Remembered as a “force of nature,” Emerson mourns the loss of Maureen Shea, former co-chair of the performing arts department, who worked at the college for 40 years. “She had this ability to...

Maureen Shea, the former co-chair of Emerson’s performing arts department, passed away Thursday due to an undisclosed illness.  Shea served as the producing artistic director of Emerson Stage and...

President Biden announced on Wednesday a plan to relieve $10,000 in student loan debt for low-to-middle income borrowers and extended the pause on student loan payments to Dec. 31, 2022. The announcement...

Emerson’s Campus Life Office shared alternative travel resources and on-campus spaces available to off-campus students in light of city-wide MBTA shutdowns in a statement Thursday. Beginning Aug. 19,...

Emerson announced on Friday its new Office of Equal Opportunity, which will absorb the functions of the college’s former Office of Title IX. Formed over the summer, the OEO seeks to expand the “scope...

Two Emerson professors were chosen as Guggenheim Fellows for the 2022 program, bringing the number of Emersonian recipients to six.  The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation named visual and media...

Emerson will instate relaxed COVID-19 policies during the summer term, according to a community-wide email from college officials sent Wednesday.  Citing guidance from the Center for Disease Control...

Less than a year has passed since the world last saw Batman on the silver screen. With Hollywood’s latest take on the caped crusader, though, the world might just forget they ever saw another. The...

Sophomore visual and media arts major Yujun Liu gets texts from his friend in Ukraine, who updates him on the war he is experiencing firsthand. “He told me he was awakened by the bombing at 5:30 a.m....

In the week since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, its forces have surrounded key cities and launched deadly attacks while facing strong Ukrainian opposition. The root of the war is long and complicated,...

Another night I find myself curled into a ball of self-pity, my tailbone aching from the wooden chair I have been glued to for God knows how long. Tears well in my eyes like clockwork, only a few will...

If you, like me, flex your Spotify subscription and get excited when your Spotify Wrapped comes out every year, well, your rude awakening is upon you. February has been a month of reckoning for the streaming...

An educational advocacy group named Emerson as one of the “worst colleges for free expression,” rooted in its accusation that the college “censored” members of its Turning Point USA chapter.  The...

Emerson will require students to receive a rapid antigen test prior to their arrival back to campus if they chose to leave for spring break, announced college officials on Wednesday afternoon.  The...

Thanksgiving break is one of the two back-at-home holidays during the fall semester, and a big celebration throughout the country. It’s a time for loved ones, good food, and spending too much money on...

“Everyone has made personal sacrifices, some the most profound, having been unable to see loved ones in their last moments or care for vulnerable family and friends,” writes Susan Gray in her report...

Seventy-five years of The Berkeley Beacon.  The Beacon has been Emerson’s only student-run independent newspaper since its first edition of Feb. 1, 1947. It has continuously published print editions...

New England is experiencing a winter storm of a magnitude not seen in years, dropping nearly two feet of snow on downtown Boston and enveloping Emerson’s campus in near-whiteout conditions. Since...

The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to The Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity but not for content. Monday, January 17 Following...

The fitness center, dining facilities, and on-campus meeting spaces will be open for in-person operations beginning Jan. 24, announced college officials in a Sunday morning email.  The email, sent...

Non-residential Emerson students can visit residential halls beginning on Jan. 18, college officials announced on Monday evening.  Starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Boston-based Emerson students may be...

Associate Vice President Pamela White wrote that she had always dreamed of working in public service. Emerson’s Title IX & Clery Act coordinator, who died on Dec. 29, left behind a legacy of...

The long-anticipated reopening of the Backstage Cafe will bring new cuisine to Emerson’s campus, as the college is slated to open its first New York-style sandwich shop to the public on Jan. 17.  Backstage...

Emerson’s campus dining retail locations will reopen on Jan. 17 in accordance with students’ return to in-person classes on Jan. 18.  According to Jordan Mackenzie, a customer experience coordinator...

Emerson’s Testing Center at Tufts Medical Center will remain open on select Saturdays through the month of January in light of the college extending its twice-a-week testing protocol, announced college...

Emerson will resume in-person classes on Jan. 18 with a slew of extended restrictions college officials announced on Tuesday evening.  Citing community members’ vigilance and belief that protocols...

Associate Vice President Pamela White, who served as Emerson’s Title IX & Clery Act coordinator, died on Dec. 29 at the age of 63, college officials announced Tuesday evening.  White began her...

Students who are unable to secure a PCR test before arriving on Emerson’s campus in Boston, Los Angeles, or Kasteel Well will be able to attest to a negative result returned from a rapid antigen test...

A day after delaying the start of the spring semester, college officials on Wednesday detailed plans to resume in-person classes amid an unprecedented surge of COVID-19 both on campus and statewide, with...

Emerson will hold all classes during the first week of the spring semester remotely, college officials announced Tuesday evening.  The college will hold all courses on the Boston campus remotely from...

Emerson is investigating a report of antisemitic behavior in a classroom that originated in social media, college officials said Tuesday evening.  The college was made aware of the alleged incident...

Emerson pivoted back to individual PCR tests on Tuesday with just two days left in the fall semester, as positive COVID-19 cases surge both on-campus and nationwide.  The last-minute decision shifts...

Since the departure of former President M. Lee Pelton, Emerson has seen a number of key individuals cut their ties with the college—many of them amicably, others less so. The string of exits have raised...

Emerson students reported experiencing difficulties after taking their college-mandated and provided at-home rapid COVID-19 tests in order to return to campus following the Thanksgiving break.  The...

In the ten-day period since Nov. 8, Emerson reported 13 new positive COVID-19 tests—a marked increase in overall infections mirroring worsening cases in Massachusetts.  Though daily case numbers...

Jefferson Fietek, a convicted sex offender who briefly served as a professor in Emerson’s Performing Arts Department, was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for assaulting a number of underage...

Emerson lifted a suspension of the college’s Turning Point USA chapter this month, allowing the conservative organization to resume on-campus activities weeks after drawing backlash for promotional material...

The 2020 presidential election saw record-high numbers of Emerson students casting their ballots at the polls or by mail, mimicking the nationwide trend of historic voter turnout, according to a recent...

Responsible for remaking the college’s relationship to student organizations, keeping his colleagues up-to-date with pop culture, and advising the Student Government Association, Director of Student...

The 14th floor office designated for the Vice President and Provost of Academic Affairs will soon be have a new tenant as Michaele Whelan prepares to depart the college, saying goodbye to friends made...

Emerson’s testing center was forced to close for the second time in as many days due to a fire alarm at 116 Harrison Avenue on Wednesday morning. Boston firefighters arrived at the scene at 8:35 a.m....

Michelle Wu secured victory in Boston’s mayoral election Tuesday night, defeating her opponent, at-large city councilor Annissa Essaibi George, by nearly 30 points in a historic race to become the first...

Emerson’s testing center was abruptly shuttered Tuesday afternoon after a fire forced the evacuation of the surrounding Tufts Medical Center complex, fire officials said.  Firefighters were sent...

Creative writing professor Kim McLarin, who leads the college’s MFA in popular fiction writing and publishing, is set to become the interim dean of graduate and professional studies in January, Interim...

Emerson introduced a pooled testing model for all community members this week, a process administrators hope will streamline the college’s testing process.  “The College is utilizing this method...

Emerson’s Jewish community reacted with grief, anger, and mourning after antisemitic graffiti was found scrawled on an event poster for Hillel, the college’s Jewish student organization, on Friday...

Antisemitic graffiti was found scrawled on a poster advertising an event sponsored by Hillel, the Jewish life organization at Emerson, on Oct. 14, college officials announced Monday evening.  The graffiti...

Almost all of the former faculty and students of Marlboro College have not set foot on their idyllic Potash Hill campus since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. Now, weeks after the campus’ sale...

Emerson is one of many institutions across the country that is seeing an increasing disparity in higher education enrollment numbers—as female populations at colleges and universities continue a steady...

Emerson has reported ten new positive COVID-19 tests since Sept. 20 on the Boston campus, raising the college’s cumulative positive tests to 48.  The ten positive tests come from 3,994 tests administered...

Pete Chvany’s three-decade tenure at Emerson was more than just an academic career—according to his son Alec Chvany ‘95, it was just the “third act” of a long life. Chvany, a former professor...

The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to The Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity but not for content. Monday, Sept. 13  ECPD...

Sept. 11, 2001 began like any other day for Elyse Van Breemen. Then she received a phone call she would never forget.  “I didn't believe it,” said Van Breemen, older sister of former Emerson Professor...

The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to The Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity but not for content. Monday, August 30 ECPD...

City Councilors at Large Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George are set to advance to the city’s general election for Mayor on Nov. 2 after finishing as the top two vote-getters in Tuesday’s preliminary...

In a shift of prior guidance, Emerson will not transition to a mask-optional policy on Sept. 17, instead extending the college’s requirement that all community members wear a mask indoors indefinitely...

As the country marks two decades since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, private citizens and public figures alike gathered across the city of Boston on Saturday to honor the lost lives of that...

Preliminary elections for Boston mayoral election—the first contest without an elected incumbent since 1993—are set for Sept. 14—after which two final candidates will progress to the general election...

Erik Muurisepp received a promotion from assistant vice president to associate vice president of campus life on Sept. 4—marking a more visible role at the college for the man who helped direct Emerson’s...

A 27-year-old Holbrook man was convicted last month of the fatal hit and run collision in Braintree that killed Emerson junior Lucas Flint in 2018, prosecutors’ said.  Darrell W. Young Jr. was sentenced...

Through just over two weeks of fall semester COVID-19 testing, Emerson has reported 21 positive COVID-19 tests despite sky-high vaccination rates amongst community members.  More than half of the positives...

Nearly every member of the Emerson community is fully vaccinated for COVID-19, college officials announced last week.  Associate Vice President for Campus Life and “COVID Lead” Erik Muurisepp wrote...

After a year of canceled proms, delayed graduations, and remote learning, the road to Emerson has been anything but normal for most first year students.  With everything up to the college application...

For the victims of former Emerson professor, Jefferson Fietek, his arrest was a bittersweet moment. They expressed relief seeing their childhood abuser locked behind bars, away from harming any other...

After over a year of vacant halls, classrooms, and dorms, Emerson Los Angeles finally opened its doors to a small group of students for the 2021 summer semester.  The summer semester marked the first...

Between Aug. 17 and Aug. 23, Massachusetts reported an average of 1,267 COVID-19 cases each day. In the same seven-day period, the death toll rose by 31. Cases reached an individual day high of 1,459...

Emerson’s acting Title IX coordinator, Ryan Milligan, departed Emerson on Aug. 15,  college officials announced last week.  Milligan came to Emerson in January 2020 as the deputy Title IX coordinator...

Former assistant professor Jefferson Fietek pleaded guilty to three felony counts of criminal sexual conduct Thursday, and now faces thirty years in prison, according to a Minnesota county prosecutor.  Fietek...

Between Aug. 10 and Aug. 16, Massachusetts reported an average of 1,126 COVID-19 cases each day. In the same seven-day period, the death toll rose by 48. Cases reached an individual day high of 1,368...

Emerson will require two baseline COVID-19 tests for arriving students moving into on-campus housing in the fall semester, according to college officials.   The Aug. 4 announcement provides more details...

Vice President for Equity and Inclusion Sylvia Spears is set to embark on a new adventure at College Unbound, helping shape what the newly-accredited degree-completion school will look like.  “Being...

The Student Government Association’s spring 2021 elections turned out just 140 students, the lowest total for a spring elections cycle, where each SGA position is up for grabs, in at least five years. In...

Senior Journalist-in-Residence Cheryl Owsley-Jackson will not be returning to Emerson in the fall, and will instead take up a position at Indiana University, her alma mater. Her departure, announced...

Professors Erika R. Williams and Katerina Gonzalez Seligmann will both leave Emerson in the fall and join the faculty of the University of Connecticut, college officials announced last week.   Williams...

Ronee Penoi will be ArtsEmerson’s new director of artistic programming, the theatre group announced Thursday afternoon.  Starting Aug. 2, Penoi will serve as ArtEmerson’s third artistic leader,...

Between July 12 and July 19, Massachusetts reported an average of 242 COVID-19 cases each day. In the same eight-day period, the death toll rose by 13. Cases reached an individual day high of 236 on...

Weeks after the departure of former President M. Lee Pelton, Emerson is no closer to announcing his permanent successor, as college officials announced the extension of their presidential search on Friday.  The...

Emerson students will have different meal plans to choose from for the fall semester, as the college rolls back changes it says were brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic—including the use of Board Bucks...

Greta Spoering, who serves as associate director of Emerson’s Healing & Advocacy Collective, will depart the college on July 23, officials announced Wednesday morning.  Spoering began her current...

Vice President of Enrollment Ruthanne Madsen will serve as the interim supervisor of the Social Justice Center beginning Thursday, Interim President William Gilligan announced in an email Tuesday.  Madsen’s...

While Jack Casey may have retired from his role as general manager of Emerson’s WERS radio station, don’t expect the Emerson alumnus to leave the college anytime soon.  Casey, who officially departed...

Between July 5 and July 11, Massachusetts reported an average of 85 COVID-19 cases each day. In the same seven-day period, the death toll rose by 12. Cases reached a seven-day high of 169 on July 9,...

Emerson intends to house students in the Paramount Center Residence Hall during the fall semester, after it was designated as a quarantine and isolation space for the entire 2020-21 academic year.  Paramount...

Massachusetts reported 31 new coronavirus cases Sunday, down from the 56 cases reported Saturday. The death toll rose by 1. Cases have fallen below the 100 mark every day since June 13—a mark the...

Massachusetts reported 56 new coronavirus cases Saturday, down from the 60 cases reported Friday. The death toll rose by 2. Cases have fallen below the 100 mark every day since June 13—a mark the...

Massachusetts reported 60 new coronavirus cases Friday, down from the 78 cases reported Thursday. The death toll rose by 1. Cases have fallen below the 100 mark every day since June 13—a mark the...

Massachusetts reported 78 new coronavirus cases Thursday, up from the 68 cases reported Wednesday. The death toll rose by 4. Cases have fallen below the 100 mark every day since June 13—a mark the...

On Tuesday, Massachusetts reported 12,888 new vaccinations—bringing the state to its goal of fully vaccinating 4.1 million Massachusetts residents. Gov. Charlie Baker first set the goal in December.  The...

Massachusetts reported 91 new coronavirus cases Saturday, a rise from the 71 cases reported Friday. The death toll rose by 6. Cases have fallen below 100 each day in the past week, and have not topped...

Massachusetts reported 82 new coronavirus cases Thursday, up from the 56 cases reported Wednesday. The death toll rose by 3. Thursday’s report marks the highest cases have reached in the past five...

Massachusetts reported 56 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, up from the 55 cases reported Tuesday. The death toll rose by 4. Cases statewide have continued to plummet in recent weeks — regularly falling...

Massachusetts reported 55 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, up from the 44 cases reported Monday. The death toll rose by 2. Tuesday’s report marks the first day cases have topped 50 this week, though...

Massachusetts reported 44 new coronavirus cases Monday, up from the 33 cases reported Sunday. The death toll rose by 8. Monday’s report marks the second straight day cases have been under 50 and the...

Massachusetts reported 33 new coronavirus cases Sunday, a significant decline from the 113 cases reported Saturday. No deaths were reported Sunday. Sunday’s report marks the lowest case numbers have...

Massachusetts reported 113 new coronavirus cases Saturday, down from the 121 cases reported Friday. The death toll rose by 2. Saturday’s report marks the sixth time this week cases have fallen below...

Massachusetts reported 121 new coronavirus cases Friday, up from the 85 cases reported Thursday. The death toll rose by 8. Friday’s report marks the fifth time this week cases have fallen below 200....

Massachusetts reported 85 new coronavirus cases Thursday, down from the 116 cases reported Wednesday. The death toll rose by 7. Thursday’s report marks the lowest cases have reached since July 19,...

Massachusetts reported 116 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, up from the 100 cases reported Tuesday. The death toll rose by 5. Wednesday’s report marks the third time this week cases have been under...

Massachusetts reported 100 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, up from the 89 cases reported Monday. The death toll rose by two. Tuesday’s report marks the second time this week cases have been under 200—a...