The Berkeley Beacon

14/11/2022

Renovations to the Boston Common’s entrances and borders, upgraded amenities for visitors, and improved recreational areas like the tennis courts and Frog Pond are underway.

Organizers are working with a $28 million budget—the highest amount of funding ever devoted to the Common by the city—hope to “establish the best strategy,” for the park, according to the Boston Common Master Plan website.

Beacon correspondent Sasha Zirin spoke to Boston residents regarding their perspective on the expansion.

Find the link to that story in our bio. 📸 Rachel Choi

24/10/2022

In a letter to the editor, Emerson Staff Union requests a meeting with the Board of Trustees to address the college’s ongoing staffing crisis.

To read the letter, click the link in our bio.

12/09/2022

The class of 2026 welcomes an air of excitement. With no masks, no zoom classes, and no COVID-19 restrictions, the future of Emerson seems optimistic.

The college introduced roughly 1,000 first-year and 185 transfer students representing 31 countries and 39 states (and the District of Columbia). Whilst expressing fear and anxiety about starting their college career, this years freshman also share enthusiasm and inspiration for what their futures hold.

Theater and performance major Ariel Coleman said she felt more inspired at Emerson than at other schools.

“I just felt like I really connected with the other creatives that I met here,” Coleman said. “[Emerson is] the perfect place to be immersed [in] everything creative.”

Many students that involved themselves at orientation found that the experience eased potential move-in anxieties.

“[Orientation] gave me a lot of opportunities to meet new people, and it just showed me what Emerson is about,” VMA major Adeline Melillo said.

While many students had a positive first impression of the college, some found the new experience overwhelming.

“I honestly love [Emerson],” VMA major Nicole Vota said. “There are some things I’m not 100% used to, like the food and being away from home, but I’m slowly getting used to everything.”

(Click the link in our bio to keep reading this story)

04/09/2022

The Sept. 2022 issue of The Beacon Magazine is now available to read online and hits campus newsstands the week of Sep. 5. The theme for this issue is ‘Uncovering Emerson’ in order to express the staff’s desire to shed light on institutional and systemic problems that may not be obvious in day-to-day campus life.

In this edition, Adri Pray writes about six staff members who have left the college in recent years due to poor treatment from management as well as a host of other systemic barriers. Vivi Smilgius reports on the post-Emerson experience and the financial instability many alumni face before finding eventual success. Abigail Lee writes about a burgeoning wave of student efforts to challenge the financial inaccessibility of the college and empower students to organize for a bigger say in administrative decisions. Finally, staff writer Karen Umscheid gives her top 10 tips to a successful first fall semester at Emerson, from navigating org fair to planning your course schedule.

Read more at the link in our bio.

25/08/2022

The Biden Administration announced Wednesday it plans to forgive $10,000 in student loan debt for qualifying Americans, but all borrowers should expect student loan repayment to kick in Jan. 1, 2023.

President Biden announced on Wednesday a plan to relieve $10,000 in student loan debt for low-to-middle income borrowers and extended the pause on student loan payments to Dec. 31, 2022. The announcement comes amid growing concerns of the effect debt relief will have on inflation, a concern the Pres...

19/05/2022

Protesters gather at the State House amid Supreme Court leaks. 📸

05/04/2022

26/02/2022

Down by three points in the last seconds of regulation play, Emerson sophomore guard Trevor Arico sank a shot from beyond the arc, sending the Lions to overtime. Emerson finished the game 85-77, advancing to the conference finals.

The men’s basketball team finished third in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference with a record of 10-4 which placed them in the semifinal game against the second-seeded Babson College.

Historically, this matchup hasn’t been kind to the Lions as Babson won both games— an 80-73 finish and an 87-79 overtime finish— during the regular season. Arico said Emerson was motivated to return the favor.

“It’s very hard to beat a team three times in one season, especially when they’re very competitive each game so I think the big message going in is, ‘it’s our turn now,’” he said in a post-game interview.

Several key players for the Lions weren’t available due to injury including senior guard Nate Martin and junior guard Max Davis, so other players had to fill the gaps.

The Beavers sank a three to open up the scoring for the day, but senior guard Zach Waterhouse responded with seven points to capture the Lions’ first lead of the game. The lead changed five more times before Babson scored the third three-pointer in seven minutes to go up top 16-14.

The Lions stayed close, but Babson found separation in the last seven minutes of the first half, scoring seven unanswered points. Emerson senior center Jarred Houston scored six in the dying minutes of the first half, but Babson led 36-30 heading into the break.

(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

25/02/2022

Demonstrators voiced their support for Ukraine on Thursday in the face of the Russian invasion—even as many of their family and friends remain in the country.

A throng of people donned in blue and yellow gathered at the steps of the Massachusetts State House on Thursday, protesting the invasion of Ukraine launched by Russia just hours earlier. The crowd waved blue-gold Ukrainian flags and held signs reading “United with Ukraine” and “U.S.A. Supports...

07/02/2022

Most Emerson students, sports fans or not, have spent their lives witnessing what is arguably one of the greatest careers in football history. Now, as the seven-time Super Bowl champion hangs up his helmet, the students who grew up in Tom Brady’s shadow are taking time to reflect and reminisce.

“He’s just an iconic figure in New England sports,” said Cooper Sherman, a junior sports communication major. “When you become a Patriots fan, Brady has to be a big part of that.”

Brady’s announcement, long-anticipated but still sensational, sparked a unique controversy when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback confirmed the reports of his retirement on Tuesday. Coming off an MVP caliber season leading the NFL in passing yards and touchdowns, the sports world was thrown for a loop.

“The first reaction was shock,” Sherman said. “While you’d think the retirement had to happen sometime, it was a bit of a surprise. After this season, you would think maybe he’d want to go out in a better way.”

In his last game, Brady’s Buccaneers lost to the Los Angeles Rams in dramatic fashion, after coming back from a 24 point deficit in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. The next few days saw extensive media speculation about the possibility of his retirement—something that first-year sports communication major Nick Antonakas said was disrespectful to Brady’s legacy.

“It was kind of ridiculous that journalists were hopping on [the unconfirmed reports,]” he said. “I mean, obviously it’s their job, but he was planning to announce it. It’s just wishy-washy.”

Though many fans felt that the longtime Patriot could have continued to play—something suggested by his own comments—sophomore business of creative enterprises major Kyle Beebe said that he had already achieved everything he needed to in the NFL.

“He could have kept playing, but it’s completely up to him at this point,” Beebe said. “He doesn’t really owe anything to anyone because of all that he’s done for the sport.”

(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

05/02/2022

A Green Line train suffering "power problems" apparently caught fire.

A fire broke out on a Green Line train on Saturday evening, resulting in the evacuation of Boylston Street station and bringing first responders to the scene. While passing Kenmore Station, operators of an inbound train to Government Center became aware of “power problems,” according to the MBTA...

04/02/2022

After a long year filled with jaw-dropping events and unforgettable memories, it’s now time to ring in 2022. In honor of New Year’s, the theme of our January edition of The Beacon Magazine is New year, new you. The cover, inspired by vision boards, reflects the visual goal setting and planning one might do to inspire change within themselves. We extend a very special thanks to the Iwasaki Library for donating their extra magazines to create the cover of this edition.

New year’s resolutions encourage people to be the bolder version of themselves; taking risks, trying new things, and discovering the person they want to become. Vivi Smilgius writes about how life is too short to waste time on self-doubt, making the new year the perfect time for self-reinvention.

On the other hand, while self-reinvention is desired by many this time of year, New Year’s resolutions statistically tend to fail: but why? Shannon Garrido analyzes the psychology behind New Year’s resolutions and whether or not they set one up for failure. Or are they an excuse for corporations to sell quick fixes and supplements?

New Year’s resolutions, specifically ones regarding health and weight loss, tend to be among the most popular goals. And with advertisements on dieting and working out flooding the media that we consume, Rachel Hackman writes about the dangers of diet culture and the toxicity around it.

After the wild year that was 2021, our cover story, written by Dionna Santucci, recaps all the moments that defined the past year, and the ones you may have forgotten.

I want to extend a special thanks to Lucia Thorne, Kayla Buck, Vivi Smilgius, Shannon Garrido, Rachel Hackman, Dionna Santucci, and Kaitlyn Fehr. This edition could not have been completed without all of your hard work and dedication.

I hope this edition inspires you to not procrastinate your goals for 2022, face your fears, take risks, and become the person you want to be.

As cheesy as it sounds, I wish you all the very best this year and I hope you enjoy this edition of The Beacon Magazine.

To fresh beginnings,

02/02/2022

Content Warning: This article contains mentions of sexual assault.

Phi Alpha Tau will return to action this semester, marking the end of the fraternity’s 18-month hiatus in response to a series of sexual assault allegations made against a former member.

The accusations made against Jackson Davis, who worked as a Resident Assistant at Emerson before graduating in 2017, made national news in July 2020 after the Tau alum—who worked as a producer at NowThis at the time—was quote-tweeted by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Since then, Phi Alpha Tau has ceased recruitment and gone silent on social media.

Emerson senior Cameron Carleton, a business of creative enterprises major who serves on the fraternity’s marketing team, said the allegations leveled against Davis shed light on a “culture of secrecy” among the fraternity. Older members of the fraternity were aware of Davis’s actions, he said, but did nothing to hold him accountable.

“There was a lot of negative behavior that was being swept under the rug,” said Carleton. “We had no idea these things were happening. We’ve been trying to establish a culture of transparency and accountability.”

Part of Phi Alpha Tau’s shift in culture comes with an updated code of conduct, as well as a Standards Board charged with investigating brothers accused of violating said code. Brothers under investigation will be put on probation and barred from interacting with other members of the fraternity.

Most crucially, the standards board and code of conduct will allow the fraternity to internally investigate and expel brothers not complying with its standards, including those with open Title IX investigations—an ability the fraternity did not have during Davis’s time at Emerson.

“The Title IX office at Emerson has historically let us down in terms of holding people accountable for their actions,” said Phi Alpha Tau Standards Chair Lex Torrington. “The code of conduct is a way for us to hold ourselves internally accountable.”

(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

02/02/2022

Tuesday's report marks the sixth consecutive day the college has reported under 10 positives per day.

As of Tuesday, Emerson reported six positive COVID-19 cases of the 1,685 tests administered, setting the daily positivity rate at 0.36 percent. Tuesday also reported that seven community members were in on-campus isolation. Zero were reported to be in on-campus quarantine. Those in the quarantine ma...

01/02/2022

On this day in 1947, The Berkeley Beacon published its first print edition, charting the course for 75 years of quality, hyperlocal journalism at Emerson.

Seventy-five years ago Tuesday, The Berkeley Beacon was born. Emerson’s only student newspaper released its first print edition on Feb. 1, 1947, and has printed continuously since, making it one of the oldest student organizations on Emerson’s campus. The Beacon published a four-page edition, wi...

31/01/2022

New England is experiencing a winter storm of a magnitude not seen in years, dropping nearly two feet of snow on downtown Boston and enveloping Emerson’s campus in near-whiteout conditions.

Since the nor’easter first hit on Friday evening, the Boston area has seen 21 inches of snowfall, according to a 5:59 p.m. report from the National Weather Service on Saturday. Meteorologists are counting it as one of the worst blizzards the region has ever faced, prompting Boston Mayor Michelle Wu to declare a “snow emergency” for the city.

“This has the potential to be a historic storm—a huge one,” said Wu in a Friday press conference.

This weekend’s storm threatens to eclipse the record set by the President’s Day blizzard of 2003, which saw 27.6 inches of snow cover the city over two days. It has also drawn comparisons to the infamous Blizzard of 1978, which dumped 27.1 inches of snow on the region and caused the deaths of 73 people in Massachusetts.

In addition to the heavy snowfall, the NWS also warned of rough surf—which caused flooding along Boston’s Seaport area—and strong winds. Winds registered at 54 mph in Medford and 65 mph in Scituate, reaching hurricane force on Cape Cod and Nantucket. Meteorologists have described the storm as a rare “bomb cyclone,” given its rapid intensification over the weekend.

In light of the extreme conditions, Emerson opted to cancel all classes, academic events, and admission tours scheduled for Saturday. The fitness center closed its doors, though the dining center and Max Grill remained open for normal Saturday hours.

The snowfall is expected to last well into the night—ending at around 11 p.m., according to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.

29/01/2022

Emerson community members are raising concerns about the efficacy of the KN95 masks distributed by the college last week, citing a lack of proper authenticity markings.

The college announced on Jan. 17 that faculty members would be provided with two KN95 masks each, in order to comply with recent guidance by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only three days later, though, the Emerson College Chapter of the American Association of University Professors warned faculty that the union was unable to certify the efficacy of the masks.

“An industry of counterfeit masks plagues all efforts to purchase N95, KN95, and KF94 style masks,” read the email from ECCAAUP President Russell Newman. “In general, these masks should clearly have their standard stamped upon them—for KN95 masks, one clearly wants ‘KN95’ and a ‘GB2626’ followed by either ‘2006’ or ‘2019’ clearly visible. Often, a brand is clearly indicated on the mask.”

Steve Yarbrough, a writing, literature and publishing professor at Emerson, said he was told he would receive N95 masks—which are certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health—and thus, began using the college’s masks instead of his own surgical mask.

“I took the elevator in the Ansin building down with about eight or nine students,” he said. “And then I taught my graduate class in the writing of the novel that night. It’s about a three and a half hour class, so I wore that mask in the classroom.”

Yarbrough said that Newman’s email prompted him to take a second look at the masks he received to see if they had any writing or approval stamps on them.

“In fact, the masks that we had been given were plain white masks that didn’t say anything,” Yarbrough said. “They didn’t say N95 or KN95. They didn’t have any approval number … It seems pretty clear that it’s not an N95 mask. I don’t know what it is.”

(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

27/01/2022

Months after being accused of propagating anti-Chinese rhetoric, Emerson’s chapter of Turning Point USA has mounted an advertising campaign targeting the college for “abandoning its promise of free speech.”

Emerson’s chapter of the conservative organization was briefly suspended for several weeks last fall, after community members alleged that the club’s promotional stickers reading “China Kinda Sus”—in reference to the popular multiplayer game “Among Us”—played into Sinophobic tropes. The controversy drew national headlines, even after the group’s on-campus status was restored weeks later. For its part, TPUSA continues to argue it was treated unfairly.

“[The sticker] has the symbol of the Chinese Communist Party on it, which should make it obvious it was referring to the Chinese government and not the Chinese people,” said Sam Neves, president of Emerson’s TPUSA chapter, in a video posted online. “After passing out the stickers, we were suspended the next day, without even contacting us first, or talking to us, without asking us for explanation.”

Neves went on to say the organization was forced to compete with Emerson in a “multi-million dollar situation.”

“When this all started we were just David against Goliath,” he said. “It was just us two random students against Emerson College.”

In response, TPUSA partnered with the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education to launch a campaign attacking the college’s perceived abuses. FIRE hired a billboard truck to circle the Boston campus with the slogan “Emerson Kinda Sus”—satirizing the college’s response to their own promotional material— and paid for advertisements at several Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority stops, including the Green Line’s Boylston Street station.

(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

25/01/2022

Emerson officials reported an error in some students' registration status that prompted some loan processors to incorrectly notify students that they had to begin repaying their loans Tuesday morning.

A student enrollment reporting error caused some loan providers to see some Emerson students’ status as not enrolled, prompting them to notify the students that they would need to start repaying their loans in the coming months, according to the registrar’s office. The issue was reported by the ...

21/01/2022

Emerson officially moved its Office of Access, Equity, and Title IX out of the Social Justice Center, creating a stand-alone office that will report to the Dean of Campus Life on Wednesday, a move that received widespread criticism upon its suggestion in April 2020. 

Interim President Bill Gilligan announced the “immediate change” in a Wednesday evening email, writing that the change will allow for the office to continue its current functions and broaden its scope to cover other forms of discrimination. Under the new structure, Vice President and Dean for Campus Life Jim Hoppe would oversee the office, which was previously housed in the Social Justice Center. 

The change, according to Gilligan, will allow for the growth of the Social Justice Center as the college searches for a vice president for equity & social justice to fill the position left vacant by Sylvia Spears’ departure in August. Emerson is also searching for an associate vice president/Title IX coordinator, and a deputy Title IX coordinator/investigator. 

“These changes to organizational structure will enable the College to better center the priorities of the office, our processes, and support of our community as these important roles are filled,” Gilligan wrote. 

(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

21/01/2022

Mired in controversy, an Emerson professor is facing accusations of antisemitic behavior in the classroom last semester—while acknowledging that his actions could have been “perceived the wrong way.”

Brian McNeil, a visual and media arts professor who has worked at Emerson since 1997, allegedly performed the N**i salute in his History of Photography class. The incident, publicized on the Instagram account , drew widespread outcry from Emerson students and prompted the college to open an investigation. McNeil stated in an interview with The Beacon that the behavior was meant to parody antisemitism, not espouse it. 

“It was perceived as me making fun of Jews, but I wasn’t,” McNeil said. “I was making fun of N**is. It was an anti-N**i, sarcastic moment that I had done.”

The alleged antisemitic behavior stemmed from a quiz review in class, dealing with several mid-20th century German photographers. Firstly, McNeil said he asked the students whether they knew the German translation of a photography term—a question that, according to the social media post, was targeted at a Jewish student.

“Because it’s all about perception, perhaps [a Jewish student] thought that I was singling them out,” he said. “But I don’t remember doing that.”

The next quiz question, McNeil explained, regarded August Sander’s photo series “Face of Our Time”—a series documenting the German people of the Weimar Republic era. 

“This is when I raised my hand and sarcastically imitated a N**i,” McNeil said.

McNeil said his salute was meant to parody the verboten—“forbidden”—nature of the photo essay during the N**i regime. 

“And then I said, ‘Oh my God, I raised my hand like that,’” he said.

Sadie Swayze, a first-year visual and media arts major, was a student in McNeil’s class when the incident occurred. Swayze, who is Jewish, expressed their discomfort after McNeil’s actions.

“This isn’t the first time that he’s done something that’s questionable,” Swayze said. “But this was the first time that it was kind of shocking.”

(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

18/01/2022

Starting on Jan. 18, non-residential students will be allowed to enter residential spaces as guests, provided that they are a part of Emerson's weekly testing program

Non-residential Emerson students can visit residential halls beginning on Jan. 18, college officials announced on Monday evening. Starting at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Boston-based Emerson students may be signed in as guests via the Emerson Housing Portal by residential students—including students living...

17/01/2022

Emerson's Title IX office is no longer housed in the Social Justice Center, instead reporting directly to the vice president and dean of campus life.

Emerson officially moved its Office of Access, Equity, and Title IX out of the Social Justice Center, creating a stand-alone office that will report to the Dean of Campus Life on Wednesday, a move that received widespread criticism upon its suggestion in April 2020. Interim President Bill Gilligan a...

14/01/2022

Brian McNeil, who allegedly performed a N**i salute during his class, said it was a "sarcastic moment" intended to parody antisemitism

Mired in controversy, an Emerson professor is facing accusations of antisemitic behavior in the classroom last semester—while acknowledging that his actions could have been “perceived the wrong way.” Brian McNeil, a visual and media arts professor who has worked at Emerson since 1997, allegedl...

14/01/2022

It’s been a year and a half since The Beacon began a process that had been long overdue: reckoning with the racism within our organization. As our new editor-in-chief, I’m writing to update you on the progress of that reckoning—what we’ve already changed within the institution to address these issues, and, with the dawn of a new semester, what steps come next.

This semester, our main goal is transparency—within our organization and with the Emerson community.

In September 2020, The Beacon saw a mass resignation of over a dozen staffers due to a story published about a white student losing her father’s financial aid after supporting the Black Lives Matter movement. We centered a white ally and her experience rather than focusing the conversation where it should have been: on Black lives and BIPOC voices.

I––and nearly all our staff this semester––joined The Beacon in the aftermath of this incident. Yet while I was not around for this decision, my understanding of the full impact of the incident is inherently limited.

Based on everything I have learned, heard, and observed during my time at Emerson, the repeated hurt our organization has caused marginalized communities is unequivocally evident. I, like my predecessors, extend my deepest apologies to every person—former staffers and community members alike—that The Beacon has hurt.

However, I understand that this apology, like so many others, may not feel sincere without the evidence of the changes we’ve been working toward.

(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

14/01/2022

Less than a week into the spring 2022 semester, Emerson has already reported 228 positive COVID-19 tests, leading to uncertainty regarding the rest of the semester amid rising cases statewide.
 
Emerson’s case numbers since the start of the spring testing cycle on Jan. 3 have already surpassed the 184 cases reported throughout the entirety of the fall 2021 semester. The inflated case numbers bring the college’s test positivity rate to a record-high 4.55 percent.
 
The spike in cases reflects a recent surge of the virus in Massachusetts and across the country, largely due to the Omicron variant. Boston reported 2,747 new cases on Jan. 11, and has regularly seen case numbers reach well into the thousands since the surge of the Omicron variant. The state reported 22,184 positive cases on Wednesday, with the seven-day positivity rate sitting at 21.61 percent. Hospitalizations rose from 2,970 to 3,087, and the death toll rose by 75.
 
Massachusetts tracks two kinds of COVID-19 positivity rates—one including higher education testing and one without. Wednesday’s numbers showed a positivity rate excluding higher education institutions of 25.1 percent. The rate including higher education currently sits at 21.7 percent.
 
Associate Vice President for Campus Life Erik Muurisepp, who serves as the college’s “COVID Lead,” said both Emerson’s and Boston’s numbers have been higher than anticipated.
 
“I think everything is out the window of what we thought,” he said in an interview with The Beacon. “We certainly never thought we'd see 5 percent on campus. I never thought I'd see a 32 percent rate in the city of Boston.”
 
He added that the college was working to react accordingly to the unprecedented situation.
 
(Click the link in our bio to read the full story)

14/01/2022

Former Title IX & Clery Act coordinator Pamela White, who passed away on Dec. 29, was remembered by her colleagues for her commitment to social justice.

Associate Vice President Pamela White wrote that she had always dreamed of working in public service. Emerson’s Title IX & Clery Act coordinator, who died on Dec. 29, left behind a legacy of service to students at Emerson and elsewhere. White began her time at Emerson in 2015, after three years of...

13/01/2022

The former Backstage Cafe was converted into a deli during the Fall 2021 semester and will begin serving traditional deli fare, such as subs, soups, and sides, to students beginning next week.

The long-anticipated reopening of the Backstage Cafe will bring new cuisine to Emerson’s campus, as the college is slated to open its first New York-style sandwich shop to the public on Jan. 17. Backstage Deli, a revamp of the college’s on-campus eatery in 2 Boylston Place, has been in the works...

13/01/2022

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13/01/2022

Emerson officials say they are committed to holding in-person classes, despite the college recording nearly 200 positive COVID-19 tests in under two weeks.

Less than a week into the spring 2022 semester, Emerson has already reported 193 positive COVID-19 tests, leading to uncertainty regarding the rest of the semester amid rising cases statewide. Emerson’s case numbers since the start of the spring testing cycle on Jan. 3 have already surpassed the 1...