featured Rzeznikʼs throaty voice and signature odd guitar tunings. Johnny and the guys followed up their smash hits with the stellar album Gutterflower. Since then, albums Let Love In and newly released Something for the Rest of Us have met wild success, thanks to Johnnyʼs songwriting, vocal work, and guitar tunings.



1. Jack White
Numero uno. Jack White and ex-wife Meg White formed the White Stripes in 1997. They stunned the world with the edgy “Seven Nation Army”, the raucous “Fell in Love With A Girl”, and the tasteful “Ball and Biscuit.” Jackʼs weapon of rock is a pawnshop prize Valco Airline electric guitar coupled with a Digitech Whammy. His playing strikes a chord somewhere between ADHD punk and vintage garage rock. Jack extends his handy guitar chops to the Raconteurs and Dead Weather. If you want to write off Jack as just another sloppy punker, just take a listen to “Icky Thump” and see if you can play the guitar solos.

The Plight of the Disney Star

The Plight of the Disney Star
By Alannah Dragonetti

When I heard 18-year-old Sonny With a Chance star, Demi Lovato, was entering a rehabilitation center to allegedly deal with an eating disorder and self-mutilation I felt sorry for her. However, I would be lying if I said I was shocked. My lack of shock was not because Demi Lovato’s struggles were public; in fact it seems that her camp was semi-successful in keeping them under wraps. I was not surprised because Demi Lovato is a Disney star. Unfortunately, we have seen this same story several times: Disney child stars becomes a household name only to have a downward spiral and shatter their squeaky clean image. This most famously happened to Britney Spears, former cast member of Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club, in 2008. Fortunately, Spears seems to be healthy now, but fellow former Disney star Lindsay Lohan hasn’t been so lucky. Lohan is currently serving her third stint in rehab for substance abuse. Shia LaBeouf, former star of the Disney channel show Even Stevens, has been arrested twice. What is it about Disney that causes so many of its stars to fall victim to the pitfalls of fame?

Although this fall is quite prevalent among Disney Stars, this is not an issue exclusive to them. Many former child stars, such as Drew Barrymore, Mary Kate Olsen, and Danny Bonaduce have gone down the wrong path. A former child star, Taylor Momsen, who has so far avoided arrest and rehab but still courts plenty of controversy, gave some insight into why child stars often turn to destructive behavior. She is quoted as saying, “My parents signed me up with Ford (modeling agency) at the age of two. No two-year-old wants to be working, but I had no choice. My whole life, I was in and out of school. I didn’t have friends – I was working constantly and I didn’t have a real life.”

Of course, not all child stars grow up to self-destruct. Entertainers like Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and Hilary Duff came through the Disney factory unscathed. Still, it is sad that despite a multitude of high profile examples demonstrating the disastrous consequences of child stardom, many parents still drag their children from audition to audition in the hopes that they will be the next big thing, with a total disregard for how it will effect their child in the future.

Adelphi's Best Kept Secrets: Haunted Halls

Adelphi’s Best Kept Secrets: Chapman Haunted Halls
By Colleen Fasone

Although it’s been a week or two since Halloween, the adage “better late than never” certainly applies to this coverage of one of Adelphi’s best attractions. Chapman Haunted Halls is an annual tradition on the Adelphi campus, an event in which one dormitory is completely transformed into a haunted attraction. This event has two purposes, to save the environment and to provide students and faculty with a scare before the actual night of Halloween. The environmental aspect comes from the fact that Chapman Hall is the “Green” Hall, and as such tends to be responsible for hosting events which either promote environmentally friendly programs or directly help the environment. In the case of Haunted Halls, all lights are turned off within that building so that it can be turned into a horrifying and terrifying spectacle. The only lit area is that of the front desk, necessary to vote on the floor that did the best job of scaring the participants and decorating their floor. It is also necessary as a safe way of getting out of the building. The rest of the dorm is blanketed in total darkness, which promotes a sense of fear and a sense of saving the environment by not using electricity for a few hours.

The halls really go all out with this event, Chapman residents and their friends working together to really spook up the place and give it whatever creepy feel they like. This year there were three decorated floors, two of which had a concrete theme, and the last being a collection of various scares and thrills. This year’s winner of Haunted Halls, simply the floor that got the most votes as to being scariest/best, was the second floor. It had a “Freak Show” theme, with creepy undead ballerinas, a ringmaster, and a lost little girl holding a balloon. The third floor was asylum themed, with many people being chopped to bits in laundry rooms and an insane female menacingly approaching all participants all the while banging a hammer chillingly against the wall. The first floor was a general mix of people popping out of rooms, severed limbs, and haunted décor, a nice way to conclude the walk through the haunted house that had participants starting on the third floor and working their way down.

Every year Haunted Halls has been a big success with the students here at Adelphi, the evidence alone being the long line to get inside of the dormitory that does not dissipate until the event is over. It is also a successful way to get the word out about shutting off lights for a good cause, which means getting the word out about shutting lights off when they aren’t needed. The combination of saving power and providing a festive scare make Chapman Haunted Halls one of Adelphi’s best kept secrets, something you only experience if attending Adelphi University.

Elmo's Literary Review

A Literary Review of Sylvia Plath's "Under The Bell Jar"
By Enas Elmohands

“I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.” This is the first insight we have into the life of Esther Greenwood, in which we have an impression of that tense, calm moment immediately before chaos ensues, foreshadowing the onslaught of madness that will soon overcome her. She should be elated; her talent and perseverance landed her a job at a fashion magazine in New York City as a guest editor. Sprinkle on top of that an extravagant lifestyle that caters to every superficial desire and there is seemingly no reason for her not to be living on Cloud Nine.
However, Esther feels divided between how she ought to feel (based on how society views her life) and how she truly feels: numb. Soon, this numbness spirals into the hell her mind has become. As described later in the book, “wherever I sat...I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air.” She is eternally trapped inside herself and no amount of external persuasion will change that. She feels as if her mental illness descends on her without her consent or control, like scientists assailing her with a bell jar. Her suicidal urges, as well as attempts, are a result of her suffocation. Even if she were to be “cured,” the bell jar would be hovering above her, ready to trap her at any given moment; it’s inescapable.
I shouldn’t say more – I don’t want to give the plot of the book away because I believe it’s a worthwhile read. Strike that, I believe it’s a must read. Though, I do warn that it is not for everyone; I can only imagine the expressions on people’s faces while reading Plath’s novel or even skimming over the summary on the back of the book. It’s about a girl with a mental illness and the way her life plays out as a result. It’s not exactly a book that’ll make the sun shine brighter (though I should mention that Plath’s dry humor and bluntness is refreshing). It’s not even a book that will give you a new outlook on life. However, it’s a book that will make you vicariously feel the torment of a twenty year old girl who had the world in the palm of her hand before living in it became too much of a burden. It provides a deeper understanding of those who suffer from mental illnesses such as depression, a commonly misunderstood disease.
But it also pertains to us, students and those in the same age bracket, those who are attempting to find a place in the world. One of the comparisons she makes about her life that struck me most is the one to a fig tree in which every plump, purple fig symbolized a different future, some representing her dreams of becoming a poet or an editor, and others that are left a mystery. In the end, she is unable to decide which fig she wanted, for choosing one meant losing the rest, and as a result, every fig went black and fell to the ground. As a freshman in college, transitioning from the tyranny of high school to the democracy of a university, I find myself sitting under the same fig tree, hoping I reach a decision before they all shrivel up and plop around me. And I’m sure I’m not the only one there.