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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

BIG HOME BELOW

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, Staff Writer / 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,” an Emerson Stage production, recent graduate and on-set observational director Emma Ahlin watched...

The Mass. State House (DJ Mara/Beacon Staff)

DiZoglio fights for accountability on Beacon Hill through audit of state legislature

By DJ Mara, Dept. Metro Editor / January 15, 2025

The Mass. State Legislature is the historically “least transparent state government” in the United States.  Since taking office in Jan. 2023,...

A cloud of smoke from the Palisades fire billows over a hill near the neighborhood of Encino on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Riley Goldman/ Beacon Staff)

As the LA wildfires encroach on Southern California, ELA proceeds as planned

By Iselin Bratz, Madalyn Jimiera and Jordan Pagkalinawan / January 12, 2025

As wildfires continue to rage in Southern California this week, students, faculty, and staff expecting to start the spring semester at Emerson Los Angeles...

Food For Free workers organize the Emerson dining hall donation alongside Bon Appetit District Manager Dawn Sajdyk on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.

Over 300 pounds of food donated by Emerson to Food For Free last fall

By Sam Shipman, Kasteel Well Staff Writer / January 8, 2025

Emerson students finishing their meal in the dining hall often throw the remains of their scraps into the compost bin, but where do the seemingly endless...

Students working on a set in a visual and media arts course.

Emerson’s VMA major becomes first ARRI-certified film program in New England

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / December 28, 2024

Emerson College earned an accreditation with the ARRI Certified Film School Program, a global leader in the development of film equipment and technologies,...

100 of the best photos from Beacon photographers in 2024

100 of the best photos from Beacon photographers in 2024

By Arthur Mansavage, Photo Editor & Audience Development Editor / December 28, 2024

From on-campus protests to the 2024 presidential election, Beacon photographers told stories when words could not, gave unique perspectives into the...