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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

Opinion

A sign reads "free speech is a constitutional right!" during a protest in March 2025. (Hannah Brueske/ Beacon Staff, File Photo)

Letter from the Editor: What we feared is here and we must face it together

By Adri Pray and Meg Richards / April 2, 2025

The Berkeley Beacon stands with The Tufts Daily. After the detainment in broad daylight of Rumeysa Öztürk, a Tufts University doctoral student arrested...

Illustration Rachel Choi

No gimmicks here: Arnheim, ‘Adolescence,’ and ‘the oner’

By Charlie Desjardins, Dept. Opinion Editor / April 2, 2025

For such a zeitgeist-defining show, “Episode 3” of Netflix’s miniseries “Adolescence” begins in an entirely unassuming place: Psychologist Briony...

Little Building on Boylston St., is Emerson's freshman housing dorm (Bryan Hecht / Beacon Staff).

Paying more, getting less: The student housing crisis

By Mariam Tsintsadze, Beacon Contributor / April 2, 2025

It’s 1:39 a.m., and I’m scrolling through apartment listings like it’s TikTok. Only instead of videos, it’s dimly lit kitchens, crumbling bathroom...

Illustration Ben Putney

Remakes aren’t going away, so we need to change them

By Dante Greco, Beacon Contributor / April 2, 2025

Disney's “Snow White” premiered on March 21 to mixed reviews. Earning a 43% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, many critics were let down by some of the movie's...

Illustration Rachel Choi

Editorial: Want a real education? Take these classes.

By Editorial Board / March 26, 2025

It’s that time again. Class registration can be competitive. Especially with limited availability and requirements to fulfill, the process often involves...

Illustration Ben Putney

The best songs on your playlist are your friends

By Daphne F. Chandler, Beacon Contributor / March 26, 2025

Everyone has spent hours, and sometimes days, mulling over the perfect songs to complete their playlist—especially if that mix is for a friend or loved...

A spring break scene on a crowded beach. (Courtesy of Prescott Horn)

Diving into spring break culture

By Bella Nordman, Senior Opinion Columnist / March 26, 2025

Spring break is a time for college students to break free from bending over backwards in the library. So many elements collide over this break—escapism,...

Illustration Rachel Choi

For better or worse, fandoms shape social change

By Bella Nordman, Senior Opinion Columnist / March 20, 2025
I grew up chronically online and stumbled into corners of the internet that someone so young should not have been in.
Emerson College buildings in Downtown Boston on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

Letter: Emerson needs a real plan to rebuild our campus culture

By Angus Abercrombie, Guest Author / March 19, 2025

It’s been almost a year since our campus watched 118 people get violently arrested in the Boylston Place alleyway. The next day, I worked to ensure the...

The Emerson College Little Building dorm on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

Letter: Emerson College must act now to protect its most vulnerable students

As students and members of the Emerson College community, we are demanding immediate action from the administration to protect our most vulnerable peers—immigrant, refugee, and international students—whose safety is increasingly at risk.
Emerson College Walker Building in Boston on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

Letter: I have no syllabus for teaching during a fascist takeover of the country

By P Carl, Guest Author / March 19, 2025

I returned to campus yesterday to teach my first class since spring break. I rarely go anywhere over spring break, but this year, I decided I wanted to...

Illustration Kellyn Taylor

Why we need more contemporary media

By Everest Leach, Beacon Contributor / March 19, 2025

“The idea of having to photograph a car makes me ill. And the idea of photographing a cellphone is just … death. So, no.” That’s what acclaimed...

Example of a ranked choice ballot. Rank up to 5 candidates (Optional). Fill only 1 oval in each column.

Boston needs ranked choice voting, and Emerson should be on board

By Katherine Asselin, Beacon Contributor / March 6, 2025

Emerson students are filmmakers, writers, artists, journalists, performers, storytellers, activists—and often more than one of those. We are opinionated...

Illustration Bryce Heilmann

Hollywood’s biggest night was … surprisingly small?

By Bryce Heilmann, Senior Living Arts Reporter / March 6, 2025

On a night infamous for cultivating many scandalous headlines, and an awards season chock full of them, the 97th Academy Awards remained relatively mundane.  With...

Crooke's Cage: John Cena shocks the world with heel turn in Toronto

Crooke’s Cage: John Cena shocks the world with heel turn in Toronto

By Aidan Crooke, Staff Writer, Sports / March 5, 2025

He’s done it. After nearly twenty years since he won his first WWE Championship, John Cena has finally crossed back into the dark side. “Aidan,...

Illustration Ben Putney

Toxic productivity: Emerson’s most exhausting tradition

By Mariam Tsintsadze, Beacon Contributor / March 5, 2025

Midterm season often finds me running on disturbing amounts of caffeine, staring at blank assignments until 3 a.m. while the cramped to-do list next to...

Illustration Rachel Choi

Maine Gov. Janet Mills set the example—now, other elected figures must follow it

By E.D. and Tess Gleason / March 5, 2025

When Maine Governor Janet Mills stood up to President Donald Trump on Feb. 21 after he demanded Maine comply with his executive order banning transgender...

Pro-Palestine encampment tents line 2B alley at Emerson College on Wednesday, April 24, 2024. (Iselin Bratz/Beacon Staff)

Letter: From an SJP organizer: Our encampment failed, and we’ve been failing it every day

By Fadwa Bishara, Guest Author / February 26, 2025
It doesn't take much to realize the encampment failed. If you were there, and knew why you were there, you would know it did.
Emerson College signage outside of the WERS studios in Downtown Boston on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

Letter: Faculty who demand a blanket student disciplinary pardon must remember the harm that has been done

By Ruth Grossman, Guest Author / February 26, 2025

On Feb. 25, faculty assembly debated a motion for an “immediate end to any and all disciplinary action related to protests, demonstrations, leafleting...

Diablada Ferroviaria in the Carnival de Oruro, Bolivia.

Bolivia is more than its political turmoil

By Josie Arteaga, Opinion Editor / February 26, 2025

Every February, holiday festivities begin in Bolivia, and my home becomes a different country. Carnival de Oruro, for Bolivians, is the most important...