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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

Thoughts

Searching for a resemblance between 2016 polls and the current moment isn’t an effective way to determine who is ahead in this race. After the public outrage from the first presidential debate, we need to compare how they are different and why that matters.

2020 is not 2016. Here’s why that matters

By Shannon Garrido / October 13, 2020

Donald Trump supporters and Democrats have one similar perception of this year’s election: that it will follow in the steps of 2016.  Though it appears...

A poster within Little Building asking students to practice safe sex.

Go solo or go home: The only way to have sex during a pandemic

By Mariyam Quaisar / October 8, 2020

“If you’re not going to wear a mask, at least wear a condom,” posters around Emerson dorm buildings read. However, safe sex means a lot more than...

President Joe Biden

Navigating the U.S. election season as an international student

By Jocelyn Yang / October 6, 2020

“How’s the U.S. election vibe? Who do you think will win? Does any candidate pose policies that hurt China or international students?" I received this...

Three students on navigating a college social life during a pandemic

Three students on navigating a college social life during a pandemic

October 6, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly transformed our college's culture and the way we interact with others. After classes resumed in the fall, students...

My birthday present this year? Stories.

My birthday present this year? Stories.

By Dana Gerber / October 1, 2020

Almost nothing about my 21st birthday will be how I imagined. It won’t take place in a crowded bar. My friends won’t buy me frozen margaritas and toast...

As a student with a history of suicidal thoughts, I posed a liability to the school. But when these issues arise, the college should handle them with more flexibility and compassion.

Emerson made me fight for the mental health care I needed. But I shouldn’t have had to

By Cat Bixler / September 29, 2020

*Content Warning: This article heavily references suicide and depression.  The American Psychiatric Association defines mental illness as a medical...

"I’m devastated by her passing, terrified for who will replace her, and doubtful that they will uphold Ginsburg’s views and legacy."

Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s fight for women’s rights lives on

By Sabine Waldeck / September 28, 2020

When I first heard the news of the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, I was in disbelief. I was aware that Ginsburg had been battling pancreatic...

"Far fetched as my expectations were, none of us pictured freshman year this way, with me logging onto Zoom to attend classes, professors' office hours, and student organizations’ meetings."

We were never getting the college experience we expected

By Shannon Garrido / September 23, 2020

For those of you who spent too much of your childhood obsessing over Legally Blonde and Beverly Hills, 90210, like me, you probably had an inflated image...

Mail-in voting is still not accessible for everyone

Mail-in voting is still not accessible for everyone

By Jacob Seitz / September 19, 2020

This election season, a vast majority of the American population is likely going to vote by mail. The COVID-19 pandemic has upended just about everything...

The Max is laid out in a one-way format, utilizing the traditional back exit as an entrance to accommodate for social distancing in the age of the coronavirus pandemic.

My love letter to The Max that is no more

By Robby Gessel / September 9, 2020

Obviously, a lot has changed on campus because of the pandemic. But what bothers me the most is not the online classes, nor is it the frequent testing,...

If the college chooses to have people attending classes in Boston and acknowledges its responsibility to provide testing, it must also bear the burden of the danger this puts our homeless and low-income community members in.

Don’t ignore our “invisible” community as classes resume this fall

By Billy Brodeur / September 2, 2020

Billy Brodeur is a senior studying comedic arts. On a walk to Paramount my sophomore year, I turned a corner and saw my friend Paul slumped on the ground....

The cloud ahead of us is grim, but to spite the dark mass, I find it necessary to reach for the silver linings that are both large and small, inconsequential and momentous.

Time to look at the silver lining

By Althea Champion / September 1, 2020

In a room full of pessimists, I am the first to say that the world is going to hell. Nowadays, I cannot believe I am alone in that assertion, especially...

Usually, my teammates and I are able to shake off a defeat and bounce back in our next game. But the loss of our fall season to COVID-19 was like no other. It meant there was no “next time.”

There’s a new opponent this year: COVID-19

By Jillian Kay / August 24, 2020

Jillian Kay is a middle blocker for the Emerson women’s volleyball team. Kay is a rising sophomore studying broadcast journalism. When COVID-19 cases...

I, along with many people who study, work, or live in between these two countries, am balancing on a wobbly cultural bridge. And it also seems the once-strong international journalism community I used to aspire to be a part of is eroding.

Caught in the middle of the U.S. and China conflict as a journalist

By Jocelyn Yang / August 4, 2020

When I first landed in the U.S. during high school, the customs officer asked me what I wanted to pursue as a career. When I told him journalism, his immediate...

Student government officials deserve a little credit

December 12, 2012

The editorial board of this newspaper, myself included, has held Emerson’s Student Government Association to task for repeated resignations since the...