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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

Antonio mateo Garcia (right) teaches Lina Michida how to mark their fabric with chalk. Garcia is the founder of HELP by AMG and was running a workshop on up cycling clothing and scrap fabric. (Rian Nelson/ Beacon Staff)

Resilience, ‘we need it.’ The Cambridge Foundry hosts the third annual Foundry Festival.

By Hannah Woods, Staff Writer / February 19, 2025

Music filled the main hall of the Cambridge Foundry to welcome attendees as many programs went underway for the third annual Foundry Festival. This year’s...

(Izzy Bryars/ Beacon Staff).

‘We correct history.’ City Hall celebrates Black History Month through local art exhibitions.

By Izzy Bryars, Staff Writer / February 19, 2025

When local lecturer and historian Muqueedah Salaam first attended college as a young adult at Worcester State University, she became disappointed by what...

Estefania Galvis, one of the organizers of the rally, shouting and leading the crowd of over a thousand people through the streets outside of Boston city hall plaza on Friday, Feb. 14, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff)

‘Our love is resistance’: Anti-Trump protesters march through downtown on Valentine’s Day

By Rina Laby, Staff Writer / February 18, 2025

Hundreds of protesters from nearly 100 local and statewide organizations gathered at the Parkman Bandstand in the Boston Common for the “Stop the Coup”...

Nathalie Stutzmann conducts the BSO at Symphony Hall. (Courtesy Robert Torres/BSO)

Nathalie Stutzmann has her Boston Symphony Orchestra conducting debut with ‘The Firebird’

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / February 12, 2025

Pristine classical music seeped into the brisk air through the window creases of Symphony Hall last weekend, as the Boston Symphony Orchestra performed...

Boston City Hall in the evening on Monday, October 28, 2024.(Nick Peace/ For the Beacon, File)

Boston City Council unanimously supports ban on staffer NDAs

By Izzy Bryars, Staff Writer / February 12, 2025

The Boston City Council unanimously voted on Feb. 5 to ban councilors from requiring their staff to sign nondisclosure agreements (NDA) to get a job. Proposed...

A group of Lion Dancers perform in the street during this years Lunar New Year parade. Sunday, Feb. 9, 2025 (Nick Peace/Beacon Staff)

Boston’s Chinatown rings in the Year of the Snake in annual parade

By Sage Jezierski, Beacon Corespondent / February 12, 2025

Hundreds gathered in Boston’s Chinatown to celebrate the annual Lunar New Year parade on Sunday morning, despite the heavy snowfall the night before...

City council race heats up as candidates pledge ethical leadership and better city services

City council race heats up as candidates pledge ethical leadership and better city services

By DJ Mara, Dept. Metro Editor / February 12, 2025

With Boston’s 2025 municipal election just eight months away, the field for district and at-large city council seats has recently grown. Current and...

Bobby MacLean and Alexandra Whisnant, who opened Zuzu's Petals in 2021.

Zuzu’s Petals is Cambridge’s sweetest escape, with no phones allowed

By Hannah Hughes, Staff Writer / February 12, 2025

In Cambridge, the smell of deep, rich chocolate fills the room on Hampshire Street, wafting through shelves of wine bottles, around walls full of polaroids,...

Joanne Chang, the founder of  local Flour Bakery and Cafe, visited the upcoming site of her business' tenth location in the Boston Common concession stand on Feb. 10, 2025. Chang said Flour plans to be serving the bakery's classic sticky buns and bakery treats by April, and said new soft serve will follow suit when it gets warmer. (Izzy Bryars/ Beacon Staff)

Flour Bakery bringing pastries, ice cream, and more to Boston Common this Spring

By Izzy Bryars, Staff Writer / February 12, 2025

Flour Bakery + Cafe’s 10th location will open in April inside the concession stand in the oldest park in the United States—the Boston Common—which...

Boston City Hall Plaza in the evening on Monday, October 28, 2024. (Nick Peace/ Beacon Staff, File)

City council deadlocks over resolution to pause and review White Stadium rebuild

By Izzy Bryars, Staff Writer / February 10, 2025

After nearly 90 minutes of debate Wednesday, Jan. 29, city councilors remained deadlocked on a resolution calling for an “immediate pause” on the White...

A protestor holds up a sign with the word “fascism” crossed out in front of the Massachusetts State House on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff)

Country wide movement to protest President Trump reaches Mass. State House

By Avary Amaral, Beacon Correspondent / February 9, 2025

At noon on Wednesday, protesters wearing keffiyehs and carrying pink and blue transgender pride and rainbow flags gathered at the Massachusetts State House...

Boston City Hall Plaza in the evening on Monday, October 28, 2024.(Nick Peace/ For the Beacon, File)

Josh Kraft announces campaign for Boston mayor, takes on incumbent Michelle Wu

By Rina Laby, Staff Writer / February 5, 2025

Just a few months after a contentious presidential election, Bostonians are beginning to prepare for another—this time, for mayor.  On Feb. 4, ...

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, Staff Writer / 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...

(Adam Nuñez/ Beacon Correspondent)

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

By Adam Nuñez, Beacon Correspondent / 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...

Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey shakes hands with moderator and Globe climate reporter Sabrina Shankman at the conclusion of Thursday's panel discussion on building the climate workforce at Day 2 of the Boston Globe Summit on September 26, 2024 (Bryan Hecht / Beacon Staff).

Governor Maura Healey proposes criminal background checks for emergency shelter applicants

By Adam Nuñez, Beacon Correspondent / January 29, 2025
The change would require adult applicants to “disclose criminal convictions in Massachusetts and elsewhere” as well as consent to Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) checks as part of the application process.
Cars passing in front of a Boston Architectural College building in the Back Bay neighborhood in Boston on Monday, Jan. 27, 2025. (Nick Peace/ Beacon Staff)

‘A happy dorm is a peaceful dorm’: BAC students share reflections and hopes about living at Emerson

By Madalyn Jimiera, Staff Writer / January 29, 2025

As below-freezing temperatures blow through Boston this January, the tensions described by the Boston Architectural College (BAC) students living in Emerson...

Unionized Blue Bottle Coffee baristas leaflet outside of the Newbury Street location in Boston, Mass. on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.

Unionized Blue Bottle Coffee baristas walk out for nearly eight minutes, demand fair wages, working hours

By Maddie Barron, Magazine Editor & Assistant Opinion Editor / January 27, 2025

For 7 minutes and 59 seconds at 12:31 p.m., unionized employees at three Blue Bottle Coffee locations in Massachusetts walked out to defy decreased tip...

A vendor pulls his cart of Trump merchandise towards the crowds waiting outside the Capital One Arena for President  Trump’s rally. Monday, Jan. 20, 2024. (Nick Peace/Beacon Staff)

Trump loyalists ring in a ‘golden age of America’ outside Capitol Building

By Izzy Bryars and Rian Nelson / January 23, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Huddled in groups, braving extreme cold, and bundled up in mittens and hats, supporters of President Donald Trump stared at phone screens...