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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

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, Magazine Editor / 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, Dept. City Editor / 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, Senior Kasteel Well Reporter / 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, Staff Writer / 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, Staff Writer / 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, Dept. Campus Editor / 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...

A woman on the Public Garden Foot Bridge records people skating on the frozen Swan Pond below. (Nick Peace/ Beacon Staff)

Frozen over: Bostonians skate and scrimmage in the Public Garden

By Max Ardrey, Dept. Living Arts Editor / January 22, 2025

As the sky eases into perpetual gray and temperatures drop, Bostonians reclaim their favorite winter pastime: grabbing their skates and hitting the ice. While...

A crowd protesting Trump's second term outside of the Massachusetts State House on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff)

Mass. officials react to Trump inauguration

By DJ Mara, Senior Political Reporter / January 22, 2025

Soon after President Donald Trump was sworn in for a second term, he signed several executive orders to set his agenda into motion. Public officials across...

Illustration Kellyn Taylor

The best coffee shop in Boston is right under your nose

By Charlie Desjardins, Dept. Opinion Editor / January 22, 2025

When I first came to Emerson, I made two promises: One to my sister, that I wouldn’t grow a man-bun (it becomes more and more tempting each day), and...

Hundreds rallied on the Boston Commons during the rebranded People's March on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2025. (Abigail Hoyt/ For the Beacon)

Rebranded People’s March attracted hundreds of Massachusetts residents ahead of inauguration

While over a thousand demonstrators raised their signs, flags, and voices into the chilled air cloaking the Boston Common Saturday afternoon, some demonstrators...

John McCarrick brushes snow off his car on Commonwealth Avenue. in Boston on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (Arthur Mansavage/Beacon Staff)

Photos: Overnight winter storm blankets Downtown Boston with nearly half a foot of snow

A quick but strong winter storm swept across the East Coast Sunday night bringing nearly five inches of snow to Downtown Boston.  Overnight, between...

The Boston chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) holds a rally against the Trump administration outside the JFK Federal Building Monday afternoon. (Arthur Mansavage/ Beacon Staff)

In the freezing weather, a ‘heated struggle.’ Boston social justice groups rally on inauguration day.

By Meg Richards, Iselin Bratz and Hannah Brueske / January 21, 2025

As the polar vortex swept across the northern hemisphere on Inauguration Day, hundreds of protesters from Greater Boston social justice groups braved...

Festival Director Summer McCall at a Boston Celtic Music Festival event. (Courtesy of Summer McCall)

Calling all Celtic fans: The Boston Celtic Music Festival returns bigger than ever

By Ryan Yau, Editor-at-Large / January 15, 2025

Celtic music is found everywhere in Boston, flowing from the Irish pubs all over the city to the concert venues year round. But this weekend, the city’s...

The Mass. State House (DJ Mara/Beacon Staff)

DiZoglio fights for accountability on Beacon Hill through audit of state legislature

By DJ Mara, Senior Political Reporter / January 15, 2025

The Mass. State Legislature is the historically “least transparent state government” in the United States.  Since taking office in Jan. 2023,...

Food For Free workers organize the Emerson dining hall donation alongside Bon Appetit District Manager Dawn Sajdyk on Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2024.

Over 300 pounds of food donated by Emerson to Food For Free last fall

By Sam Shipman, Living Arts Editor / January 8, 2025

Emerson students finishing their meal in the dining hall often throw the remains of their scraps into the compost bin, but where do the seemingly endless...

Illustration Rachel Choi

New England Patriots part ways with head coach Jerod Mayo after just one season

By Rylie Burns, Operations Managing Editor, Layout Editor & Newsletter Editor / January 6, 2025

The New England Patriots fired head coach Jerod Mayo immediately following their Jan. 5 game against the Buffalo Bills. Patriots Chairman and CEO Robert...