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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

Illustration Rachel Choi

Your first time: don’t let these things turn you off

By Mariyam Quaisar, Managing Editor / February 28, 2024

Opinion editors are not responsible for agreeing or disagreeing with their writers but rather elevate each individual’s specific voice. It was a random...

Illustration by Hailey Akau

What did you do on National Kink Day last Friday?

By Ryli Stoker / October 11, 2023

If you’ve ever had sex, or thought about it, there are likely specific things that really turn you on. Whether you are into missionary or you aced the...

Illustration by Rachel Choi.

‘No strings attached’ sex doesn’t exist.

By Ryli Stoker, Beacon Correspondent / October 4, 2023

Dear sweet generation of sluts, one-night-stands, situationships, hookups, Tinder “dates,” and friends with benefits, I love and appreciate how...

Illustration by Rachel Choi

I put the ‘virgin’ in Virginian: my first time was more than a social construct

By Meg Richards / March 22, 2023

The first thing I said to the man I forever trusted with my “V-Card” was, “I think I just lost my virginity.” And even though he already knew that,...

Wellness Center to host Sexual Health Fair Friday

Wellness Center to host Sexual Health Fair Friday

By Maddie Barron / March 2, 2023

The Emerson Wellness Center will host the Come as You Are Sexual Health Fair on Friday, March 3, featuring a variety of activities for students to learn...

Ride or die: whether you embrace the pillow or not, you’re always a princess.

Ride or die: whether you embrace the pillow or not, you’re always a princess.

By Mariyam Quaisar / February 23, 2023

Recently, Gen Z has coined a new term that accuses feminine-identifying individuals of doing the deed as those who enjoy doing the deed with minimal exertion....

Illustration by Rachel Choi

Prioritize aftercare as much as your orgasm

By Mariyam Quaisar, Content Managing Editor / December 7, 2022

What do you do after having sex? Cuddle with your partner, turn away and take a nap, or worse, wipe the remnants and just scroll on your phone? The emotional...

Illustration by Rachel Choi

Dracula on the streets, Frankenstein’s monster in the sheets

By Mariyam Quaisar, Content Managing Editor / October 26, 2022

Halloween brings out an aspect of peoples’ creative side that can be easily transferred to a steamy bedroom. Oct. 31 is the day to dress up in scary,...

Illustration by Rachel Choi

Sex is an asset in or out of a relationship

By Mariyam Quaisar, Content Managing Editor / September 28, 2022

Sex comes in a variety of forms—we all know that—but we can all agree that there’s a difference between making love to a significant other versus...

It’s OK to get attached after sex

It’s OK to get attached after sex

By Mariyam Quaisar / November 18, 2021

Losing one’s virginity is usually a powerful moment in one’s life, and it often results in feeling a strong connection to whomever they lost it to....

Stop kink shaming: all types of sex are valid

Stop kink shaming: all types of sex are valid

By Mariyam Quaisar / November 10, 2021

People have sex. That is a concept that society has come a long way in wrapping its head around, which is great. Now, society needs to wrap its head around...

He's Got Spunk: He texts me, he texts me not

He’s Got Spunk: He texts me, he texts me not

By Gary Sowder / December 15, 2020

Much like everyone in my generation, I use dating apps. Tinder, Grindr, and Hinge are currently downloaded on my phone. And despite the desperation that...

He's Got Spunk- 'The Ick'

He’s Got Spunk- ‘The Ick’

By Gary Sowder / October 21, 2020

Temperatures have started to dip below the sixties. The leaves in the Common are fluttering off the trees. The pumpkin spice latte is back. It’s...

A poster within Little Building asking students to practice safe sex.

Go solo or go home: The only way to have sex during a pandemic

By Mariyam Quaisar / October 8, 2020

“If you’re not going to wear a mask, at least wear a condom,” posters around Emerson dorm buildings read. However, safe sex means a lot more than...

Gary Sowder writes about love and sex.

‘On the DL’: The sexual politics of sleeping with closeted guys

By Gary Sowder / October 1, 2020

My mom lives in Westchester County, New York, a place that is most known for being the home of the Clintons', and the last place Robert Durst’s wife...

Gary Sowder - Graphic by Ally Rzesa / Beacon Staff

It’s okay to have bad sex (and tell all your friends about it)

By Gary Sowder / November 10, 2019

“Alright,” I said, hurling my tacos into a garbage can. “I’m going to go have sex with him.”  “What?” my friend Nicole asked.  It...

Gary Sowder - Graphic by Ally Rzesa / Beacon Staff

Don’t call me by my body count

By Gary Sowder / October 25, 2019

My evening started like any other Thursday night—meaning it started at the Tam. It was early September, and I wore my nicest H&M button-up—okay,...

Senior Abbrianna MacGregor, and juniors Alison Michalak, Kamryn Leoncavallo created SHEETS this semester. Photo by Erin Nolan / Beacon Staff

SHEETS magazine pulls back the covers on sex and relationships

By Melanie Curry / October 10, 2018

Juniors Alison Michalak, Kamryn Leoncavallo, and senior Abbrianna MacGregor always discuss their sex and love lives together. So, it's unsurprising...

Time's Up for abusers, but accused men need to do more than spend time away

Time’s Up for abusers, but accused men need to do more than spend time away

By Allison Hagan / September 12, 2018

Two weeks ago, and 10 months after he admitted to masturbating nonconsensually in front of five women, Louis C.K. took the stage for a surprise set at...