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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

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Mayor Michelle Wu answers questions after a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the reopening of City Hall Plaza on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. (Ashlyn Wang/Beacon Staff)

Mayor Wu testifies on Capitol Hill, defends Boston’s sanctuary status amid GOP pushback

By DJ Mara and Iselin Bratz / March 5, 2025

Boston continues to stand resolute in its sanctuary status as Mayor Michelle Wu testified on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning. Wu rejected republican accusations...

‘It's a really beautiful experience’: Muslim students observe Ramadan with help from Dining Center

‘It’s a really beautiful experience’: Muslim students observe Ramadan with help from Dining Center

By Rina Laby and Madalyn Jimiera / March 5, 2025

Around 4:15 a.m. Friday, Rokiya Elhak, president of the Muslim Student Association, awoke to a call from the organization’s vice president, Yunus Stevens,...

Commuters enter the MBTA Boylston Greenline station on Feb. 21, 2025. (Madalyn Jimiera/ Beacon Staff)

Back on Track? MBTA riders reflect on the Track Improvement Program

By Madalyn Jimiera, Staff Writer / February 26, 2025

The Boylston Green Line station, known for its iconic screech as trains pass through, fell silent on Feb. 22 and 23 for routine maintenance work. The silent...

A student with the Boston Workers Circle fifth graders class holds a sign in support of prison reform on Feb. 23 (Yogev Toby / Beacon Staff)

Why these fifth graders are advocating for prison reform

By Yogev Toby, Projects Editor / February 26, 2025

Supplied with crayons, a megaphone, and hand-painted cardboard signs, close to a dozen fifth graders formed a picket line in front of the State...

Around 20 protesters gather outside of Ansin building, glueing flyers listing their demands and hand-drawn stickers on the side of the building. (Madalyn Jimiera/ Beacon Staff)

‘Administration is forcing us to escalate.’ Boylston SJP demands revitalized protest policies, financial transparency, and divestment.

By Iselin Bratz, Madalyn Jimiera and Adri Pray / February 21, 2025

Dozens of protesters affiliated with Boylston Students for Justice in Palestine, a group of students advocating for a free Palestine, demonstrated in front...

A drone view of Kasteel Well between 1920 and 1940 from the Netherlands Institute for Military History / Courtesy Archief Well

From noble house to Nazi occupation to Emerson dormitory: The many lives of Kasteel Well

By Bryan Hecht, Kasteel Well Bureau Chief / February 19, 2025

Emerson will celebrate its 40th anniversary of sending students to its Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands, next year. While this is a big milestone...

Emerson Colleges' Little Building and Colonial Building on Boylston Street. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

Bernhardt affirms college’s steadfast support for transgender and international students in the face of federal challenges

By Adri Pray, Editor-in-Chief / February 19, 2025

President Jay Bernhardt on Wednesday reaffirmed Emerson’s “enduring commitment to building and sustaining an inclusive and caring community” in an...

A group of Lion Dancers perform in the street during this years Lunar New Year parade. Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 (Nick Peace/Beacon Staff)

Boston’s Chinatown rings in the Year of the Snake in annual parade

By Sage Jezierski, Beacon Corespondent / February 12, 2025

Hundreds gathered in Boston’s Chinatown to celebrate the annual Lunar New Year parade on Sunday morning, despite the heavy snowfall the night before...

Bobby MacLean and Alexandra Whisnant, who opened Zuzu's Petals in 2021.

Zuzu’s Petals is Cambridge’s sweetest escape, with no phones allowed

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / February 12, 2025

In Cambridge, the smell of deep, rich chocolate fills the room on Hampshire Street, wafting through shelves of wine bottles, around walls full of polaroids,...

Signage for the 2025 Teach-In on Race outside of the Bordy Theatre in the Union Bank Building on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff)

Annual Teach-in on Race explores future of DEI, liberation struggles, art as resistance

The Teach-in on Race is an annual series of guest speaker panels and interactive audience discussions hosted by Emerson that aims to provide a space where...

Super Bowl LIX: The unlikable rematch everybody’s going to watch anyways

Super Bowl LIX: The unlikable rematch everybody’s going to watch anyways

By Everest Leach / February 5, 2025

Mere minutes after a James Bradberry holding call gave them a crucial first down, the Kansas City Chiefs kicked a field goal that would serve as the game-winner...

How the Kansas City Chiefs became the most hated team in the league

How the Kansas City Chiefs became the most hated team in the league

By Daniel O’Toole, Staff Writer / February 5, 2025

With the Super Bowl just three days away, the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles for the second time this decade and play in their...

(Yogev Toby/ Projects Editor)

Bill Gates says DEI has ‘gone too far at times’ in Colonial Theater book talk

By Iselin Bratz and Yogev Toby / February 5, 2025

On the opening night of his new book tour, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates spoke at the Emerson Colonial Theater about the first installment...

David Methven, piper for the 15th annual Burns supper at The Haven last Thursday night. (Bryan Liu/ Beacon Staff)

‘Everybody gets to be Scottish tonight’: In Jamaica Plain Burns supper honors Scotland’s national poet

By Bryan Liu, Managing Editor / January 30, 2025

Hundreds of locals celebrated the life and legacy of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns, at the 15th annual Burns supper hosted by Scottish restaurant...

Doug Struck holds the latest issue of Discipline News on Boylston Street outside of Emerson College on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff)

Discipline News argues it’s ‘reasserting Emerson’s values.’ The college calls it an ‘anonymous propaganda campaign.’

By Hannah Brueske, Dept. Projects Editor / January 29, 2025
Discipline News emerged on Emerson’s campus in early December, quickly embedding itself into the Emerson community. For the first time ever, the publication’s contributors discussed its operations and why its message is necessary now.
The Marlboro Institute for Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies

Late Marlboro College professor leaves $1.5 million grant for student research

By Merritt Hughes, Dept. Campus Editor / January 29, 2025

Starting this semester, Emerson students and faculty have the opportunity to apply for research grants funded through $1.5 million left to Marlboro College...

Cars passing in front of a Boston Architectural College building in the Back Bay neighborhood in Boston on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Nick Peace/ Beacon Staff)

‘A happy dorm is a peaceful dorm’: BAC students share reflections and hopes about living at Emerson

By Madalyn Jimiera, Staff Writer / January 29, 2025

As below-freezing temperatures blow through Boston this January, the tensions described by the Boston Architectural College (BAC) students living in Emerson...

John McCarrick brushes snow off his car on Commonwealth Avenue. in Boston on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/Beacon Staff)

Photos: Overnight winter storm blankets Downtown Boston with nearly half a foot of snow

A quick but strong winter storm swept across the East Coast Sunday night bringing nearly five inches of snow to Downtown Boston.  Overnight, between...

Families of hostages held by Hamas hold a banner calling for a ceasefire on Jan. 4, 2025. (Yogev Toby/ Beacon Staff)

As Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire and hostage deal, some advocates demand lasting peace

By Yogev Toby, Projects Editor / January 15, 2025

TEL AVIV, Israel—Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire and hostage deal Wednesday after 15 months of fighting, negotiators from both sides announced.  The...

(Iselin Bratz/ Beacon Staff)

Favoritism, blacklisting threats, and a ‘toxic culture’: Allegations of mistreatment shake Emerson Stage artistic director

By Iselin Bratz, News Editor / January 15, 2025

At a routine evening rehearsal last fall for “POTUS,” a student-led Emerson Stage production, recent graduate and on-set observational director Emma...