Skip to Main Content
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

Kasteel Well

Born to Hula, 2012. (Kristen Barrett/Beacon Correspondent)

A conversation with Amsterdam-based artist Esiri Erheriene-Essi

By Kristen Barrett / December 6, 2024

English-born artist Esiri Erheriene-Essi seeks to represent cultural capital and the influence of celebrity in her painting, “Born to Hula.” She...

Office of Student Affairs (OSA) members outside the main gate of the Kasteel Well campus. (Chase Henfey/Beacon Correspondent)

The faces of the Castle: Office of Student Affairs

By DJ Mara and Chase Henfey / December 5, 2024

When students arrive at Schipol Airport ahead of their semester at Kasteel Well, they are greeted by Office of Student Affairs (OSA) staff members. OSA...

Melanea Vemealssel, a member of the Kasteel Well dining staff, stands by some of the breakfast offerings on Nov. 27, 2024 (Kaitlyn Smitten/Beacon Staff).

Cooking up community at Kasteel Well

By Kaitlyn Smitten, Staff Writer / November 27, 2024

Nestled in the small village of Well, located in the Dutch province of Limburg, the Emerson College Kasteel Well program resides. With around 80 students...

Students gather in the Kasteel Well barn for an Election Night watch party. (Iselin Bratz/Beacon Staff)

Emerson College’s Kasteel Well holds their breath at election watch party

By Iselin Bratz, Kasteel Well Bureau Co-Chief / November 7, 2024

Kasteel Well students gathered Tuesday at 1 a.m. CEST to watch election results come in at a watch party organized by the Office of Student Affairs (OSA)...

"The Amsterdam," a former slave ship located at the Maritime Museum in Amsterdam. (Photo courtesy Chase Henfey)

Amsterdam’s Maritime Museum leaves Kasteel Well students grappling with display of colonial histories

By Iselin Bratz, Chase Henfey and Aparna Prabhakar / October 15, 2024
Emerson‘s fall 2024 Kasteel Well cohort visited Amsterdam’s Maritime Museum in late September during their first academic excursion.
Kasteel Well (DJ Mara/Beacon Staff)

Emerson’s provost visits Kasteel Well for the first time

By DJ Mara / October 8, 2024
Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Alexandra Socarides visited Kasteel Well from Sept. 23–26, her first trip to Emerson’s Netherlands campus since assuming her position in July. 
A canal in Amsterdam (Chase Henfey/ Beacon Correspondent)

Kasteel Well students travel to Amsterdam for their first academic excursion of the semester

By Chase Henfey, Beacon Correspondent / October 1, 2024
Emerson’s Kasteel Well program has many unique aspects, including an excursion to Amsterdam, which occurs during the second weekend of the semester. 
An Instagram post announcing the return of Black Swan for the Spring 2024 semester.

Meet Black Swan, Kasteel Well’s magazine by students, for students

By Jordan Pagkalinawan / March 21, 2024

As Kasteel Well students approach the final weeks of their semester, they’ve likely already collected plenty of souvenirs and trinkets across Europe....

Sophomore marketing communications student Sam Switall stands in front of Il Paradiso, a canvas painting in the Grand Council Hall at the Doge’s Palace, a landmark building that was once the Doge's residence and the center of the Venetian government, in Venice, Italy. (Photo courtesy of Samantha Switall)

Photos: Kasteel Well students explore Europe on travel break

By Jordan Pagkalinawan / March 19, 2024
Twice a semester, Emerson students at Kasteel Well go on academic excursions to various countries.
Kasteel Well students prepare to participate in the Carnival festivities.

Kasteel Well students connect with community in Carnival celebration

By Jordan Pagkalinawan / February 22, 2024

While Americans geared up for Super Bowl 58, Emerson students studying abroad at Kasteel Well prepared for a different celebration—participating in the...

Coming to Kasteel Well? Don’t pack the kitchen sink.

Coming to Kasteel Well? Don’t pack the kitchen sink.

By Maeve Lawler / April 12, 2023

Are you a future Kasteel Well dweller? If the answer is yes, then you’re probably wondering how to prepare for your semester abroad. What do I pack?...

Kasteel Well campus ends weekly testing protocol, shift to symptomatic testing only

Kasteel Well campus ends weekly testing protocol, shift to symptomatic testing only

By Maeve Lawler / March 22, 2023

As of March 9, Emerson’s Kasteel Well campus no longer requires twice-a-week COVID-19 testing, according to an email sent to Kasteel Well students from...

Kasteel Well’s assistant director of student affairs embraces life’s challenges and community building

Kasteel Well’s assistant director of student affairs embraces life’s challenges and community building

By Maeve Lawler / February 18, 2023

Each semester, a new group of students participating in the Kasteel Well program are welcomed by a medieval castle tucked in the countryside of Well, Limburg....

Emerson's Kasteel Well campus.

Kasteel Well community feels mixed emotions about the Ukraine-Russia war

By Mariyam Quaisar / March 3, 2022

A mere 1,200 miles away from the fighting in Ukraine, students and faculty at Emerson’s Kasteel Well campus are anxiously watching history unfold as...

Emerson's Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

COVID outbreak at Kasteel Well forces students out of rooms

By Bailey Allen / February 17, 2022

Students at Emerson’s Kasteel Well have been moved out of their dorms to make space for quarantine and isolation housing as part of the satellite campus’...

The exterior of the Kasteel Well castle

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

By Bailey Allen / 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...

Emerson's Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

Emerson students at Kasteel Well unfazed by Netherlands lockdowns

By Bailey Allen / 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...

The exterior of the Kasteel Well castle

Kasteel Well students reflect on departing the castle

By Shawna Konieczny / March 29, 2021

On March 2, 2020, the 76 students studying at Emerson’s Kasteel Well campus gathered in a cramped dining hall awaiting an update on spring break, expecting...

Emerson's Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

With no students at the castle, the town of Well remains shuttered

By Camilo Fonseca / February 18, 2021

Nearly 3,500 miles away from Boston, a towering castle is quiet. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the dorms at Kasteel Well have sat empty for nearly...

Emerson's Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

Kasteel Well fall program canceled in a swift change from previous plan

By Diti Kohli / August 4, 2020

The fall Kasteel Well study abroad program has been canceled after the college was unable to secure permission for U.S. citizens to enter the Netherlands,...