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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

We should ditch Friendsgiving

By Karenna Umscheid / November 24, 2022

It’s become common to acknowledge that the history of several American holidays is rooted in colonialism. An example includes the refusal of many to...

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....

Kaitlyn Fehr

Isolated castle or populous city: I felt safer at Kasteel Well

By Kaitlyn Fehr / April 8, 2020

On March 6, all 81 Kasteel Well students were brought back to Boston by the college due to rising concerns about the spread of COVID-19. We were told this...

"Some students, including myself, cannot spare five dollars to a school that already does not meet our financial needs." / Illustration by Christine Park

Students shouldn’t be responsible for fueling the endowment fund

By Melanie Curry / November 8, 2019

Last week, Student Government Association Executive Treasurer Abigail Semple wrote in a letter to the editor, “At Emerson College, we have a problem.” She...

"Yes, on the surface, “A” means success, and “F” means failure. But neither of these letters explain the reasons behind a student’s performance." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

There’s no learning in letter grades

By Xinyan Fu / November 6, 2019

Last semester, I took the Fundamentals of Speech Communication class everyone is required to take at Emerson. We completed several group speech presentations,...

"The reality is that antisemitism is not going to end overnight, but there are steps that we all can take to fight it." / Illustration by Christine Park

Anti-Semitism in the U.S.: One Year After Pittsburgh

By Robbie Shinder / November 2, 2019

One year has passed since the shooter in the Tree of Life Synagogue took eleven innocent lives during Shabbat services on Oct. 27, 2018. The Tree of Life...

"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

By Katiana Hoefle / 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...

"With midterms creeping in, it’s even more important to go out and get moving." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa 

Exercise to relieve academic pressure this midterms season

By Carlota Cano / October 22, 2019

Every day, college students balance time between assignments, work, co-curriculars, and social lives. Getting our blood flowing via exercise gets pushed...

"As I grew up, I realized that being an only child taught me more than just being self-sufficient." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Overcoming the familial obligation I felt as an only child

By Jocelyn Yang / October 20, 2019

I grew up as an only child and grandchild—but soon, this won't be true anymore.  My family recently told me about the first cousin I will have come...

"when you have a chronic disability, the structure of our society fails you often and makes your life harder than it should be." / Illustration by Christine Park

Students with disabilities need clearer housing processes

By Shruti Rajkumar / October 16, 2019

Prior to entering my sophomore year of college, I anticipated that the housing process would be as simple as the one my freshman year. But of course,...

New England Treatment Access in Brookline began selling cannabis after opening in March. Beacon Archives.

Separate the college’s policies on CBD and THC

By Editorial Board / October 9, 2019

On Saturday, The Beacon reported that a group of college administrators are “discussing and finalizing policies” regarding the on-campus usage of CBD,...

"I always thought, I don’t even make money—and I will never make so much money that I will need to 'manage' it." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Managing my money before it was too late

By Ziqi Wang / October 9, 2019

When my dad first brought up finance management to me, I was still in elementary school and laughed at the idea. He was working to become a salesman at...

"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

By Jin Ko / 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...

"I mostly stayed silent because I found myself unable to join discussions about how the case can affect 'our' society and 'our' legal system." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Patriotic language in class leaves international students behind

By Xinyan Fu / September 25, 2019

During the beginning of my first semester at Emerson, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh and his alleged sexual misconduct were all over the news. As...

"Children with pursuits that aren’t conventionally 'academic' should not be discouraged from pursuing what they love." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Abandoning creative pursuits in the name of success

By Grace Griffin / September 24, 2019

I started playing the piano and taking painting and drawing classes outside of school at age nine. In eighth grade, I studied art history for the first...

"When we were newbies at college, we might have encountered mean upperclassmen giving us a hard time or looking down on us." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

You were a freshman once, too

By Frances Hui / September 20, 2019

On the first day of classes this year, after I sprinted from the Park Street Station to the Walker Building, I took the stairs to avoid the long line for...

"Meeting people online brings with it a whole new world of anxiety-inducing expectations I do not enjoy." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Relationships: Virtual versus reality

By Althea Champion / September 18, 2019

In an age where technology cannot be avoided and social anxiety is at an all-time high, the once-taboo idea of forming relationships with people online...

Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Students detail which icebreakers caught their attention

September 16, 2019

Professors are sometimes guilty of overusing icebreakers in the initial days of a new semester to get to know their classes. But icebreakers don’t always...

"Instead of solving problems and misunderstandings, people now tend to default to an extreme and biased opinion more than ever before." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Is social media creating connection or ruining it?

By Xinyan Fu / September 11, 2019

In the early 2010s, an Egyptian man named Khaled Said was tortured to death after being held in police custody. The photo of his death quickly went viral...

"The relationship I started mid-first year was great, and it still is. But I became enthralled with having someone new to spend all my time with." / Illustration by Ally Rzesa

Walking the tightrope of college relationships

By Sabine Waldeck / September 11, 2019

When I started my freshman year, not a month had gone by before I saw couples forming.  Typically they did not last very long, and lingered in the...