The Dining Center was temporarily closed for service Wednesday morning after college officials announced three new positive COVID-19 tests among food vendors. The closure was announced late Tuesday night through an email from “COVID-19 Lead” Erik Muurisepp
The Dining Center was temporarily closed for service Wednesday morning after college officials announced three new positive COVID-19 tests among food vendors. The closure was announced late Tuesday night through an email from “COVID-19 Lead” Erik Muurisepp
Emerson’s cumulative positive COVID-19 test results have risen steadily each week, as seen in the graph above. Each point on the graph represents the number of cumulative positive results the college reported at the end of each respective week. The
Emerson staff members are grappling with safety risks and the threat of job insecurity, as the college proceeds with a reopening plan that brought much of the community back to Boston. Hundreds of full or part-time staff returned to their
In a shift from prior announcements, Emerson administrators vowed Tuesday to begin updating the college’s COVID-19 dashboard daily after more than a month of less frequent updates. The decision marks a swift reversal for college officials, who originally said information
Five months and 11 days after Emerson prematurely shuttered its campuses due to the initial U.S. outbreak of COVID-19, the college officially reopened its newly-retrofitted campus Monday, welcoming thousands to a campus strikingly different than it has been in the
Emerson’s Los Angeles campus will not reopen for in-person classes in the fall semester in light of new COVID-19 guidance from LA county officials. The program will continue online instruction through December and students may still be able to enroll
The first week of Emerson’s reopening put into practice a plan that attempts to continue in-person instruction while staving off COVID-19 outbreaks, like those popping up at universities nationwide. So far, Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Jim Hoppe
Emerson reported three new positive COVID-19 test results between Aug. 30 and Sept. 2, bringing the community’s positive tests to 10 out of 7,422 administered. One individual is currently in isolation on campus, and 10 are quarantined on campus, according
Emerson reported three new positive COVID-19 tests from Aug. 24 to Aug. 30, bringing the community’s total positive tests to five since testing began on Aug. 6. Three individuals are currently listed as quarantined on campus with zero in isolation
The rapidly approaching fall semester will see Emerson’s vertical downtown Boston campus drastically altered due to COVID-19 safety restrictions and new retrofitting designed to keep larger groups from confined spaces, like elevators and stairwells. Instead of students populating up to
Several Emerson students who have received COVID-19 testing at Tufts Medical Center—an integral part of the college’s reopening plan—described the process the same way. Almost all said the procedure is simple, fast, and painless. “It was really easy,” Kat Robinson,
Emerson reported a second positive case of COVID-19 on campus Monday afternoon, bringing the college’s positivity rate to 0.16 percent after administering 1,219 tests over three weeks. One community member is in isolation, and the other is in quarantine, the
Emerson released a COVID-19 symptom tracker Friday that will require community members to report their potential symptoms through the Emerson mobile app every day during the fall semester. The “Daily Symptom Checker” must be completed by anyone coming to campus
Students housed in single rooms with private bathrooms on campus or in the W Boston hotel may be quarantined and isolated in their own dorm room following a positive COVID-19 test result or potential exposure to the virus, a college
Tufts Medical Center has administered 576 COVID-19 tests on Emerson community members to date, President M. Lee Pelton announced in an email Thursday afternoon. One positive case has been identified so far, meaning the college’s positivity rate sits at 0.17
All college students will have to get the flu vaccine in the fall when it becomes available, the Massachusetts Department of Health announced Wednesday afternoon. Students older than six months attending child care, pre-school, kindergarten, K-12, and colleges and universities
Emerson students who violate the college’s COVID-19 safety protocols will be referred to the standard student conduct policy to receive disciplinary action, a college official announced Tuesday. In an email, Vice President and Dean for Campus Life Jim Hoppe wrote
One Emerson community member has tested positive for COVID-19 and entered isolation, a college official announced Monday afternoon, marking the first time the highly contagious virus has permeated the college’s campus this summer. Assistant Vice President for Campus Life Erik
Emerson will hold classes in the Paramount Center in the fall, just below the building’s residential floors that will serve as the college’s designated quarantine space for those exposed to or infected with COVID-19. The decision will put healthy students
Emerson has purchased personal protective equipment and safety supplies in bulk for the coming semester, officials announced Monday afternoon. Included in those purchases are 3,300 face coverings, including 1,300 KN-95 respirators, in order to supply two reusable masks to every
The college intends to distribute meal packs to students from when they arrive on campus for move-in until they receive their COVID-19 test results and are released from mandatory quarantine, according to a college official. Christie Anglade, director of Housing
The fall Kasteel Well study abroad program has been canceled after the college was unable to secure permission for U.S. citizens to enter the Netherlands, according to a college official. The cancellation follows a month of negotiations between the college
The classes of 2020 and 2021 will share a commencement weekend in May 2021, the college announced Friday Both commencement ceremonies will take place the same weekend on May 8-9. The college will host two separate ceremonies, rather than one
The college intends to house more than 200 students in the W hotel this semester, a measure being taken to accommodate social distancing on campus amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was announced in an email sent to students staying
Over the past several months, Emerson has been slowly doling out new information on what on-campus life at the college will look like in the fall through emails and press releases, piecing together a picture of a complicated semester week
Emerson will not adjust its reopening plan as it already satisfies new quarantine and testing regulations announced by Gov. Charlie Baker Friday, the college said Monday night. The new regulations require travelers entering Massachusetts after Aug. 1 to quarantine for
Last semester, visual and media arts major and rising senior Isa Moon served as president of The Girlie Project comedy troupe as she prepared for her final year at the college, the spring semester of which she hoped to spend
Los Angeles County officials have not given the college’s LA campus clearance to reopen in late August as originally scheduled, forcing administrators to shift at least the beginning of the semester online, according to a college official. The program, which
In the month since Emerson announced its hybrid learning plan for the fall semester, a chorus of faculty voices have questioned its logistics and practicality, saying the plan sacrifices their health and safety for the wants of students. One Emerson
The usual operations of student organizations will be severely limited under strict social distancing regulations in the fall, college officials revealed Monday. Room capacities will be reduced to 20 to 25 percent of their previous capacity, and students will be
Travelers entering Massachusetts will have to quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival unless coming from a state with a lower COVID-19 risk than Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker announced Friday morning. Those states currently include New York, New Jersey, Connecticut,
Emerson will provide all students with weekly self-swab COVID-19 testing in the fall, along with a baseline test upon arrival to campus, a college official said Thursday night. Tests will be purchased from the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of
The college’s sidewalk expansion project on Boylston St. is indefinitely delayed, according to a college official. The sidewalk on the campus side of Boylston St. will be reopened and free of construction when students return to campus in the fall,
All dining center meals will be served to go in the fall semester, according to a college official. Food will be served by dining hall staff, seating will be dramatically reduced inside the dining hall and students will be able
The Trump administration announced Tuesday afternoon that it will roll back an Immigration and Customs Enforcement Rule that would have forced international students enrolled in online course loads out of the U.S. in the fall. The rule, which said any
Tuition and room and board rates will increase by two percent for the 2020-21 academic year as Emerson attempts to mitigate the massive financial losses administrators anticipate in the coming months, President M. Lee Pelton announced in an email Friday.
The Emerson Los Angeles program may begin the fall semester online and later transition to in-person classes, according to an email sent to ELA students Friday afternoon. Allison Sampson, vice president and executive director of ELA, wrote that the school
Emerson joined local universities to condemn Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s decision to ban international students whose classes are held mostly online this fall. ICE announced Monday that international students attending schools that shift to remote learning will have to transfer
The college plans to use the Paramount residence hall as a quarantine and isolation space for students who have contracted or been exposed to COVID-19, an email sent to students Sunday afternoon with more details on Emerson’s reopening said. Students
As Boston-area colleges and universities begin to quietly peddle out details on tuition and housing costs for the impending fall semester, Emerson’s administration has remained silent. After months of nervous anticipation from students, the college announced its reopening plan, entitled
Emerson will offer international students the option of taking fall courses online or at a partner university in one of five countries, according to an email sent to international students Wednesday and obtained by The Beacon. The Office of Internationalization
Administrators introduced a series of cuts to executive leadership salaries and other expenditures totaling at least $26 million at a faculty forum Thursday, in an effort to mitigate the college’s impending financial losses for fiscal year 2020-2021. The college plans
European Union officials plan to extend a ban on travellers from the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to silently accelerate in the country, effectively jeopardizing the future of Emerson’s Kasteel Well study abroad program in the Netherlands. Effective
The college projects losses between $33 and $76 million in the next fiscal year due to the COVID-19 crisis, according to a letter President M. Lee Pelton sent to faculty Monday. The letter says Emerson has already suffered a loss
The college’s hybrid learning reopening plan announcement last week answered questions that had been lingering on the minds of students and faculty for months. But the vague nature of “One Emerson Flex Learning” conjured up more queries from students and
A virtual faculty assembly meeting erupted into angry questioning Tuesday when some professors denounced administration officials for their lack of transparency and communication regarding the college’s fall reopening plan. The plan, announced last week after months of workshopping, fails to
Emerson’s hybrid-learning reopening plan, announced Wednesday afternoon, answered students’ lingering questions about the fate of the fall semester. But for many on-campus student organizations, uncertainty still surrounds their impending operations. An on-campus semester in the era of COVID-19 will bring
Incoming first-year Emerson students now face a difficult decision—move forward with enrollment as planned and potentially pay full price for a partial semester, or defer until the spring. The college announced last week that it would be implementing a hybrid
The college’s Washington D.C. study program that sends students to the nation’s capitol to intern and take courses will proceed in the fall semester, according to a college official. All students that were initially slated to attend the program will
Residential life on campus during the fall 2020 semester will look significantly different than it has in past years as part of the college’s reopening plan “One Emerson Flex Learning,” according to a college official. Residence halls will limit the
When then freshman Olivia Lusk left Emerson’s Boston campus in March, she was disappointed her first year—and maybe even her next one—was threatened by a looming pandemic. So, Lusk could not contain her excitement after the college announced Wednesday afternoon
The college will reinstate in-person classes for the fall 2020 semester with significant changes to student life following the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, President M. Lee Pelton announced in an email Wednesday. The program, called “One Emerson Flex
The college launched a website to commemorate the achievements of the class of 2020 in an email sent to the community Monday morning. The website features messages to the class of 2020 from faculty, alumni, and college officials as well
A decision regarding what the fall semester will look like is expected to come by June 12, according to a community-wide email from President M. Lee Pelton sent Friday. The new time frame comes after Pelton said Wednesday that the
Emerson released applications Wednesday for students affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to receive emergency funding from the $2.7 million given to the college by the federal government through the CARES Act. To receive emergency funding, students must be eligible for
The college hopes to announce a plan for the fall semester featuring some in-person classes combined with the continued use of online instruction some time in the next two to three weeks, President M. Lee Pelton said during a Zoom
The college hopes to make an announcement regarding the fall semester in the coming weeks, President M. Lee Pelton said on Wednesday. “It is our hope to have some in-person classes and curriculum in the fall term,” he said on
A series of messages and artwork lit up the Little Building Saturday night to honor the Class of 2020. The 11-story art installation titled “One Emerson” included a video message from President M. Lee Pelton to the graduates and commissioned
Correction: Tim Riley, associate journalism professor and a consulting member of one of COVID-19 working groups, erroneously told The Beacon that the college would make a decision about the fall semester by June 1. The story has been updated to
The college notified all 200 individuals registered for the summer Global Pathway programs—which send students around the world for four to six weeks—in early April that it would be canceling all 18 programs due to the current public health crisis,
The Admissions Office has received positive feedback from prospective students and their parents, along with alumni, about its decision in early March to extend the first tuition deadline for accepted students—which would solidify their decision to attend Emerson—by a month,
Emerson Polling plans to launch a survey on Monday to gather data on community concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, which will help guide decisions for the fate of the fall semester, Emerson Polling Director Spencer Kimball said. “With everything going
Candidates for the Student Government Association’s spring 2020 elections are facing the challenge of campaigning from afar after the coronavirus forced most students at the college to head home for the remainder of the semester. All 19 political hopefuls running
Daniel Suazo depends on the money he earns from his job at the Emerson College Dining Center to support his child and pregnant wife. As a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, Bon Appetit has eliminated all working hours for many
The college currently plans to resume classes on campus this upcoming semester, President M. Lee Pelton wrote in a community-wide email Friday evening. “The college is evaluating a multitude of possibilities across the academic and student life experience, including options
Theatre education professor Bethany Nelson had no idea how she would adapt her class material when the college transitioned to online learning, because so much of the work involves students interacting in the same physical space. “When it was announced,
Sophomore visual media arts major Lauren Miller was preparing to film a group final project when the college announced it would be switching to remote learning in light of the progressing COVID-19 pandemic—she worried about what this would mean for
Two additional college staff members on the Boston campus tested positive for the coronavirus and are recovering off campus, according to a community-wide email sent Monday afternoon. The members were last on campus April 1 and April 2, and did
Emerson will provide housing for about 100 medical professionals from Tufts Medical Center during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a college official. The college made the decision after the Tufts Emergency Management Team approached administration two weeks ago, Vice President
Just a few weeks ago, sophomore journalism major Annie Bennett had a complete plan laid out for her summer internship and housing. “I was going to do the summer conference assistant job at Emerson so that I could stay in
The 39th EVVY Awards delayed nomination announcements until April 15 due to complications arising from the COVID-19 health crisis, according to EVVYs officials. The nominations were initially scheduled to come out on April 6, but the judges needed more time to
The Student Government Association held two Joint Session meetings via Zoom this week where they discussed and passed a resolution to support students disproportionately affected by the college’s transition to remote instruction. Executive Treasurer Abigail Semple authored the resolution, which
In the scramble to vacate campus two weeks ago as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened in Massachusetts, students left behind more items in residential building lobbies and dorm rooms than previous semesters, according to a college official. “It was blocking some
Faculty Assembly overwhelmingly voted to support a policy that will give undergraduate students a pass/fail option for their classes during their meeting Tuesday. The policy lets students choose the pass/fail option as an alternative to their final grade. If a
Two Emerson students have tested positive for COVID-19 and are currently recovering in isolation at home, according to a campus-wide email sent Tuesday afternoon. One of the individuals was last on the Boston campus March 16, while the other student
Faculty will consider a new policy that would allow undergraduate students to choose a pass/fail option for their classes during Tuesday’s Faculty Assembly meeting. The policy allows students to choose a pass/fail option for each of their classes after final
The Housing Operations team released an updated 2020-2021 housing selection process timeline in an email Friday afternoon after the initially scheduled process was delayed in the scramble to move students off campus two weeks ago. “We put a pause on
One month ago, sophomore Maximo Lawlor served as president at Phi Alpha Tau meetings, wrote for Raiz Magazine, and co-captained the tennis team. Now, he spends the majority of his time alone in his 2 Boylston Place residence hall suite,
Senior Tatiana Melendez found out there wouldn’t be a traditional 2020 Commencement weekend only a week after her ELA classes moved online and she had to move back home due to the rapid spread of COVID-19. “I’m an only child
An Emerson staff member has tested positive for COVID-19, marking the first diagnosis within the college community, President M. Lee Pelton announced in a statement Wednesday. The staff member was last on campus Saturday but did not come into contact
While Emerson will be issuing partial credit for room and board charges for the spring semester due to circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, no tuition refunds will be issued, according to college officials. On March 13, students were
Local businesses are reeling after Gov. Charlie Baker and Mayor Martin Walsh laid out a sweeping set of regulations over the weekend that prohibits restaurants from serving food and alcohol in-house and restricts operating hours. Baker announced the regulations in
The COVID-19 pandemic has left little of Emerson College unscathed as the quickly growing public health crisis ignites action from national, state, and local governments. The action at Emerson, a college with roughly 4,000 students, left community members scrambling to
The EVVYs canceled both of their award ceremonies for the first time in the show’s 39-year history due to the public health risk surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization’s faculty advisor said Monday. “I haven’t been here all 39 years,
Junior Joe Davidi said he will submit a request to stay on Emerson’s Boston campus despite the college asking students to leave because of fears of him going back to his family, who are quarantined with COVID-19. “I was going
The college announced that all students must vacate campus residence halls in both Boston and Los Angeles by March 20—a dramatic reversal of an earlier decision that gave students the option to stay. Students have until next Friday at 3
Sophomore John Raffaele III woke up Thursday morning to unexpected news–the president of the United States had issued a ban on travel from Europe by non-U.S. residents. Raffaele is currently studying in Valencia, Spain, through Berklee College of Music. “A
Following Gov. Charlie Baker’s declaration of a state of emergency Tuesday, a cascade of colleges and universities across the commonwealth told students to vacate campus housing and moved classes online. Emerson College released its own statement Tuesday evening detailing the
President M. Lee Pelton said many answers concerning long-term extracurricular continuation, housing feasibility, summer and fall classes, and room, board, and tuition refunds remain uncertain amid the transition to conduct remote classes due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Sophomore Allison Valton said she was relieved when she heard she could go home for the rest of the semester. She has a skin disease that makes her more susceptible to illnesses. “I get sick really, really easily and it
Following a Utah Jazz practice at the college’s gym on March 5, two players on the team tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement from the team and reporting by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The players, center Rudy Gobert and
In a packed press conference Tuesday afternoon, Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency in Massachusetts and announced that cases of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, had doubled since Monday. Within hours, colleges and universities around the commonwealth released
A mix of emotions gripped students Tuesday evening after President M. Lee Pelton announced the transition of all classes to remote instruction following the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases across the state. The move fell in line with decisions made
Emerson College joined on Tuesday a series of universities and colleges across the state that have transitioned classes online in response to the rapidly spreading COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus. The move comes hours after Gov. Charlie Baker declared a
The college announced Sunday that it will eliminate college-funded travel to five countries in response to the rapidly spreading COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus. An email Sunday afternoon from President M. Lee Pelton said college-funded travel to Italy, China, South
The college is assessing the status of all study abroad programs and preparing to ensure “academic continuity” in the event that residential operations are shut down, in an attempt to brace for the long term effects of the now rapidly
The college has prepared a contingency plan and will review the safety procedures of its vendors in an effort to prepare the community for the rapidly spreading COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus, President M. Lee Pelton said in an email
The Office of Internationalization and Global Engagement sent an email to the community Thursday advising against “nonessential travel” to China and South Korea, citing the global outbreak of COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus. The warning aligns with official recommendations from
Emi Bague, assistant director of international student career services, shared her initial reaction to learning of last month’s on-campus racist vandalism during a talk in the Cultural Center on Tuesday. “When this happened on campus a couple weeks ago, I
Mary Anne Taylor, associate professor of Communication Studies, stated in a panel discussion about the coronavirus that the media is using the same hyperbolic language for COVID-19 as they displayed during the 2014 Ebola outbreak. The event, titled “Understanding Coronavirus,”
The college halted its study abroad programs in the Asia-Pacific region following the World Health Organization declaring the coronavirus as a global health emergency on Jan. 30, according to college officials. Embed from Getty Images One Emerson student planned on
In a statement released Friday, the college urged students to be vigilant in recognizing Coronavirus symptoms following two confirmed cases of the disease in the United States.
