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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

National Broadcast Society members work on a set.

College reverses course, will temporarily continue non-tuition credits for first-year students

By Charlie McKenna / September 18, 2020

College officials temporarily rolled back a decision Tuesday that would have prevented first-year students from earning non-tuition credits for their participation...

The entrance to Emerson's Walker Building on Boylston St. (Jakob Menendez/ Beacon Archives, File Photo)

College cancels spring break with release of new academic calendar

By Charlie McKenna / September 18, 2020

The college has canceled spring break in 2021, marking one of the first announcements about an otherwise uncertain spring semester. The college canceled...

Emerson's testing site is located at a Tufts Medical Center facility on the corner of Harrison Ave. and Kneeland St.

GRAPH: College reports 11 positive COVID-19 tests, inconsistent dashboard numbers

By Andrew Brinker, Tomas Gonzalez and Charlie McKenna / September 17, 2020

Emerson’s cumulative positive COVID-19 test results have risen steadily each week, as seen in the graph above. Each point on the graph represents...

A student navigates the canvas website.

College will now allow community members to choose pronouns on Canvas

By Katie Redefer, Former Staff Writer / September 17, 2020

A recent college update to Canvas, Emerson’s online learning platform, now allows for users to change and display pronouns on their profile. Users...

Skies in Danville, California

As West Coast burns, some students worry for their hometowns

By Diti Kohli, Former Editor-in-Chief / September 17, 2020

More than 3,000 miles away from Emerson's flagship campus, the West Coast is on fire.  California, Oregon, and Washington are grappling with record-breaking...

President M. Lee Pelton.

College places ninth in US News and World Report regional rankings

By Charlie McKenna / September 17, 2020

Emerson landed in a tie for ninth in the annual U.S. News and World Report ranking of top 10 regional universities in the north, marking the fifth year...

Safety, job security top staff concerns for the fall

Safety, job security top staff concerns for the fall

By Ann E. Matica, Former Deputy News Editor / September 16, 2020

Emerson staff members are grappling with safety risks and the threat of job insecurity, as the college proceeds with a reopening plan that brought much...

Senior Max Tedford said the Los Angeles program was 60 percent of the reason he decided to attend Emerson in the first place.

ELA students mourn missed opportunities as program shifts online

By Katie Redefer, Domenic Conte and Diti Kohli / September 10, 2020

Pasadena native Max Tedford felt enamored by the ELA campus as a high school senior. He loved the futuristic-looking building, set in the middle of a beloved...

Photo Jakob Menendez

In swift reversal, Emerson opts for daily COVID-19 updates

By Diti Kohli, Former Editor-in-Chief / September 9, 2020

In a shift from prior announcements, Emerson administrators vowed Tuesday to begin updating the college’s COVID-19 dashboard daily after more than a...

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

A mix of excitement and anxiety as students return to an altered campus

By Beacon Staff / September 4, 2020

Five months and 11 days after Emerson prematurely shuttered its campuses due to the initial U.S. outbreak of COVID-19, the college officially reopened...

Emerson's Los Angeles campus.

ELA campus won’t reopen in the fall, classes to remain online

By Charlie McKenna / September 4, 2020

Emerson’s Los Angeles campus will not reopen for in-person classes in the fall semester in light of new COVID-19 guidance from LA county officials. The...

Emerson launches initiative to rebuild the community in upcoming academic year

Reopening is going to plan, administrators say

By Andrew Brinker, Former Senior Investigative Reporter / September 4, 2020

The first week of Emerson’s reopening put into practice a plan that attempts to continue in-person instruction while staving off COVID-19 outbreaks,...

Photo Jakob Menendez

Emerson reports three new positive tests since Monday

By Charlie McKenna and Diana Bravo / September 3, 2020

Emerson reported three new positive COVID-19 test results between Aug. 30 and Sept. 2, bringing the community’s positive tests to 10 out of 7,422 administered.  One...

SGA at a Fall 2019 Joint Session meeting.

SGA appoints three students to new Student Experience Senate

By Diana Bravo, Former Copyeditor/Photographer / September 3, 2020

In the first Student Assembly meeting of the new semester, the Student Government Association made a series of appointments to fill vacancies across different...

Students crossing the bustling Boylston/Tremont intersection.

Total enrollment peaks, undergraduate enrollment lags behind

By Dana Gerber, Former News Editor / September 2, 2020

Emerson reported an all-time high in total enrollment for the 2020–21 academic year with 5,411 undergraduate and graduate students attending hybrid or...

Emerson's testing site is located at a Tufts Medical Center facility on the corner of Harrison Ave. and Kneeland St.

Emerson reports three positive COVID-19 tests this week, bringing August total to five

By Charlie McKenna / August 31, 2020

Emerson reported three new positive COVID-19 tests from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30, bringing the community’s  total positive tests to five since testing began...

The Title IX office has been located within the Social Justice Center since 2014 after an external group of lawyers examined the college's Title IX policies and practices.

Everything you need to know about the updated Title IX policy

By Diti Kohli, Katie Redefer and Parker Purifoy / August 31, 2020

A college committee of administrators, faculty, and students released an updated Title IX policy establishing the college’s altered process for handling...

A spring 2020 Student Government Association meeting

SGA appoints Coughlin executive treasurer, ending months-long vacancy

By Diana Bravo, Former Copyeditor/Photographer / August 31, 2020

The Student Government Association appointed former Visual and Media Arts Senator Thomas Coughlin to fill their long-vacant executive treasurer position...

Stephen Terrell led Emerson's musical theater program for 13 years.

Former musical theatre head remembered for reimagining program

By Ann E. Matica, Former Deputy News Editor / August 30, 2020

When Stephen Terrell was hired by Emerson in 2003, the musical theatre program needed new leadership—a fresh perspective to lift the program to a higher...

The entrance to Emerson's Walker Building on Boylston St. (Jakob Menendez/ Beacon Archives, File Photo)

Saturday classes to be held once a month in the fall

By Diana Bravo, Former Copyeditor/Photographer / August 29, 2020

Emerson will hold classes on Saturdays once a month through November this fall to meet federal requirements for maintaining accreditation. Classes will...