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Beginning December 18, 2024, Beacon staff will be away from the newsroom for the Emerson College winter break. Daily news coverage will resume on January 13, 2025.
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

Shawna Konieczny is a junior IDIP major from Medford, Wisconsin.

Why I am one of the voters that helped Wisconsin go blue

By Shawna Konieczny, Staff Writer / November 10, 2020

Four years ago, I had just turned seventeen. I was balancing the stress of school at Medford Area Senior High in Wisconsin, a social life, and the mental...

Lebron James and Lakers teammates kneel for the national anthem while wearing "VOTE" shirts.

Don’t tell athletes to “shut up and dribble”

By Christopher Williams / November 10, 2020

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President-elect Joe Biden.

Biden calls for unity, healing in acceptance speech

By Charlie McKenna / November 8, 2020

President-elect Joe Biden delivered a speech to supporters in his home state of Delaware Saturday evening, officially claiming the presidency while attempting...

A view of the Washington Monument from Saturday's celebration.

Gallery: Washington D.C. celebrates Biden’s presidential victory

By Jacob Seitz and Parker Purifoy / November 8, 2020

WASHINGTON D.C.—The streets of Washington D.C. erupted into raucous applause on Saturday, as the nation’s capital celebrated the news that it would...

Demonstrates carry a peace sign flag on Boston Common in reaction to Joe Biden's presidential victory on Saturday, November 7, 2020.

Professors breathe sigh of relief upon Biden’s win

By Dana Gerber, Deputy Enterprise Editor / November 7, 2020

Political science professor Mneesha Gellman was hiking in the woods with her family Saturday morning, trying to distract herself from the ongoing election,...

President Elect Joe Biden and Vice President Elect Kamala Harris.

Biden, Trump issue contrasting statements following race call

By Charlie McKenna / November 7, 2020

Statements from former vice president Joe Biden and President Donald J. Trump struck strikingly different tones, following the Associated Press and several...

Biden defeats Trump, vows to bring new direction for divided U.S.

Biden defeats Trump, vows to bring new direction for divided U.S.

By Diti Kohli and Charlie McKenna / November 7, 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden is slated to become the 46th president of the United States after accruing at least 290 electoral votes and emerging...

Hundreds of protestors listen to leaders outside the Boston Public Library Wednesday night in preparation for the presidential Election result.

Peaceful Boston demonstrations condemn Trump efforts against vote counting

By Andrew Brinker and Camilo Fonseca / November 5, 2020

Just one day removed from the culmination of a historically divisive presidential campaign cycle, demonstrators took to the streets of Boston, demanding...

The election results play to a deserted Dining Center

As Trump’s chances narrow, optimistic student body awaits final election results

By Charlie McKenna and Dana Gerber / November 4, 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden claimed victories in several key battleground states Wednesday, laying clear his path to the presidency while narrowing...

I want to believe that the U.S. is better than that. Better than choosing someone who has continuously shown a lack of empathy and basic human decency. However, I thought that last time. I thought we the people were a united front, not a group that would let ourselves be divided by bigotry and hatred. 

Opinion: How will we cope with another Trump win?

By Sabine Waldeck / November 3, 2020

My stomach has been in knots all day. I have already gotten into multiple arguments with my family members and peers regarding the presidential election....

Live Updates: Election results from across the country roll in

Live Updates: Election results from across the country roll in

By Charlie McKenna / November 3, 2020

Hour by hour, polling stations across the country are closing, and results from the highly contentious 2020 general election are beginning to pour in. Below...

Students protest Donald Trump's election in 2016.

Professors recall ‘grim’ days on campus after 2016 election

By Charlie McKenna and Dana Gerber / November 3, 2020

Mark Leccese never opened his briefcase for class on Nov. 9, 2016. That day—just after Donald Trump’s election to the U.S. presidency in 2016—a...

Marty Walsh speaks to reporters after casting a vote for Presidential Candidate Joe Biden at The Lower Mills branch of The Boston Public Library on November 3, 2020.

Mayor Marty Walsh casts vote for Biden-Harris in Dorchester

By Frankie Rowley / November 3, 2020

Outside of the Lower Mills Branch of the Boston Public Library Tuesday morning, a line of Boston voters, all six feet apart, waited to cast their votes...

Tris Arthur dropping off her absentee ballot application in the mailbox outside of the Colonial Theater.

As the election begins, the college gets-out-the-vote

By Camilo Fonseca / November 3, 2020

In the lead up to Election Day, Emerson’s Office of Student Engagement and Leadership established an outreach campaign this semester to encourage students...

This month, Emerson Polling Society has surveyed marijuana opinions nationwide.

On Election Eve, alumni panel forecasts presidential race results

By Camilo Fonseca / November 3, 2020

A panel of Emerson faculty and alumni gathered at the final “Road to the White House” event Monday to discuss their insights and predictions for the...

Emerson Polling Director Spencer Kimball

Latest Emerson polls show Biden leading in key battleground states

By Dana Gerber and Elena Naze / November 2, 2020

With in-person voting set to open tomorrow, Emerson Polling’s final state and national polls of the general election show Democratic candidate Joe Biden...

Searching for a resemblance between 2016 polls and the current moment isn’t an effective way to determine who is ahead in this race. After the public outrage from the first presidential debate, we need to compare how they are different and why that matters.

2020 is not 2016. Here’s why that matters

By Shannon Garrido / October 13, 2020

Donald Trump supporters and Democrats have one similar perception of this year’s election: that it will follow in the steps of 2016.  Though it appears...

The Office of International Student Affairs.

Proposed federal rule would limit international students’ time in U.S.

By Charlie McKenna and Alec Klusza / October 6, 2020

A newly proposed U.S. Department of Homeland Security rule could limit the ability of international students to stay in the U.S. for more than four years...

Emerson College Polling Director Spencer Kimball.

Alumni panel talks first presidential debate, Trump

By Alec Klusza / October 5, 2020

Three political commentators, each an Emerson alum, tried to make sense of the chaotic first presidential debate in a discussion panel hosted by Emerson...

I did so many things to create a sense of belonging for myself in this unfamiliar country by empowering myself with knowledge and experience, only to learn that the future I wanted for so long might not even exist, and this country does not welcome people like me.

The U.S. I wanted to study in no longer exists

By Ziqi Wang / July 8, 2020

My boyfriend texted me right after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on Monday that international students would need to leave the U.S....