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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

Campus

Emerson College President M. Lee Pelton

Analysis: turnover following presidential departures

By Frankie Rowley, Content Managing Editor / December 14, 2021

Since the departure of former President M. Lee Pelton, Emerson has seen a number of key individuals cut their ties with the college—many of them amicably,...

Boston, MA: December 8, 2021 – First-year students Ellie McCabe and Emma Paiva take a selfie on Boston Common in the snow Wednesday night.

First snow of season brings students end-of-semester joy

By Bailey Allen, Former news editor / December 9, 2021

Starting around 9 p.m. Wednesday night, a thin blanket of snow dusted Boston Common, prompting Emerson students to venture outside and experience the...

The entrance to a vaccination clinic on Tremont Street.

Emerson to require booster shots for all community members before spring semester

By Lucia Thorne and Charlie McKenna / December 8, 2021

Emerson will require all students, faculty, and staff to receive a COVID-19 booster shot prior to the beginning of the spring semester, college officials...

2021 Academic Townhall

Student government hosts annual town hall

By Vivi Smilgius / December 2, 2021

Students, staff, and faculty voiced their concerns about the college’s virtual attendance policies and discussed the college’s spring reopening plans...

Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies.

College to offer new religion minor

By Jonathan Yao, Staff Writer / December 2, 2021

In a bid to expand its interdisciplinary offerings, the college will offer a new minor focusing on religious studies, starting in the Spring 2022 semester. The...

The exterior of the Kasteel Well castle

No change in sight for Kasteel Well following Omicron variant detection in Netherlands

By Bailey Allen, Former news editor / December 2, 2021

Weeks after a surge in COVID-19 cases forced the Netherlands into another lockdown, the appearance of Omicron—the latest mutation of the virus—threatens...

Take-home rapid test provided by Emerson College.

Emerson students frustrated by mandated at-home rapid tests

By Frankie Rowley and Adri Pray / December 2, 2021

Emerson students reported experiencing difficulties after taking their college-mandated and provided at-home rapid COVID-19 tests in order to return to...

SGA members in a meeting.

SGA discusses CHW-ECAPS merger

By Vivi Smilgius / December 1, 2021

The Student Government Association met with Associate Dean and Director of Counseling, Health and Wellness Brandin Dear on Nov. 5 to discuss the integration...

A Spring 2020 Student Government Association meeting. Photo by Yongze Wang.

SGA backs student debt cancellation movement

By Vivi Smilgius / December 1, 2021

The Student Government Association moved to join over 75 colleges across the country in signing a letter to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala...

An SGA meeting. Photo credit: Yongze Wang

SGA considers diversity, student engagement initiatives

By Vivi Smilgius / December 1, 2021

The Student Government Association discussed a fight for mental health breaks at colleges in the Boston area at its meeting on Oct. 8. Executive Vice...

An ECPD patrol vehicle.

Armed robbery involving two Emerson students in Boston Public Garden reported to police

By Bailey Allen, Former news editor / December 1, 2021

Two Emerson students were robbed by one or more armed assailants in the Boston Public Garden Monday night, college police said.  The students were...

State of the College: Interim president reflects on Emerson's successes, struggles in 2021

State of the College: Interim president reflects on Emerson’s successes, struggles in 2021

By Bailey Allen, Former news editor / November 29, 2021

Interim President William Gilligan published his first State of the College report on Tuesday detailing the college’s accomplishments over the course...

COVID testing site locating at 116 Harrison Avenue.

Positive COVID-19 tests rising on campus, mirroring statewide trend

By Frankie Rowley, Content Managing Editor / November 18, 2021

In the ten-day period since Nov. 8, Emerson reported 13 new positive COVID-19 tests—a marked increase in overall infections mirroring worsening cases...

Emerson's Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

Emerson students at Kasteel Well unfazed by Netherlands lockdowns

By Bailey Allen, Former news editor / November 18, 2021

Amid a rise in COVID cases throughout the Netherlands, Emerson students studying abroad at Kasteel Well face a three-week partial lockdown, which has limited...

Jefferson Fietek's Anoka County MN mugshot

Former professor sentenced to 30 years for sexual assault

By Frankie Rowley and Charlie McKenna / November 18, 2021

Jefferson Fietek, a convicted sex offender who briefly served as a professor in Emerson’s Performing Arts Department, was sentenced to 30 years in prison...

Turning Point USA's booth in the 2 Boylston Place alley.

College lifts suspension on conservative group

By Frankie Rowley, Content Managing Editor / November 18, 2021

Emerson lifted a suspension of the college’s Turning Point USA chapter this month, allowing the conservative organization to resume on-campus activities...

A sign on the window of Emerson's coronavirus testing site at Tufts Medical Center.

Emerson to require students to test negative before return to campus from Thanksgiving break

By Vivi Smilgius / November 16, 2021

All students will have to provide Emerson with proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to their return to campus from Thanksgiving break, and take another...

An Emerson College advertisement at Downtown Crossing station.

Graduate program pushes T advertising campaign

By Henrique Rocha, Beacon Correspondent / November 11, 2021

Boston commuters have seen an unfamiliar sight at MBTA stations over the past weeks: screens of blue, green, and white advertising Emerson’s graduate...

A polling place at City Hall on Election Day Nov. 3, 2020.

Student turnout soared in 2020 election, study finds

By Vivi Smilgius, Frankie Rowley and Bailey Allen / November 11, 2021

The 2020 presidential election saw record-high numbers of Emerson students casting their ballots at the polls or by mail, mimicking the nationwide trend...

The Marlboro Institute for Liberal and Interdisciplinary Studies

Emerson launches ‘cluster hire’ for intersectional studies

By Vivi Smilgius / November 11, 2021

A new “cluster hire” initiative at Emerson aims to recruit faculty for newly-created positions in the Visual and Media Arts and Writing, Literature...