Living with COVID, split opinions on protocols

Emerson College’s student newspaper since 1947 • berkeleybeacon.com

Thursday, January 20, 2021 • Volume 75, Issue 16

‘Learning to live with the virus’: Emerson reports 31 positive COVID-19 cases Tuesday

@berkeleybeacon // @beaconupdate

Adri Pray

Beacon Staff Emerson College has reported 332 positive COVID-19 cases since the start of the spring semester—the highest numbers since the beginning of the pandemic—and currently sits at a 3.20 percent positivity rate.

The past week has seen at least 10 positives each day, save for the holiday weekend when almost no tests were administered. Tuesday’s dashboard update reported 31 positive COVID-19 tests, out of the 1,846 administered on Monday—marking the highest single-day total of the past week.

The dashboard also reported 47 students to be in on-campus isolation and zero in on-campus quarantine.

Regarding the exponentially high numbers of COVID cases observed since the onset of the spring semester, Associate Vice President for Campus Life Erik

Beacon Archives

Beacon Archives Muurisepp, who serves as the college’s “COVID Lead,” stated that it was expected after last year’s wintertime surge.

“What we’re seeing is the virus has changed, and we now have this new variant and it’s much more transmissible,” Muurisepp said. “As we saw last year, with cold and flu season, folks coming

indoors and all of that, there’s sort of that anticipated or expected increase in cases.”

Muurisepp, in an interview with The Beacon, clarified the quarantine and isolation guidelines updated over winter break; community members that test positive must complete a five-day isolation with limited outside contact.

Once the five days are complete and symptoms have dissipated, they are allowed to return to their housing assignments to be further monitored for the following five days. Community members are expected to report if symptoms return so they can be placed back in isolation.

“If a person were to leave isolation, come back into their main housing assignment, and then the roommate was to test positive, we would assess that on a case-bycase basis, as we do with all of them,” he said. “Our decision is based on the guidance of science.”

Muurisepp also spoke about the students relocated to the W Boston hotel—a move he said was

necessary to create more isolation housing in response to the recent COVID surge on campus and in Boston.

“It was clear early on in the winter that we should have a plan in place to have more isolation spaces available on campus,” he said. “In order to create those we needed to secure other housing opportunities for our students.

That’s what resulted in us securing spaces at the W.” Muurisepp said that the college had “entered a phase of learning

COVID Pg. 2

Students split on effectiveness of COVID protocols

Left to right: Priscilla Beltran, Maria Vu, Ashley Blanco, Kelly Moreno, and Carolina Alcantara. / Courtesy Ashley Blanco

Beacon Archives

Hannah Nguyen Beacon Staff

In an effort to rebuild the “Emerson bubble” in the first weeks of the spring semester, the college imposed several restrictions not seen since the first year of the pandemic—and students are divided on its efficacy.

Students returned to campus last week with limited in-person events—including virtual classes and student organization meetings, “grab-and-go” meals from the dining hall, a biweekly testing requirement, and a “stay-in-room” policy—as on-campus cases rose to unprecedented levels. For some, though, the switch to virtual learning for the first week of the semester eased concerns about increased transmission. “[Emerson was] the first school out of all my friends’ that announced that we’d be going online, so I was happy about that,” said Ayaana Nayak, a first-year creative writing major. “I really just wish they’d offer a hybrid model for the future because it doesn’t make sense having people miss classes because they’re staying safe.”

However, the college’s decision

to resume in-person classes—without offering a hybrid modality— has drawn concern, especially for students who are uncomfortable or unable to attend class. Sophomore creative writing major Lydia Prendergast, who is immunocompromised, said she felt anxious about Emerson’s decision to resume in-person classes this week.

“I am doing everything I can to keep myself safe but don’t get the same in return from other students who don’t take COVID as seriously,” she said. “Being in-person can cause a lot of anxiety, and I went remote in the spring [of 2021] for that reason.”

Prendergast added that the college isn’t offering many options for students who feel uneasy about attending in-person classes.

“When I registered for classes for this spring, Omicron had not yet appeared,” she said. “Since then, it has exploded and the options for remote classes are not nearly as fruitful as in-person, so it almost felt like I was wedged into the experience.”

Since the fall semester, the college has asked teachers to refrain from offering students the option to Return Pg. 2

‘Almost hidden diversity’: Emerson’s First Generation Students Share Their Stories Payton Cavanaugh & Adri Pray Beacon Correspondent & Staff

First-generation students, without guidance from older family members or friends, and limited access to resources, face a far more challenging acclimation to college life than most.

Roughly 15 percent of each class is made up of first-generation students, Director of Student Success Christopher Grant told Emerson Today. Interim President Bill Gilligan’s 2021 State of the College address attributes around 5,981 undergraduates and graduate students to this year’s class—approximately 900 of which are first-generation.

Many of these students found tuition payments and assistance, financial aid, and scholarships incredibly daunting and overwhelming without resources. First-generation students told The Beacon they struggle to navigate the complex documentation required to attend college even with their families.

The first in her family to attend college, Karen Torento came to Emerson this year as a visual media

arts major, and was initially concerned with financing college as a first-generation student from Massachusetts.

“I’m a first-gen student and I don’t have anybody to look up to and ask for advice or what to do because none of my parents or my siblings went,” Torento said.

“Sometimes I feel like I’m figuring it out on my own and just working through it all independently.”

Of the class of 2025, 14 percent are the first in their family to attend college, according to data reported in the State of the College. This means roughly 148 of the 1,061 students in Emerson’s class of 2025 are first-generation college students.

So far, Torento’s college experience hasn’t been what she expected.

“I had this very concrete, high expectation of what college was going to be,” Torento said. “Now that I’m here, it’s been the exact opposite. Because my expectations haven’t been met, it’s been hard to go through it.”

There is a significant wealth gap between families headed by college

First generation, Pg. 3

INSIDE THIS EDITION Title IX Office relocated Pg. 3 ELA faculty union call for fair wages, benefits Pg. 4 Confidence is key for intimacy Pg. 4 Alumni at Sundance Film Fest Pg. 5 Emerson Stage ‘Next to Normal’ Pg. 6 Men’s, women’s basketball defeat Wheaton College Pg. 8

332 positive COVID-19 tests

3.20% positivity rate *Accumulated from Spring 2022 semester

News

The Berkeley Beacon

January 20, 2022

2

Students split on college’s COVID protocol’s effectiveness upon return to campus Cont. from Pg. 1

Beacon Archives

Boston’s first Chick-fil-A garners mixed reaction from Emersonians Gabriel Borges Beacon Staff

Weeks after its grand opening, Boston’s first Chick-fil-A restaurant is still drawing crowds to its Boylston Street location—yet some Emerson community members are still not sold on the chicken joint.

The popular Atlanta-based chain opened its Copley Square location on Jan. 5 amid much fanfare—and controversy. Due to Chick-fil-A’s history of donations to organizations promoting anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric, such as the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Salvation Army and the Paul Anderson Youth Home, some Emerson students are hesitant to visit the establishment at 596 Boylston Street.

“The response will be half the people excited and half the people upset by Chick-fil-A in general because of its years of homophobia,” said sophomore visual and media arts major Derek Delson.

“I don’t think it’s right, and I don’t need a Chick-fil-A a lot because of it,” he added.

Though Chick-fil-A has operated in Massachusetts since 2014—with 16 franchises currently active in the state—it would be a full decade before the chain managed to open a location in the city of Boston. Plans to open a location along the Freedom Trail were temporarily abandoned in 2012, after then-Mayor of Boston Thomas Menino penned an open letter to the chain criticizing the homophobic remarks of its CEO. “There is no place for discrimination on Boston’s Freedom Trail and no place for your company alongside it,” wrote Menino.

In the years since the initial controversy, Chick-fil-A has cut off donations to groups opposing LGBTQ+ rights. The company is also open to LGBTQ+ staff and franchisees—including the owner of the Copley Street location, Matt DeMichele-Rigoni. However, those who believe that Chick-fil-A’s executives still hold many homophobic ties are reluctant to support the business.

“Of course, I know people can grow, but from what I’ve heard, they haven’t taken steps to [make] their business more acceptable,” said Oakland Walker, a sophomore theatre design and technology major. “I personally don’t support them. I feel like there are better places to get chicken that aren’t homophobic.”

There are many Emerson students, however, that are willing to look past the company’s troubled past. Junior visual and media arts major Devin McAlister said he first tried the famed chicken sandwiches in Phoenix, Az. when visiting his mother on vacation.

“I’ve been having wishes where there should be a Chick-fil-A in Boston,” he said. “It’s all like my wish came true.” Ava, a sophomore interdisciplinary studies student who declined to give her last name, said that her own sexual orientation would not stop her from supporting the franchise.

“I grew up in the South, so it kind of reminds me of home,” she said. “I know there’s a lot of hate towards Chick-fil-A, but I’m gay and I’m still making that decision.”

“I personally don’t support them. I feel like there are better places to get chicken that aren’t homophobic.”

- Oakland Walker gabriel_borges@emerson.edu

zoom into class, a policy that has caused some to feel unsafe and aggravated.

“Within the first week, I find that the professors [are not forgiving with absences], even if it is an excused one,” sophomore visual media arts major Jennifer Chan said. “Most of my professors are stating we can only be absent for two days this semester, while one says we can’t even take an absent day at all.”

“I understand that being present in class is important, but living through this pandemic and just getting sick in general shouldn’t be something we should be academically punished for,” she added.

However, others feel as though the college is handling the situation decently—particularly given the precarious balancing act between keeping campus open and keeping students safe.

“On one hand, you kind of feel bad for those in charge because it’s a lot of responsibility to keep everyone safe and they have to navigate these uncharted waters to do so,” first-year visual and media arts major Izzy Desmarais said.

“In that sense, they’re doing the best they can.”

Jules Saggio, a first-year visual media arts major, said she feels the college is handling COVID “incredibly well,” especially with the immediate response to her positive case. She was directed by the college to leave campus immediately and go back to her home in Long Island, NY after receiving a positive COVID test on her first day on campus.

“I’m a bit concerned because this variant spreads a lot more

Beacon Archives quickly than previous variants but only concerned less because I am [recovered] from the virus myself,” Saggio said.

Despite this, many students expressed concerns about their mental health, stating that the limited in-person interaction caused by online classes and “stay-in-room” directive could be damaging.

“I’m not concerned about COVID as much as I am [about] the effect of going online on mental health.” said first-year journalism major Sarah Calvin. “For many students, including myself, being with people is beneficial, and having that link taken away might be detrimental.”

Calvin added that the online format and directive made adjusting to the semester more difficult after the break.

“Online classes, for me, have taken a little bit of getting used to after our month off,” Calvin said.

“It’s definitely harder to stay focused and motivated when class is on a computer screen versus [having] your teacher or classmates in front of you.”

Desmarais echoed Calvin’s sentiment, saying that she felt that the start of the spring semester was a much more isolating experience than the fall.

“I say I’m much more anxious now than when I first moved in back in August, which is kind of weird since that’s when everything was still new and I didn’t have any friends,” she said. “I get why we all sort of had to quarantine for the past week, but it definitely took a toll on my mental health.”

Desmarais also mentioned how she would prefer to not have her tuition go towards online learning as she prefers learning in-person more.

“I’m also not a big fan of online classes in general, either,” she said. “It’s just not what I paid for, and when you’re paying such a ridiculous amount of money to go to school, it feels like a huge waste of time when you’re just staring at a computer screen in your dorm room.” hannah_nguyen@emerson.edu

COVID surge prompts relocations to the W

Beacon Archives Cont. from Pg. 1 to live with the virus,” and is now adjusting to the new normal.

“In the past two years, we’ve learned more about the virus,” Muurisepp said. “We know how it acts, we know how it operates.

What we know has not changed is that there’s still a fourteen day potential incubation period.”

“Being able to get back to life,

academics, social life, personal life—adjusted—but at least being able to do something in those six through ten days, really helps us get to that next level of learning to live with the virus,” Muurisepp said.

Massachusetts reported 14,647 positive cases on Wednesday—a 16.70 percent positivity rate. The state also reported 3,187 hospitalizations, and the death toll rose by

199.

The state of Massachusetts also tracks two kinds of COVID-19 positivity rates—one including higher education testing and one without due to the number of colleges and universities within the commonwealth. The seven-day positive rate without higher education has not been updated since Jan. 12 and currently sits at 23.08 percent. Including higher education, the rate currently sits at 16.70 percent.

Massachusetts reported 36,886 new vaccinations, including boosters, from Tuesday to Wednesday, bringing the state’s total to 13,346,017 doses. Wednesday’s daily vaccination update reported that 5,209,197 Mass. residents— approximately 75 percent of the state’s population—are fully vaccinated, meaning that they have received both doses of the Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

adrianna_pray@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

January 20, 2022

3

First-generation students face unique difficulties

Cont. from Pg. 1 graduates and those without a degree, according to a 2019 analysis by Pew Research Center.

Graduates have more than twice the median wealth of households headed by individuals without a degree, with the average difference being around $71,400.

The study also found that there is a wealth gap between the families of first-generation college students and continuing generation college students—students who were not the first to attend college in their families.

Approximately 80 percent of current Emerson students receive financial assistance in the form of scholarships and grants, low-interest loans, and part-time employment, according to Emerson College’s financial aid office’s Facts & Figures. Conversely, these statistics indicate that only approximately 20 percent of the student body is able to afford tuition and room and board at face value.

As head of the college’s First-Generation Low-Income Program, Grant said his role includes helping first-generation students find the resources they need to adjust to college—essentially, starting a new life.

“With first-gen and low income, there’s almost hidden diversity,” he said. “It’s diversity that you don’t see, and you can’t see, and I think that’s part of the reason why we created the program, was just to be able to have a safe space for students.”

Grant works closely with Ashley Blanco, a senior business of creative enterprises major who runs a student organization, FirstGenE-N, designed to make Emerson’s first-generation students feel more comfortable.

“My priority and main goal is to make sure every first-gen student has the resources they need and the support,” Blanco said in an interview with The Beacon.

“I’ve made some of my long-term friendships through the organization based on [my own] similar experiences.”

After a year of restrictions on group outings, Blanco said she hoped that FirstGenE-N could finally return to in-person events to bond first-generation students.

“This year our goal is to bring some of those fun events back,” Blanco said. “That way we have access to stress relieving, nice experiences—something that we can do together as a group which is very important.”

Blanco said her experience as a first-generation student shaped her four years at Emerson.

“I’m excited to see the next generation of first-gens once I leave Emerson and how they’re going to transform everything,” she said. “I admire the resiliency and the strength that a lot of firstgens bring to campus.”

Disneiruby Parra, a junior business of creative enterprises major, joined FirstGenE-N her first year at the college.

“I was very lucky to be able to find a community of first-gen students here at Emerson,” Parra said. “It started off rough but I did find out about the first-gen group here. It was then that I actually made my first friends here.”

Parra, who is from California, said she experienced difficulties balancing her identities as the oldest sibling of a West Coast family and first-generation student at an

“I’m excited to see the next generation of first-gens once I leave Emerson officially relocates Office Emerson of Access, Equity, and Title IX and how “A Title IX they’re Coordinator going to housed in transform Campus Life everything. I may unintentionally admire the send the resiliency message to the and the campus community that strength that Title IX a lot of compliance first-gens [only] applies bring to to students and that campus.”

Emerson’s Title IX office. / Beacon Archives

Charlie McKenna Beacon Staff

-Ashley Blanco East Coast institution.

“I moved all the way across the country to come here…and I’m still responsible for things at home,” she said. “The hardest part is trying to navigate that space between I’m a college student but also I still have to be a family member that lives far away.”

At Emerson, though, Parra sought out the community she felt could help her overcome the challenge of balancing identities. She urged all first-generation students to check out FirstGenE-N. “Don’t be afraid to advocate for yourself if you don’t understand something, always ask for that information even if you think it’s dumb,” Parra said.

Blanco hopes to empower incoming first-generation students with her own experiences. Embracing her identity as a first-generation student shaped her as a person, which is something she feels all of those students should have.

“There’s a nugget there of wisdom and strength and courage that makes us who we are, and without those challenges, we wouldn’t be the people that we are.” contact@berkeleybeacon.com

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.

The change was first proposed in April 2020, when a working group assembled by former President M. Lee Pelton in Sept. 2019 intended to examine the college’s Title IX and sexual misconduct investigative policy, released a public draft of its recommendations. The group was comprised of students, faculty, and staff, and co-chaired by Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jan Roberts-Breslin.

The group suggested in their initial report that some students might believe the center’s advocacy focus would lead the office to lose its neutrality.

Those recommendations drew widespread criticism from both student activists and administrators. Former vice president for equity and social justice Sylvia Spears said the suggestion by the working group that students took issue with the location of the office was “somewhat surprising.”

Spears wrote in a public comment on the initial draft that the center, which she oversaw, was the only place where the office could be located. In her comments, Spears said that Hoppe’s role as the appellate officer in Title IX cases would create an inherent conflict of interest if he were to oversee the office.

“A Title IX Coordinator housed in Campus Life may unintentionally send the message to the cam-

power-based interpersonal violence is a phenomenon that only affects students.”

-Sylvia Spears

pus community that Title IX compliance [only] applies to students and that power-based interpersonal violence is a phenomenon that only affects students,” she said. “This proposed relocation may render the Title IX process invisible as a path for redress for faculty, staff, and affiliated third parties.”

The change comes after years of turmoil regarding the college’s Title IX policies, which included two students filing suit against the college for mishandling their reported assaults. Judges issued summary judgments in both cases, allowing them to be settled out of court without a trial.

Beacon Archives

charles_mckenna@emerson.edu

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Opinion

January 20, 2022

4

Letter: ELA faculty call for fair wages, benefits in contract negotiations Jennifer Vandever

President of ELAF-AAUP Every semester Emerson College students move from Boston to Los Angeles to take part in the Emerson LA program.

As graduating seniors, most are understandably anxious about finding work in a landscape increasingly marked by the contingencies of the gig economy. They will find their Los Angeles professors nodding in understanding, because the fight for basic workers’ rights is one we understand all too well.

ELA faculty have been negotiating a second union contract since June 2021 but are still far apart from the college’s administration on core issues. For a college that loudly proclaims its commitment to social justice, it has shown very little in negotiating with its lowest-paid educators who are beginning a fifth semester of pandemic teaching.

At the end of this month, we return to the bargaining table and have engaged a federal mediator to hopefully advance the process.

What are we asking for?

A Living Wage ELA faculty, almost all of whom are part-time, represent the lowest-paid educators at Emerson. Our rates used to be competitive with that of Boston’s part-time faculty, but have fallen significantly behind, even though we teach the same students paying the same tuition for the same credits and for the same degrees in one of the most expensive cities in the world. But that isn’t enough.

Emerson’s administration has proposed reducing cost of living adjustments that would effectively CUT pay to senior faculty during record inflation. The college says this is simple economics and yet ELA can afford two VPs and two deans. Our Executive Director/VP makes over $300,000 a year while the annual budget for ALL part-time faculty is $640,000.

No More Free Work Currently, ELA part-time faculty comprise 97% of the resident faculty.

Students may not distinguish between part-time and full-time faculty but these two groups work under very different conditions. Even though they often have the same credentials and comparable experience, part-time faculty can expect to make a fraction of what their full-time peers earn. Because we lack full-time resident faculty at ELA, the needs of students fall to part-timers who volunteer their time to write recommendations, advise alumni, or mentor students--work that is paid for with full-time faculty but not for part-time. Faculty are asking to be compensated for this time.

Contracts Commensurate with Longevity Five of our faculty have been with the college for over twenty years. Another four have been with the college for over ten. That speaks to a high level of dedication to the college and in particular, its students. While ELA’s $110 million dollar building sat empty for a year during the pandemic, professors turned their living rooms into classrooms, created online versions of their courses, and

Illustration Lucia Thorne

Don’t let beauty standards affect your confidence in bed Mariyam Quaisar Beacon Staff Finding and exuding confidence can be difficult due to certain societal standards and pressures that have rudely established what it means to be “attractive.” This difficulty can unfortunately travel into the bedroom, a place where confidence is key. Not only does confidence increase pleasure, but it also helps avoid awkward interactions and makes the ride *wink wink* smooth sailing.

So, what exactly is confidence? It’s the self-assurance that arises from appreciating yourself, your abilities, and your qualities—at least that’s what Oxford Languages’ dictionary says. So, how did confidence become synonymous with looks? Appearance and self-esteem are inextricably linked as a result of the never-ending desire to “fit in”––fit into

beauty standards that are impossible for the majority to achieve.

We need to stop holding ourselves to these ridiculous expectations, and we definitely need to stop letting them put a damper on our confidence when we just wanna get our jollies on.

The unrealistic standards impact how we view ourselves and how we want to be viewed, especially because we are so engrossed in the media. We compare ourselves to what the media portrays as “sexy” both in film and television and in pornography––hairless bodies, curvy figures, perky breasts, full lips, and the strict list goes on—and if we don’t possess those characteristics, we struggle to summon our confidence. Ironically, for many, confidence is one of the most attractive characteristics that one can have, but just exuding that is hindered by the other definitions of “sexy.”

The pressure to look good imposed by the media plays a prominent role in

tended to the increased academic and emotional needs of students. The dedication of part-time faculty is clear and yet they are among the most vulnerable and precarious at the institution. Faculty are asking for multi-year contracts for senior faculty that our peers in Boston receive rather than the one-year contracts we currently have.

Retirement Match Benefit with Peers Our peers on the Boston campus receive three percent matching funds to a retirement fund, a benefit that has been categorically denied to ELA faculty. Our longest serving member, an Emerson alumnus no less, has taught for 27 years at ELA, currently helming six courses a year, and mentoring countless students and alums. He has never received any matching funds from the college. We believe he and our other faculty deserve a retirement match that our peers in Boston have.

Equitable Health Benefits Only three of our ELA faculty use the health coverage available to eligible senior faculty in large part because it is so expensive. Currently eligible faculty only receive a 50 percent contribution from the college. We’ve asked for expanded coverage given the rising cost of healthcare.

Social Justice Emerson made a huge investment in its state of the art building on Sunset Boulevard with the goal of creating a center for communion amongst all the many disparate elements of ELA: students, staff, faculty, trustees, alumni, and future students. ELA faculty are on the

front line of that intention, performing the core mission of the institution: educating and building relationships with students that begin in the classroom and often continue outside it for many years beyond. The building isn’t ELA’s only attraction. Its faculty is composed of accomplished industry professionals and academics who every semester invest in their students’ transition from academic to professional life. Among the core values the school strives to teach, in addition to equity and social justice, is Corporate Social Responsibility, which demands an ethical frame-

how people find confidence in bed. This needs to change.

In film and television, these harmful beauty standards are reinforced through the media’s depiction of the male and female gaze.

Scholar and filmmaker Laura Mulvey introduced the concept of the “male gaze” in her 1975 essay, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. The male gaze empowers men and objectifies a woman and her appearance while her feelings, thoughts, and desires are ignored. Their visual appeal becomes the focus. In her essay, Mulvey examined Hollywood’s tendency to satisfy masculine scopophilia—the sexual pleasure involved in looking.

The female gaze, while it may not be as blunt as the male gaze, is hard to ignore because of the ridiculous standards that are set for how men should look. It’s a two-way street.

Whether that’s a rock-hard six-pack, a v-line, tall build, broody eyes, or a big southern appendage, women are also to blame for sexualizing and objectifying men. Images that are simply not realistic or any indicator of someone who is good in bed. There is no reason besides this media-based lie, to make men believe that possessing a v-line helps them induce an orgasm.

There is no direct female equivalent of the male gaze because the male gaze facilitates a power imbalance and reinforces the patriarchy, however, it is safe to say that both the male and female gazes are unhealthy and unnecessary.

Not only are the ideas of female and male “gaze” completely unrealistic and warped by the media, but they are completely hetero and cisnormative.

News flash, people are queer. Not everyone looks at their partner through the media’s accepted gaze, therefore it shouldn’t affect how we view ourselves.

Our perceptions of beauty and sex can’t always fit a set binary and we should never expect that. During any sexual encounter, our preferences are dictated by so much more than what we look like, and it’s definitely not the same for everybody.

Additionally, the porn industry is one of the biggest culprits for this false idea of what attractiveness should be and expectations surrounding sex in my opinion. It is literally a porn star’s job to go above and beyond during sex—to look a certain way and to act a certain way. It is not our job to replicate them and their abilities.

The unrealistic expectations that porn sets for sexual encounters warps the satisfaction for both men and women by the irrational fantasies that are filmed. When men consume pornography, there is eventual body dissatisfaction and higher levels of anxiety as these expectations of what sex is “supposed to be” are simply not what most women actually want or need, or can perform. Furthermore, women who have pre-existing negative emotional states during sex often end up feeling worse about their bodies because of porn’s delusions, which in turn impacts their sex lives.

These supposed gazes are completely fabricated by cinematic and staged sexual experiences, and should not be a part of your very real sexual expirience.

It doesn’t make sex feel any better, so try to actually enjoy yourself and the

person you are with will too.

Having confidence in all aspects of life is important, but that confidence cannot be dictated by society’s ridiculous definition of “attractiveness,” especially in terms of sexual relationships. It is up to one’s self to decide what makes them feel good, sexy, beautiful, hot, yummy, whatever.

Confidence in the bedroom is about more than how you look because sex is not about looks, it’s about sensations.

It is about the person or people you are with and the way they make you feel.

Unfortunately, how one “should look” dominates bedroom activities as people go above and beyond to match the media’s portrayal of sexiness.

But being confident in the bedroom changes the experience completely.

Knowing what you like and what you don’t like is one thing, but truly believing the fact that “attractiveness” is just as unique as the next person is another.

Not letting beauty standards stand in the way of you feeling sexy will allow you to automatically exude confidence—don’t let that chance slide.

Define what your confidence means to you, and don’t let it go. What it takes to be confident cannot be universal, regardless of what the media shows you.

That would mean everyone is the same and we all know that’s not true.

Everybody’s unique experiences, characteristics, likes and dislikes, feelings, and qualities play a role in their confidence. So then, why should we allow a set of beauty standards determined by a few to possibly play a part for many? Exactly.

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work by which institutions conduct their business. We would respectfully remind the administration that our students are watching, and no doubt learning, from this moment.

For more information, follow ELA Faculty on Instagram and Twitter Jennifer Vandever is the President of ELAF-AAUP, the union representing part-time faculty at Emerson Los Angeles and is lead negotiator on its bargaining team. She has taught screenwriting and film studies at ELA since 2001. contact@berkeleybeacon.com

mariyam_quaisar@emerson.edu

Advisor David Dahl

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Living Arts

Emerson alum, both past and present, take over 2022 Sundance Film Festival Karissa Schaefer Beacon Staff

Everywhere you turn within the entertainment industry, an Emerson alum can be found, and the 2022 Sundance Film Festival— taking place Jan. 20 to 30—is no different.

Among the many alumni with featured credits are Alex Disenhof ‘09, Jordan Parrott ‘08, Julian Higgins ‘08, and current sophomore Noah Matalon. Through their applied knowledge of filmmaking given to them by Emerson and their passion for collaboration, all four have become skilled in their line of work, which they’re ready to showcase.

Disenhof is the cinematographer for “Alice,” which stars Keke Palmer as an escaped slave who stumbles into the year 1973 and confronts the lies that kept her enslaved. The film premieres Jan. 23 in the U.S. Dramatic Competition, making it Disenhof’s second film to be shown at Sundance—he previously worked on “Fishing Without Nets,” which won in 2014 in the Directing Award: U.S. Dramatic category.

“Ultimately, I take films and I

“We felt a bit like guinea pigs trying to figure out how to deal with all the elements before the testing procedures had been completely figured out”

Courtesy Alex Disenhof Higgins wrote, directed, and produced his first feature “God’s Country,” starring “Westworld”’s Thandiwe Newton as a grieving college professor who catches two hunters invading her property. Currently working as a film professor at Emerson and the American Film Institute, Higgins started the five-year process with co-writer Shaye Obgonna in 2017.

Though, time has gone fast due to how devoted they are to the project.

“I feel like [the film] represents the kind of work I want to put into the world,” Higgins said. “As long as it took and as complicated as it was, it has meant so much to me and it was truly a joy to work on throughout.”

After coincidentally stumbling upon the set in his hometown, Matalon was offered a production assistant role for “Call Jane,” a story about a woman with an unwanted pregnancy searching for means of a legal abortion. Conversations with some of the crew allowed Matalon to connect with Emerson alum, while simultaneously getting the opportunity of a lifetime.

“I didn’t really expect to be a production assistant on a film this summer,” Matalon said. “A lot of hands on work. It’s been a really cool few months getting to see the process of everything.”

Matalon compared the Emerson

-Alex Disenhof do films because I love them and I connect with the story or the filmmaker, and ‘Alice’ was no different,” Disenhof said. “Once you’ve had a film at Sundance, you’re kind of in the Sundance family, and they’re such great people.”

Parrott also held the position of cinematographer and director of photography on the set of “Chaperone,” a 15 minute short film about a chaperone and his client completing a strange deal at a remote location. As a Sundance first-timer, Parrott still felt the script was brilliant for the festival route, calling it a “rare gem.”

“It was only after I was hired into the project that Zachary Quinto was attached and I knew it was going to be a fierce, powerful story put onto the screen,” Parrott said. “After shooting and it came out, I remember being very proud of the work we did and knew we had a strong chance in getting into Sundance.”

Courtesy Julian Higgins student-run set to the nature of a big-league set, describing levels of control and the hardworking team effort.

“It really taught me that everybody matters, which I didn’t truly believe until I got on the set, but it’s very true,” Matalon said.

“At Emerson, being able to make decisions and have that creative freedom is even more empowering now that I have had the experience

of being on a big set where you’re just a smaller piece to the puzzle.

Being at Emerson and being able to make our own movies here, the simplicity of our sets and crew is a real gift.”

Like student productions, professional sets have had to adapt to the changing way of work due to COVID-19. Being one of the first sets to resume, located in Georgia, Disenhof described the experience as a bit scary, but said the finished product ultimately paid off.

“We felt a bit like guinea pigs trying to figure out how to deal with all the elements before the testing procedures had been completely figured out,” Disenhof said. “Usually when you’re making a film, you go right through and just get it all in one go. It took a long time to make the film. Nonetheless, it was a great crew, great cast, and a really great first-time director.”

Higgins’ set also halted for precautionary measures, but the crew stuck with it until the finished product was ready to be shown to the public.

“We did have to shut down during the pandemic and we had a whole period where we needed to wait and figure out how to resume safely, so it was definitely quite a roller coaster, but we’re done and we’re extremely proud of it,” Higgins said. “We’re all just over the moon that they decided to include us in the festival.”

Disenhof’s favorite part of filmmaking is the collaboration of everyone on set, with people that came from all over and all different types of backgrounds. With everyone working towards the same goal creatively and physically, the process is rewarding in itself, no matter how good or bad the film may be.

“Someone said to me once that it’s community artmaking, and that’s how I like to think of it because you get a set full of people who are all committed to making something,” Disenhof said. “Every shot is essentially a miracle that happens because so much has to go on behind-the-scenes, so there’s a great sense of comradery, friendship, and family really, once you get going. There’s nothing like pushing yourself to the limit with a bunch of like minded people.”

Besides his love for the film medium and creating something from scratch, Parrott also emphasizes his passion for working as a collective to find creative solutions. Every aspect of the process requires some kind of dedication and effort to be analytical.

“I do really enjoy the problem

solving of the day-to-day of being onset, or even problem solving on pre production,” Parrott said.

“That’s what I love about filmmaking as a collaborative process and the problem solving that goes into it. Whether it be coordinating the different departments, sorting cinematography, or even talking to the art department about the shots and the order of shooting.”

Matalon, who is still learning at Emerson side by side with his peers, finds the forged relationships from sets to be significant as well.

“I really love the comradery on set, which is for both Emerson and elsewhere, especially so on these bigger movies,” Matalon said. “Even though you’re miserable at some points, having everyone there to lift each other up and knowing it’s a big team effort really makes it enjoyable in the end.”

Similarly, Higgins feels most satisfied when the cast and crew is unified to produce a complete film, even with an unknown outcome. To him, it’s a “process of discovery” with the group, who brought their distinctive experiences and energies to the table.

“No matter what idea you had as you were writing it, it’s always a surprise, and for me, a pleasure to learn about the movie,” Higgins said. “I’ve been very fortunate on this project to work with a group of people that really cared, committed, and really wanted to tell the story.”

In terms of what he can gain from Sundance, Higgins hopes the public audience thoroughly enjoys the film just as much as he enjoyed. They anticipate finding a distributor for the film when the festival draws to a close, and Higgins looks forward to continuing to work on his craft after his first feature success.

“My plan always is to continue generating my own projects because that is the one thing I can rely on if I want to keep doing this,” Higgins said. “I’ll just con-

American independent film.” An exhibition of screenings, panels, networking, and more allows independent filmmakers to get their foot in the door and open up possibilities.

Tickets are available for purchase for the public. Sundance will be entirely online this year due to the ongoing pandemic.

“Unfortunately, I can’t really see the familiar faces this year because it’s online, but just to have that connection again and have that great support group of people,” Disenhof said.

Each artist interviewed for this article offered advice for aspiring creatives and filmmakers: “I would really encourage people to start thinking now about what they really care about in the world and talk about those things in their work, whatever it might be,” said Higgins.

“The peer to peer learning that happened on the Emerson cam-

“Just as each individual film set fosters its own creative community, Sundance is no different, bringing artists and their work to audiences to inspire and support innovative ideas.”

Courtesy Jordan Parrott tinue to generate work that I can make and be passionate about. A first feature is really a significant moment. Once you actually do get to cross that bridge, it can be a real game-changer.”

Just as each individual film set fosters its own creative community, Sundance is no different, bringing artists and their work to audiences to inspire and support innovative ideas. Parrott finds the festival thrilling, with the name affiliation attached to a top story contender.

“It’s very clear that Sundance is the cream of the crop domestically,” Parrott said. “Sundance does a talented job at putting a spotlight on stories that need attentive care in the industry.”

Higgins describes the festival as “the ultimate destination for

pus was extremely valuable,” said Parrott. “You make mistakes with your peers, but you also learn actively with them. That carries on to the world and the industry.”

“If you love what you do, and it’s hard work especially when you first graduate to figure out ‘how am I going to make a life out of this,’ keep plugging away,” said Disenhof. “You’ll have ups and downs, but it’s the best feeling in the world when things start to click.”

And from a current student’s perspective, Matalan says he’s “much more eager to take advantage of the time I have here now.”

karissa_schaefer@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

January 20, 2022

6

Living Arts

Liz Collins ‘19 to host new podcast ‘Quarter-Life Crisis’ Hannah Ngyuen Beacon Staff

When it seems like everyone around you has already figured out their lives in their mid-20s, you may find yourself asking, “what does it mean to be successful?” Liz Collins ‘19 explores the idea of success in her newest podcast and highlights stories of people navigating success in their twenties and thirties.

Collins transferred to Emerson as a communications student in 2017, exploring podcasting and content making. Her interest in podcasting, though, stemmed not from her coursework, but from her commute to classes.

“I lived in Allston, so I would listen to shows to and from [the college],” Collins said. “Actually, one of the shows that I was really into is hosted by [my current] cohost’s sister.”

In “Human Seeking Human”, Collins, along with co-host Alex Schiefer, goes through old newspapers and other forms of writing to see what’s changed culturally in society and what keeps people connected. The podcast began in Sept. 2020, with Collins joining in May 2021.

“My co-host Alex Schiefer was originally hosting it by himself, and he actually held interviews with listeners to see if anybody would make a good fit for the podcast,” Collins said. “He did interviews with over 100 people, but we really hit it off, and I had a lot of ideas and enthusiasm, and I think he really appreciated that.”

Before joining the show, Collins said she was a fan of Schiefer and his sister, Christine Schiefer,

“She was able to bounce back from different struggles in her life [and became] such a successful person ... It was just a real eye-opener to me that the people that we look up to are still people.”

-Liz Collins on ‘inspiration’ Josiane Martinez

who has two shows called “Beach Too Sandy, Water Too Wet,” which has over 100,000 listeners, and “That’s Why We Drink,” which has over one million listeners. “[Alex and Christine] have their own unit, and I’ve always been a really big fan,” Collins said. “I’ve always had a lot of respect and appreciation for the stuff that they

put out.”

Collins credits a major part of the success in her podcasting career to “Human Seeking Human.” She mentions how she was welcomed into an already existing community and said she was “lucky enough to start my podcasting career with a built-in fanbase.”

Her new show, “Quarter-Life Crisis,” will release its first episode on Feb. 23 and will be available on all major streaming platforms. Collins talks to people in their twenties and thirties about the idea of success, what it means to them, and how they’ve reached it.

“I remember reading a long time ago that Oprah [Winfrey] got fired when she was 27 from the TV program she worked on because they said she was too emotional and too emotionally invested in her stories,” Collins said. “It’s one of those things where when you look at somebody who’s really successful, it’s hard to imagine that they had to fail and struggle and that people were telling them they’re not good enough.”

In addition to Winfrey’s story, Collins’ podcast was also inspired

by Josiane Martinez, CEO of Archipelago Strategies Group—the company she first worked at after graduating from Emerson.

“She just always inspired me because she was very honest about when she didn’t know the answers,” Collins said. “She was forthcoming about how she didn’t get it right the first time. She was able to bounce back from different struggles in her life [and became] such a successful person ... It was just a real eye-opener to me that the people that we look up to are

Courtesy Liz Collins still people.”

She hopes her podcast will spark discussions about challenging the traditional definition of success, while also highlighting achievement stories from her interviewees. She plans to interview CEOs and old colleagues, among many other people, and the podcast will have about 10 episodes per season.

“By interviewing a number of people from all different backgrounds and different types of

success, it’s hopefully going to give me and anybody who’s listening a sense of relativism when it comes to success and self-image and self-esteem,” Collins said.

Those interested in being interviewed for the Quarter-Life Crisis Podcast can contact Liz via email qlcpod.contact@gmail.com. You can also follow the Human Seeking Human Instagram @humanseekingpod. hannah_nguyen@emerson.edu

‘It’s Gonna Be Good’: Emerson Stage to put on production of ‘Next to Normal’ Payton Cavanaugh Beacon Correspondent

Next weekend, Emerson Stage will be putting on the Pulitzer Prize winning musical, “Next to Normal,” an American rock musical by Brian Yorkey about a mother who struggles with bipolar disorder and its effects on her family. As sophomore Alex Serino playing the role of Henry says, “It’s gonna be good.”

The musical explores recurring themes of grief, loss, mental illness, and drug use, among others, whilst analyzing the dynamics of relationships and often begging the question of what normal truly is.

The cast of this show is quite small, made up of 10 individuals: six acting company members and four understudies. As discussed by cast members of the show, the sizing of the cast truly lends itself to the closeness of its members, and the connectedness portrayed on stage.

“Having a cast of six really dedicated actors has just been such a crazy experience, and 100% we do get really close to each other,” said sophomore Maxwell Connor, who plays the role of Gabe, the son of the family. “With a bigger cast, there’s a lot of distractions.

With these people, it’s just only them for hours of the day. I love it.”

Serino also enjoyed the closeknit nature of the show’s cast.

“It’s really a pleasure to work in such a small group just because of how intimate the rehearsal room can be and how we all get along so well,” Serino said. “Cedric, Dennis, Roberta, they’re all just some of the funniest people I’ve ever met, they’re just great to work with, and we all share these great dynamics. There’s a moment where Cedric and I, in the number ‘It’s Gonna Be Good,’ we share this small moment. It’s small, where we just have this connection between each other, and that’s a moment where I see real life reflecting in the characters.”

The show portrays a family and

“That’s also a big theme of the show, asking for help when you need it and finding ways that work for you to get the help that you need.”

-Maxwell Connor

their struggles with mental illness, and what is most notably different in Emerson Stage’s adaptation of the musical is their approach to portraying another message––everyone can face these struggles, no matter who they are.

“This show is all about a family, but in our production, they don’t look like a family,” said Anthony Feola, stage manager of the production. “Mostly everyone is from a different ethnicity and a different background, which is very cool to kind of show how grieving and mental illness can affect anyone no matter who you are.”

Connor also noted the major themes presented in the musical portray real-life struggles that many are faced with.

“I think it’s really important that that was a highlighted part of the show,” Connor said. “That this is an everyday thing for everyone and that these problems are things that everyone can face and that everyone should try and get help for, reach out to people for. That’s also a big theme of the show, ask-

ing for help when you need it and finding ways that work for you to get the help that you need.”

The show is a “good rollercoaster of emotions,” according to Connor, and it is driven by a strong message to be shared.

Serino noted the emotional effect and impact of the performance.

“The closing number is just, if you’re not in tears, I’d be surprised,” said Serino. “It’s strong, there’s just such strong subject matter that really needs to be shared and is so important for people to hear.”

The production, which is currently sold out, will be holding performances Thursday, Jan. 27, and Friday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m.

This is followed by three more performances occurring on Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Sunday, Jan. 30 at 2 p.m. All performances will be held in the Greene Theatre at the Tufte Performance and Production Center. payton_cavanaugh@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

January 20, 2022

7

Seventeen again: alum relives her last year of high school in new podcast Karissa Schaefer Beacon Staff Seventeen is an age that resonates with many—an age full of friendships, appearances, and emotional ups and downs—and that’s no different for Laura Leigh Abby ‘07, the creator of a new podcast called “SEVENTEEN: Conversations with My Teenage Self.”

Premiering Feb. 7, the podcast features Abby reflecting on her 17-year-old self’s diary, alongside teen influencer Leia Immanuel, who voices excerpts of the journal.

Created for the French-American podcast network Paradiso, “SEVENTEEN” will be the brand’s first original show in the U.S. “Paradiso kind of gave me a lot of freedom to figure out what we’ve created here,” Abby said.

“We created the podcast from there based on my 17th year and everything that happened, the choices I made, and what the world looked like back then. That was back in 2003 and it was a weird place to be a teenage girl.”

Abby described her last year of high school as a “defining moment” in her life that “catapulted” her progression into the woman she is now. Although her world ultimately looked culturally different in the early 2000s, Abby emphasizes the many relatable moments of growing up as a teen.

“It’s not just a podcast for women over a certain age,” Abby said.

“Adolescence and teenage life, wherever you are, however your experiences are, there is this similarity in growing up and so many feelings and emotions come out in the podcast. You could listen to it and be like ‘I relate to that’ even though this happened almost 20 years ago. I feel like it’s for anyone.”

Fellow Emerson alum and a friend of Abby’s, Molly O’Keefe ‘06, was initially inspired by a similar format for Paradiso’s French partners. She instantly

Laura Leigh Abby (left) and Molly O’Keefe (right). / Courtesy Laura Leigh Abby knew Abby was perfect for the job.

“I’ve always been a fan of her writing, so you know you always want to work with your friends, especially when they’re super talented,” O’Keefe said. “[The main character] Laura’s quoted from her journals throughout her career.

She went off and looked and came back with what is our show now, really essentially the bones of it.”

O’Keefe serves as the producer of the narrative nonfiction show, which is fully written by Abby, who also conducted all of the interviews ahead of time. The guests feature people from both Abby’s past and present—from family members, to friends, to old love

interests.

“I really went through those journals and the people that were in them, I called them up, and some of them are still my best friends, one of them is my mom, some of them I haven’t spoken to in a long time, so I was like, ‘Would you be interested in being on my podcast?’” Abby said.

Though there’s a connecting theme throughout the eight episodes, each one serves an individual purpose, covering a specific incident in time. Although Abby focuses on creative writing and O’Keefe in visual media arts backgrounds, this podcast allows these women to have fun while experimenting with a new medium.

“It’s not just a podcast for women over a certain age...

You could listen to it and be like ‘I relate to that’ even though this happened almost 20 years ago. I feel like it’s for anyone.”

-Laura Leigh Abby

“Seventeen” artwork. / Courtesy Laura Leigh Abby

“It’s ignorant to call podcasting new anymore, but coming from TV and film, it’s still a place for exploration and playing with different formats and concepts,” O’Keefe said. “Podcasting is still a safe place to explore and play with format. That’s something that really excites us about the podcast is this back and forth conversation.”

Young Laura, the main character from the journals, is described as a character of her own, contrasting with who Laura is today in any way possible. She recalls being a serious teen, respecting her values from back then, and acknowledges how she has lightened up as a wife and mother of two.

“As much as when you launch things into adulthood, things do

get more challenging, but they also get easier once you know who you are and you have yourself a little more figured out, that’s where I am now,” Abby said. “You have to live through it and learn it all.”

Despite the differences, Abby has kept at least one constant in her life: journaling. Her journey as a mom influences her more recent entries, and pages filled with memories of her children growing up just as she did for herself.

“Especially with making this podcast, I’ve really committed to journaling and I can’t stress it enough, everyone should do it even if it’s sometimes at the end of the day,” Abby said. “Just to have those moments to go through, and then you start thinking about other things.”

As a story of relatability that spans across multiple generations, O’Keefe notes Immanuel’s own intrigue for Abby’s life as a 17-year-old herself. “SEVENTEEN” plays into nostalgia for the target audience of older women, while also serving as a case study of a point in time for younger women. “[Leia] was fascinated by that time and specifically about a lot of the insecurities that young Laura had,” O’Keefe said. “Especially seeing Laura as this confident, successful woman in front of her and then to be reading these journal entries. I’m just so happy to see this younger generation that will be fascinated by this, and just to see not that long ago what women were going through.”

The podcast touches a lot on memory and revisits both the good and the bad parts of being 17. Some are fresh in her mind while others that were repressed are found again.

“There’s some buried trauma that she discovers when she goes back into her journals, and she talks about the moments that she looks back on,” said O’Keefe.

“We can all kind of relate.”

While rediscovering her old self has been mostly fun, Abby also relives the insecurities and harsh culture of the time—a world with strict constraints on what it means to be a woman.

“It’s hard to look back at myself and be like ‘Oh, you were so insecure. Oh, you thought you had to hook up with guys and do things you don’t really want to do,’” Abby said. “Pop culture was heavy on misogyny and raunchy on these heteronormative movies, TV, and even in music. That’s what we were living back then.”

Typically, Abby is a writer who works in solitude on drafts and editor notes, but the audio format has proven to be a new learning curve—a rewarding one at that.

“For a podcast, I’ve never written something that’s supposed to be read aloud necessarily, and I’ve never written with a team,” Abby said. “It was kind of intense. I worked with Molly and our other producer. We kind of wrote it together. I’m really lucky to have them.”

Similar to the close-knit relationships described in the journal, Abby’s friendships forged at Emerson are still connected with her today—particularly her Alpha Epsilon Phi sisters, which include O’Keefe and Abby’s wife. The college provided her the steps to network and later go on to get her MFA at The New School.

“We can say I kind of planned my whole life based on my experiences at Emerson,” said Abby.

“Those are just things that help me grow as a person and really prepared me for everything that was to come. I just couldn’t have done any of that without Emerson laying the groundwork for me. I think fondly of those years.” karissa_schaefer@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

Sports

Men’s, women’s basketball teams sweep Wheaton College Tyler Foy Beacon Staff

The men’s and women’s basketball teams took the court in a double header against Wheaton College Wednesday night, winning back-toback conference games at Wheaton’s King Arena.

Sophomore guard Ella Bushee led the women’s team to its first New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference win against Mount Holyoke College on Saturday to push its record to 4-9, setting the stage for the men’s game that followed.

Wheaton’s women’s team entered the game 5-7 on a four-game losing streak. Despite its lack of recent success, the match was a battle between both sides.

The Lyons scored the first points

of the game with a jump shot but the Lions were quick to return the favor.

This back-and-forth energy carried throughout the match, as neither side got further than four points ahead of the other. Emerson held the lead for most of the first quarter, but within the last minute, Bushee missed two free throws and Wheaton put up a mid range-jumper to take the lead, 14-13.

Emerson regained the lead at the start of the second quarter on a layup

by Bushee. The Lions scored another seven points to push the lead to 22-14. Wheaton responded with a series of three-pointers from firstyear guard Riley Sprague, racking up nine points. The teams continued to exchange the lead but deadlocked at 28 at half.

The Lions finally stepped up its defense and pulled ahead in the

third quarter, holding Wheaton to only five points. Bushee scored eight points and sophomore guard Ava Salti hit a key three-point shot to extend the Lions’ lead to 43-33.

This momentum wouldn’t hold up in the fourth quarter as Wheaton’s shots started landing and Emerson’s lead to five points. Five turnovers and several missed shots created chaos on the offensive end, and a three-pointer from Wheaton led to a Lions’ time-out call with just under four minutes left in the quarter. After almost a minute without scoring, junior guard Chelsea Gibbons made a layup, putting the Lions up 49-43.

Wheaton pulled within two points with just one minute left in the game.

Senior forward Katie Beckmann and Gibbons sank four free-pointers. The Lions held the lead for the final seconds and won the game 53-50.

It was then the men’s turn to make an appearance on the court. They had just beaten the Coast Guard on Monday night 75-59 while Wheaton was looking to end a six-game drought.

The Lions struck first with a jump shot from senior guard Zach Waterhouse, who scored his 1,000th point last game, becoming the 19th player

Zach Waterhouse scored his 1,000th point against Wheaton on Wednesday. / Beacon Archives

Patriots’ season ends in underwhelming loss to Buffalo Vivi Smilgius & Ryan Leclerc Beacon Staff & Correspondent The New England Patriots face a long offseason with many questions for 2022 after the organization’s playoff aspirations were cut short on Saturday by a 47-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills.

The wild card loss marked an ignominious end to a relatively successful season. After losing legendary quarterback Tom Brady following the 2019 season—compounded by the ignoble performance of Cam Newton in 2020—New England entered 2021 with low aspirations. Many commentators were ready to count the team out of playoff contention, especially with a rookie quarterback leading the offense.

Selected by the Patriots in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, Mac Jones contributed significantly to the New England’s offense as a rookie quarterback. The Alabama alum finished the season with a league-leading 3,801 passing yards; he also led the NFL in touchdown passes, completion percentage, and QB rating.

Jones was not the problem in Saturday’s game, which saw a defensive breakdown on the Patriots’ end.

Buffalo scored on all of their seven

drives, becoming the first team to do so in the Super Bowl era. The result is particularly disappointing for New England fans, especially after their organization spent $163 million bolstering its roster in free agency.

Despite a 2-4 start to the season, New England’s seven game win streak propelled them to 9-4, putting them in a playoff position. But Mac Jones seemed to hit the “rookie wall” after a bye week in December, when the Patriots fell to the Colts 27-17.

Nevertheless, New England’s offense saw a stark improvement from the brief Newton era of last year.

Running back Damian Harris scored 15 rushing touchdowns for the season—ranking second in the NFL— and tight end Hunter Henry logged nine touchdowns, proving a favored target for Jones.

The Patriots’ offense relied mainly on running the ball, but was aided significantly by its defense.

Linebacker Matthew Judon tallied 11.5 sacks for the season—his career-high—with at least one sack against three-fourths of the Patriots’ opponents, per Pro Football Reference. J.C. Jackson established a presence as one of the best cornerbacks in the league with eight interceptions, the second-highest of any

January 20, 2022

The women’s team improved its record to 4-9 with the win. / Beacon Archives to do so in Emerson basketball history.

The game would not be a walk in the park for the Lions, as the first 10 minutes of the game remained close.

The Lions took the lead on a jump shot from junior shooting guard Max Davis at 17-15 and held it for the majority of the game. They slowly grew their lead throughout the first half, entering halftime with an 11-point lead.

Senior center Jarred Houston dominated Wheaton on both sides of the ball, scoring 13 points and securing 11 rebounds in the first half.

The team struggled shooting from beyond the arc, only sinking four out of 14.

The Lyons started the second half with more energy and almost closed the gap once, coming to 49-47. After a couple of scores from each team,

Wheaton gained the lead from a three-pointer by junior guard Alex Carlisle to make it 52-51.

Emerson responded immediately with a three pointer by Waterhouse, reclaiming the lead. The Lions went on a tear against Wheaton, building upon the momentum.

Waterhouse and Houston had 10 and 15 points respectively, leading the men’s basketball team to be victorious, 81-72. The star center totaled 28 points and 20 rebounds.

Both teams will play again this Saturday with the women’s team playing Eastern Nazarene in the Bobbi Brown and Steven Plofker Gym and the men’s team playing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

tyler_foy@emerson.edu

cornerback in the NFL this season.

However, Jackson’s contract ended in March and there are doubts as to whether the Patriots will secure him for another season.

New England’s strong performances at other positions were not enough to make up for recurring problems at the wide receiver position. N’Keal Harry struggled offensively with zero touchdowns and 12 receptions for 184 yards over the season. Free agency signings Nelson Agholor, Kendrick Bourne and Jonnu Smith all had middling success.

The Patriots’ defense faces another obstacle, more pressing and more difficult to address—age. With Dont’a Hightower at 31 and Devin McCourty at 34, the team will need to focus on rebuilding its defense with younger players. The Patriots will continue to have strong division competition with the Bills, and quarterback Josh Allen shows no signs of decline.

Looking ahead, the Patriots’ cap space will likely prevent them from acquiring top free agents for the 2022-2023 season, meaning they will need to fill in missing pieces by trading or via draft.

contact@berkeleybeacon.com

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Mac Jones looks to be a key piece in New England’s future. / Wikicommons