Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College’s only independent, student-run newspaper since 1947

The Berkeley Beacon

Opinion

Letter: Ruthanne Madsen, VP of Enrollment, responds to Gina Martin article

Letter: Ruthanne Madsen, VP of Enrollment, responds to Gina Martin article

September 4, 2020

The Office of Financial Aid at Emerson College is devoted to providing access to education for all students with financial need. Unfortunately, inaccurate...

Letter: POWER responds to Gina Martin article

Letter: POWER responds to Gina Martin article

September 3, 2020

As members of Protesting Oppression With Educational Reform (POWER), a group working to advocate for BIPOC students, we have a vested interest...

If the college chooses to have people attending classes in Boston and acknowledges its responsibility to provide testing, it must also bear the burden of the danger this puts our homeless and low-income community members in.

Don’t ignore our “invisible” community as classes resume this fall

September 2, 2020

Billy Brodeur is a senior studying comedic arts. On a walk to Paramount my sophomore year, I turned a corner and saw my friend Paul slumped on the ground....

I don’t think I’ll ever not love fantasy, but I’m excited for my literary taste to grow with me and read about different experiences.

In quarantine, I revisited my taste in books—and it changed for the better

September 2, 2020

Throughout my entire childhood, I always loved books. I forced my grandma to take me to the bookstore after my Friday classes every week, so that I could...

The cloud ahead of us is grim, but to spite the dark mass, I find it necessary to reach for the silver linings that are both large and small, inconsequential and momentous.

Time to look at the silver lining

September 1, 2020

In a room full of pessimists, I am the first to say that the world is going to hell. Nowadays, I cannot believe I am alone in that assertion, especially...

Emerson has reported 5,093 total tests have been conducted as of Sunday, with five positives, according to the colleges website.

Let off-campus students test somewhere else

August 31, 2020

Testing all Emerson students weekly is both a noble goal and a requirement this year. It’s been widely proven that the most effective way to pin down...

Usually, my teammates and I are able to shake off a defeat and bounce back in our next game. But the loss of our fall season to COVID-19 was like no other. It meant there was no “next time.”

There’s a new opponent this year: COVID-19

August 24, 2020

Jillian Kay is a middle blocker for the Emerson women’s volleyball team. Kay is a rising sophomore studying broadcast journalism. When COVID-19 cases...

Students crossing the bustling Boylston/Tremont intersection.

We really, really shouldn’t throw parties

August 24, 2020

By now, you may have heard a joke or two leading up to this semester—something like “off to school for a few good weeks” or “don’t make your...

Students cross the intersection of Boylston St. and Tremont St.

Remote learning is different, but that’s not a bad thing

August 17, 2020

As Emerson moves forward with its reopening plans for the fall semester, many students have raised concerns about the value of online classes. Is it comparable...

The entrance to Emersons Walker Building on Boylston St.

A weekly email is not enough

August 10, 2020

Throughout the summer, Emerson administration has sent students sporadic emails. In June came the announcement that campus would reopen in late August....

I, along with many people who study, work, or live in between these two countries, am balancing on a wobbly cultural bridge. And it also seems the once-strong international journalism community I used to aspire to be a part of is eroding.

Caught in the middle of the U.S. and China conflict as a journalist

August 4, 2020

When I first landed in the U.S. during high school, the customs officer asked me what I wanted to pursue as a career. When I told him journalism, his immediate...

Letter: What will we do with our fear?

Letter: What will we do with our fear?

July 30, 2020

Kim McLarin is a writing, literature, and publishing associate professor and a graduate program director. Dear Emerson Community, These are frightening...

We’re putting faculty and staff in danger

We’re putting faculty and staff in danger

July 28, 2020

In a world toppled by the COVID-19 pandemic, Emerson administration gave students a choice: return to an altered campus and participate in a mix of in-person...

I need to know that, when the lives of people with disabilities are placed in students’ hands, students will do everything in their power to keep those of us with disabilities—visible or not—safe.

Don’t be the reason someone gets COVID-19

July 25, 2020

Around this time each year since I officially entered Emerson, I’ve always found myself coming to campus with a certain worry.  As an incoming first-year...

I have learned that as a white person, it is my responsibility to have these discussions no matter how uncomfortable they may feel.

Difficult conversations are one step toward racial equity

July 24, 2020

Sophia Speciale is a rising senior studying visual and media arts. Like many young couples these days, my ex-boyfriend and I met on the dating app Bumble....

I did so many things to create a sense of belonging for myself in this unfamiliar country by empowering myself with knowledge and experience, only to learn that the future I wanted for so long might not even exist, and this country does not welcome people like me.

The U.S. I wanted to study in no longer exists

July 9, 2020

My boyfriend texted me right after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Monday that international students would need to leave the U.S....

I shouldn’t have to prove my sports knowledge to men

I shouldn’t have to prove my sports knowledge to men

July 8, 2020

Ever since I first became invested in sports, especially football, I have experienced situations where I wasn’t taken seriously due to my gender. As...

Emerson will receive control of the 360-acre campus on Potash Hill out of the agreement. Photo credit: Photography Staff

Letter: Closing of Marlboro College breaches duty and trust

July 6, 2020

Dan Daly is a graduate of Marlboro College residing in Camden, Maine. It seems like writing at this juncture about Marlboro College is a bit like that...

It’s sad, really, that I’m numb to these things. So numb that when I saw the video of George Floyd’s murder, I didn’t feel surprised, angry, frustrated, or sad.

POC Column: Dear White People

July 3, 2020

I once had a small, insignificant, ten-minute conversation with my high school friend Kelis that my mind will never let me forget.  One day, Kelis...

Poverty is not a two-week fix. Mission trips are not going to magically erase a communitys daily struggles and overall lack of resources.

Stop going on mission trips

June 29, 2020

When I was a sophomore in high school, one of my classmates asked for donations through a GoFundMe link on her Facebook page. When I clicked on the link,...

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