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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 janitor working in the dorm hallway.

Overworked during pandemic, staff fight to have benefits reinstated

By Ann E. Matica and Camilo Fonseca / March 18, 2021

With inflated workloads, slashed benefits, and continuing tense negotiations with Emerson,  college staff members are nearing a breaking point—after...

Students waiting in front of the Piano Row building.

Analysis: After bracing for disaster, Emerson poised to escape pandemic financially viable

By Andrew Brinker / March 18, 2021

The past year, dominated by an unrelenting pandemic, has been marked by resounding loss. More than 500,000 have died in the U.S. alone—that toll’s...

Students at Nation Broadcast Society meeting.

Student organizations still fighting through pandemic-era restrictions

By Ann E. Matica / March 18, 2021

Student organizations, a focal point of the Emerson experience for many, have weathered a year in the pandemic despite an abundance of logistical hurdles...

Students walking on Boston Common.

Vaccine rollout progressing, health experts foresee a return to normal in the fall

By Camilo Fonseca / March 18, 2021

Public health experts say there appears to be a “light at the end of the tunnel” shining for college campuses after a year of restrictions, social...

11 undergraduate students of 11 different majors at the college.

Major changes: A year of pandemic learning

Of Emerson’s 3,490 currently enrolled undergraduate students, no two have the same learning experience. Some visual and media arts students handle cameras...

The offices of Emerson Counseling and Psychological Services.

Students’ mental health struggles persist as pandemic drags on

By Ann E. Matica and Frankie Rowley / March 18, 2021

Trigger Warning: Mentions of mental health issues and suicide.  Students are continuing to struggle with their mental health one year into living through...

Students relaxing on Boston Common.

The struggle to socialize in a year of separation

By Dana Gerber and Alec Klusza / March 18, 2021

In the first semester of his sophomore year, junior visual and media arts major Devin Elias went to parties every other weekend and met with friends to...

Erik Muurisepp sits at his desk on the fourth floor of the Walker Building.

Q&A with Emerson COVID Lead Erik Muurisepp

By Dana Gerber / March 18, 2021

In April, Assistant Vice President for Campus Life Erik Muurisepp was handed a herculean task: leading the college’s implementation and communication...

A year after COVID-19 sent them packing, students now look forward to the end of the pandemic in sight

A year after COVID-19 sent them packing, students now look forward to the end of the pandemic in sight

By Madison E. Goldberg, Content Managing Editor / March 17, 2021

Exactly one year ago, Emerson’s students were sent back to their homes across the country as COVID-19 made its way through the historic streets of Boston,...

Museum visitors in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum.

How cultural institutions have adapted to the pandemic one year later

By Lucia Thorne, Living Arts Editor / March 17, 2021

While the pandemic rages on after more than a year has passed since it began, Americans’ go-to outlets for entertainment look quite different from how...

The college illuminated Little Building with artwork and messages celebrating the graduating class of 2020 on Saturday. The display will run for two weeks.

Two Emerson classes devastated by loss of graduation ceremonies

By Frankie Rowley / March 17, 2021

For the second year in a row, Emerson will hold an online commencement ceremony in May, slashing a ritual many recent and upcoming graduates anticipated...

As someone who struggles with mental illnesses myself, I can say with complete conviction this hybrid learning model has been detrimental to my health.

Adapting to hybrid learning is a privilege

By Lucia Thorne / March 17, 2021

Trigger warning: This op-ed discusses topics related to mental illness. After a year of experimenting with new forms of learning in an attempt to simulate...

First year of college stunted by COVID-19, class of 2024 reflects on hurdles, loss

First year of college stunted by COVID-19, class of 2024 reflects on hurdles, loss

By Camilo Fonseca and Frankie Rowley / March 17, 2021

Many students anticipate their first year of college as a milestone—their initial steps onto campus marking a momentous transition between adolescence...

Still from 'A Quiet Place: Part II'.

Fifteen movies that COVID took from us by postponing their release

By Mariyam Quaisar, Deputy Lifestyle Editor / March 17, 2021

The coronavirus pandemic delayed more than 100 movies from being released in theaters in the past year, and pushed several straight to streaming platforms....

An in-person class session in the Paramount Center.

One year into pandemic learning, professors tired of mixed format

By Frankie Rowley and Alec Klusza / March 17, 2021

A year into pandemic, professors—forced to straddle the two modalities of hybrid learning—say the new form has proven onerous, while others have learned...

The women's soccer team was one of the 14 Emerson sports teams whose season was canceled due to the pandemic.

Student-athletes reflect on a year without Emerson sports

By Christopher Williams / March 17, 2021

After returning to Boston from a preseason tournament in Arizona over spring break with the softball team last March, Sophia Cloonan eagerly awaited the...

Joey DuBois (right) at a Red Sox game prior to the pandemic.

Column: I’m lucky sports are the worst thing I lost during the pandemic

By Joey DuBois / March 17, 2021

Sports mean a variety of things to different people. While they may be trivial compared to the more serious aspects of life that are negatively affected...

Unfortunately, collective grief comes alongside numbness. We, as a human collective, when overwhelmed with so much sorrow, seem to have an “off” switch.

Traversing grief in a pandemic

By Joshua Sokol / March 17, 2021

While scrolling through Twitter—a passive and frequent pandemic pastime—I’ll see tweets along the lines of “We survived 2020; that’s something...

What is Emerson’s interim policy for campus demonstrations? We explain.

Former student sues college over ‘insufficient’ learning experience last spring

By Chris Van Buskirk / March 17, 2021

A former student is seeking a tuition and fee refund in response to Emerson College's decision to move classes online last spring as a result of the COVID-19...

An ECPD patrol vehicle.

Incident Journal: A fight on Boylston street and a motor vehicle crash in Allen’s Alley

March 17, 2021

The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to The Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity...