Emerson College LLC; The death of higher education

By Maddie Barron, Magazine Editor & Assistant Opinion Editor / August 28, 2024

Students write Pro-Palestinian messaging on alley walls and ground (Bryan Hecht/Beacon Staff).

The Emerson College we once knew is dead. It was dying long before April 25, but that morning was the coup de grâce. The atmosphere of the college is now almost unrecognizable.

Walking through the alley now, the air is heavy, reverent. Our buildings and hallways are remarkably, and enforced by the code of conduct, empty and colorless.

Welcome back to art school.

It’s clear that in recent years, Emerson has followed other institutions’ suit by projecting illusions of corporate inclusivity that painted the college as a haven for marginalized individuals.

The truth is observable in Emerson’s policies: this haven is for the white, wealthy, and brand-friendly queerness. Low-income, first-generation students are there to work campus jobs to afford monthly tuition payments, Black and Brown students are photo ops, and radical queer people showing solidarity are arrested. Make no mistake, Emerson is no longer a college; it’s a business. And militant repression is great for investors.

Emerson’s recent policy changes are devastating blows to the sanctity of learning and set a dangerous precedent for education. Effectively banning acts of civil disobedience like protesting, fliering, and regulating self-expression is the antithesis of higher education. And despite the call for safety and mutual respect on campus, these policies are not apolitical.

A majority of the students at the encampment were low-income, first-generation, students of color, women, and/or queer. Potentially criminalizing a distinct stance held by the most vulnerable members of your community is Emerson directly turning its back on progressivism.

The limits regarding protesting are laughable and naively assume that any students interested in protesting the institution would comply with those regulations. It’s obvious that the neutral stance on “complex geopolitical issues” the college is taking is hostile towards the students. The “no standing”, anti-loitering signs on every single entrance door on campus that remain from the days following the raid of the encampment remind us of this hostility. Complex geopolitical issues the board will not take stances on, but make no mistake, Emerson will milk Pride Month for all its worth.

The phrase “complex geopolitical issues” is a cop-out for those who are uninvolved and unconcerned about issues beyond their immediate circles. Racism is a complex geopolitical issue. LGBTQ rights are a complex geopolitical issue. Misogyny is a geopolitical issue.

The only difference, however, is that we’ve reached an era of retrospection for movements opposing identity-based violence. Retroactively, we can agree the riots and protests and miscellaneous acts of civil disobedience were necessary to gain political traction.

Because we are experiencing this student movement as it happens, and conversely experiencing the opposition to it, a business like Emerson cannot find solace in the pockets of a split demographic. Neutrality is the ideal business model.

As an art school, in theory, Emerson should welcome the eclectic minds that make up the student body and welcome their expression, be it through their art or their activism. New policies that institute pre-registered protest zones are too neat to accomplish anything. It gives the illusion that the higher-ups are listening to us, without all of the mess and paperwork of changing. If it doesn’t make them money, it’s a fruitless endeavor.

The college also aims to regulate our art by prohibiting student organizations from taking political stances after dozens expressed solidarity with Palestine and denounced the arrests.

This stance is intended to reduce those specific expressions of solidarity, but its verbiage implies that statements about inclusivity (which are inherently political) are also prohibited. The students that are making the most compelling art at Emerson are also the most marginalized individuals. Either our desire to create art was beaten out of us post-encampment, or it’s restricted.

I expect the President and Board of a liberal arts college to understand the political nature of art, and how it is essential for good art to be political. We don’t need Emerson to take a stance. As students, we expect our school to prepare us to enter the world and workforce; places where we will encounter posters, stickers, and flags that mean things we disagree with. This is our right. How we handle it is determined by us, but how can we expect to engage in discourse beyond Emerson when it’s so blatantly penalized within the Emerson microcosm?

And, in truth, if the goal is authentic political neutrality as an educational entity, wouldn’t divesting funds with political associations be a good start? Wouldn’t removing these dystopian regulations on speech that criminalize your prize-winning-smile-pamphlet students get enrollment back up? Wouldn’t budgeting to keep programs and faculty on payroll instead of cutting them and expanding organizations explicitly associated with one side of the coin make your returning students happy?

I want to take classes I enjoy again with faculty I create valuable relationships with. I want to decorate my door however I want to instead of being met with transparently propagandist Emerson-themed floors. I want my money to pay for my education, not for potentially undisclosed police states. I want to know I can express my First Amendment right to assemble without being met with riot gear.

I have not been the same since that morning. Emerson College, in conjunction with Mayor Michelle Wu of Boston and Mass. State Troopers, inflicted a terror on us that has not left. I will never not see the blood on the bricks. I will never stop hearing the screaming. We simply have to use this fear to make our demands heard. This is a movement that exists simultaneously with terror, love, solidarity, rage, empathy, grief, and beyond. You cannot kill this movement.

About the Contributor

Maddie Barron, Magazine Editor & Assistant Opinion Editor

Maddie Barron (she/her) is a junior WLP major with a minor in journalism. She serves as editor for the Beacon Magazine and assistant editor of the opinion section. Maddie is an It Girl, philanthropist, lover, gardener, and the Princess Diana of Goose Creek, SC.

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Anonymous

3 months ago

Misinformation and anti-Semitic rhetoric like this are part of the reason why I left Emerson. These radicalised students are so misled and the staff and faculty either do little to nothing to educate students about the conflict or further exacerbate their indoctrination.
Not only did this student insinuate that Zionists (the vast majority of Jews) are somehow oppressors, but she also accuses Zionism and the existence of Israel of being contingent on essentially a blood libel. Whether these antisemitic students like it or not, Jews have been in Eretz Israel for THOUSANDS OF YEARS, with innumerable artifacts, inscriptions, and books to prove it. The oldest Hebrew text ever found in Israel was discovered at the Elah Fortress which dates to between 1050 and 970 BCE. No matter how much tangible evidence we show these students, they will not be removed from the trenches of indoctrination. As a school known for their communications program, I expected Emerson to jump at the opportunity to foster informed discussion among students and faculty educated about the Middle East. Unfortunately this wasn’t the case, and campus has become a place where hate, antisemitism, and bullying run rampant.

Bob

This piece took a lot of guts to write and especially to have it in print. It gives me hope in Emerson’s even its future seems written by its now terrible President and small minded board of trustees.Well said Maddie.

Vinicius Navarro

Maddie, It’s great to see your article here again! I admire your courage, your moral clarity, and the vehemence in your prose.

Kyler V

When the college attempted to rain in speech in the early 1900s, we were blessed with creations like Phi Alpha Tau. I’ll leave that there…good luck, kids! Give ’em hell.

Julie

It is tiresome and even absurd, nearly a year into Netanyahu’s campaign of slaughter and starvation in Gaza–as well as his stonewalling of diplomatic efforts toward a ceasefire that might bring the rest of the hostages home alive–to hear accusations of antisemitism in response to those standing up for simple humanitarian rights. Are readers like Allison aware how many Jews, worldwide, are bravely speaking out as Maddie Barron is? Are they antisemitic?

B. Bat Yaakov

Reply to Julie

The accusations of antisemitism apply to the definition of Zionism in this article along with the lie that the state of Israel is “contingent upon the annihilation of Palestinian people and their land”. This is a blatant liable that can easily be researched, but the author has either not bothered to, or prefers the lie. Most Zionists want a ceasefire, are extremely critical of Netanyahu and want him and his government out, and are in favor of a two-state solution.
The Author also flirts with the idea of Zionists as powerful and overly influential – an age-old Antisemitic trope.

Of course there has also been no mention of the two-million Palestinian Arabs who are Israeli citizens and want to remain so.

Please do not lean on “Jews…bravely speaking out” as your defense. The NSJP has intimidated young Jews for decades, and some now believe they must renounce their heritage and ethnicity in order to be
“good” Jews. This isn’t new. This is a strategy that dates back to medieval Europe. Nor do these Jews require bravado. Certainly no other Jew is going to harm them.
And Hamas, who seem to be your darlings, do not want a ceasefire. Otherwise they would not have executed innocent Jewish civilians point-blank while negotiations continue. The recent murder of the six has been glaringly absent from this paper.

Sinwar and his ilk do not distinguish between Jews with different political ideologies. One of the kibbutzim attacked and slaughtered was one of the most far-left in Israel. Vivian Silver, who helped found “Women Waging Peace” and drove Palestinians from Gaza to Israel for medical care, was murdered on October 7. Hamas didn’t care who she was or what she accomplished.

So far I’ve seen little evidence that the Beacon staff know anything reality-based about Zionism.
Lying isn’t courageous.
Vilifying is cowardly and lazy.
And we are very tired of the goysplaining.

Reply to B. Bat Yaakov

And I am tired of my tax dollars paying for bombs dropped intentionally on mothers and children, in “defense” of a country that deploys snipers to kill unarmed demonstrators and relief workers attempting to feed families held hostage by the so-called “war.” Or do you consider those targeted citizens and relief workers the “ilk” to which you refer? They are not ilk. They are not terrorists. They are people who deserve a permanent ceasefire. Just as the remaining hostages deserve to be released. Netanyahu couldn’t care less about either.

Thank you for expressing the truth so eloquently.

Danny

The definition of Zionism is a movement for (originally) the re-establishment and (now) the development and protection of a Jewish nation in what is now Israel.

Nothing to do with “proliferation”.

Unfortunately, this article is sadly misinformed, lacking in any real substance, and really diminishes a complicated issue. It’s these types of takes that stalemate the issue instead of engaging in thought-provoking and helpful conversation to move people towards a peaceful resolution.

Yasser Munif

Incisive and insightful article. Thank you for writing it Maddie!

Wendy

Thank you for writing this!

Joyce

This is spot on. It’s so hopeful to see students act with courage. If Emerson keeps up these failed strategies to suppress dissent, and ignores their students, I don’t imagine the enrollment numbers are going to improve.

Allison

As an alumna, this article was beyond disappointing to read and as other commenters already called out, highlights an uniformed and elitist take. Ironically, Emerson College’s administration is referred to as naive for assuming students would comply with rules and laws, when what is truly naive is assuming that things (e.g. following the law) will be different outside Emerson. Emerson is a business that can create guidelines and is subject to city law, and students are not beyond the consequences for breaking those, in the name of solidarity. The author and her peers will likely experience the same is true at majority of companies they may or may not be hired at one day. Those who move on to law school may eventually learn not to abuse the first amendment and that a “right to assemble” doesn’t constitute a free for all.

There is much more that could be said about this piece, but the last thing I’ll say is that it reeks of antisemitism. There are many Jewish students, faculty, and staff on campus who have been harassed by these protesters and it’s language like this that exacerbates these students’ threatening behavior. As a Jewish alumna, I’ve been disappointed with Emerson’s handling of the protest situation and I know I’m not alone in believing students who broke the law should face consequences (e.g. not being allowed to walk at graduation).

It seems that there is a great deal of education lacking at Emerson College, and I would advise the President Jay Bernhart to connect with Jewish alumni about efforts against antisemitism the institution clearly needs to make.

Joey peligro

Reply to Allison

(This comment has been removed because it does not follow The Berkeley Beacon comment section policies.)

noah

I truly don’t understand where you see antisemitism in this. You give no argument for this outside of saying it “exacerbates these students’ threatening behavior.” I’d love to know what you mean by this. As a Jewish Emerson student, I feel significantly less safe knowing that Emerson does not respect freedom of expression as an art school. People being harassed is terrible, but it’s disingenuous to bring up the fact that they are “Jewish.” Don’t reduce our identity to simply being a Jew. We, of all people, know that speaking out against wrongdoing and evil in the world, even when everyone around you disagrees, is necessary to protect our fundamental freedoms and lives.

John

Complaining that students are reprimanded for failing to adhere to the school’s code of conduct or to the law, for refusing to disperse from public property re: the encampments, is the epitome of privilege and elitism. The world doesn’t revolve around you – good luck entering the real world with that mindset

Daniel C

Didn’t realize the beacon has an “Uninformed Opinion” section… this is terrible on so many levels