Skip to 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

Letter from the Magazine Editor
By Maddie Barron, Co-Opinion Editor / April 20, 2024

Readers,  I knew I wanted this edition of The Berkeley Beacon Magazine to be about the United States, because selfishly I needed to create...

Modeled by Paige Victoria
Photos: Cigarettes in Gen-Z
By Carson Dyer, Beacon Correspondent / April 17, 2024

Cigarettes are back. Is it the inherent uncoolness of vaping or the nihilism of a younger generation? Photos by Carson Dyer, modeled by Paige...

Courtesy Creative Commons
God bless history teachers, Colin Powell, and the ghost of Americana
By Gavin Miller, Beacon Correspondent / April 17, 2024

I had Mr. McAllen in mind when I started thinking about “Neo-Americana.” He was my middle school social studies teacher, and he bled red,...

Modeled by Sam Shipman and Maddie Barron
‘Till divorce do us part: a generation of marriage skeptics
By Margaux Jubin, Staff Writer / April 17, 2024

As a woman, I know that, societally, my future goals should include marriage and children. One may call me a scorned child of divorce, but even...

Courtesy Ashlyn Richards
The resonating echoes of 9/11 in country music
By Meg Richards, Opinion writer / April 17, 2024

A year after the attack on the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001, country music goliath Alan Jackson released the emotive and poignant anthem “Where...

Courtesy Rachel Choi
Monopoly on dreaming: Disillusionment of the American Dream
By Rachel Choi, Chief Copyeditor / April 17, 2024

Three things I learned when I became sentient: the alphabet lied to me, the world was, in fact, not my oyster, and the American Dream was the...

Courtesy Creative Commons
The rise of MAGA and political extremism
By Emma Siebold, Beacon Correspondent / April 17, 2024

I’ve become fearful of red baseball caps.  It’s an involuntary reaction—I literally do a double-take. I analyze the design—is that...

Courtesy Margaux Jubin
Raised by nature: An all-American farm life
By Margaux Jubin, staff writer / April 17, 2024

I feel safest on the grass, in the dirt, and at the top of any mountain. I value nature more than anyone I know. At 1850-feet altitude on...

Courtesy Creative Commons
Saturn’s son
By Ty Gavin, Beacon Correspondent / April 17, 2024

A naked titan crouching in darkness, clutching the torso of a pale, dangling body, about to tear rib cage in two; some bold script pasted over...

Illustration Rachel Choi
Brain-drain in a post-Roe America
By Vivi Smilgius, Yeah / April 17, 2024

For Tennessee-based obstetricians like Laura Andreson, work has become a lot more complicated since June 2022. Andreson, who began practicing...

Courtesy Creative Commons
Chic sustainability: the art of American thrifting
By Ella Donaghue, Beacon Correspondent / April 17, 2024

The year was 2017. My YouTube homepage began filling up with videos of young men and women scouring their local Goodwills and Salvation Army...

Illustration Rachel Choi
Dear Grandma
By Maggie Kaprielian, staff writer / April 17, 2024

Dear Grandma, It’s taken me a while to smile when they say our name. If only I had grown up with you braiding my hair and telling captivating...

Courtesy Creative Commons
How pop culture is changing indigenous narratives
By Kaitlyn Smitten, Beacon Correspondent / April 17, 2024

With the popularity of Martin Scorsese's newest movie “Killers of the Flower Moon,” a great deal of attention has been brought back to Indigenous...

Modeled by Salem Ross, Photo Rumsha Siddiqui
The sacred echoes of my Texas Catholic high school
By Danielle Bartholet, assistant living arts editor / April 17, 2024

The statue in the entry hall served as a better reminder of the shadow over our shoulders than any nun brandishing a ruler could have....

E-Magazine