Salem's Sanity

Salem Off the Record: Just That Loving Feeling

2009-09-06T01:58:00.006-04:00

Woodstock, NY, just seems to attract me. I’m not sure why, but it feels like home, yet, I have never lived there. Sometimes there is just a strange love affair you have with locations you visit. This magnetism has intrigued me and I wonder how I got pulled in.

When I was driving back to Albany from New Paltz a couple weeks ago, I found myself having to make a detour to Woodstock before I went to my apartment. I don’t know what it was, but I knew I had to make a stop. Even if it was just to get the chicken parmesan sub that I adore from Catskill Mountain Pizza. I wasn’t sure when I would be back again.

That town and I have a lot of memories. I took a journalism feature writing course during my first semester after transferring to New Paltz. During the first class I was told I had to cover a “beat” that focused on one town or city all semester. I was completely lost at what to pick, but I told the professor that I don’t think I would mind covering Woodstock. It was a half hour drive, but I figured it was worth it. Sure beat many other surrounding areas.

I found myself in Woodstock quite often. I decided to focus only on the small but quaint downtown. It proved to be difficult at times, but also rewarding. Soon I knew most of the shopkeepers. The one place I frequented, purely for pleasure, was Catskill Mountain Pizza.

Sometimes the interviews would go great and other times not as well, but there was always a hot chicken parmesan sub waiting for me if I had the cash. This started to become my routine. I always found it comforting. I even conducted a rather memorable phone interview there, well, a rather short and turbulent one.

The aura of Woodstock seemed to call to me. I could almost feel it grabbing me. Even before I went there I knew I would find some sort of comfort. It proved to be a place I felt at home. How we become drawn to these places in life is complicated. There is just something we connect to, but can’t really explain.

I like to think of it as an environmental love affair. I know Woodstock is one of mine. Well, I hope you have your own place to visit from time to time. At the least, I hope the picture makes your mouth water just a little. Oh, and I didn’t think to take a picture till after I was eating it, because it was hard to think of anything else at the time.

"Salem Off the Record" is a sub-division of Salem's Sanity dealing with topics that would not normally be discussed in the regular column and are written in a less formal manor. The observations of these non-newsworthy topics are here for your enjoyment and discussion.

Cigarette Taxes Burn Smoker’s Cash

2009-04-19T02:17:00.006-04:00

Pity for smokers has been low on the list of society’s concerns, especially in New York. Not only is smoking banned in all public indoor areas throughout New York, but smokers are also branded with a stigma. Now, on top of the already extreme New York state tobacco tax, smokers will have to puff down the largest federal tobacco tax increase ever.

I’m a smoker, so that might invalidate my position to some non-smokers. I am also a college student that doesn’t have too much income. I am also someone who isn’t going to stop getting my nicotine fix, because the government — federal or state — decides they want to charge me more.

It is complete rubbish when a government officials say, “This will help people quit smoking.” I’m sorry, but I don’t think you really give a damn if anyone quits smoking. You want that money to come flowing in and you know smokers will give it you.

Anyone notice the recent “Obesity Tax” Governor Patterson proposed? The tax would’ve placed a 15 percent tax on all non-diet drinks . Yes, that means all you soda drinkers would have been paying dearly. Oh, but no, we wouldn’t want to upset those soda guzzlers. Patterson quickly backed off of this carbonated demand .

A vice tax is the simplest way to grab cash. Everyone has a vice, but the government will likely try to tax any vice they can in this recession. I get it; we are all low on cash. Still, the easy targets for the taxing torture have been a smoker.

Last year alone the New York tobacco tax increased from $1.50 to $2.75 per pack . That is a $1.25 increase in one year! There certainly is no sympathy when you see an increase that high. Also, let us not forget the additional 4 percent state sales tax on tobacco products.

Eric Lindbloom, director of policy research for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, told USA Today that the average state tax is currently $1.19 a pack. New York is far beyond the average with their menacing $2.75 rate. All the New Yorkers that continue to smoke have to make a cut in their spending somewhere and that often means not patronizing local businesses.

The first thing I cut out was going to the bar more than once a week. Also, I go out Friday night because I can save money with 2-for-1 draft beer night at a local bar. Before I used to go out at least twice a week to the bars. I am not talking about getting smashed either. It is just nice to go downtown with some friends and relax.

The next thing I cut out were restaurants that didn’t except “Hawk Dollars,” which is basically a college account you can deposit money into and use at local businesses. For most students this is where their parents can deposit money and know how it is going to be used. They could even follow how their son or daughter spends their cash online (I doubt most parents know this). There are a lot of places I would like eat at more often, but if they don’t accept Hawk Dollars, sorry, they’re cut.

There are ways to get around the state tax. Smokers could go to a different state if they are close enough. Indian reservations have always been a safe-haven for smokers too. The Internet leads to even more possibilities. You can get cigarettes at a greatly reduced price on the Internet, because it also avoids the state tax. It doesn’t matter whether or not this is legal, because some people will do it in desperate times.

This tax isn’t going to help New York’s economy. It’s going to have smokers cutting their expenses in other areas, or going around the state’s tax. The majority of smokers aren’t going to stop smoking even with the new federal increase. Sure, we are pissed off, but we’re still going to light up and inhale it all down — no matter how much they charge us.

This article was originally published in The Little Rebellion
Photo is courtesy of Flickr user Lionoche

CNN Embraces What Anyone Says is News

2009-02-25T16:38:00.006-05:00

While watching CNN a few moments ago, I noticed they are not only using Twitter, but also embracing the reporting of citizen journalism done through Twitter. Come on, CNN and Twitter citizen journalists — somebody please tell me they see this sad connection.

This inspired me to head to their website, where I quickly found iReport. This is basically a glorified public forum that gives validity to a post that anyone can make about anything. Seeing that CNN is using non-journalists to do their job, well, lacks professionalism to their methods.

Sure, people would call a newspaper back-in-the-day and submit “news tips,” but this brings it to a whole new level. Many people will read these citizen reports and take them for the real and truthful news. There is a reason why journalism is a profession — not to get all elitist on you. Would you want a citizen doctor performing surgery on you? I doubt it.

The featured story on CNN’s iReport was about the possibility that Nancy Pelosi might wear a “Snuggie.” This is just sad. This is supposed to be reporting? This is supposed to be journalism? If I wanted to read garbage like this I wouldn’t go to CNN. Maybe they could change their name to CJN (Citizen Journalism News) and just fire all their reporters. That would be a rather trendy idea.

Their slogan for iReport seems to be “Unedited. Unfiltered. News.” This shows how pathetic the site is, ironically. When is something that’s unedited a good thing? Ask any professor and I doubt they will tell you that a student’s unedited paper is a good thing. Oh, and unfiltered, yeah, that is real great. A bunch of junk that doesn’t really matter, like the Snuggie story, becomes the highlight of the page. All of this equates to something that is far from news.

You should probably note the disclaimer on the website:

iReport.com is a user-generated site. That means the stories submitted by users are not edited, fact-checked or screened before they post. Only stories marked "On CNN" have been vetted for use in CNN news coverage.

There is a virus taking over the news industry that makes them feel they need to include the public into their reporting. This is only to help their ratings and revenue stream, though, because people like to see themselves on TV and websites. People will watch a program if they think their MySpace comment could be on CNN. Now, this is a reality. They actually do put your comment on TV. Well, aren’t you special.

Bloggers should stick to blogs and journalists should stick to informing the public. This twisted affair is only going to lead to a frothing-at-the-mouth-news-child that seems to entertain at best.

On The Eve of Hope

2008-11-03T23:43:00.010-05:00

Twas the night before the election, when all through the house, emotions were stirring and dreams bounced about. The flyers were hung through the streets with care, in hopes that President Obama would soon be declared.

To many, including me, Barack Obama getting elected would be more than a present; it would be a dream coming true. Also, it would mean one less nightmare constructed by the Republican Party. I don’t know if I can personally take four more years the Bush policies that led us into this recession and war. Tonight I am praying the American people realize just what is at stake. As Dennis Kucinich said, “Wake up America!”

I don’t know how else to put it, but if McCain and Palin get elected to office I would have lost most of my faith in this country. That is of course assuming the Republican Party doesn’t manage to steal the election again. If it truly is legally and honestly decided that the new president will be McCain, I have a lot of grieving to do.

Has our country learned nothing from the past eight years? Do we really want to be in the same position as now, or maybe even worse? Do people really believe McCain is the “maverick” he says he is? Yes, there was a day when McCain was a better politician and stood up to his party. There have been great contributions to this country from McCain, but it is not his time. Not from his voting record for the last eight years. Not from all the attack aids he ran towards Obama. Not from all the lies he has told to hypnotize the masses.

I can’t emphasize enough how badly our country needs change. I have not come to terms yet with how I would feel if Obama does lose the election, but I hope I won't have to. My hopes for this country will literally be shattered right in front of me as McCain smirks for the cameras and Palin laughs at the “gotcha media”. Sit back and think real hard before you strike that vote for McCain.

Obama has shown that he will cross over party lines to reach out. He actually wants to cut taxes for most of us, which is not the same that I can say for McCain. If you vote republican you must know you are voting for tax breaks towards the wealthy. We have not seen the economy flourish according the trickle down theory, so now let’s help the rest of us.

This is your time to make history. This is the stuff dreams are made of. It is time for us to once again make America for the people. The only way we can though is by the people.

Vote for peace. Vote for change. Vote for hope. Vote for truth. Vote for Obama.

A Place To Bury Strangers Unearths New Sound

2008-08-14T16:21:00.007-04:00

Still hidden from the mainstream media is a band that completely redefines the way electronica elements and rock can be blended. A Place to Bury Strangers takes psychedelic rock to a whole new level with their first LP. They even opened for Nine Inch Nails’ tour already, which seems an obvious outcome for this band. Though, they can’t really compare to Trent Reznor’s methodically chaotic sound, because their methods stand firm from their inventive roots.

TuneCore, a revolutionary music distribution company, has recognized that A Place to Bury Strangers (APTBS) holds a unique sound. Their self-titled release garnished the award of “Best Rock Album” from TunCore. Slowly, but surely, people seem to take notice of what APTBS has to offer modern rock.

Oliver Ackermann, guitarist and singer, displays his inventive use of guitar pedals. Ackermann founded an effects pedal company, Death By Audio, which specializes in making customized pedals to order. Jonathan "Jono MOFO" Smith, bassist, never overpowers a song with his deep grooves, but gracefully compliments the overall quality. Jay Space, drummer, plays a very electronica style of dream beats that suits the accompanying instrumentation well. This NYC based band completely explodes their sound through a power-trio.

Throughout the album there are songs from various palettes. This creates a very satisfying feel to the album. Each song feels like a progression through the album and creates an encompassing tone quality. There are downtempo beats on some songs, while others have a lively tempo full of fuzz-filled force.

“To Fix The Gash In Your Head” is the first single off the album and it captures a lot of what APTBS encompasses. The techno drumbeat in the beginning leads you in the soundscape of sweeping fuzz driven guitar sound. Once the chorus kicks in, with Ackermann’s lightly echoed vocals, the trance-like state of APTBS is felt. The song sounds aggressive without being overly aggressive in tempo and never really slows down till the sudden stop.

“Ocean” progresses slower, but really shows all the dynamics and potential of APTBS. The steady drum beat is perfectly suited for the song and nothing is overdone in this song. Everything seems to fall sonically into place. With “Ocean” being the longest on the album it is properly placed as the climatic ending.

Some songs do seem a little rough on the edges, such as “Another Step Away,” which just didn’t progress properly and the over-echoed tinny vocals become a little draining. “Don’t Say Lover” also seemed to not have fully blossomed to the final tone it could have reached.

As a whole, the album seems laid out right and doesn’t stretch on for too long. An overall gritty and raw feel is captured, but some of the instrumentation can have a gentle and eerie push. There tends to be a distant dance quality to some of the songs as well, but often the vocal levels should have been raised.

A Place to Bury Strangers truly crafts a unique sound that is best to be heard and not explained. Their album can be purchased from Killer Pimp Records, or can be downloaded from iTunes.

Will Music Pirates Wave a White Flag

2008-08-11T17:03:00.004-04:00

A white shirt comes towards me on the downtown sidewalk of Alexandria Bay, NY, with a traditional skull and crossbones pirate flag on it. When the middle-aged man gets closer to me, I read the two words “Music Pirate” under the flag on his shirt. Not only does he presumably steal music, but also he feels the need to let everyone know he does.

The Internet unleashed a great new avenue for bands to get noticed without having their songs on the radio or having to tour relentlessly. Creating a free web page to promote your band is easier than ever with sites like MySpace that offer free web hosting and allow you to upload your own music tracks. From that page you can dabble with HTML to customize your page, upload videos of your band playing live, allow fans to leave you comments on your new tracks, promote and sell albums and merchandise. Ten years ago you could never stumble upon a band from the United Kingdom and then after listening to their tracks buy their self-released album all from the comfort of your computer chair. This accessibility is really empowering for the music industry and the fans.

With great power comes great responsibility, but some people seem to forget about being responsible with music. The Recording Industry Association of America’s (RIAA) statistics show college students illegally downloaded two-thirds of their music. 2006 had 1.3 billion illegal downloads just from college students alone, according to RIAA. Congress is pressuring universities to address piracy issues on campus and college administrators are listening. Universities are installing new software programs to stop these pirates in their digital tracks.

The DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) requires that universities record all copyright infringements, so that if any legal proceedings occur the information can be offered. Colleges are also starting to enforce a strict policy towards illegal downloads. SUNY New Paltz has a “three strikes” method to their enforcement with the final strike including permanent loss of Internet and disciplinary proceedings. Obtaining free music could end up costing students more in the end. Dave Bachman, Kent State University Student, settled with RIAA for $3,000, so paying for music originally would have not only saved his permanent record but maybe his wallet too.

It is not uncommon to hear from a college friend that they stole almost all their music collection, but why is this? Do people think the artists already have enough money? Are people angry against corporations and want to cut their profit? Is it really the aspect of having to pay for it, or the fact that illegal downloading is a lot easier to do then stealing other tangible things?

Kid Rock, rock/pop artist, might have answered this theory with a recent PSA that he released on his YouTube channel. Rock’s “Steal Everything” PSA encourages everyone, in a sarcastic manner, to just steal everything in order to “level the playing field”. Rock cites how Bill Gates and Steve Jobs won’t miss an MP3 player or laptop being stolen from their respective company, because “they are billionaires”. Then, Rock said to steal from Toyota by hot-wiring a car and driving it off the lot and then continuing to fill up your car on stolen gas. Rock’s video will hopefully put into perspective how stealing from an artist isn’t any different from stealing from anyone else. Also, it might make people think that in the end there are large corporations all around us, so we can’t just go stealing from all of them. Within those corporations there are people who are not millionaires, too.

Thankfully, software programs for legally downloading music at an inexpensive or free price are sprouting up that are geared towards college students. Ruckus has given students what they want; free music downloads that are legal. All someone needs is a valid “.edu” e-mail address and they are on their way to some free tunes. With over 3 million songs already, people should be able to find some artists that interest them. Since the service is free for students, advertisements are overly present and take away from software interface. Who can really complain since it is free? One thing people can complain about, though, is that currently the Ruckus player will only work on Windows operating systems. Anyone using Linux or Mac OS X on a non-Intel based Apple computer will be out of luck. That is the odd part, because if they were aiming the program at college students shouldn’t they have considered Mac users? You can’t walk through a campus library at any time without seeing at least one MacBook laptop with a glowing Apple logo staring at you. Ruckus Network is working to make the Ruckus player available to other platforms in the future, but there is no expected release date.

Digital music sales have been growing along with the rise of the Internet. According to the RIAA, 2005 had 16.1 percent of revenue coming from digital music sales, while 2007 had 23 percent of total revenue from digital sales. Although revenue has been decreasing in the music industry. 2007 sales decreased by 11.8 percent when compared to 2006, stated RIAA. This decrease shows the seriousness of the issue of music piracy.

The front-runner of P2P (peer-to-peer) file sharing was Napster, but many have surpassed what Napster once was. Now LimeWire has emerged as the biggest free P2P software program and is a well known among college students. The NPD Group, which is an entertainment research firm, stated that LimeWire grabbed a huge 62 percent of P2P downloads in 2006.

With this abyss of P2P programs across the Internet, what can really been done to stop music piracy? The main issue may not be what penalties can be instituted to consumers, but stopping P2P from the start. The only thing is that P2P can be perfectly legitimate, but most times they aren’t. With little oversight of the information blazing through the server, most P2P programs will get someone that shares something they aren’t legally allowed to.

Back when my family first got a computer, somewhere around 1998, Kazaa was well known among my friends. You could pretty much find anything you wanted and download it. I never did illegally download music, but I remember obtaining an obscene amount of viruses from Kazaa. Anytime you download anything from a P2P server you are running a risk. They are better managed than before, but there is still a risk. If the record companies did want to go down the dark side they could probably expose this element. Who knows, maybe they already have, but I doubt they would ever admit it.

Ultimately it comes down to a person’s morals. There is not much that you can do to change someone’s beliefs and values. If someone morally sees nothing wrong with stealing music, then they are most likely going to continue stealing music. If someone sees nothing wrong from speeding, they are most likely going to speed while driving. If someone sees nothing wrong with drinking while driving, they are most likely going to drink and drive. Penalties seem to have the most effect after someone has been caught. What they really need to do is just start catching people illegally downloading music and fine them accordingly to their illegal downloaded music collection. People seem to learn the best when they have to learn the hard way.

Anyway, what makes someone think they have the right to steal music? If you truly liked and respected the artist you steal music from, then you would pay for the music. Sure, these people may or may not be famous, but that is not the point. If someone creates something they have the right to profit from it. It is not like $1 a song is a lot to ask for and most times digital albums are cheaper than physical albums. You already would have been saving some money.

I fail to understand why people don’t see stealing music as a big deal. Maybe it is the musician in me, but I wouldn’t want people to steal music I created. What gives a person the right to take something from someone else? Maybe music pirates should really ask themselves that question, but my guess is they really don’t care. If fines are going to settle this, then load up the cannons and let’s sink some pirates.

Sanity Announcement: FYI and Hopefully FYE

2008-06-24T16:08:00.004-04:00

Yes, there has still been a recent absence with posts. Stuff got even crazier at the end of the semester, but at least it is over now. Although, I still have an incomplete I am working on finishing, but I digress. I started more of a personal blog site for me and anyone else that wants to read it. The name of the blog is You're Famous When You're Dead: Chronicles of a Somewhat Average Living Man.

My theory behind starting this is that I wanted to start some sort of a live memoir that I could share with people. For the most part, I figured I would tell it all. The good, the bad, and the unseen elements of my life. Instead of reading a book of a memoir that is finished, I thought it would be fun to read it as it develops. More or less from the writers true perspective. I guess all blogs in some way function like this, but I wanted to grasp some sort of strangle hold on my life occurrences and throw them on the screen in front of you. Then, maybe, someday it will actually turn into a book after the rigorous editing progress.

To explain the title of the blog I will just take a paragraph from my introduction entry:

The title "You're Famous When You're Dead" I choose, because every famous writer, for the most part, becomes famous when their dead. That is when you study them in academia and they are considered to have some sort of real substance. All writers face the challenge of making money on their work while they are alive, although, this will make me no real income. In time I hope to compile these entries, after tortuously editing, into a book. Consider this the raw meat to the uncooked patty.

Hopefully you check it out and like what you see. What I talk about will be what I am living. With that objective in mind, things could get interesting rather fast.

*Edit: To the "anonymous" commenter on this post, thank you! All the errors seem to be fixed. Somehow, me and everyone else that has seen it failed to notice, but not you.

Awakening From The Nightmare

2008-04-14T11:23:00.002-04:00

Islamic fundamentalism and neo-conservatism might seem to be two different ideals on the surface, but deep in their rotting roots is the basis for the same vision. As a nation we can keep our eyes closed, or we can awake from this nightmare of tyrannical proportions.

In 'The Power of Nightmares: Baby It’s Cold Outside', part one of three, we see a rare glimpse into an intelligently and factually based liberal minded viewpoint of producer Adam Curtis for BBC. Thankfully for Curtis he doesn’t live in the US, because he too would probably be held for months under treason. Curtis doesn’t freely toss around conspiracy ideas in this hour without at least backing himself up with solid sources.

The idea itself is compelling enough for most viewers, but the care to editing and establishing a shocking soundtrack is overwhelmingly evident. Sections of the movie are clearly established as the movie jumps from America to Egypt and back again. Before you see certain “evil” faces there will be a jolting sound that vibrates through your ears. Well-placed music tones are key in this. The song Baby It’s Cold Outside is also playfully used in a humoristic manor. In a documentary like this, there is much to be said for adding a little humor to soften the information we are processing.

This documentary is not for everyone. If you don’t question authority, turn a blind eye to terrorism, or believe the government is still completely for the people, you shouldn’t watch this. If you also don’t care about any of these to begin with, don’t “waste” your time. If your rebel flag is at high mast you will thoroughly enjoy this, or even if you have some doubt in the back of your mind at our current powers telling us what is right and wrong.

Stemming back, much before our current president, we see the evolution of all these radical ideals in Mr. Kotf’s visit to the US to learn about the education system. Instead of focusing on education Kotf quickly becomes disgusted in the westernization of the country that is leading to the depleting values of morals. The key instance was at a dance in a church with young adults, that currently would be considered overly tame (since no females were thrusting their behind into the crouch of males), where the intimate dancing disgusted Kotf. He saw people living isolated, selfish and materialistic lives, which to some degree is true still today, so he sought out to change this. Our primitive motives, according to Kotf, were not something that should be tolerated.

While the formation of jihad and intolerant neo-conservatives is troubling, the movie allows us to see this from the bottom up. Muslims started to kill non-believing Muslims and neo-conservatives started trampling their idealism over liberal thinking. The somewhat hidden ideals of people, such as, Lyndon Johnson, Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfield are troubling. Who would have thought that the blazing bullets in a television series 'Gunsmoke' and the overly clever thinking of the 'Perry Masion' show would shape these men? This is clearly the early sign of Americans watching too much television much earlier than we thought. Maybe if a show like 'SpongeBob SquarePants' were on earlier we would live in a different country? Then again, the government might have assumed that we were all like the dumbfounded sidekick Patrick.

Whether you believe the assumptions made by Curtis is not the primary focus in the end for me. If at least people start to question their government and politicians, without voting on who can yell the loudest at the other candidate, we will be better off. The next presidential election is creeping slowly close as if a bomb about to explode, though, we have time to diffuse this bomb at least.

Sanity Announcement: The Recent Absence

2008-04-07T18:10:00.006-04:00

First off, I just want to apologize to the few dedicated readers I have. I know you must be foaming at the mouth by now for a new post. Don't worry, though, because I will have a new one soon.

With college and personal complications I have been left with little time to take care of this blog I have worked hard to nurture to what it is now. There is another advancement now too. Currently you can reach my blog at www.salemsanity.com, so I am very happy for this. For only $10 I have finally secured my name on this wide world of webness. On top of that, blogger will also redirect anyone who types in the old address (salemsanity.blogspot.com) to the new one. It is all one nice and smooth transition.

Since I have been taking Opinion Writing at SUNY New Paltz I have started to stock pile some pieces. The thing is, we are always working on them and re-editing them, so I have been touchy about posting them in the draft phases. Anyway, I will post one within a week. You can hold me to that.

I look forward to sharing some new OP-ED pieces with all of you and, as always, I greatly appreciate any comments that are left on the site.

Obama Has a Dream Too

2008-03-20T19:51:00.002-04:00

Photo courtesy of DemocraticUnderground.com

Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is renowned as the greatest cry for freedom and repairing racial injustices. King saw the United States as being a truly free nation for everyone, without discrimination and intolerance. Today we are still striving for King’s dream and Barack Obama has clearly continued down the path King fought to take.

Our nation’s first great sin was slavery. We wanted to create a land of opportunity. We wanted to create a land of equality. We wanted to create a land of prosperity. We sought to accomplish all this with slavery, too.

King surely would be proud to see Obama standing in front of an audience in Philadelphia, PA, addressing the nation on race and our continued struggles surrounding it. We live country where now an African-American, and woman, can run to be the President. While this is a huge step in our nation, there is still much work to be done. Obama understands this and knows we cannot merely ignore the racial tension still boiling in the melting pot of America.

“I chose to run for the presidency at this moment in history because I believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together,” said Obama. “I will never forget that in no other country on Earth is my story even possible.”

Statements from Reverend Jeremiah Wright that surfaced into the media’s hands quickly became short sound bites that were spread across the news. It was their new scandal and they were going to ride this for as long as possible. Feelings on race were now spewed across television screens.

Commentators were deeming Obama either “too black” or “not black enough,” but what they are failing to do is see past his skin color. Do you think they would ever deem McCain as being “too white” or “not white enough”? No, because the labeling of Obama already implies a stereotype of what he should or shouldn’t be based on his race.

Reverend Jeremiah Wright has now placed the sticky issue of deep-rooted racial tension, often ignored in mainstream media, into the direct center of the camera lens. Obama approached his speech on race gracefully, which was important since this speech could make or break him as potential candidate. Unfortunately, only selective sound bites were cautiously thrown into the mainstream media. The news of Obama’s “Race Speech” seems to be spreading though. Video clips and people’s comments of support can be found strewn across the internet, so this shows that people are listening.

“I can no more disown (Reverend Wright) than I can disown the black community,” said Obama. “I can no more disown him than I can my white grandmother.”

While Obama does not condone racist attitudes, he does help reason why these attitudes are there. To ignore them wouldn’t allow progress to be made. In addition to discussing the oppression that has shaped Wright, Obama spoke on how his grandmother said she had a “fear of black men who passed by her on the street.” This was an important element to note, because there is not tension in only one race. The issue of race is on the top of Obama’s agenda and he wants to make sure it is on the top of the nation’s too.

“These people are a part of me and they are a part of America, this country that I love,” said Obama.

Obama feels that unity is something America must accomplish. While we might have our differences, we must come together in order to solve our problems. We cannot solve the toughest issues of our time without the support and understanding from all sides of an issue.

“Legalized Discrimination” is the title Obama gave to previous of African-American conditions. This phrase surely caught the ear of government officials for better or worse. The term is something we might need to be reminded of though. The disparities of the past have a lot to do with the disparities of the present.

The “American Dream” is something everyone has a different view on, but it is something that makes this country unique. While we pursue our dreams we shouldn’t do so in disregard to others. Obama feels investing in our country will not only help others, but it will also help you prosper.

“This union may never be perfect, but generation after generation has shown that it can always be perfected,” said Obama.

While the full effect of Obama’s speech may not be felt yet, it should be one that goes down in the history books of academia. Bringing out the internalized anger, fear, and regret within racism has already shown the effect he can have on our nation. One might wonder what he could do if he was elected.

More Than Snacks and Soft Drinks

2007-12-16T11:12:00.000-05:00

You walk into an airport and you see the usual snacks and beverages in the vending machines, but then there is one dispensing more than a calorie inducing treat. You blink your eyes in disbelief, but yes, this vending machine is dispensing something that costs a lot more than the usual treat. Instead of putting in a dollar and some change, you insert your credit card and out comes a fresh iPod Nano.

While reading the New York Times column Jet Lagged: Navigating the Unfriendly Skies I ran into the article Flying Solo, which talked about the unthinkable to me. Yes, there really are iPod vending machines. If you are like me and don't exactly travel by air often you probably have not ran into to one of these new-age marketing tactics. The question, I think, most people ask is, "Why?"

First, I should admit I am an Apple junkie and I fiend almost any new product they release. (I have the new Mac OS X Leopard coming in the mail right now and I can't wait!) With that said, I even questioned these vending machines. I mean, come on, iPods in a vending machine just seems a little much. Sure, we rush for that quick sugar fix, but do people really need to get their iPod fix that bad?

The whole concept of this just seemed rather loony to me. Spending $250 at a vending machine is not exactly a leisurely purchase for most people. I bet parents with teens love seeing these things, because not only do they face the stress of the airport but now they have to listen to their son or daughter rant about how much they need an iPod. For the rest of us that do desire them, but haven't made the purchase, it just another reminder of something that we want that we don't have. It might be rather tempting to max out your credit card, though, when they are in a vending machine.

After my shear dumbfounded state I decided I needed to take a step back. What did Apple know that I didn't know?

Recently I would hardly say Apple has been making bad advertisement and marketing campaigns. They have to be the one company I actually go to their website to watch their commercials. Then it clicked to me, it isn't about actually selling the iPod, rather, it is a glorified version of an advertisement poster slapped up against the wall.

This form of advertising goes one step further. This is more than an image. It is a lot different seeing a product in person. You get a more intimate connection with the product when it is placed in front of you. I can't make any claims to Apple's official philosophy behind this, but I think this is a pretty logical guess.

Apple can afford to station a bunch of their products out there in a vending machine even if they never sold one at them. The thing is, I would bet they do sell a decent amount. Maybe even more than they expected. Being able to just cut through all the mess at the store and just swipe does have some satisfaction and could grab those pondering consumers by their corporate neckties.

Sure, there is no music actually in it when you buy it, but most people now-a-days have a laptop and the airport will have wireless internet. This leads you to a simple buy and sync process that will have you listening to your music (or audio books and podcasts) in a matter of minutes. This will sure beat screaming babies.

If I ran into one of these, it would seriously make me ponder getting one. I doubt I would buy it out of a vending machine, but, hey, that would be a cool story to tell your friends. I can already see the friendly battles ensuing: "Dude, all you got was that crappy bag of broken chips, but I got a freakin' iPod!"

I have to hand it to Apple, they really do think outside of the box. That is probably why more and more consumers are being drawn to them. They are the one company that sometimes is hard to get out of your mind and now, even at airports, they will continue to tempt you.

Photo Courtesy of Nesster

Underneath Those Flip-Flops

2007-12-10T14:39:00.000-05:00

Sliding on my flip-flops I continue to throw on my hoodie and walk out of my house into the nearly freezing temperatures outside. Back in Scotia I would have never been caught wearing flip-flops in these temperatures. The blindly hot summer days you spot me in flip-flops, sure, but not late fall. There is something about New Paltz that becomes a part of you.

Realizing what I have just done, before entering Tommy C’s Deli for the finest egg sandwich money can buy, I stare down at my feet. I think, what the hell I am doing. Thoughts of my mother scolding me for such an unwise choice run through my head, though, she is not in New Paltz. While I have been in New Paltz I feel I have explored and refined my own identity. Who I am as a person and what matters to me is becoming more clear.

On campus during the fall semester there was a countless amount of people wearing flip-flops. This was something I have never really experienced before. Where I am from (Schenectady County, NY) people just don’t do that; at least not in these massive hoards. Slowly, even subconsciously, I started to say to myself, “Hey, why don’t you just throw on your flip-flops too.” This surely was a lot faster than putting shoes on, so progressively I began to wear them more and more until I almost wore them every day.

That was when I realized I too had become immersed in the culture of New Paltz. It is odd when you notice an environmental change in yourself. I begin to question if this is really me, or am I just becoming something I am not. Thinking now, yes, I think this is me. This is just a part of me I never saw.

Sure, wearing flip-flops is not that big of a deal, but I could feel the bigger picture. All the talk of how environment does affect people, especially in youth, does seem to have some substance. Whether or not you want to admit it, your environment does make who you are.

In New Paltz there is a sense of liberalism and free spiritedness. Maybe, not quite the same as Woodstock, but a scaled down and college built community type. With this liberal aura is actually a strong conservative backbone. This is becoming more and more evident to me as time goes on. Not really a Republican kind of conservative, but more of the Libertarian flavor. Discovering this struck me as odd. I hoped to find, maybe wished, to see a bunch of bleeding heart liberals that even far surpassed me in my liberalism. This was not the case.

Possibly I'm not looking in the right places. The liberals could be somewhere, but I have yet to find just where their nitch is. In some ways this conservative undertone has made me an even more left liberal. I know what I believe in and I know what I want, well, as much as a 21-year-old college student can.

With snow on the ground and the winter chill sweeping into my lungs, I have decided to put the flip-flops aside for some much needed rest. Although, once the scents of spring start to fill the air I know they will come right back out.

Raising the Right Awareness

2007-11-06T20:09:00.000-05:00

“Obsession” and “SUICIDE KILLERS” were in large, bold, black letters on white fliers that were spread across campus bulletin boards by the New Paltz College Republicans. Many students would wander over to these eye catching and mind triggering words. This was “Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week” and the two videos they were showing on campus to supposedly support such awareness.

The title, Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week (IFAW), gave me an unsteady feeling. These seemed like some sort of propaganda fliers with their bold wording. They were effective in getting most people’s attention, though, but not many turned out for the videos. There was a sense of opposition within the college community.

Arriving at the showing of “Obsession” I found a room with nobody there and all the lights turned off. Confused, I walked in and found fliers on some front row seats protesting the IFAW. Upon exiting on the opposite side I was met by a few others who were wondering if the video was even being shown.

There were even more fliers outside the room. “We oppose Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week run by David Horowitz, and believe it is an attempt to spread Islamophobia (the fear of anything Islam)," it stated. “We believe their goal has less to do with spreading awareness than it does with fostering fear, suspicion and bigotry.”

Those harsh claims were then met with a face, as I overheard one man defending his fliers to a fellow republican member. The man distributed another flier to me with more reasons for opposition to IFAW.

“By not separating the ideology of fanatic groups like Al Qaeda and the Taliban from the average Muslims, they result in labeling all of Islam under the label of terrorism,” said the flier. “This dangerous label only helps spread hate and fear of the common Muslim by the average American.”

For the most part, I would have to agree with these claims in the title of the week, but the videos would be the real factor.

“Obsession” was a video that could best be explained as a propaganda reel for fear and hatred towards Islam. Of course, the description on the Republican’s flier said, “Uses unique footage from Arab television to create an ‘insiders’ view of the hatred Islamic radicals are teaching in the Middle East, their incitement of global jihad, and their goal of world domination.”

The video, though, seemed to be more of America’s obsession with Islamic extremists. The outlandish claims the video made was rather troubling too. I was happy to see most people did not waste their time by attending.

One of the conspiracy theory elements to the video was the constant and utter repetition of comparing Islamic extremists to Hitler and the Nazis. This powerful, but ludicrous, connection seemed to be used only to instill fear. Over and over they pounded this impression. The video undoubtedly continued to support the claims of being in war with the terrorists. To me, this was rather troubling to see, I had hoped we would not see war propaganda on campus.

The New Paltz College Republicans might have shown one fear implanting video, but their second video “Suicide Killers” was actually a respectable look into the realm of suicide killers and how they affect common Islamic life.

One teenage survivor of a suicide killer described the experience and said, “The smell was terrible, the smell of blood.”

“When I put on that belt I felt proud,” said one of the suicide killers in a detention center. Many of the extremists who were captured often felt great pride in their sacrifice. They did not question what they were doing in their jihad.

One extremist woman in the video was particularly startling in her responses. “I would not be a Muslim if I was afraid to be a martyr,” she said. “This life does not interest me.”

The video also showed how children in families were raised just to be martyrs. In other families though they showed the strong opposition to this ideal and how they wished for their children to understand the joys of life.

This insider look into everyday Islam was very eye opening and did not instill the same fear that “Obsession” did. In many ways it just brought awareness of what it is like to live in a society that suicide killers are common and how the citizens are trying to deal with this ever going problem.

In our society we need to understand that not every Muslim is a terrorist. Many of them are just like us and want to enjoy what life has to offer without the threat of violence. In the future I hope these honorable people who struggle against extremists get the solution they have been searching for. One day they might not live in fear, but for the meantime lets not use their extremists to instill fear in our nation.

UFOs and Politics Clash

2007-10-30T23:35:00.000-04:00

Apparently, you are considered to be crazy if you believe in UFOs and extraterrestrials, as we saw from media commentary on Dennis Kucinich’s comment at the Democratic debate at Drexel University.

“It was an unidentified flying object, okay,” said Kucinich. “You have to keep in mind that Jimmy Carter saw a UFO and also that more people in this country have seen UFOs than I think have approved of George Bush’s presidency.”

Everyone could feel the condemning of Kucinich with the question, “Do you believe in UFOs.” Why would such a idealistic question be asked that has nothing to do with the democratic debate or becoming the president? This seemed aimed, by the media, to further distance Kucinich in public opinion and approval.

How much this incident will be exploited in the media has yet to be seen. Still, I’m not sure if this will hurt his campaign. The media has been ignoring him as an impossible democratic candidate and their bias is then fed to the public. Any exposure from the media might help him out.

How the media and politicians related to the debate denounced and laughed at the idea of UFOs in an age of vast scientific knowledge is also very troubling.

The belief that there is no other forms of life in the whole universe is very troubling and also seems borderline ignorant. These feelings could be from religious beliefs, I suppose, but why is our planet the only one with advanced forms of life. There are so many things we have yet to discover in the universe. Who knows, there could be some things we never discover.

To put myself on the same ground as Kucinich, yes, I have seen a UFO before. That is of course in the sense of an “unidentified flying object.” The quoted poll in the debate stated 14 percent of Americans have seen UFOs. Still, that percentage when looked at the actual numbers is rather large.

My hope is that this doesn’t tarnish Kucinich’s campaign. In fact, I would hope it strengthens his campaign, because he is a man that doesn’t back down from what he says even in inevitable face of ridicule. I can’t say the same for all of the other candidates.

Kucinich proclaimed, “We have to insist that we enforce the constitution of the United States, which this President continues to violate and again I state that the President and the Vice President should be subject to impeachment.”

When a man has the strength and pride to say this in a democratic debate I don’t think if he has seen a UFO is really anything to discuss.

Salem Off the Record: Professors Are People Too

2007-10-22T22:45:00.000-04:00

Today something interesting happened to me in one of my classes; the teacher walked out of the room in frustration. For their sake lets just call them "Norman," because I do not mean to make any defamatory comments, rather relate my reasoning to the situation.

Norman usually does get rather "emotional" during class, but that is just from his passion on the subject. Sometimes he can be intimidating, but I have never found it that intrusive to the learning process. At times, he just seems to want more from us (the students) than we are willing to give. Most of the time I feel this is out of uncertainty on the subject matter. Norman knows more than we do, obviously, and at times he wishes we had a better grasp of some knowledge we have never learned.

In the past Norman has said how he is "not happy with the energy in the classroom." Since I feel that we don’t know what to say often, it is not so much an “energy” that is lacking, but knowledge. Often I will not speak if I don’t know what I am saying is right. I will try to ask questions, when I know what I am asking. This class has been lacking in just basic participation, though, I think only group dynamics can change this. How to change the dynamics I am not certain of. Maybe forcing students to participate is the best way? The comfort level just needs to be reached. I feel getting to this level can just be how things fall together sometimes. Today actually went pretty good I thought. There was a decent amount of participation and involvement in discussions, until the end of class took a turn for the worst.

With a little more than five minutes left Norman said, "I just can't do this," in an exhausted tone. Soon after he explained how it is very frustrating when you are talking to people and they are closing their eyes or nodding off. "I don't think I am boring," Norman said with exclamation. Before Norman left after his heart felt expression of displeasure he said if you don't want to come to class then just don't show up.

The whole class was very baffled. I know I was not nodding off. The facial expressions across the room seemed very convicting, as they tried to pick out the offenders. I think that is the one class I will never “nod off”, because I enjoy it greatly. I didn't see anyone nodding off, but someone probably was. For the most part, I just focus my attention on the professor, unless someone is giving their input to class discussion.

This just seems to be an element of teaching. There is going to be some people who will not pay attention. Without talking to them, you don’t really know the reasoning. Sometimes, the teacher is boring (not in this case), but other times the student is just tired. After going through a day with no sleep I can attest to that fact. All the coffee in the world doesn’t always help. At times, I feel that the students “nodding off” might not be their fault. Although, their fault depends on how you look at it I guess.

I am not sure if there is a solution to this complex problem. A professor does deserve attention from their students. An interaction of the students I don’t think is a guaranteed thing, but rather a useful addition to the learning experience. Not having student participation does limit the education process in general, but it is up to the students to participate. If you are not going to be able to stay awake and active during a class maybe you should not go. The attendance policy could nail you in the end though. Students just have to try as hard as they can to keep themselves in a healthy state of mind.

All the students need to remember is that the professor will feel the same way you would when some is ignoring you. All the professors need to remember is students are not always ignoring you on purpose.

"Salem Off the Record" is a sub-division of Salem's Sanity dealing with topics that would not normally be discussed in the regular column and are written in a less formal manor. The observations of these non-newsworthy topics are here for your enjoyment and discussion.

The Transfer Waltz of New Paltz

2007-09-27T23:07:00.000-04:00

One of the biggest and more complicated steps in someone’s life is graduating from community college and moving on to a four-year campus. The last thing they want to do is be dancing around the process without every knowing what step to take next.

The main conflict I found with transferring is housing. You are told that you could get housing and they will contact you in the summer to let you know. That “could” should be better explained. Housing is guaranteed to all first year students, understandably, but there really is not enough to go around. Transfers are the last of the many to even get considered for housing. Sure, you could get housing, but you would probably have better luck winning money at a blackjack table in Vegas.

Money is another issue with this housing situation. They take your $100 housing deposit to be placed on the “university housing Wait List”. One thing, if you don’t get housing you can say good-bye to a wasted $100. When money is a big concern with college students you wonder why their policy is in such a way. Sure, it is convenient for the college. All I know is I never saw my $100 again and I received absolutely no benefit from that investment. Possibly, the most wasted $100 I ever spent, but I am sure that could be debated.

Luckily, my parents and I were upfront with one of the people associated with SUNY New Paltz that had knowledge about housing. My mother asked, “Honestly, does he have any chance at getting housing on campus.” Thankfully, the woman responded honestly by saying there was slim chance I would ever see dorm life. I am confident that every transfer did not know this little fact.

My hopes are that they just tell transfer students, “No, you most likely will not get housing, so you better start looking off-campus A.S.A.P.” With the advice I had received, I began the hunt for off-campus housing earlier than most. In the end I am happy, because I found a great house with great housemates. My concern is, what about all those transfers that had to scramble at the last minute?

Housing was only one of the hurdles, because scheduling classes was a bomb waiting to explode.
In front of me was a massive list of course tittles and abbreviations that looked like a foreign language. From the overbearing list of choices I was to pick what classes I would take. All I knew about the classes was the title. No description and no elaboration on what the class entails.

I was used to Hudson Valley Community College where you met with your advisor and discussed exactly what courses would be right for you, but this was not the case at SUNY New Paltz for transfers. You would think there would be more guidance and direction for students entering a new college. Sure, there were Faculty members to help you, but they could only do so much. At the time there were no professors of Journalism even present during my session.

After I organized my class schedule the best to my ability I turned it in. Then I found out some courses were closed out. This was just another downer to a long and strenuous day. Later I did get help from a professor, so I think them for that.

Why do transfers get treated like they are less than the average student? I paid my bill, so treat me how you would treat any other student.

I realize there has to be some seniority treatments for non-transfers, such as getting to choose classes and housing. Still, why do transfers get treated like they almost don't exist? The whole orientation process for transfers really wasn't that complete. You have some student walk me around the campus once and I am good, right, no. I wish I know how hard it was to find some of my classes beforehand, or knew how snake your way around buildings to find classes. Even if the meal plans and options were better explained, because you don’t want to see me try to cook.

Still, I am happy to be attending SUNY New Paltz, but I just wish the process were better for transfers. The last thing you need when you are transferring is more stress and that is what many transfers received.

Sanity Announcement: New Blog Features

2007-09-25T08:13:00.000-04:00

There have been a few additions to the elements present on my column. I think everyone will enjoy them and it adds some more flavor to my page.

I altered some colors, no big deal there.
For a little while now there has been a poll on my page that I invite everyone to take. The poll will end on my one-year anniversary of the start of this column on Blogger. It seemed like a useful first poll topic and nice to have it end on my first anniversary.
There is also the added feature of "Somewhat Related Videos to Current Post", which is an array of videos that will change based on the new post. For lack of ideas on the title of it I am going to go with that for now, but I might change it over time. All I do is input search terms related to the current post. This seemed like a fun little way to expand on the topics and give readers something to do without leaving the site. (Note the videos will pop up at the top of the blog.)
There is a quote of the week, that yes, I plan to change every week. What day that is I will leave for you to figure out. These quotes might reflect the current post, or could just be random words of wisdom. Possibly, they could just be something I tend to fancy and I thought I would share. Either way, this should be fun to check from time to time.
There is now section called "Keep Your Sanity" that has one link to subscribe through that RSS feed mumbo-jumbo and another to get the blogs through e-mail. This will help readers stay updated, compared to checking back from time to time. Hopefully this will improve readership. At least, that is my obvious plan.
The section "Friends of Sanity" has also been added, so people can check out my friends’ blogs, blogs I read, blogs related to my views, or blogs that I think readers might enjoy browsing for whatever reason.

I feel that these improvements will enhance my reader's experience and hopefully make my blog more useful. Oh, I also added my banner image at the bottom of the blog. I have that image as a sticker, so just let me know somehow if you would want one. As always, please feel free to comment on any of my posts, because I enjoy seeing what my reader's think!

If you have any comments about these changes please feel free to leave a comment on this blog entry. Also, if you have any other suggested ideas for improvements they are also always welcome. I hope you are able to keep your sanity just how I am trying to keep mine.

Salem Off the Record: Drive By Yelling

2007-09-20T22:59:00.000-04:00

After living in New Paltz for almost a month I have noticed, no matter what, every time I go downtown at night I get yelled at by a passing car.

Most of the time males are driving the cars, but if I remember right there was a female car full once. Today for instance I got, "those are some really loose pants," yelled at me. Of course I just chuckled it off to myself.

Seriously though, why do people yell at people out of cars? Maybe the males can feel like they have achieved some more "man points" with their bros (I think I am going to coin that term). Does it make them feel better about themselves, or do they just want to annoy people? Either way, it seems synonymous with city life. There are going to always be people that have to annoy you as they speed by.

I do not wear “normal” cloths, so I know to expect some sort of slack from people. Can’t people just keep it to themselves though? The need to yell at someone seems too primitive. Almost like another animal in the wild shows its teeth to display their strength and power.

We live in a world where, even the simplest things, people still need to discriminate each other. If you don’t like something just ignore whatever it is and move on. That of course is until that something starts to interfere with you I suppose.

Still, I am going to dress the way I do and walk downtown to do whatever I want to do. The whole testosterone level in bars is another story within itself. Every weekend seems like a bar fight waiting to happen.

Maybe some day I will yell back and show how sharp my claws are.

"Salem Off the Record" is a sub-division of Salem's Sanity dealing with topics that would not normally be discussed in the regular column and are written in a less formal manor. The observations of these non-newsworthy topics are here for your enjoyment and discussion.

Salem Off the Record: Three Years at HVCC

2007-05-25T18:35:00.000-04:00

The experiences I have had at Hudson Valley Community College I will never forget. There are many people that have helped me get where I am today and for that I am truly grateful.

In the Fall 04 semester I arrived at HVCC fresh out of Scotia-Glenville High School and I didn’t really know what to expect from the whole college experience. There were a few of my friends that joined me at HVCC, but that seemed to be short lived. All of my friends from high school either dropped out of HVCC or left after a few semesters. Somehow I seemed to be the only survivor of the college experience after my first year.

Near the end of my Spring 05 semester I started to find my niche that I had never even thought about before and that was journalism. Sarah Worden encouraged me to send in my poetry submissions to the creative page, which she recently reinstalled then, which lead me to writing an article here and there. At the end of the semester she asked me if I would be interested in the Creative Page Editor position for the next school year, because she was going to be leaving her position to become Editor of the paper. I felt very honored that she wanted me to take over her position and I loved poetry, so I figured why not. To this day the decision I made then has forever changed my whole life. I didn’t realize it at first though, but in time I would see how it truly did.

Being the Creative Page Editor for the Hudsonian during the Fall 05 and Spring 06 semesters was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I gained some great friends and surely had some great times. Once I became the Creative Page Editor I had to write at least one article a week, but that didn’t really excite me at first. I honestly hated the journalism courses I took, but somehow I started to fall in love with it. At first I just did the common CD reviews and what not, but then I started to cover some hard news stories and I got to interview an array of people. My favorite part started to become what I would least expect to be my favorite part, interacting with people. When I joined the Hudsonian I was an extremely shy person, but the paper helped me really open up and confront my fear. Soon, I loved interacting with people and covering stories that concerned people on campus.

After one year of being on the Hudsonian I found out what I hated in class I loved in real life experience. This led me to want to explore a internship in journalism, but sadly this just never seemed to work out during the Fall 06 semester. When I didn’t get an internship I was very disappointed and discouraged from my exploration into journalism. I had so many great experiences on the Hudsonian that I really was looking forward to see what I could learn from an internship. Near the end of the Fall 06 semester I realized I really needed to get back into my journalism endeavors and I started to write for the Hudsonian again as a Staff Writer.

Before my final semester at HVCC started I was offered the Assistant Editor position on the Hudsonian, because the former Assistant Editor would not be returning in the Spring 07 semester. This was a great surprise for me and also a great honor. Being the Assistant Editor of the Hudsonian has also been a great learning experience for me. I really enjoyed being able to have a higher leadership position and help guide the paper. Although, I owe a lot of thanks to Chris Ryerson, because she slaves over the paper and has helped me out a lot.

There are too many people that I need to thank for helping me out through my years at Hudson Valley. If it wasn’t for the help, support, and encouragement I received I don’t know if I would have been able to make it through the three years.

My parents have helped me out and dealt with me more than anyone else. When I had to stay up late at night to finish a paper all night, they would drag me out of bed to make sure I made it to class on time. How much my parents honestly believe I can accomplish whatever I want to do in my life has been more helpful than I could ever ask for. They have never stopped believing in me over all these years and I am sure that they never will stop. My parents truly are my strongest support.

My grandparents have helped me and parents out in more ways than I can even thank them for. They have helped us financially with my college endeavors and their help with me financially is the only reason why I don’t have to work during the college semester and why I was even able to devote so much time to the Hudsonian in the first place. How much my grandparents have inspired me is what has driven me through every semester to try to do the best I possibly can. I really don’t think they know how much they have inspired me, but I really have to thank them for that. My grandparents have always been the light at the end of the tunnel for me.

There have some faculty and staff members on campus that have truly helped me out greatly. First off, the President Andrew Matonak has to be one of the best Presidents any college could have. Matonak is truly compassionate about his involvement on campus to make it the best environment it can possibly be. Alexander Popovics, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Development, I interviewed when he first arrived on campus and he has always been one of the friendliest people on campus. It was great to be walking down the halls of the campus center and see Popovics and have him say how much he liked the poetry I had published that week in the paper. I could tell that Popovics was a great addition to the campus from the day I met him. John F Kennedy, my Liberal Arts Advisor, truly revamped and established some great advisement. Before Kennedy I wasn’t that impressed with the advisement I had received, but Kennedy truly shaped the Liberal Arts advisement to what it needed to be. Leslie Johnson, my Western Civ. I and II professor, was someone that truly helped me out with her courses. Johnson is one of the most understanding and caring teachers I have meet on campus and she truly left an impression on me. Joseph Cardillo was the professor I truly got to know and relate with the best. I took all of my three creative writing courses with him and also my English Comp II course. Cardillo shaped my creative writing into what it is today and I owe him a lot of thanks for that, because he truly helped me reach my potential. I really miss being taught by Cardillo, but we also had some great conversations outside of class and he even taught me some Martial Arts. I don’t know if my Hudson Valley experience could have been the same without him, so I owe him many thanks.

There have been ups and down during my experience at Hudson Valley, but the experience I will never forget as a positive one. I am truly grateful I have met all the people I meet and gained all the friends I have gained. Hudson Valley has made me into something I never really expected to be and I hope that my future at New Paltz can be just as rewarding for me. Sometimes there is only one way to say it best, so thank you everyone!

"Salem Off the Record" is a sub-division of Salem's Sanity dealing with topics that would not normally be discussed in the regular column and are written in a less formal manor. The observations of these non-newsworthy topics are here for your enjoyment and discussion.

Sanity Announcement: Salem Off the Record

2007-05-18T17:22:00.000-04:00

In order to have more diversity in Salem's Sanity I have decided to add a sub-division to the Column. As you my have guessed, this new section will be called "Salem Off the Record".

Salem Off the Record will be non-newsworthy topics that I feel like expressing my opinion on. This column will deal with my personal opinions and observations on things that I would normally not go on the record talking about. Hint the name of the column.

My hope is that these less professionally driven columns will interest people on the observations and experiences I encounter. There are so many random topics that you will never find in a newspaper that are things of interest to people, or things they are even thinking about. Through Salem Off the Record I hope that me and my readers can become a little bit more sane by discussing them.

From now on when I post a Salem Off the Record column it will have this notice at the bottom of the column (at least for a while): "Salem Off the Record" is a sub-division of Salem's Sanity dealing with topics that would not normally be discussed in the regular column and are written in a less formal manor. The observations of these non-newsworthy topics are here for your enjoyment and discussion.

To short of tease a little...there are two more sub-divisions that I am planning on for the future. I'll leave you to think about what the other two sub-divisions will deal with.

As always thank you for the support and I hope you enjoy Salem Off the Record!

Emotions About Virginia Tech Fill the Classroom

2007-04-24T17:13:00.000-04:00

The tragedy at Virginia Tech was felt nation-wide and on campus the effect could be seen in students. When students got a chance to speak out, they let their voice be heard.

President Drew Matonak visited a classroom of Interpretation of American History I to discuss what students had on their mind. With Professor Alice Malavasic acting as the moderator, students touched on subjects that concerned them. There were debates on certain topics, but everyone was able to share their thoughts.

The first question asked was what HVCC would do in a similar situation. “We would lockdown the campus immediately and evacuate the campus,” said Matonak. The biggest concern at Virginia Tech was how carelessly they handled the situation on campus. Matonak said, “There is no question in my mind that they would have done things differently.” With the criticism Virginia Tech has faced, there is still the fact that administration was there in the heat of the moment dealing with the problem. The best way to deal with these situations seems to be having a procedure to strictly follow. Matonak said there is a binder full of safety procedures that is constantly updated to make sure the campus is secured. In times of crises it can be hard to remain calm and think clearly, but a set procedure should help anyone focus on the best solution.

Malavasic asked the classroom if they felt Virginia Tech dealt with the murderers illness properly. One reply was that if students if are afraid of a fellow student that problem needs to be dealt with. “It’s a matter of us communicating with each other,” Matonak said when dealing with students in conflicts within the campus environment. In the past Matonak said they have had to sit down students and evaluate. Sitting down with a student and dealing with problems one on one is the only way to get to the source of the problem. This is the only way to truly deal with the situation. Communication is key in a campus environment, so if any conflicts ever occur they should be brought to the attention of faculty or administration. Everyone should feel safe while they are on campus, because they have the right to that security.

Another topic of debate was if releasing the video footage in the media was an appropriate measure to take. Learning from what has happened is very important. One student even said that we haven’t been learning from past shootings. While the footage was very revealing and could lead to the debate it would increase others to replicate the murderer's actions, it is important for people to understand the situation. The media will get better ratings most times with footage like this, but the general public does benefit as well. Seeing the footage allows us to really understand the mind of the murderer and how troubled he really was. This could even lead to being able to point out character traits better with similar individuals.

Virginia Tech had to deal with a situation none of us ever hope to face, but now we all must face our emotions that swirl around the incident. “Go to the counseling center and talk to them about what you are feeling,” said Matonak. The important thing is to talk to someone about how you are feeling. Malavasic said, “we all need to grieve and we all grieve in different ways.”

Virginia Tech Tragedy Signals Security Issues

2007-04-17T16:27:00.000-04:00

Photo: Alan Kim/The Roanoke Times

Most students never expect to have a gunman kill 32 people on campus, but at Virginia Tech that nightmare became a reality that could have happened almost anywhere.

At 7:15 a.m. there was a call to the police about the first shooting that took place in the dorms and two students were murdered in the incident. In response to this the college sent out an e-mail. Phillip Murillas, freshman at Virginia Tech, shared the e-mail that he recieved at 9:26 a.m. from the college in response to the shooting with the Washington Post.

A Shooting incident occurred at West Amber Johnston earlier this mourning. Police are on the scene and are investigating. The university community is urged to be cautious and are asked to contact Virginia Tech police if you observe anything suspicious or with information on the case.

Sure, sending an e-mail to students was a way to contact them about the emergency, but this doesn’t seem overly effective. What if you didn’t check your e-mail that morning? You would have been completely oblivious about situation. One of the first things the college should have done is put the campus on lockdown. With a lockdown students would have known the severity of the problem and the police would have had the proper amount of time to evaluate the situation.

Classes continued normally and some students were possibly unaware of the situation. When the second shooting occurred with the campus security was at a level lower than it should have been. That’s when the second e-mail was sent telling students a gunman was on campus and to stay in buildings and away from windows. The second e-mail was also sent ten minutes after the second shooting.

Many students have spoken out to various news sources now and on the internet there are all sorts of vivid stories of the incident. The cell phone footage of a student journalist from the college is very powerful to watch as you hear rounds of guns shots being fired.

President Bush addressed the nation on the shootings and said, “Our nation is shocked by the news of the shootings at Virginia Tech.” The nation is now wondering how safe college campuses are currently. Students and parents must now be wondering if a situation similar to Virginia Tech could happen to them.

Colleges now need to address the issue of campus security more than ever before. Students need to feel safe while they are on campus and have faith in their security. The security staff on HVCC must now be thinking that this could possibly happen on campus. If an event like this happened on campus hopefully they would have a plan to deal with the situation.

President Bush spoke for the nation when he said, “Today our nation grieves with those who have lost loved ones at Virginia Tech. We hold the victims in our hearts, we lift them up in our prayers, and we ask a loving God to comfort those who are suffering today.”

Computer Cafe Stays!

2007-04-10T16:19:00.000-04:00

Throughout history someone had to let their voice be heard in order for change to occur. Thanks to students voicing their concerns, the computer café was saved.

One of the problem areas on campus has been the computer café. The computer café closing was only in the discussion phases and many students spoke out to save the café. Since the café is one of the few things open 24/7 on campus, it is where anyone can go to work on anything they need to get done. Taking this away from students would have been a step in the wrong direction for having a student centered campus.

Lately the atmosphere in the computer café has been more of a controlled environment than previously. Having to show your ID every time you enter the café is a small hassle to improve the security. The presence of the security guard seems to have helped greatly. The noise levels aren’t as out of control and behavior seems to have been tamed.

Of course the environment doesn’t need to be quite as academic as the library. The café is where students can go to just relax. It was just finding the balance between an academic environment and the chaotic environment it previously had that was the challenge. This problem seems to have been solved.

The amount of noise has been a strong issue, but the destruction of equipment for disabled students is an expensive incident. All of the students that counted on that equipment are the ones that truly have to face the consequences of other’s actions. Why someone would even destroy this equipment is sort of a mystery. On a college campus you would hope students can be more mature than that. Hopefully the added security will stop any more destruction of equipment.

Having the lab portion of the café again will be an added bonus. The academic tutoring was an important element in assisting students, so when that element of the café was missing students were at a loss. Faculty shouldn’t have had to police the café before, so more security was obviously needed.

The campus center should always remain student centered, because it is supposed to be the one place on campus that is purely for the students. Having a place for students builds a stronger campus life. Without the computer café student life would be negatively affected, so keeping the café was the only answer.

Now that students see their voice truly does matter hopefully they will let their concerns be heard. The most important thing is to have your opinions heard and have your problems be known. Often more than one person will feel the same on an issue. Coming together to bring about change that improves the campus is one of the best things a student can do.

You can show your support for the computer café staying open by voting for the referendum that will address this issue in the next election. This will show that you care about your voice being heard and show that you don’t want the computer café being closed in the future either.

Cafe Photo: Chris Ryerson/The Hudsonian

When it's Time to Pull Out

2007-02-28T21:50:00.001-05:00

Tensions in the United States have been boiling over about the war in Iraq, but Britain’s recent maneuver to restrict their involvement leads to questioning the progression of the war.

Britain’s Prime Minister Tony Blair announced on February 21 that 1,600 of the already 7,100 British troops placed in Southern Iraq will vacate. By the summer an additional 500 might be pulled out as well. Currently, British troops account for half of the 14,000 non-U.S. troops.

Blair said the sectors of British placement have improved even though they are still dangerous. He told Parliament that British troops in Basra are facing a very different scene than the U.S. troops in Baghdad. Blair even went as far as saying Baghdad has “an orgy of terrorism.” At the very least, Blair has given fuel to his ally’s campaign for increasing American troops, so Bush can’t be too upset.

Political pressure on Blair was very strong to disconnect Britain from the war on Iraq as much as possible, so his decision isn’t overly surprising. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said, “The announcement by the British government confirms the doubts in the minds of American people about the president’s decision to increase the number of U.S. soldiers in Iraq.”

Whether Basra is ready for a decrease in British troops is uncertain. However, the Iraqi forces are eager to take control of the area. The most important element to setting up a stable Iraq is letting Iraqis take control of the situation. If Iraqis are not given the opportunity to lead their country then we are doing more harm than help. Violence has increased since U.S. involvement began, with many innocent lives being lost, so it is time to decide what the next tactic should be.

Complete withdrawal doesn’t seem to be the answer, but sending more troops is unnecessary at this point. Continuing to increase troops will further the U.S. presence and promote violence. The Pentagon recently released their quarterly report that showed an increase in Iraq casualties by 51% over the last four months. Also, civilian and military deaths have exceeded 3,000 every month since May. Something is not going right in Iraq and Bush’s plan needs to be halted before more U.S. soldiers get sent into a mishandled war.

Bush is demanding for more troops, while he is not facing the true problems. Without Iraq solving Iraq’s problems the war will never cease. Removing U.S. forces out in a strategic method should be the new direction of military action. U.S. military action alone can not maintain Iraq. The political aspects of Iraq need to be dealt with.

Focusing on the political powers and how they need to establish better relations with each other is vital. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski during a speech said, “They must go beyond their sectarian interests to take on extremists, establish effective national institutions, and stop corruption. The solution in Iraq requires a political solution from Iraqis, not military muscle from Americans.”

Sections of Iraq are still in a bleak state, but the answer is to pull out our military. The healing process will begin when Iraqi politics can be effectively balanced. Without healthy politics in Iraq it will not become stabilized. If Iraq can’t balance itself out in the end then there is not much the U.S. military can really do.

When Marketing Becomes Terrorism

2007-02-15T00:30:00.000-05:00

In these days of fear, what can be construed as an “act of terrorism” seems to be more widespread than ever before. All you have to do is place a bunch of magnetic “Mooninite” Lite-Brite resembling objects throughout a city.

On January 31, Peter Berdovsky and Sean Stevens came to the attention of the Boston and national media. Police in Boston greatly misunderstood guerilla marketing tactics as a form of terrorism. The electronic light boards were placed all over Boston in eye catching spots by placing magnetic strips on the back of each panel. When a cartoon character flipping the bird becomes terrorism, we all need to be worried.

Oddly enough these signs were placed in various other cities, including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Seattle, Portland, Austin, San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Apparently, other cities didn’t see these signs as an act of terrorism. Besides, the signs were lit up in Boston for almost three weeks according to Turner Broadcasting Systems, the company which owns Cartoon Network.

If these truly were bombs, hopefully Boston wouldn’t have waited two to three weeks before they investigated. After that amount of time it seems more likely that they would have blown up. Still, LED signs shouldn’t be signaling a caution light, even if a Mooninite is flipping you off. The inevitable question is, why would a terrorist make bombs light up? Isn’t the point to blow something up without letting everyone know weeks ahead of time?

Now Turner is going to pay $2 million to settle the case. Oddly enough, the artists were charged, but the companies weren’t. Jim Samples, head of Cartoon Network, even resigned due to the situation. Through this there is something to be learned; you can never know these days what might be considered an act of terrorism.

Quickly browsing the internet you’ll get the impression that most of the country seems to be taking this as a joke. Videos on youtube.com are poking fun at the situation and bloggers are saying that Boston needs to “lighten up.” When a company is faced with trying to develop a marketing campaign in a culture saturated with ads telling you what you need, can you really blame Turner? Guerilla marketing would stand out more than some thirty second television ad. Unfortunately, this clever idea ended up costing them, but did ultimately lead to national media attention. This would, in essence, make it a truly successful advertisement ploy.

Boston police seem to be the party truly at fault. If you are going to shut down your city near rush hour, you better make sure of what you’re doing. Yes, the security and safety of a city is of the highest importance, but act according to the situation. Lite-Brites shouldn’t trigger the deployment of bomb squads. Seeing bomb squads take these down must have been interesting and they probably didn’t appreciate to be called on for such a nuisance. At least we know they are ready if there is ever a real threat.

After this guerilla marketing campaign more could follow. As the Mooninites have said, “We do whatever we want, to whomever we want, at all times,” so you better watch out.