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

En la Calle Con Sofia: Rincon Limeño

En la Calle Con Sofia: Rincon Limeño

February 15, 2024

Growing up Mamá stressed many things—if I could rank their importance, it would be God, family, and Peruvian food. There are few things better in...

The Longest Day in Havana

‘The Longest Day in Havana’

April 3, 2023

As ten-year-old Mercedes Jacobs sat in the Havana airport in 1962, the wait was long and her clothes were heavy. Already classified as an adult, she was...

Maddie Khaws family.

Asian enough

April 3, 2023

I’ve felt like an imposter from a young age in both parts of my biracial identity—my whiteness and my Asianness. I’ve never felt “Asian enough,”...

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas

I’m dreaming of a white Christmas

April 3, 2023

Radiohead’s 1995 alternative chart topper, “Fake Plastic Trees,” is about my Christmas tree. The eponymous fake Chinese rubber plant lives rent-free...

Anastasia Petridis dancing.

A Love Letter to Greek Dance

April 3, 2023

The hat looks heavier than it feels. Colorful flowers cover the right side of my head, while thin chains dangle on the left attached to metal medallions....

Safta Rachel in her garden.

Behind the Name

April 3, 2023

When meeting someone new, the first thing you learn about them is their name. A name serves as an identifier, signaling who someone is. A person’s name...

A Nomad’s Cookbook for People Who Always Miss Home

A Nomad’s Cookbook for People Who Always Miss Home

April 3, 2023

Food is necessary for the body, but it’s also necessary for the soul—and I don’t mean that in a metaphorical way. So many of my most cherished memories...

Creative Commons

“Pamela, A Love Story”: In with the documentary, out with the biopic

February 15, 2023

Pamela Anderson, a media personality who took the ‘90s by storm, is finally telling her own story. Last year, Hulu released a biopic series called “Pam...

Diti Kohli - Graphic by Ally Rzesa / Beacon Staff

Person of Color Column: Mom, meet my ‘friend’

December 12, 2019

My high school boyfriend’s dreary old minivan was a staple in our driveway. He hugged my mom when they crossed paths in public, watched football games...

I wanted to show them that I was not American, but that I was not Thai either. I was a third culture kid. / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

The challenge of living life between cultures

October 23, 2019

I realized how different I was from everyone else when I first came to college.  When teachers would ask students to go around the room saying where...

I, and a myriad of other people of color, don’t feel comfortable with white people feeling obligated to get offended for me when someone mentions something about my race. / Illustration by Christine Park

Speak up alongside people of color, not for them

October 4, 2019

Race is complicated—that goes without saying. Anyone, especially people of color, who just read the first sentence, knows that race can affect everything, from...

Too often I find myself crediting superstitions as the reason behind a missed opportunity or a particular result. / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Op-ed: The irrationality behind clinging to superstition

April 10, 2019

I stood calmly on the moving escalator at the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois. I was a senior in high school competing at the Speech State Championship,...

If I had to think about the delivery of every word I was about to say, I wouldn’t be able to spontaneously be myself––I’d constantly fret over the right pronunciation. / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Op-ed: Debunking the common prejudices against accents

February 6, 2019

The first thing most people say upon meeting me is, “I hear an accent. Where are you from?” Seemingly, there is nothing wrong with this question, but upon...

I know everyone I meet will not have the same interest in learning to say my name correctly. / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Op-ed: Unfamiliar names deserve proper pronounciation

January 23, 2019

While working in the journalism office last week, my boss asked me to make a list of a few common sounds in Chinese names that professors might find...

Sophomore Anthony Rodriguez and junior Cassie Poirier thought Emerson didn’t have enough resources for first-generation students, so they made their own. /
Tivara Tanudjaja / Beacon Staff

Organization helps first-generation students navigate college

October 25, 2018

Junior Cassie Poirier identifies as a first-generation college student, yet she didn't know what that meant or the challenges it entailed until freshman...

International students may hesitate or avoid interacting with domestic students because of the language barrier and cultural differences.  / Photo illustration by Erin Nolan

Op-ed: Speaking up to dismantle cultural barriers

October 9, 2018

One day, as I sat struggling with a reading assignment, my roommate simply asked, “What’s up?” I wasn’t sure how to reply. In China, I never studied...

Even though I enjoy my English name, I’ve always felt that it is just an identification code no different than my student ID number. / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Op-ed: Abandoning my name for cultural conformity

October 2, 2018

When in a Western country, I always introduce myself as “Eliza.” Very rarely do I tell people my Chinese name, “Xinyan.” I find that most Asian...

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