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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

Illustration Rachel Choi

The return of the cigarette aesthetic

By MacKenzie Zwillman, Guest Author / October 3, 2024
Recreational drugs have become extremely widespread in recent years. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, smoking embodied coolness and glamour of the early rock ‘n’ roll era; it was a symbol of social status.
Illustration Kellyn Taylor

Wait. I thought you said you were body positive?

By Azalea Case, Guest Author / October 3, 2024

Losing weight was one of the hardest things to ever happen to me.  When I was 17, my body changed; I grew taller, my hair got longer, and I lost 20...

Illustration Helen Armstrong

Plastic surgery from the perspective of someone who had reconstructive surgery

By McKenzie Cooper, Guest Author / October 3, 2024
Pain is all I felt after I got elbowed in the face during a wrestling match. My nose had broken pretty bad, but in hindsight, breaking my nose was lightwork compared to the surgery I had two years later.
A poster saying "We Stand with Caleb, Matt, Palestine, Lebanon" lies on the ground before a makeshift memorial in the Boston Garden at a vigil held by the Muslim Justice League on September 25, 2024. The vigil honored the lives of Matt Nelson, who died after self-immolated in front of Boston's Israeli consulate, and Caleb Cannon, who is in serious condition after being shot during a pro-Palestine protest in Newton. (Rian Nelson / Beacon Staff)

Media portrayal matters: A journalist’s role in reporting right now

By Merritt Hughes, Opinion Co-Editor / September 26, 2024
Journalists have always had a lot of influence when it comes to current events. Especially in this digital age of online journalism—aka X, previously Twitter—how a reporter frames a story is vital. 
Illustration Kellyn Taylor

‘What I Eat In a Day’ videos are promoting disordered habits to a vulnerable audience

By Emma Siebold, Beacon Correspondent / September 25, 2024
A friend asked me why I wasn’t responding to the dozens of Instagram reels she was sending me through our DMs.
Illustration Rachel Choi

The surrealist reality of American politics

By Pili Gaudiello, Guest Author / September 25, 2024
Maybe I did just fall out of a coconut tree. Because I don’t know what’s going on. 
People walking past Emerson College buildings on Boylston Street. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

Why I left Emerson

By Tess Wilensky, Guest Author / September 25, 2024
I left the college for a multitude of reasons, but the main one was the way the Emerson community handled the past year. Not the administration, the Emerson community. 
A Emerson College sign above the colleges' visitor center on Boylston street. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

Letter from the Editor: Amid campus turmoil, The Beacon is committed to its readers

By Hannah Nguyen, Editor-in-Chief / September 18, 2024
I spent almost every day during the final two weeks of last spring reporting on the Emerson encampment, from the moment tents were set up to when Boston police forcibly cleared it, and nearly every single event that unfolded in its aftermath.
Illustration Rachel Choi

We are Emerson: Grappling with attending this college

By Merritt Hughes, Opinion Co-Editor / September 18, 2024
I want to be proud of the school I attend, but that feels impossible right now. I am not happy to be so intertwined with Emerson.
Illustration Rachel Choi

My least favorite celebrity couple? The New York Times and Taylor Swift

By Emma Siebold, Beacon Correspondent / September 18, 2024

As Election Day approaches and the United States faces troubles both domestically and abroad, there’s no shortage of news. One of my favorite and most...

Illustration Rachel Choi

Can Harris govern from ground zero?

By J. L. McCormick, Guest Author / September 16, 2024
I am tired of listening to our political candidates talk about healing our nation, bringing the country back together again, and being a president for all Americans “regardless of political party.”