It’s been a year since the Emerson encampment made national news, and it continues to haunt the college to this day. Last April, students were arrested, blood was washed off the alley walls, and a sense of trust was lost at Emerson. 

Without any time to process any of these events, students went home for the summer and returned in the fall to a whole new environment, one that new freshmen now consider normal. Turns out, it’s far from it. 

As a first-year, I came to Emerson seeking higher education and a vibrant college experience in an exciting city. Entering Little Building and moving everything I’ve ever owned thousands of miles across the world, I had hope that Emerson would bring me freedom. In a sense, it opened my eyes to the world as I found myself plunging head first into an environment tinged with the events of the encampment, becoming part of a campus that lost its expressive atmosphere. 

When I first arrived at Emerson in the fall, I had many questions about the events that transpired leading up to the night when students were arrested in the alley, though no one seemed open to answering any of them. The encampment is a sore subject for many who experienced it first hand last year. And even though its effects linger, no one wants to talk about it. The silence that is most deafening, however, is that of our current administration.

Over the summer, before any of us even got the chance to see Emerson for the first time, the administration tightened the leash on expression and tried to scrub the walls of the alley, making sure to eliminate any remaining signs of an issue. 

During orientation week, I was expecting someone to say something about the encampment and the arrests at some point. It seemed like the most glaringly obvious topic to address at the time. I wasn’t expecting anything more than just a simple remark from anyone about what happened last spring, but instead, I got nothing. Not even a word, which seemed odd at the time, but in hindsight, now that I’ve spent almost an entire year here dealing with the same uncomfortable silence that arises whenever someone so much as mentions the word encampment. But this can’t be normal.

Part of me knew that the aftershocks of the events of last April would affect my freshman year at Emerson, but I never expected the tensions to linger as much as they have. Maybe that was naive of me, but I’m not the only one. 

Emerson, facing action from the Department of Education and also a drop in enrollment, is undoubtedly a different institution than the one we applied to. This needs to be addressed, if not by the administration, then by all of us who experience these effects firsthand.  

Reflecting on the events of last April, although painful, is crucial in order for everyone to finally be able to move on. Speaking about the encampment, the arrests, and everything that came after it shouldn’t be this “don’t ask, don’t tell” situation we’re currently trapped in. We shouldn’t be staying silent and compliant while there is still time and room to make improvement. 

Incoming freshmen need to be aware, if not about the encampment itself, about the way Emerson has changed because of it. Otherwise, they’ll be eternally confused by this constricted, hostile environment which currently envelops the school where “Expression is Necessary to Evolution.” 

We don’t need another class of confused, silent freshmen who don’t question why they can’t trust the college they are paying to attend. We need a sense that everything, even if it’s not okay, can change for the better. We need hope that it’s not too late to give up on our college experience. And the more we talk with each other about it, the easier it’ll be to hope again.