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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

The Thursday Paper

Trump’s inauguration and the conversation around transgender athletes

Trump’s inauguration and the conversation around transgender athletes

By Anna Knepley and Meg Richards / January 22, 2025

Among the onslaught of executive orders signed on day one, President Donald Trump targeted transgender and nonbinary Americans, claiming “it is the policy...

Illustration Kellyn Taylor

The best coffee shop in Boston is right under your nose

By Charlie Desjardins, Beacon Contributor / January 22, 2025

When I first came to Emerson, I made two promises: One to my sister, that I wouldn’t grow a man-bun (it becomes more and more tempting each day), and...

Illustration Rachel Choi

The blue-collar burden of paying for a Trump economy

By Tess Gleason, Beacon Contributor / January 22, 2025

As the daughter of a blue-collar family from the predominantly lower-middle-class village of Waterford, New York, I’ve shared economic concerns with...

Ohio State halts Notre Dame’s late comeback to win national championship in newly expanded playoffs

Ohio State halts Notre Dame’s late comeback to win national championship in newly expanded playoffs

By Daniel O’Toole, Staff Writer / January 22, 2025

A decade after winning the first-ever four-team college football playoff, the Ohio State University Buckeyes defeated the University of Notre Dame Fighting...

A small crowd gathers around a speaker broadcasting President Trump’s inaugural speech on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Rian Nelson/Beacon Staff)

Photos: Thousands gather outside Capitol after Trump Inauguration moved indoors

By Nick Peace and Rian Nelson / January 22, 2025

Thousands of people flocked to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 20 for the second presidential inauguration of Donald Trump.  Despite the freezing weather...

Students at Emerson’s Kasteel Well campus in the Limburg, Netherlands arrived for orientation just days before Trump was sworn in (Bryan Hecht / Beacon Staff).

Some Americans said they would leave when Trump took office. Students studying abroad actually did.

Last November, late into the night, Kasteel Well students watched with bated breath as Donald Trump won the 2024 election. This semester, many said they...

The Women's Lacrosse League logo (Illustration by Rachel Choi).

‘It’s our time’: Charlotte North, Boston headline new professional women’s lacrosse league

By Anna Knepley / January 15, 2025

Following in the footsteps of the PWHL and NWSL, the Premier Lacrosse League (PLL) announced the inaugural teams for their new Women’s Lacrosse League...

(Courtesy Layla Palmer)

Heart to Hustle: A podcast that highlights unconventional paths to success

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / January 15, 2025

It seems today that all we see in the podcast sphere is businessmen in suits talking about their startups and degrees. Layla Palmer, a senior business...

Festival Director Summer McCall at a Boston Celtic Music Festival event. (Courtesy of Summer McCall)

Calling all Celtic fans: The Boston Celtic Music Festival returns bigger than ever

By Ryan Yau, Living Arts Editor / January 15, 2025

Celtic music is found everywhere in Boston, flowing from the Irish pubs all over the city to the concert venues year round. But this weekend, the city’s...

Families of hostages held by Hamas hold a banner calling for a ceasefire on Jan. 4, 2025. (Yogev Toby/ Beacon Staff)

As Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire and hostage deal, some advocates demand lasting peace

By Yogev Toby, Projects Editor / January 15, 2025

TEL AVIV, Israel—Israel and Hamas have agreed to a ceasefire and hostage deal Wednesday after 15 months of fighting, negotiators from both sides announced.  The...

The Emerson College visitor center on Boylston street. (Arthur Mansavage / Beacon Staff, File)

Letter from the Editor: Moving forward, together

By Adri Pray, Editor-in-Chief / January 15, 2025
The Berkeley Beacon is, and has always been, an ever-evolving community effort. 
(Iselin Bratz/ Beacon Staff)

Favoritism, blacklisting threats, and a ‘toxic culture’: Allegations of mistreatment shake Emerson Stage artistic director

By Iselin Bratz, News Editor / January 15, 2025

At a routine evening rehearsal last fall for “POTUS,” a student-led Emerson Stage production, recent graduate and on-set observational director Emma...

Illustration Helen Armstrong

Why I’m Afraid of Men

By Helen Armstrong, Beacon Contributor / January 15, 2025

To men: I do not hate you. I am afraid of you.  Experiences with men throughout my life have been a mixed bag. Some have spun me in a glittery prom...

Illustration Rachel Choi

In a barely literate America, a TikTok ban is the least of our concerns

By Ella Duggan, Opinion Editor / January 15, 2025

We have known that there was a possibility that TikTok could be restricted in the United States since early last year. But when Congress and Senate declared...

Daphne Bryant, founder of Dreamworldgirl Zine, in a photoshoot. (Courtesy of Emma Cahill)

How Daphne Bryant built her dream world

By Bryan Liu and Meg Richards / January 15, 2025

Dreamworldgirl, a Y2K-inspired zine celebrating girlhood’s complexities, puts women of color, queer, and plus-size women in traditionally “girly”...

Former men's basketball head coach Hank Smith (center) poses with President Jay Bernhardt, several of his former players, and family members (Courtesy of Nate Gardner).

‘We’re truly home now’: Brown-Plofker court renamed for former men’s basketball coach Hank Smith

By Jordan Pagkalinawan / January 14, 2025

Former men’s basketball head coach Hank Smith took the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym floor to a thunderous standing ovation, appearing on a court...

A cloud of smoke from the Palisades fire billows over a hill near the neighborhood of Encino on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025. (Riley Goldman/ Beacon Staff)

As the LA wildfires encroach on Southern California, ELA proceeds as planned

By Iselin Bratz, Madalyn Jimiera and Jordan Pagkalinawan / January 12, 2025

As wildfires continue to rage in Southern California this week, students, faculty, and staff expecting to start the spring semester at Emerson Los Angeles...

Students working on a set in a visual and media arts course.

Emerson’s VMA major becomes first ARRI-certified film program in New England

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / December 28, 2024

Emerson College earned an accreditation with the ARRI Certified Film School Program, a global leader in the development of film equipment and technologies,...

Paul Dworkis poses for a photo inside of the newly completed fitness center on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff)

Always ‘an Emersonian,’ Paul Dworkis, CFO, departs Emerson after five years

By Hannah Nguyen, Editor in Chief / December 12, 2024

For Paul Dworkis, being an Emersonian came almost naturally.  “I didn’t start at Emerson until December [2019], but I actually started working...

A Emerson College logo on the Ansin Building on Tremont street. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

‘[Emerson] feels like a ghost town’: new initiative draws mixed emotions from a divided campus

By Yogev Toby and Hannah Woods / December 12, 2024

As the fall semester approaches its end, some Emerson students, faculty, and staff say Emerson’s new community-building initiative and interim policy...