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

The Thursday Paper

Super Bowl LIX: The unlikable rematch everybody’s going to watch anyways

Super Bowl LIX: The unlikable rematch everybody’s going to watch anyways

By Everest Leach / February 5, 2025

Mere minutes after a James Bradberry holding call gave them a crucial first down, the Kansas City Chiefs kicked a field goal that would serve as the game-winner...

Column: How political is the NFL?

Column: How political is the NFL?

By Meg Richards, Editor-in-Chief / February 5, 2025

“This is very much a political Super Bowl, and it all started with a tweet.”  This is how Professor Kevin Mercuri ‘91, an alum and executive-in-residence...

Screengrab of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion page on the Emerson College Website.

How safe is diversity, equity, and inclusion at Emerson College?

By Iselin Bratz and Meg Richards / February 5, 2025

“Emotional terrorism.” “Censorship.” “Hyper-nationalism.” A period of tumult likened to “the late 1960s.” These are the words and phrases...

Max Kondziolka at a special screening of "The Brutalist" in L.A. (Courtesy of Max Kondziolka)

Max Kondziolka, ‘The Brutalist’ producer and archaeology student, seeks stories that break new ground

By Ryan Yau, Editor-at-Large / February 5, 2025

Max Kondziolka ‘16 has been working in international film production for almost a decade, and even co-founded a production company, Pierce Capital Entertainment....

Illustration Rachel Choi

‘Seguimos aqui’: Bad Bunny’s ‘DeBí TiRAR MáS FOToS’ calls us to come home

By Josie Arteaga, Opinion Editor / February 5, 2025

Back home in Bolivia, I’m on aux. As my mom’s co-pilot, I’m preoccupied with curating our drive, and I take great pride in my song choices. It was...

Illustration Rachel Choi

The Brutalist’s biggest problem is perfectionism, not AI

By Charlie Desjardins, Dept. Opinion Editor / February 5, 2025

For better or worse, it’s been impossible to escape “The Brutalist.” Directed by wunderkind Brady Corbet, this mammoth 3.5-hour study of a Hungarian...

Dancers perform a “Lotus Dance”, which originates from 1600’s Vietnam. The Lotus flower in Vietnamese culture symbolizes purity, commitment and optimism for the future on Jan. 30, 2025. (Rian Nelson/ Beacon Staff)

Slithering into new beginnings: MFA hosts Lunar New Year celebrations

By Hannah Woods, Senior Kasteel Well Reporter / February 5, 2025

Vibrant colors of lion dancers and echoes of traditional music filled the halls of the Museum of Fine Arts on Jan. 30 for a special event to celebrate...

How the Kansas City Chiefs became the most hated team in the league

How the Kansas City Chiefs became the most hated team in the league

By Daniel O’Toole, Dept. Sports Editor / February 5, 2025

With the Super Bowl just three days away, the Kansas City Chiefs will face the Philadelphia Eagles for the second time this decade and play in their...

(Adam Nuñez/ Beacon Correspondent)

‘We are done letting this happen’: Protesters demand an end to encampment sweeps in Massachusetts

By Adam Nuñez, Staff Writer / February 5, 2025

In below freezing temperatures, around one hundred demonstrators marched along Commonwealth Avenue early on the morning of Feb. 5 demanding an end to the...

(Yogev Toby/ Projects Editor)

Bill Gates says DEI has ‘gone too far at times’ in Colonial Theater book talk

By Iselin Bratz and Yogev Toby / February 5, 2025

On the opening night of his new book tour, billionaire and philanthropist Bill Gates spoke at the Emerson Colonial Theater about the first installment...

Volunteers conducting the Homeless Census in Boston on Jan. 30, 2025. (Hannah Brueske/ Beacon Staff)

Volunteers brave the cold to conduct 2025 Homeless Census

By Hannah Brueske, Dept. Projects Editor / February 5, 2025

Just after midnight on Jan. 30, 250 volunteers, equipped with backpacks filled with snacks, drinks, hand warmers, and flashlights, descended onto every...

Illustration Rachel Choi

Trump’s immigration policies towards non-white groups spike anxiety

By Ari Mei-Dan, Staff Photographer / February 5, 2025

Being an immigrant under President Donald Trump’s new term has sparked complicated emotions for me, ranging from anger to deep concern. As I begin to...

Illustration Helen Armstrong

If you need AI to write, don’t become a writer.

By Helen Armstrong, Beacon Contributor / February 5, 2025

“Every idea ChatGPT came up with (in a few seconds) was good. And original. And fleshed out. Why should writers sit around for months searching for a...

(Abigail Hoyt/ For The Beacon)

Cooking up community: Emerson celebrates the Lunar New Year in the Dining Center

By Madalyn Jimiera and Adam Nuñez / February 4, 2025

Chatter and laughter filled the Dining Hall on Jan. 29 as aromas of vegetable dumplings, Taiwanese noodle soup, char siu pork ribs, and more echoed celebrations...

Left to right: bassist Joey Sorkin, drummer Luke Tan, lead guitarist Charlie Silver, frontman Jack Silver, guitarist Kevin Mortenson. (Courtesy Ava Nagy)

Brothers to bandmates: ‘Cut The Kids In Half’ drops debut album

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / January 29, 2025

Between their respective rooms, brothers Jack and Charlie Silver have been crafting and refining songs for years. Jack paces back and forth between Charlie’s...

A Emerson College sign above the colleges' visitor center on Boylston street. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff, File)

Faculty argue over potential motion to end disciplinary action related to protest on campus

By Iselin Bratz, Content Managing Editor / January 29, 2025
Most of the excitement during the Jan. 28 faculty assembly came in the last half hour when a motion aimed at standing against disciplinary actions taken against community members who participate in on-campus protests hit the floor.
Doug Struck holds the latest issue of Discipline News on Boylston Street outside of Emerson College on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff)

Discipline News argues it’s ‘reasserting Emerson’s values.’ The college calls it an ‘anonymous propaganda campaign.’

By Hannah Brueske, Dept. Projects Editor / January 29, 2025
Discipline News emerged on Emerson’s campus in early December, quickly embedding itself into the Emerson community. For the first time ever, the publication’s contributors discussed its operations and why its message is necessary now.
Illustration Rachel Choi

As a creator, the TikTok ban has alarming implications for us all

By Madison McMahon, Beacon Contributor / January 29, 2025

When all the Supreme Court opinions and congressional news coverage told me in no uncertain terms that TikTok would be banned in the United States, I cried.  Over...

(Courtesy Danny Lane)

Amanda Kramer talks Sundance, graduating from Emerson, and the woman-to-chair pipeline

By Ryan Yau, Editor-at-Large / January 29, 2025

Picture this: a woman, Camille, enters a furniture store and sees a chair she really wants, but cannot afford. Overcome by inexplicable feelings of desire...

‘Cat Kid Comic Club’ promotes paw-sitivity and i-meow-gination on the stage

‘Cat Kid Comic Club’ promotes paw-sitivity and i-meow-gination on the stage

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / January 29, 2025

Emerson’s Colonial Theatre buzzed with little voices raised in excitement last Saturday as families were seated for “Cat Kid Comic Club: the Musical.” “Cat...