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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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Boylston Street was blanketed in snow on Saturday.

Boston ‘warm and welcoming’ amid record-breaking blizzard

By Bailey Allen / February 3, 2022

Emerson students witnessed a winter storm of a magnitude not seen in New England in years, dropping nearly two feet of snow over the weekend and enveloping...

A 1967 edition of The Berkeley Beacon, the oldest in the organization's office.

‘It’s a gateway drug’: The Beacon celebrates its 75th anniversary

By Frankie Rowley / February 1, 2022

Seventy-five years of The Berkeley Beacon.  The Beacon has been Emerson’s only student-run independent newspaper since its first edition of Feb....

Greencare KN95 masks (left), which college officials said they provided faculty, and the masks obtained by Beacon staffers (right)

College-supplied masks could possibly be ‘counterfeit,’ warns faculty union

By Bailey Allen / January 27, 2022

Emerson community members are raising concerns about the efficacy of the KN95 masks distributed by the college last week, citing a lack of proper authenticity...

FIRE, working with Emerson's chapter of TPUSA, hired a truck with the phrase "Emerson Kinda Sus" to circle Emerson's Boston campus.

Turning Point USA responds to suspension with ‘Kinda Sus’ ad campaign

By Vivi Smilgius and Adri Pray / January 27, 2022

Months after being accused of propagating anti-Chinese rhetoric, Emerson’s chapter of Turning Point USA has mounted an advertising campaign targeting...

Emerson's Title IX office.

Emerson officially relocates Office of Access, Equity, and Title IX

By Charlie McKenna / January 17, 2022

Emerson officially moved its Office of Access, Equity, and Title IX out of the Social Justice Center, creating a stand-alone office that will report to...

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

Professor faces outcry over antisemitism allegations

By Bailey Allen and Abigail Lee / January 13, 2022

Mired in controversy, an Emerson professor is facing accusations of antisemitic behavior in the classroom last semester—while acknowledging that his...

Letter from the Editor: The Beacon’s shortcomings and how we will improve

Letter from the Editor: The Beacon’s shortcomings and how we will improve

By Lucia Thorne, Editor-in-Chief / January 13, 2022

It’s been a year and a half since The Beacon began a process that had been long overdue: reckoning with the racism within our organization. As our new...

Emerson students having classes.

‘Everything is out the window’: College returns to in-person learning amid unprecedented COVID surge

By Vivi Smilgius and Adri Pray / January 12, 2022

Less than a week into the spring 2022 semester, Emerson has already reported 228 positive COVID-19 tests, leading to uncertainty regarding the rest of...

Jonathon Graziano '13 and his pug, Noodle.

‘Bones day’ or ‘No Bones day’: Emerson alum, pug achieve TikTok fame

By Campbell Parish / November 4, 2021

Forget horoscopes or weather forecasts, there’s a new way to figure out what kind of day you’re going to have—Noodle, a 13-year-old pug.  Thanks...

Mariyam Quaisar poses during a photoshoot.

Emerson’s promises of diversity fell short for me

By Mariyam Quaisar, Living Arts editor / October 11, 2021

TW: This story contains mentions of racism, hate speech, and strong language I decided early that whatever college I attended had to have a diverse...

Interim president sees role as projecting ‘confidence, continuity, and stability’

Interim president sees role as projecting ‘confidence, continuity, and stability’

By Charlie McKenna / October 6, 2021

More than four months into his tenure in the college’s top job, Interim President Bill Gilligan described himself as a steady hand who will guide...

City Hall flags at half-mast, Sept. 12 2001

Terror Strikes Home: Emerson on 9/11

By Beacon Staff / September 11, 2021

This article was originally published in the Sept. 13, 2001 edition of The Berkeley Beacon.  "I used to see the New York skyline everyday on my way...

The Dining Center with no indoor seating.

College shifts meal plan options, curtails Board Buck usage

By Frankie Rowley and Camilo Fonseca / July 16, 2021

Emerson students will have different meal plans to choose from for the fall semester, as the college rolls back changes it says were brought on by the...

Boston's City Hall Plaza

They couldn’t get out of on-campus housing. So they got domestic partnerships

By Dana Gerber / May 26, 2021

In attempts to secure an exemption to escape on-campus housing and its nearly $20,000 annual price tag, some students are taking an unorthodox leap—getting...

An in-person class taking place at Emerson.

Emerson changes course, pivots to fully in-person fall semester

By Dana Gerber / April 21, 2021

In a shift from previous plans, Emerson will transition to a fully in-person academic semester on all campuses this fall for students, who will now be...

Snow dusts the Norman Lear statue in the 2 Boylston Alley

Nor’easter brings April snowfall and student bitterness

By Camilo Fonseca / April 16, 2021

Emerson students woke up Friday morning to snowflakes outside their windows, an unexpected—and for many, unwelcome—sight after a spell of relatively...

Pursuing a theatre degree is all dreamy and glamorous—until a faculty member breaks the news that Summer Stock won’t be doing any Lin-Manuel Miranda productions this summer, so “don’t get your hopes up.”

We Are Here: college theatre programs need to create more inclusivity for students of color

By Amaris Rios / April 14, 2021

If someone asks me to sing “Breath” from In The Heights one more time, I think I might actually escort myself back to Puerto Rico. When I auditioned...

Students waiting in front of the Lion's Den.

Variant could be driving increased virus spread, administrator says

By Charlie McKenna and Dana Gerber / April 13, 2021

Emerson administrators believe the surge in positive COVID-19 tests on campus—52 reported since March 31—may be the result of a variant of the virus...

Pictured above, Performing Arts Department Chair Bob Colby.

Robert Colby, chair of performing arts, dies at 70

By Frankie Rowley / April 5, 2021

Robert Colby, chair of the performing arts department who worked at Emerson for 44 years, died early Monday morning in Beth Israel Hospital after a lengthy...

The Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym

Emerson reports highest COVID spike to date, reportedly traced to athletic teams

By Charlie McKenna and Dana Gerber / April 3, 2021

Emerson reported 15 new positive COVID-19 tests on Saturday split over two days of testing—just two days after an email from the college warned of increased...