Emerson College's student newspaper

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College's student newspaper

The Berkeley Beacon

Emerson College's student newspaper

The Berkeley Beacon

Illustration by Rachel Choi.

I Am Not Your Juxtaposition.

By Kaitlin Harness, Beacon Correspondent
November 29, 2023

There is a specific awareness indicative of being colonized; the kind I was born into. It’s an intimate part of myself I will never be separate from, because existing in the context of my culture is...

Illustration by Rachel Choi.

Nothing could have prepared me for the Kasteel Well culture shock

By Rumsha Siddiqui, Kasteel Well Bureau Chief
November 15, 2023

Adjusting to a new environment is never easy. My semester studying abroad at Emerson College’s Kasteel Well campus has made that obvious. In the 1980s, Emerson acquired Kasteel Well, a 14th-century...

Coming to Kasteel Well? Don’t pack the kitchen sink.

Coming to Kasteel Well? Don’t pack the kitchen sink.

By Maeve Lawler, Kasteel Well Bureau Chief
April 12, 2023

Are you a future Kasteel Well dweller? If the answer is yes, then you’re probably wondering how to prepare for your semester abroad. What do I pack? How do I make new friends? How can I make travel plans...

A brief history of Kasteel Well

A brief history of Kasteel Well

By Maeve Lawler, Kasteel Well Bureau Chief
April 5, 2023

Kasteel Well, a Dutch national monument, is a moated castle nestled in the countryside of Well, Netherlands. Each day, students cross a wide wooden bridge to access the medieval brick buildings that stand...

America is overdue in its transition to a working-to-live approach

America is overdue in its transition to a working-to-live approach

By Maeve Lawler, Kasteel Well Bureau Chief
March 22, 2023

Upon arriving at Kasteel Well, it didn’t take long before I realized a key difference in how Americans approach work-life balance in comparison to Europeans.  While living in Well, Netherlands, it...

Kasteel Well campus ends weekly testing protocol, shift to symptomatic testing only

Kasteel Well campus ends weekly testing protocol, shift to symptomatic testing only

By Maeve Lawler, Kasteel Well Bureau Chief
March 22, 2023

As of March 9, Emerson’s Kasteel Well campus no longer requires twice-a-week COVID-19 testing, according to an email sent to Kasteel Well students from Viviana Garcia Roqueta, the assistant director...

Kasteel Well’s assistant director of student affairs embraces life’s challenges and community building

Kasteel Well’s assistant director of student affairs embraces life’s challenges and community building

By Maeve Lawler, Kasteel Well Bureau Chief
February 18, 2023

Each semester, a new group of students participating in the Kasteel Well program are welcomed by a medieval castle tucked in the countryside of Well, Limburg. For many students, the unique setting of Emerson’s...

Photo by Margarita Ivanova

Some friendships are disposable—and that’s okay.

By Margarita Ivanova, Beacon Correspondent
October 20, 2022

Do you ever pass by the people you once laughed through packs of Pale Ales with, and now approach them with casual gestures and seemingly meaningless small talk? What changed? you may think to yourself....

Photo of four girls smiling in dresses

From the castle to Boston: What happens to home when you’re abroad?

By Sophia Pargas, Content Managing Editor
October 5, 2022

As I stared out at the descending Miami skyline on my first flight back to Boston since December 2022, unease rumbled in my ribcage like the engine of the Delta Boeing 737 surrounding me. Apprehension,...

The exterior of the Kasteel Well castle

Emerson’s Kasteel Well campus welcomes fall arrivals

By Ashlyn Wang, Photography Editor
September 29, 2022

Two main red brick buildings and asphalt-colored roofs, surrounded by moats and lush gardens, greeted approximately 80 students as Kasteel Well welcomed its fall semester residents.  Kasteel Well,...

Emersons Kasteel Well campus.

Kasteel Well community feels mixed emotions about the Ukraine-Russia war

By Mariyam Quaisar, Editor-at-large
March 3, 2022

A mere 1,200 miles away from the fighting in Ukraine, students and faculty at Emerson’s Kasteel Well campus are anxiously watching history unfold as Europe is brought to the brink of war. Last week’s...

Emersons Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

COVID outbreak at Kasteel Well forces students out of rooms

By Bailey Allen, Former news editor
February 17, 2022

Students at Emerson’s Kasteel Well have been moved out of their dorms to make space for quarantine and isolation housing as part of the satellite campus’ response to a renewed surge of COVID-19. The...

Why I’ve (mostly) let go of “the way it should have been”

Why I’ve (mostly) let go of “the way it should have been”

By Sophia Pargas, Content Managing Editor
February 11, 2022

When I first started college amidst a seemingly unrelenting pandemic, there was little in my life which remained untouched by the effects of COVID. For the past three years, I have gracelessly bounced...

The exterior of the Kasteel Well castle

No change in sight for Kasteel Well following Omicron variant detection in Netherlands

By Bailey Allen, Former news editor
December 2, 2021

Weeks after a surge in COVID-19 cases forced the Netherlands into another lockdown, the appearance of Omicron—the latest mutation of the virus—threatens to throw Europe, and Emerson’s Kasteel Well...

Emersons Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

Emerson students at Kasteel Well unfazed by Netherlands lockdowns

By Bailey Allen, Former news editor
November 18, 2021

Amid a rise in COVID cases throughout the Netherlands, Emerson students studying abroad at Kasteel Well face a three-week partial lockdown, which has limited their ability to go out to local establishments...

Smokey Coffeeshop is just one of the many social cannabis consumption spaces in Amsterdam.

Massachusetts must open social cannabis consumption spaces

By Clarah Grossman
May 1, 2021

There we were, three college seniors in pajamas on the back porch, huddled close together in the Boston cold, sharing a celebratory joint after one of us got a full-time job post-graduation.  Except,...

An in-person class taking place at Emerson.

Emerson changes course, pivots to fully in-person fall semester

By Dana Gerber, News Editor
April 21, 2021

In a shift from previous plans, Emerson will transition to a fully in-person academic semester on all campuses this fall for students, who will now be mandated to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the boldest...

The exterior of the Kasteel Well castle

Kasteel Well students reflect on departing the castle

By Shawna Konieczny, Staff Writer
March 29, 2021

On March 2, 2020, the 76 students studying at Emerson’s Kasteel Well campus gathered in a cramped dining hall awaiting an update on spring break, expecting news regarding where and when they could travel. Instead,...

Emersons Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

With no students at the castle, the town of Well remains shuttered

By Camilo Fonseca, Editor-at-large
February 18, 2021

Nearly 3,500 miles away from Boston, a towering castle is quiet. Thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, the dorms at Kasteel Well have sat empty for nearly a year—and the neighboring Dutch village lies...

Emersons Kasteel Well campus in Well, Netherlands.

Kasteel Well program cancelled for spring semester due to ongoing travel restrictions

By Andrew Brinker, Senior Investigative Reporter
October 16, 2020

The Kasteel Well study abroad program has been cancelled for the spring semester due to ongoing European Union travel restrictions on U.S. citizens. The cancellation comes after college officials were...

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