Flickr: Prayitno

Every year around the holiday season, we start to see articles cropping up on the internet (mostly written by members of the sandwich generation and baby boomers) complaining about how commercialized Christmas has become and how things were so much better back in the “day” when the “true spirit of Christmas” was still preserved.

But when I look around at people during the holiday season, I think the true spirit of Christmas is still here.

People definitely are expected to spend more money at Christmas these days, it’s true — it’s barely October when stores start putting out their displays of all kinds of decorations, clothes, food and presents.

Retail workers are expected to work long hours during the run up to the holidays, and there’s usually a lot of pressure to buy expensive gifts for everyone in our lives. Clearly, the holidays are celebrated very differently to how they were 50 years ago.

But the truth is that the world is a slightly nicer place to be during the holidays. Even though it’s getting colder and everyone’s tired and all we want is to be indoors, it feels like people go out of their way to do things for each other around this time.

No matter what holiday we all celebrate, if anything, I think it’s impossible not to feel a little more positive about the people around us when there are twinkling lights, sparkly decorations and music on every corner.

If it were May and a group of complete strangers showed up at our door and started singing traditional songs, we would be very confused and probably slam the door on them, lock it and close all the windows and blinds.

At Christmas, carolers are regarded as completely normal, and lots of people look forward to this kind of thing. This is just one example of how people are generally more trusting of each other during the holidays.

People are also more likely to donate to charity and help out strangers on the street than they would be at any other time of year.

Holidays also make us think about all the people that are most important in our lives. Most people make every effort to go visit their families, even if they live far apart or don’t get along.

We focus on our friends and think about what kind of gift they’d appreciate the most, and go out of our way to do small things for them like buy them coffee.

Last but not least, during the holidays, lots of people spare a second thought for those who usually go unappreciated, like the mailman, who people leave cards and tips for when they never normally would.

Overall, I don’t think it’s fair to complain about the commercialization of Christmas unless we also focus on the positive aspects of the season.

Of course it can be a stressful time, but (and maybe this is idealistic) I think even people who claim to not enjoy the season are sure to get some kind of enjoyment out of it, whether it’s from hearing the one Christmas song they actually enjoy playing, or from seeing a kind stranger help someone else carry their groceries.

We may not believe in Santa Claus anymore, but we can still believe in the spirit of Christmas.

Los Angeles Times: Genaro Molina

Well, I never thought I would ever be saying these words, but Donald Trump will become the 45th president of the United States this January.

It was an outcome most people were not expecting, especially considering that Trump won states that everyone thought former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would win hands down, including historically Democratic states such as Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Considering how many people dismissed Donald Trump when he first announced his candidacy for president, going as far as he did is an accomplishment, even if he did it in admonishable ways, such as declaring that he would “build a wall”, generalizing minorities such as Mexicans into categories including “murderers and rapists” and mocking reporters with disabilities.

Here’s something, however, that needs to be considered, especially after his non-inflammatory victory speech and his visits with President Barack Obama.

Trump might not be as bad as we have hyped him up to be.

I am not saying by any means that Trump is a great person. As a matter of fact, I was a major supporter of Hillary Clinton during the presidential election, and I still am.

I am an American citizen with Iranian ancestry, a major feminist and someone who has been diagnosed on the autistic spectrum. And even though Clinton’s character has been called into question, I believe that with every politician comes some dirty laundry.

I wanted Clinton to win badly, and I was beyond furious and terrified when Trump emerged victorious.

This aside, I believe that while you can dislike whoever is in office, it is imperative to respect the presidency.

The presidency is the most prestigious job in the United States. It is an office that carries power and respect in many countries all over the world. The person that holds this office may not necessarily be the best qualified for the position, but the American people chose them.

Now that the election is over, it is our duty as Americans to rally behind our new president and give him support when he needs it.

This doesn’t necessarily mean we have to forgive and forget, because his past definitely needs to be taken into account. However, it is futile to protest the results of an election that both Clinton and President Obama have conceded. Both of them have made strong speeches and encouraged us to move forward and give our support to Trump as he prepares for his inauguration Jan. 20.

We must, therefore, respect the wishes of all parties involved. President Obama, Hillary Clinton and even Bernie Sanders have all agreed to keep an open mind to Trump. If Bernie Sanders, one of the most progressive Democratic senators today, can agree to be open-minded to a Trump presidency, then why can’t we?

Even Donald Trump seems to be showing signs of reform. He’s replaced New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie as head of his transition team with Vice President-elect Mike Pence, based on evidence of Christie’s corruption surrounding the George Washington Bridge scandal.

Trump’s even compromised on the Affordable Care Act, vowing to amend it instead of finding a way to replace it. He will probably not follow everything he promised during his campaign.

Besides, history has shown that for every amazing president, there comes a terrible successor. For every Abraham Lincoln, there’s an Andrew Johnson.

Point being, don’t be too disappointed about this election cycle. Let’s support Trump and only stop when we don’t like his policies when in office.

Flickr: CollegeDegrees360

Last week, I was supposed to give a presentation in class. However, that same week I was very sick and could barely speak, my throat in constant pain. I emailed my professor and she was sympathetic, immediately telling me that, of course it was fine if I postponed my presentation until a later date.

In college, this isn’t a rare thing.

Professors are used to granting excused absences and deadline extensions for sick students.

But what if, that day, I’d been feeling particularly anxious? What if my mental illness had made it so that I was unable to concentrate and exhausted from trying to keep up with my own thoughts?

Even though I have a medical diagnosis and a prescription for this, chances are I wouldn’t have even thought to mention my anxiety to my professor. And if I had, most professors would probably just brush it off and say I was overreacting, or just having stage fright about giving the presentation.

This isn’t fair. Something needs to change in our education system to amend what’s considered a valid excuse for missing class.

In our society, mental illnesses are often presented as rare conditions that only affect a small number of people, but in fact, they are a significant problem on college campuses all over the country.

More than 11 percent of college students in the U.S. have been diagnosed with anxiety, and more than 10 percent with depression. And this doesn’t even take into account the many cases that, for whatever reason, go undiagnosed — it’s estimated that one in five college-aged individuals struggle with mental illness.

This is staggeringly high compared to the one in fifty people who break a bone each year. Why is breaking a bone considered a valid reason for missing class, and a particularly bad mental health day not?

Mental illnesses, whether or not they are professionally diagnosed, affect people’s everyday functions just as much as physical illnesses do. Many mental health symptoms actually manifest physiologically — as insomnia, shortness of breath, changed heart rate, decreased movement and changes in weight.

Moreover, mental illnesses primarily affect the brain, usually with a chemical imbalance in its neurotransmitters. As the brain is the organ most essential to studying and doing work in college, surely illnesses such as these should be taken more seriously than a broken leg — which may stop you from walking to class, but doesn’t actually impede your ability to write an essay.

The biggest problem is that awareness of mental health issues has only become an issue recently. When most of our professors were in college, mental health was barely even discussed — which means they may not know the extent to which it affects students.

The only solution is to somehow educate professors on the serious, debilitating effects that mental illnesses have, and the negative impact they have on a person’s work if they are not given enough support.

That way, educators will be more sympathetic to students’ needs — and knowing that we have the support of our professors will reduce our stress levels, too.

Of course, students should not rely on this excuse to get out of homework completely, or fake an illness they don’t have. But personally, I would like to live in a world where a student can approach a teacher at this time of year and say that the changing seasons have been seriously affecting her mood and making it a struggle to finish a paper, and the professor would sympathize and allow another week to finish.

Another term, another class registration week, another new schedule to choose. When I came to college, one of the things I was most excited about was getting to pick my own classes, and decide in part for myself what I wanted to learn about each term. And for the most part, this is still true — I get to take elective classes that have nothing to do with my major or minor, and I get a certain amount of say in what times of day I take classes, too. And yet, in my opinion, Drexel’s class registration system is still deeply flawed.

On DrexelOne, the system is set up so that if a student attempts to register for a class that they don’t have the prerequisites for, they will be blocked from registering. However, not all of the possible prerequisites are always entered into the system. For example, just this term I tried to register for Biochemistry Laboratory, for which the prerequisite is Organic Chemistry II. As a chemistry major, I had taken Majors Organic Chemistry II. The class coverage is the same, and yet it was not entered into the system, meaning I had to contact my advisor in order to register. I think this is a serious problem, especially as the lab is a requirement for chemistry majors, and only one section was offered — which is now full. This is not the first time I have had this problem, and I have friends in other majors who have fallen foul to the same issue.

Even once you’ve successfully registered for your classes, often the staff decides to change class times after the registration period has already opened. It’s incredibly frustrating when I’ve spent hours planning out the perfect schedule that means I can take everything I want to take and stay on track to graduate, and then the school decides to change the class time meaning that my classes now conflict with each other. It puts a huge extra stress on already busy students to have to re-organize their schedules like this, and personally I think it’s inconsiderate of the professors not to have their schedules finalized by the time students have the chance to register. Of course there will always be exceptional circumstances, but this has happened to me almost every term, and it’s caused a lot of problems. I know multiple people who had to stay in school for a whole extra term to take classes they missed out on because of this, and Drexel is so expensive already that many people literally cannot afford to graduate late.

Lastly, there are classes listed in Drexel’s official course catalog that just straight up don’t exist. As a small nerdy freshman browsing the course catalog looking for electives that I’d like to take in future, two classes that interested me were The Mystery Story, and Issues in Science and Religion. Two years later, neither of these classes have been offered a single time since I started and the English class is still listed in the course catalog. The same applies for one of the optional courses for my minor, and personally I find it a huge disappointment when I want to learn about something and think I’m going to get the chance, only to be disappointed every term when the class isn’t listed. If Drexel no longer wants to offer a class, they should remove it from the course catalog.

While in theory the class registration system should work well, the way Drexel handles it isn’t good enough for a school of 13 thousand undergraduates where everyone is falling over each other to plan their schedules and secure a spot in the classes they need. I truly believe that more time needs to be spent by the staff to make sure this system runs smoothly for everyone.

Chicago Tribune: Antonio Perez

Well, it happened. After 108 long years filled with heartbreak and high misfortune, I can finally say it: the Chicago Cubs’ 108-year long drought, also known as the Curse of the Billy Goat, is finally dead! The Chicago Cubs are the 2016 World Series Champions! This week, there have been numerous celebrations all across the world, especially in Chicago.

2016 has been well-documented as the year of breaking sports curses, with America’s two most infamous curses being hexed: the Cleveland sports curse in June and the Billy Goat Curse on Nov. 2. There are, of course, many active curses in sports across the world, ranging from Philadelphia’s infamous Curse of Billy Penn, Atlanta’s Olympic Curse and Britain’s Curse of Aaron Ramsey.

However, our focus on these pieces of mythology raises one important question: why do we focus on these curses rather than the unbelievable performances of the players?

People normally pay money not just to watch their favorite teams perform, but to also cheer on the specific players who, in their eyes, are the best of the best. There are some players in baseball who even transcend the game, and can be found in mainstream American culture and folklore.

Granted, curses make sports larger than life, as if these men and women keep pushing harder and harder, yet something supernatural keeps holding them back. In the end, when a team breaks a curse, it is almost an international celebration, but when a curse continues, there is utter outrage.

However, it also has to be considered that a “curse” may not be to blame. It could just be near coincidence, a series of circumstances that don’t allow people to win. It could also be that one team was simply better than the other.

For example, in the 2003 National League Championship Series, Cubs fan Steve Bartman sat in Chicago’s Wrigley Field. At the time, the Cubs were leading in the series 3-2, and were leading in the eighth inning with a score of 3-0. After a foul ball by Luis Castillo of the Florida Marlins, Moises Alou, the Cubs’ left fielder, tried to catch the ball, only for it to come out of his hands because fan Steve Bartman was also trying to catch it. The Cubs ended up losing the game and the series, and Bartman was blamed by Cubs fans for “continuing the Billy Goat curse.” The effect has been so traumatic to the point that he has neither attended any Cubs games since, nor participated in their World Series victory parade this week.

In the case of Bartman, this was just plain bad luck on both parts. Neither the Marlins, nor the Cubs could have predicted that would happen, and the Marlins showed that they, in general were the better team. The Cubs were not, based on how they lost the series. That loss caused the fans to pin the blame on one poor fan and a “curse.”

The concept of sports curses is very disrespectful to the players. The point of playing a sport is not only to have fun, but to also improve as a player. If you blame a performance on a “curse,” it’s not just irrelevant, but imbecilic and irrational. A “curse” doesn’t contribute to a bad performance, but physical or mental factors do. Working hard to improve on these factors can cause a team to get better, and more importantly, can cause “curses” to be broken.

So the next time you’re watching a game, for example a 76ers game, and they keep losing and losing, don’t say the city is “cursed” because there’s a rational reason for their losses. They aren’t cursed. They’re just not that good.

Flickr: Tom Ipri

Standing tall at 17 floors with its curvy structure and shiny appearance, most people are in awe when they see Millennium Hall at first glance. I was definitely excited to be living there for my freshman year. The exterior design of the building makes it look far more superior to the other buildings, and what’s inside makes it even better. I advise all freshman looking to truly experience dorm life to give Millennium a chance.

Now don’t get me wrong: Millennium Hall is still a dorm, and by all means is not perfect. At least 10 percent of the time, you can expect one of the three elevators to break down, and you better hope that you’re not trapped inside. There’s the occasional random fire drill and there’s a crazy game of shower roulette where someone is going to end up coming out in a bathrobe until the okay is given to head back inside. The lounges — which are not that big to begin with — are haphazardly  thrown together, and it’s always a battle for chairs. The hallways are tight, so maneuvering past people is always an awkward hello and goodbye. It gets cramped in a lot of places across the building. The rooms aren’t that big, so you don’t have that much space to move around if you’re having more than a handful of people in the room. The good news is that the window gives you an amazing view of the city. However, you can’t open the window, so that’s the price you pay for the view.

Yeah, some things aren’t really great here, but nothing is perfect. The resident assistants can be sticklers at times and can really come down on you, but what can you do? At the end of the day, they just want things to work well for everyone because they care.

The building is nice, but that’s not what makes this building great. To be frank, it’s the people. One of the things that makes Millennium Hall great is that it’s an all-freshmen dorm. Everyone wants to meet people, and it’s so easy to do. You can walk on any floor and expect a warm welcome. You meet people in the elevators, in the laundry room and the occasional getting off on the wrong floor. I’ve made a handful of friends with people who would have been complete strangers had I not run into them. There is also a pool table in the lobby, and no one knows how to play, so it’s always fun to play with random people. It’s nice that there is a sense of community here, because for most people, it’s the closest thing they’re going to have that feels like home.

There is a little family on every floor in Millennium. Because the rooms are so small, it forces most people to go interact with others. Everyone can hang out and sprawl on the couch together and bond. There’s floor four, which is like the party floor; you can go down and hear good music and have a good time. There’s floor 17, which by far has the best view of University City that you’ll get in a dorm. It’s always nice to go up there at night. There’s floor 10, because for some odd reason, people say that everyone lives on floor 10. And then there’s my home floor, 11th Heaven.

My floor is unique to me and everyone who lives there because it feels like home. I’ve met some of my best friends on this floor. A majority of the floor resides in the lobby together, helping each other with homework and sharing laughs throughout the night. We have an open door policy, so people walk into each other’s rooms to talk and socialize freely. Passing the time is never a hard task, because we get creative and play games like Twister and Uno, and sometimes we even make up our own games. Even playing a little music on a speaker can turn our lounge from a simple room with couches to a dance party. Everyone always has someone to talk to. One of the best things about our floor is the kitchen. People have left their supplies in the kitchen, so now it’s fully stocked! You can walk in and make some toast, pop some popcorn, whip out a skillet and fry some bacon, you can even boil rice in our rice cooker. There’s also a nice spread of tea bags to take from, with a kettle to boil water. It’s a community that we’ve created for each other. We all have to live together, so why not make it work?

Local 11th Heaven resident Niayla-Dia Murray said, “It’s great that everyone can respect each other’s hygienic preferences. We just have a trust policy that people can wash dishes and clean up after each other so that the kitchen can stay tidy.”

Other residents Ayana Stanton and Jeremy Barnes also enjoy Millennium Hall. Stanton said that “we are like a family,” and Barnes corrected her saying, “we are a family.”

The culture that exists within Millennium is what makes it so great. It’s what makes me glad that I have the chance to live here now.

There are many dorm buildings to choose from. You can hang from Van Rensselaer to Race, you can chill from Kelly to Myers. To get the true experience of dorm living, to live within an amiable community, to even live the fanciest of dorm life, you want to live at the Hall, Millennium Hall.

Photo courtesy Onedio

You hear about it in the news, read about it online, or in the case of Drexel University students, you get an alert text notifying you, but do you actually pay attention?  There have been thousands of assaults and and robberies reported within the past year — just in Philadelphia. Statistics of crime rates throughout America are even more disturbing. I would like to think that the idea of an unprecedented amount of crime would be shocking, at the least. However, it has come to a point where it is not to many people. That is the first sign of desensitivity.

Crime has become so prevalent within our lives that the line has blurred between what affects us and what leaves us unphased. Desensitization occurs through repeated exposure which leads to a decreased emotional response to a negative catalyst. For Drexel students in particular, with every alert text and the countless police sirens we hear daily throughout campus, we seem to tune out our surroundings because the idea that it’ll just happen and we can’t do anything about it has set in. As phones go off with alert texts indicating a robbery and assault near campus, the amount of groans or “oh, just Drexel alert again” are predictable. Consideration and worry have disappeared and have been replaced by insensitivity.

The perception of crime, in general, has drastically changed due to its representation within the media, which is accompanied by the impression of normalcy and that crime is acceptable. The empathy we may have felt has now diminished because of how often is it portrayed on television or the constant news updates. Viewing crime so often within the media has us confused between facts and fiction. We seem to have forgotten that our reality is not a movie and that the rampant amount of crime needs attention, not ignorance.

Within the media, there is a phenomenon known as the cultivation theory which depicts how long term immersion within a media environment leads to the cultivation of shared beliefs about the world around us. This is specifically focused on how violent television programming affects the attitudes and actions of the American public. One focus of this theory is how it affects perceptions of social reality. Desensitization towards violence and crime is directly correlated to this theory as we merge what is reality and what we view on television into one idea as a coping mechanism because we don’t want to accept the world as being a bad place. We desensitize ourselves to alleviate the fear we begin to feel once we think of the world as being much worse and scarier than we perceived before.

This is not only in the case of Drexel, however. As a country, we have experienced mass shooting upon mass shooting. As the number rises, our concern declines. The irony comes in because I would expect there to be more attention paid to these unparalleled statistics, yet they seem to have been reduced to just “annoying sirens and texts.” The numbers seem to instigate no apprehension but rather are exterminating the last bits of attention we gave any type of crime that occurred around us.

Maybe it’s the sheer number that has altered our perspective, the media representation, or the fact that we think we can’t do anything either way. Reasons aside, this desensitization will not help alleviate it at all. We may tune out the police sirens, be unaffected by the news and walk around as if we are invincible, but it is time to start paying attention again.

No matter if statistics are low or at an all-time high, it’s still one crime perpetuating more and increasing the numbers. Our lack of concern does not benefit us in an attempt to feel safe. It may be a defense mechanism but the reality remains that our regard can aid in assuaging an issue that has gotten out of hand. It is time we stop ignoring and actually start noticing the statistics of our surroundings.

Photo courtesy Drexel University

One of the biggest perks of being an incoming student at Drexel University is having a choice of eight different residence halls to live in. Looking to avoid the alleged horrors of traditional-style dorm living, such as communal bathrooms and cramped bedrooms, I decided to choose one of Drexel’s suite-style dorms, Race Hall, to live in during my first year of college.

I didn’t expect the room to be perfect, because let’s face it; dorm life is dorm life. I expected to be shoved in a closet, surrounded only by cement walls and people who are noisier than the city sounds outside.

As it turns out, dorm life for me has been the opposite.

Living suite-style has its advantages, like more space, including roomy bedrooms and a common area, a full-sized refrigerator, a kitchenette and personal bathrooms and showers. All of these amenities almost make the rooms feel like apartments. I personally like having a common area because it provides another room to relax in without having to lay in my bed or be forced to go to a public study area.

I have been very satisfied with my decision to live suite-style, but I understand that it is not the ideal living situation for everybody.

The open-door policy present in traditional-style dorm halls does not exist in Race Hall. Immediately after move-in day, it seems like everybody shut their doors for good to enjoy the privacy of their own suite. I am guilty of doing this; I have everything I could possibly want inside of my room, including three other roommates, so I feel like there is not much of a need to leave to hang out somewhere else.

Of course, it is refreshing to leave your dorm often, but it is difficult to when you don’t even have to leave to go to the bathroom. Although it is not necessarily a terrible thing that suite-style dorms give you more personal space, it definitely could interfere with social life. Many people come to college with the goal to be social, so for those students, traditional-style living would be more appropriate.

Since four people are assigned to each suite-style dorm, it is crucial to make the right choice in roommates. After all, these are the people that will determine how a large portion of your college experience will be. Luckily, I am very good friends with all of my roommates because I took advantage of Drexel’s roommate-matching services and found people with similar interests and habits to me. People could also utilize random roommate-matching, but it is not as accurate and assuring as being able to pick your own roommates. In the end, just don’t be the person who has additional stress in their life because they despise their roommates.

As a whole, suite-style dorm life is pretty sweet. A spacious room and personal bathrooms were enough to grasp my attention, but for any students considering suite-style living, I encourage you to make an informed decision. The suite life is not for everybody, but it will certainly make college feel a little more like home.

Staying sane in college is just another task to add to our lengthy to-do lists. Between all the homework, extracurricular activities and social events, who has the time?

I decided that I do, as should everyone else. Aside from keeping up with homework and earning good grades, staying sane should be high up on a college student’s list of priorities.

Realizing this very early on in my time at Drexel, I immediately launched a research project of sorts to find out what would personally help me relieve day-to-day college life stress and preserve what is left of my sanity.

Going to the gym has proved to be a huge stress reliever. It is a perfect way to get out my aggressions that have built up throughout the week. Although the squeaky elliptical in Race Hall’s gym makes my ears cry, it is a place of refuge for me from the stress of college work. I would highly recommend taking at least 30 minutes out of your day to hit the gym to clear your mind and build up your strength.

Leaving campus and exploring the city has also been a healthy new addition to my schedule. If I stay on campus for too long, I feel like I’m trapped in a box, especially since I usually don’t veer off my regular path of only going to the buildings that I have classes in.

I strongly encourage everyone to get out of the Drexel box for just one day and explore another part of Philadelphia. The city is very rich in history, culture and delicious food. There is so much more to Philadelphia than University City, and exploring it all expands our minds and will make us more grateful to live here.

Of course, doing these things is much better with friends by your side. It is beneficial to make time for yourself, but too much time alone could make you stir crazy. My roommates have become my closest friends in college. Since we all already know each other’s schedules, it is easy to make plans and do something other than stress out over homework or keeping our dorm clean. Having them in my life has made college so much less stressful, simply because they are amazing people and we share similar mindsets.

My “research project” is still in progress, but I am slowly finding more ways to have fun in college, which sometimes can seem like a paradoxical statement because of all of the work it takes to stay here.

Some may not consider what I have been doing so far to be “fun,” but it is a relative term, so I encourage everyone to find those specific activities that will preserve sanity and bring some balance into college life.

In the long run, it will pay off and give you a fresher mind and create more exciting memories for years to come.

Ultimately, you are the one in control of your time. Finding ways to preserve sanity now will benefit you later in life.

Sure, a degree is what we will ultimately earn as a result of our efforts, but wouldn’t it feel great to earn a clear mind as well?

Flickr: John Seb Barber

Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Rolling Stones, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C. and NWA. What do all of these groups have in common? They are all members of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Yes, that’s right. Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C. and NWA, three of the all-time greatest rap groups, are all in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. How does this make sense?

Don’t get me wrong, I personally love these groups, and all of them deserve recognition in their own right. Public Enemy gave us not only Flavor Flav, probably one of the biggest rap icons of all time, but also told us to “Fight the Power,” a phrase people follow every single day, especially when boycotting this year’s presidential election. Run-D.M.C. not only put out one of the best shirt designs in history, but also brought Aerosmith back to life with a “Walk This Way” remix that is arguably better than the original. Without Run-D.M.C., we probably would never have “Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” and that alone would be a tragic blow to music.

Do all of these acts deserve to be in a hall of fame? Absolutely. They have more than put the work in to gain entry.

Do they deserve to be put in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Absolutely not.

This is not at all a knock to any of these acts, but it just doesn’t make sense to put them in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It’s like putting Elvis Presley in the U.K. Music Hall of Fame, or Led Zeppelin in the Country Hall of Fame, or Justin Bieber in any hall of fame. It just doesn’t make sense. Their induction essentially states that rock and rap are the exact same thing.

Rock and rap each have unique histories, unique characteristics, unique adaptations and unique evolutions. Saying that someone like Tupac Shakur, who will be inducted this year into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, creates better music than a group like The Beatles is highly subjective, especially considering that these are from two different and distinct genres. However, they are being classified in this way.

So what should be done? Their admissions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be reconsidered, their inductions in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame should be revoked and they should be inducted into a new hall of fame. One that respects the histories of rap and hip-hop.

If you think about it, the timing is just about right. By the time of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s first class in 1986, the genre had already experienced quite a history, one that had endured about 50 years. Rap today has existed for nearly that same amount of time, with many major stars that have symbolized the biggest changes in its evolution. If rock ’n’ roll has already had its chance to embrace its pioneers and its game changers, shouldn’t rap be given that chance?

Even though the Rap Hall of Fame should be created, the first inductees should not be this year. Using the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s eligibility rule (25 years since their first album), most of the original greatest hip-hop and rap artists are still not eligible. Artists such as The Notorious B.I.G., Jay-Z, Eminem and Dr. Dre will not be eligible for another 5 years. And wouldn’t it be fun to see Tupac, Biggie Smalls, NWA, Jay-Z, Ice Cube, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Run-D.M.C., Public Enemy and the Wu-Tang Clan headline the first ever class? It would be a moment fit for the musical gods. It would be historic.

However, until that day arrives, the world will just have to accept that the musical community believes that Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons perform the same type of music. It’s a musical injustice, but one that can be corrected. It’s time to bust some new rhymes — rhymes that redefine the boundaries of music.