Impeachment

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

Thursday, February 6, 2020 • Volume 73, Issue 17

TRUMP SAFE, SEMPLE ON THE ROPES Boston rallies against Senate acquittal vote

SGA constitution lays out grounds for impeachment Andrew Brinker, Beacon Staff

Tomas Gonzalez, Beacon Staff

Student Government Association Executive Treasurer Abigail Semple faces questions about the legitimacy of her initial election to the organization and current eligibility bringing to light the possibility of impeachment.

The Beacon identified multiple potential oversights of Student Government Association constitutional policy that have the potential to warrant articles of impeachment against Semple and call into question the validity of her presence in SGA. Semple spent the first weeks of the semester attempting to push through a proposal to create a Financial Equity Board with little avail.

The two grounds include Semple’s failure to meet the appropriate qualifications to serve as the executive treasurer and botched SGA election practices that put into question the legitimacy of her spring 2019 election win.

Article VII, Section II of SGA’s constitution, titled “Qualifications,” dictates that in order for a student to assume the position of executive president, vice president, or treasurer, they are required to be enrolled in at least 12 academic credits at the college.

Semple is currently only enrolled in eight credits at the college, four short of the minimum requirement, making her ineligible for the executive treasurership, according to documentation obtained by The Beacon.

On a chilly and historic Wednesday night, hundreds of demonstrators turned out to the Boston Common to call out what they saw as the mishandling of the impeachment proceedings of President Donald J. Trump.

As demonstrators chanted “What do we want? Democracy! When do we want it? Now!” some 437 miles away in Washington D.C., senators voted Wednesday to acquit Trump from two impeachment articles—with a vote of 5248 on the first and 53-47 on the second. The legislators voted almost entirely along party lines, with only Senator Mitt Romney, R-Utah, breaking with his party on the first article.

The first article charged the President with abusing his power by threatening to withhold monetary aid to Ukraine if the former Soviet state did not do his political bidding. The second article accuses the President of obstructing Congress by refusing to comply with a series of House subpoenas.

“It’s a sad day today, for what the Senate just allowed to happen, which was nothing more than a partisan coverup,” Reverend Vernon Walker said to the crowd. “Essentially the Senate Republicans didn’t want witnesses to come forth because they knew that witnesses would tell the truth, and the truth would condemn the current occupant in office.”

See Reject, page 2

See Treasurer, page 2

Abigail Semple (bottom) at an SGA meeting. Photos by Stephanie Purifoy and Montse Landeros

IDIP faces curriculum changes Celebrating Ashley Onnembo and Carlee Bronkema, Beacon Correspondents The college introduced three working groups this academic year which will transform the Individually Designed Interdisciplinary Program to accommodate and recruit current Marlboro College students, according to a college official The three working groups—the Liberal Arts Curriculum Committee, the Liberal Arts Council, and the President and Provost’s Advisory Committee—are planning to move the IDIP advising and approval process into the Liberal

Arts Council, Associate Professor Amy Vashlishan Murray told the Beacon. As a result, the liberal arts faculty will play a more active role in assisting students who wish to focus on interdisciplinary studies for the new IDIP mechanism.

Dean of Liberal Arts Amy Ansell said the new IDIP process will allow Marlboro students to focus on liberal arts without having to combine majors within departments.

“The old IDIP allowed a student to combine two or more departments or an institute and a department,” Ansell said in an interview. “The

Marlboro IDIP opens a new option, which is that the IDIP can exist wholly within the Liberal Arts. Our hope is that no matter what, the IDIP will reflect Emerson’s specialized fields. It will no longer require an institute with a department in order to go through the approval process.”

Chair of the Liberal Arts Curriculum Committee Vashlishan Murray said the committee will have proposals for the IDIP process and curriculum ready for the Liberal Arts Council

by Feb. 14.

See Transition, page 2

Marlboro groups will not present Jacob Seitz, Beacon Staff Marlboro College will potentially miss a self-imposed target deadline for working groups to present their final reports to the Board of Trustees, according to an email from the president of the institution.

The college originally said the working group reports would be presented to the Board

by Feb. 14—just eight days from now. However, the next board meeting scheduled for Feb. 8 will not include the presentations and there is not another meeting on the books, according to Board of Trustees Chair Richard Saudek.

Cheer team funds held up over storage

By Emily Cardona • p. 8

See Date, page 3

INSIDE THIS EDITION

Treat coronavirus epidemic with caution, not racism Pg. 5

The Beacon online

Emerson alum appears on late-night talk show for magic and comedy Pg. 6

berkeleybeacon

73 years of The Beacon Domenic Conte and Dana Gerber, Beacon Staff

Seventy-three years and four days ago, The Berkeley Beacon launched its first print product under Editor-In-Chief Paul Mundt. Below the flag—which we’ve recreated for this week’s edition—was a message from then-president Boylston Green: “I have little doubt as to the bright future of The Berkeley Beacon.”

The four-page edition, founded by and for the students of Emerson College, can now be found digitally on our website. The paper has since grown into our current eight-page weekly edition, divided into four sections devoted to covering all the happenings across the college community: News, Living Arts, Opinion, and Sports.

Throughout the 20th century, The Beacon served the students of Emerson at every one of our college’s milestones.

In 1968, The Beacon helped spark the first student demonstration in Emerson history over a Dean’s mistreatment at the college. During the Vietnam War, The Beacon published a letter from the college’s president to President Nixon, which expressed his opposition to the war. In 1977, an editorial in The Beacon pointed out a number of inaccuracies in a college report which was attempting to secure accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Berkeley Beacon

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See History, page 3

@BeaconUpdate

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News

The Berkeley Beacon

February 6, 2020

2

Boston residents reject impeachment outcome

Continued from page 1 Common Cause Massachusetts, an organization that promotes activism within the local community, arranged the rally alongside Refuse Fascism, Sierra Club, Free Speech for People, March for Truth Boston and Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts. Speakers included State Director for Senator Edward Markey Jim Cantwell and Ben Clements of Free Speech for People.

Assistant Director of Common Cause Massachusetts Kristina Mensik said the organization decided to hold the rally when it became clear the Senate would vote to acquit Trump. Mensik also mentioned that the State of the Union Address affirmed the value of today’s rally.

“I think everyone must recommit to being active participants in our democracy,” she said in an interview with The Beacon. “So that it is clear that we will not tolerate the precedents that Trump has set and so that we can rebuild from this new low for American democracy.”

Mensik said Common Cause also helped organize 260 other rallies across the nation in cities like Washington D.C., Chicago, and New York.

Cantwell called for Democrats to remain together and vote in the coming election in No-

vember to remove President Trump from office.

Jacob Stern, the Deputy Director of the Massachusetts chapter of Sierra Club—an environmental organization with 3.8 million members worldwide—said the group supports impeachment due to the recent attacks on climate laws.

“We need a strong democracy and a strong judicial branch to uphold environmental regulations when they’re challenged in court, and the Trump administration has shown total disregard for the rule of law, endangering all the environmental laws we fought for over the last half a century,” Stern told The Beacon in an interview.

Massachusets Senator Ed Markey voted in favor of both impeachment articles.

“If we acquit President Trump, he will believe himself to be accountable to no one,” Markey said in a statement released before the vote.

“And when—not if—but when he is again faced with the choice between the public interest and his personal interest, he will choose his personal interest. And it will, in part, be a reckoning of our own making. A majority in this chamber will have made President Trump a dictator.”

tomas_gonzalez@emerson.edu

Hundreds rallied on Boston Common Wednesday evening to protest the Senate’s acquittal of President Trump. Rachel Culver/ Beacon Staff

SGA treasurer facing possible impeachment election was illegitimate under SGA’s constitution. The organization’s constitution dictates Semple, in an interview with The Beacon that in order for a candidate to be elected, they Wednesday night, argued that the minimum must receive a simple majority of total votes credit requirement doesn’t currently apply to cast in the election.

“To be elected, all candidates must receive her, as Article VII deals with election qualifia majority (>50%) of all cations. votes cast in a general “Those are listed as election of the entire Emqualifications to be elected erson College undergradand to be appointed,” she uate population,” it reads. said. “I was elected during “I was elected during the Furthermore, the conthe spring semester of my stitution states that if no junior year while I was a spring semester of my candidate receives more full-time student. If [the qualifications] were for junior year while I was a than 50 percent of overall votes cast in the election, me to serve as treasurer, a secondary election must they would fall under my full-time student.” take place within five days duties and responsibilities, of the initial election to not qualifications.”

- Abigail Semple determine a winner.

The highly conten“In the case that there is tious spring 2019 race for no majority, another elecexecutive treasurer saw tion must take place withSemple win the position after the two top vote getters, Joseph Davidi and in five (5) school days between the two candiBrady Baca, declined the job. Semple managed dates receiving the highest number of votes in to secure the position with a write-in campaign the first election,” it reads. that garnered only 68 votes.

In the case of the Spring 2019 election, no While Semple’s rise to the position at the secondary election was held—Semple simply time raised questions, it now appears that her assumed the position of executive treasurer.

Continued from page 1

Semple acknowledged that SGA failed to “If [the constitution] said ‘evades their ducarry out the appropriate elections procedure ties or does not meet the qualifications for their last spring, but contended that such a misstep role,’ then I would say impeach me,” she said. by the organization as a whole does not warrant “But that’s not what it says. So, I don’t want to her impeachment. resign.”

“At the time I was not a member of SGA,” While Semple rejected the premises of the she said. “It was not my two grounds for impeachresponsibility to run elecment, she argued more tions. It’s not my responbroadly that if her service sibility to determine my “It was not my responsibil- in SGA does violate their own eligibility as a candiconstitution, full impeachdate.” ity to run elections. It’s not ment proceedings and She also drew attention removing her from office to the grounds for immy responsibility to deter- would be counterintuitive. peachment outlined in the “I think that we ought SGA constitution, saying mine my own eligibility as to talk about what’s best that her situation did not for the student body,” she justify any action against said. “Is it really worth it a candidate.” her. to go through a two-week “Any officer of SGA impeachment process and - Abigail Semple who knowingly evades then to train another treatheir duties as set down by surer who might not be this constitution, or comelected to that position mits any act that is determined to be detrimental anyway? Especially when students rely on me to the welfare of the student body is subject to to reimburse them for things?” impeachment,” the constitution reads.

The crux of Semple’s argument is that she did not knowingly evade her constitutional duties. andrew_brinker@emerson.edu

Three IDIP working groups help Marlboro students transition Continued from page 1 The proposals will be reviewed by the Academic Cabinet and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

“I think our proposal would include a framework or spine of new courses that would help introduce interdisciplinarity, help build skills, and thinking about creating an independent program of interdisciplinary studies, and would potentially include capstone projects,” Vashlishan Murray said.

Ansell will coordinate Emerson’s working groups. Wyatt Oswald, the director of faculty development in the institute, Sam Binkley, chair of developmental promotion and tenure committee, and Jamie Lichtenstein, the affiliated faculty representative to the Liberal Arts Council will discuss and recommend curricular adjustments for the IDIP. The President and the Provost’s Advisory Committee will provide advice, feedback, and guidance to the president and provost on academic matters related to the Emerson and Marlboro alliance.

There have been discussions within the working groups during their meetings about IDIP clusters, which would regard certain thematic areas such as the social sciences or the arts. Vashlishan Murray said this would allow

students to utilize the strengths of current de- bett told The Beacon. gree programs while also exploring liberal arts The registrars at both institutions are referand interdisciplinary courses. ring to each student’s degree audits to ensure “It’s still very much an open question about that it is possible for Marlboro students to how [clusters] would intersect with the exist- complete their programs at Emerson. Ansell ing IDIP,” Vashlishan Murray said. “I think we told The Beacon that Marlboro administrators very much want and should are working closely with preserve what it is that the each individual to see if IDIP does now, which is other institutions, possiprimarily to allow students bly those Marlboro Col“It is not known whether to bridge two majors in the lege have transfer agreeschools [of Communication their faculty sponsors from ments with, may be the and Arts]. But there could most beneficial choice for be some important synerincoming students.

Marlboro are coming to gies with that sort of core “There are a few [casof this new curriculum.” support their completion of es] where the focus of The Institute will group their study makes it more Marlboro students into a challenging,” Ansell said. plan.” class of eight to 10 students “It is not known whethwith a professor in their er their faculty sponsors - Amy Ansell senior year. These classes from Marlboro are comwould function similaring to support their comly to the 400-level honors pletion of plan, and mayclasses at Marlboro College in which students be we don’t have the depth of course offerings have one-on-one time with teachers to discuss in that area.” their “Plan,” which is a project that seniors must Working groups at both colleges were crecomplete to graduate from Marlboro. It is often ated in order to focus on curricular issues that focused on what students want to do after grad- the colleges need to resolve in order to maintain uation and is the basis for their junior and senior the alliance. In a Town Meeting held on Nov. year curriculum, Marlboro student Hunter Cor- 14, Marlboro President Kevin Quigley said the

working groups from Marlboro will include three representatives from the college’s community—one faculty member, one student representative, and one staff member. The groups also includes a representative from the town of Marlboro and someone from the alumni council. The groups will be co-chaired by a current trustee and the vice president of the board. “[The working group] is really designed to be a very representative group for the voices and ideas of every stakeholder group,” Quigley said in a previous Beacon interview.

Since December, the working groups have conducted two in-person joint meetings, allowing interactions to occur on both campuses, Vashlishan Murray said. At the beginning of the semester, the groups started having weekly virtual meetings to collaborate on the framework for the new IDIP curriculum.

“Marlboro College is an equal partner in the conversations that are happening,” Vashlishan Murray said. “We’re trying to do two things here: both accommodate Marlboro students to find out if we have what they need at Emerson to allow them to matriculate, but also to create something that’s enduring, that is distinct from what Marlboro has offered in the past and that is true to Emerson.” ashley_ onnembo@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

February 6, 2020

News

3

No date set for Marlboro working group presentations Continued from page 1 Despite this, Saudek said the board is picking up the pace on merger-related issues.

The Trustees meeting on Saturday will be fairly ordinary, Saudek said. Updates from non-merger related committees will be presented during a public session and any fiduciary concerns such as personnel contracts and endowment concerns will be discussed in a closed executive session.

Saudek said some working groups might present updates at the Feb. 8 meeting, but that the final reports will come at a later date.

Quigley said in an email on Feb. 4 to The Beacon that the working groups are currently “making good progress and are on track to make their reports by mid-February,” but said there was not yet a date set for them to do so.

Saudek, on the other hand, is estimating a meet-

ing in late-February or early March for the reports.

On Nov. 14, The Beacon reported that both Marlboro and Emerson colleges formed a series of working groups to hammer out details of the merger. The working groups were broken into five categories: faculty, student, finance, governance, and the future of the Marlboro campus.

Each of the working groups will present their findings to their respective college’s Board of Trustees. Quigley said the final result of those presentations will be a binding legal document that will be signed in May by each college.

Emerson College President M. Lee Pelton said in a separate email that the Emerson working groups are set to present their findings on Feb. 26 and 27. jacob_seitz@emerson.edu

The “Town Crier” bell in the Dining Hall on the Vermont campus. Jakob Menendez / Beacon Staff

The Beacon’s storied history highlights years of innovation Continued from page 1

A 1967 edition of The Beacon is the oldest in the organization’s office.

Stephanie Purifoy / Beacon Staff

In 1997, The Beacon broke a story about a female student’s on-campus sexual assault, which the administration had failed to address.

The 21st century revolutionized The Beacon. In 2011, The Beacon became the first college newspaper with a responsive mobile website, which adjusts its format to every screen size. In 2018, the newspaper made the transition into a daily online publication. With the website, we quickly began publishing breaking news, and feature stories with photo galleries, videos, podcasts, and more.

Last year, The Beacon made headlines when Assistant Arts Editor Frances Hui’s Person of Color Column, “I am from Hong Kong, not China” caused international controversy.

We closed out last year by beginning to publish game stories on the night of each home sporting event, and we began broadcasting the first ever Berkeley Beacon News Hour on WECB

radio. Tonight, we launch a new vertical, The Marlboro Monitor, continuing our trend of tirelessly covering the proposed merger of Emerson and Marlboro College. We cover tragedies, victories, and everything in between, with the same journalistic passion as those who brought our paper into existence.

In the past five years, The Beacon placed second or higher three times for the Associated Collegiate Press’s Best Website Award. The Beacon won first place in 2018 for best website in the four-year, small school category.

Although we began printing over 73 years ago, we are still committed to being by and for the students of Emerson College. We hope to have fulfilled the hope of Boylston Green, and to continue moving proudly into our bright future. domenico_conte@emerson.edu dana_gerber@emerson.edu

Title IX fills coordinator position after two-year vacancy Faith Bugenhagen, Beacon Correspondent The college introduced three working groups this academic year which will transform the Individually Designed Interdisciplinary Program to accommodate and recruit current Marlboro College students, according to a college official.

The three working groups—the Liberal Arts Curriculum Committee, the Liberal Arts Council, and the President and Provost’s Advisory Committee—are planning to move the IDIP advising and approval process into the Liberal Arts Council, Associate Professor Amy Vashlishan Murray told the Beacon. As a result, the liberal arts faculty will play a more active role in assisting students who wish to focus on interdisciplinary studies for the new IDIP mechanism.

Dean of Liberal Arts Amy Ansell said the new IDIP process will allow Marlboro students to focus on liberal arts without having to combine majors within departments.

“The old IDIP allowed a student to combine two or more departments or an institute and a department,” Ansell said in an interview. “The Marlboro IDIP opens a new option, which is that the IDIP can exist wholly within the Liberal Arts. Our hope is that no matter what, the IDIP will reflect Emerson’s specialized fields. It will no longer require an institute with a department in order to go through the approval process.”

Chair of the Liberal Arts Curriculum Committee Vashlishan Murray said the committee will have proposals for the IDIP process and curriculum ready for the Liberal Arts Council

by Feb. 14. The proposals will be reviewed by the Academic Cabinet and the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee.

“I think our proposal would include a framework or spine of new courses that would help introduce interdisciplinarity, help build skills, and thinking about creating an independent program of interdisciplinary studies, and would potentially include capstone projects,” Vashlishan Murray said.

Ansell will coordinate Emerson’s working groups. Wyatt Oswald, the director of faculty development in the institute, Sam Binkley, chair of developmental promotion and tenure

committee, and Jamie Lichtenstein, the affiliated faculty representative to the Liberal Arts Council will discuss and recommend curricular adjustments for the IDIP. The President and the Provost’s Advisory Committee will provide advice, feedback, and guidance to the president and provost on academic matters related to the Emerson and Marlboro alliance.

There have been discussions within the working groups during their meetings about IDIP clusters, which would regard certain thematic areas such as the social sciences or the arts. Vashlishan Murray said this would allow students to utilize the strengths of current degree programs while also exploring liberal arts and interdisciplinary courses.

“It’s still very much an open question about how [clusters] would intersect with the existing IDIP,” Vashlishan Murray said. “I think we very much want and should preserve what it is that the IDIP does now, which is primarily to allow

students to bridge two majors in the schools [of Communication and Arts]. But there could be some important synergies with that sort of core of this new curriculum.”

The Institute will group Marlboro students into a class of eight to 10 students with a professor in their senior year. These classes would function similarly to the 400-level honors classes at Marlboro College in which students have one-on-one time with teachers to discuss their “Plan,” which is a project that seniors must complete to graduate from Marlboro. It is often focused on what students want to do after graduation and is the basis for their junior and senior year curriculum, Marlboro student Hunter Corbett told The Beacon.

The registrars at both institutions are referring to each student’s degree audits to ensure that it is possible for Marlboro students to complete their programs at Emerson. Ansell told The Beacon that Marlboro administrators are working closely with each individual to see if

Cannabis Control Commision Chairman Steve Hoffman speaks to the media after the CCC voted to approve delivery regulations. Montse Landeros / Beacon Staff

other institutions, possibly those Marlboro College have transfer agreements with, may be the most beneficial choice for incoming students.

“There are a few [cases] where the focus of their study makes it more challenging,” Ansell said. “It is not known whether their faculty sponsors from Marlboro are coming to support their completion of plan, and maybe we don’t have the depth of course offerings in that area.”

Working groups at both colleges were created in order to focus on curricular issues that the colleges need to resolve in order to maintain the alliance. In a Town Meeting held on Nov. 14, Marlboro President Kevin Quigley said the working groups from Marlboro will include three representatives from the college’s community—one faculty member, one student representative, and one staff member. The groups also includes a representative from the town of Marlboro and someone from the alumni council. The groups will be co-chaired by a current trustee and the vice president of the board. “[The working group] is really designed to be a very representative group for the voices and ideas of every stakeholder group,” Quigley said in a previous Beacon interview.

Since December, the working groups have conducted two in-person joint meetings, allowing interactions to occur on both campuses, Vashlishan Murray said. At the beginning of the semester, the groups started having weekly virtual meetings to collaborate on the framework for the new IDIP curriculum.

“Marlboro College is an equal partner in the conversations that are happening,” Vashlishan Murray said. “We’re trying to do two things here: both accommodate Marlboro students to find out if we have what they need at Emerson to allow them to matriculate, but also to create something that’s enduring, that is distinct from what Marlboro has offered in the past and that is true to Emerson.”

faith_bugenhagen@emerson.edu

Editorial FEB maintains transparency during financial discourse

The Student Government Association submitted a proposal for a new Financial Equity Board this semester to advocate for the financial needs of the Emerson College student body. The proposal, written by SGA Executive Treasurer Abby Semple, aims to create a broader dialogue around financial equality.

The SGA proposed FEB hoping that they can better support students’ equal access and participation in financial matters. The working proposal indicated a few topics that FEB should address, including the retention of minority students, partnership with the Office of Student Success to promote the Money Matters programs, fiscal undertaking for Marlboro Students transferring into Emerson, as well as helping the Administration develop a better understanding of the average Emerson student.

We think the SGA’s proposal of FEB is interesting, unique, and demonstrates their effort in adding a more diverse presentation of the financial issues to support the student body. Emerson is an expensive school. The 2019–2020 fulltime tuition fee for Emerson College is $48,560, nearly $10,000 higher than the average annual private college tuition in Massachusetts. Like Semple pointed out in the proposal, as only one of the many students attending Emerson, she cannot speak on behalf of the entire student body. By having student representatives, a more diverse range of topics related to different financial and living situations will be represented, and it will benefit students in addressing financial matters more equally.

However, even though the SGA did not pass the proposal and postponed the vote to the next joint session meeting on Tuesday, there’s a problem surrounding transparency. The proposal stated that the weekly Wednesday meetings for FEB would also be closed-door. This will prevent press or students outside of the organization from expressing their thoughts or concerns about the proposal, and it will also stop students from learning about the topic that the board discussed. The proposal said this decision is to ensure students “feel comfortable speaking candidly about personal

financial matters.”

We do understand that for the appointed representatives of FEB, these conversations related to their personal experiences and their financial status are extremely sensitive and private for them, and they may not want to share that information with other students or members of Emerson. As said in the FEB proposal, however, one of the goals for the board is to involve more students to create a larger dialogue around financial equity at the school.

By having closed-door meetings every week, it would be hard for students and other members of Emerson to find out what the members talked about, especially when the FEB also wants to address issues related to the effect of extracurriculars as a financial undertaking for the Emerson Community. For the 2019–20 academic year, students paid $436 per semester to support the finances of on campus organizations, which is included in their tuition. If FEB does suggest to decrease funding for one or more student organizations on campus, they can potentially influence the Financial Advisory Board’s distributions of those funds.

These are important decisions that students outside of FEB or SGA need to have a voice in, and it’s also important for FEB to remain transparent in what they do in their weekly meetings and the suggestions they make to FAB. FEB should allow students to monitor their meetings and decision-making in some way, so that more students can have their voices heard and their concerns advocated for.

Students of color make up only 39% of Emerson College’s degree-seeking student population, and finances are an important reason behind it. As SGA works to keep finding different ways to represent different financial needs across campus, we encourage students to speak up and monitor the job that they do, and at the same time, we also hope to see SGA open their door to all students so they can really have their voice heard.

This editorial is written by The Berkeley Beacon editorial board, which consists of the Editor-in-Chief, the Managing Editors, and the Opinion Section.

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4

Editor’s Note

Editorial Cartoon illustration by Christine Park

Student Org leaders trying to get anything done.

February 6, 2020

Take a moment and think, does the flag on the front page look familiar?

If you consider yourself an Emerson College history buff, then recognition should’ve hit like a freight train. For those who don’t concern themselves with the long, storied record of our college, I’ll go ahead and end the guessing game.

In honor of The Beacon’s birthday on Feb. 1, we decided to pay homage to the courageous staff who took the steps to create the college’s first and only independent student newspaper. We salute all the hard work that editors, reporters, copyeditors, photographers, designers, and others put into the paper over the past seven decades.

Happy belated birthday to The Berkeley Beacon. We’ve survived this long, let’s see if we can make it 73 more years.

Sincerely, Chris Van Buskirk Editor-in-Chief

Crossword

by Ethan Spitalney

Down

Across 1. Yellow accessory in “Curious George” 4. Miembro de una familia 7. Type of book you make look better 9. Humility’s opposite 10. 2018 World Series winner 11. Wonder or dread 12. Rational self, to Freud 15. Shared room for students, perhaps 18. Especially unhappy 21. Manned the controls 22. Elmer Fudd, to Bugs Bunny 23. Was in first

1. Kentucky Derby participant 2. Large amount 3. Carryout order 4. Sn, in tables 5. General Electric, e.g.

6. Number in a dating profile 7. Crop disturbance 8. Sprinted, say 9. Org. for attorneys 12. Put in, as a link 13. Standard ended in 1971 14. “The ___ and onlay” 15. Argumentative writing strategy for students, abbr.

16. Word before “surgeon” or “hygiene” 17. Pal at a pub 18. Online forum mediator, in brief 19. Wall St. headline subject 20. 1 ; ___ ; 60 ; min.

Answers available on https://berkeleybeacon.com/ crossword-answers/

The Berkeley Beacon

February 6, 2020

5

Thoughts

Treat coronavirus epidemic with caution, not racism

memes about n-CoV circulated on social media. us have never even been to China but know we One of them is an editorial cartoon from George will not go unscathed.”

Osborne, editor of the Evening Standard, a Now, it seems like anyone who looks East newspaper based in London. It depicted a rat Asian is a suspect of having the “Chinese wearing an anti-viral mask with the “Happy virus.” For the first time in my life, I am scared New Year” written below. People all around to walk on the streets. I feel like my skin color, the world started making fun of the virus and and the way I look, associates me with the treating it as some “Chinese-only” disease as if “Chinese virus,” and wherever I go, I can feel no one outside of China will be affected. I’ve people stare at me with fear, as if this Chineseseen people saying Chinese people “deserve” looking girl will transfer the virus to them. n-CoV because they “eat puppies,” and this The real problem is that many people fail to virus is a “punishment.” There are also people see that residents of China are the biggest victims saying “Chinese people are disgusting,” “make of this n-CoV outbreak, and that many people us sick with their shitty meals,” and “Asians think racism is an effective method for stopping really need to learn how to be humans.” One the virus. Instead of being racist, however, comment online even people should educate says, “I really want themselves about them in hell.” this new type of Just as I thought the coronavirus, because racism was limited to at this point, protecting “People fail to see that the internet, I got a real ourselves from the taste of it from my friend virus also protects our residents of China are and through my own families and friends. real-life experiences.

First off, stay the biggest victims of this aware of the latest A stranger asked my “Now, it seems like anyone who looks East Asian is a suspect of having the ‘Chinese virus.’” • friend, an international information on the n-CoV outbreak.”

Illustration by Christine Park / Beacon Staff student studying in outbreak.

Many California, why she resources online, N-CoV broke out during the Lunar New Year, was “not wearing a including the World Xinyan Fu Health Organization’s Fu is a sophomore jounalism major and the biggest festival in China, where people are mask,” and asked her website, include Beacon Opinion Columnist. supposed to celebrate and enjoy their time with to “wear a mask just for their family. Instead, doors are closed, hospitals others’ sake” after the first confirmed case in updates on n-CoV. Second, wash your hands It’s been more than a month since the first are jammed with patients, and pharmacies were California. As for myself, I saw people around frequently, especially after using the MBTA report of the novel coronavirus from Wuhan, mobbed up by panicked citizens. An apocalypse me making jokes about n-CoV and Ebola, and public bathrooms, because it could help China. grew out of what many expected to be the most ignoring the thousands of people and families kill the germs and viruses on your hands and According to the World Health Organization’s exciting time of the year, both in Wuhan and suffering from it. People also commented under prevent possible infection. Thirdly, avoid going latest Novel Coronavirus Situation Report, as of across the entire country of China. my social media post about n-CoV, even though to crowded places and maintain a reasonable Feb. 3, there have been 17,391 cases confirmed, When I first saw the news of the suspected my post did not relate to it. The only correlation distance between yourself and other people of which 17,238 are reported in China. The case in Washington state I was very unsettled. is my user name, Xinyan Fu, an exotic East while socializing, since sneezing and coughing number of reported deaths is 361, adding 57 Even though I told my friends not to panic, Asian name. most commonly passes the flu or viruses to more to the total from the day before.

I worried about something much more Many others besides my friend and myself others. Last but not least, seek medical help if The coronavirus, also known as 2019-nCoV, uncontrollable—racism. I was concerned face these massive racist attacks. On Tuesday, necessary. Please don’t wait until it is too late. is a new strain of coronavirus previously the break out of the disease would intensify the entrance of a restaurant in downtown Seoul Most important of all, educate yourself and identified in humans. As with other respiratory people’s stereotypes and discrimination toward put a sign written in Mandarin, “No Chinese the people around you. Ignorance won’t help us illnesses, an n-CoV infection can cause a runny Chinese and East Asian looking people, which allowed.” And it is not the only restaurant that overcome n-CoV. It would only push us to sink nose, sore throat, cough, fever, and other mild could result in more significant consequences does so. In Canada, Chinese parents are worried further into the endless suffering of pain. symptoms. It is highly transmissible and as besides the virus itself. about the upcoming waves of racism. Terri contagious as seasonal influenza.

A week later, my fear came true: countless Chu, a Toronto resident, tweeted that “Many of xinyan_fu@emerson.edu

We shouldn’t have to adapt food for Americans

Melisssa Rosales Rosales is a senior journalism major, Beacon podcast producer, and opinion columnist.

The first time I tried sushi in a Boston restaurant, I noticed something was off — it didn’t taste like the sushi I grew up eating in the Philippines. There was a lack of something but I couldn’t put my finger on it. I was alarmed as my friends enjoyed eating it as if they didn’t even notice it. I thought I was crazy, but my taste buds weren’t lying: American sushi is not real sushi.

America is a melting pot of cultures and while I’m happy that different cuisines are shared, authenticity is often reduced. Authentic food offers a closer understanding of a different culture and brings people together.

In my sophomore year, I reported on a Filipino pop-up food event in Cambridge’s Lamplight Brewery. I was excited to eat Filipino food again but was perplexed when I saw the menu. One of the items was a pork longganisa dog with furikake and banana ketchup. Longganisa is traditionally served at breakfast with rice and egg.

“It was a good idea to make it like a longganisa hotdog so people would understand ‘Oh, it’s a hotdog’ and they can piece that together,” Justin Vistro, one of the organizers for the pop-up event said. He said the mix of language would help familiarize Americans to try Filipino food.

Vistro said people were receptive to the food because of this approach. While the event was a success, I’d rather have my longganisa breakfast instead. Maybe I’m being ambitious and nationalistic, but I would rather showcase my culture’s food as what it truly is. It’s unfair that chefs have to tweak their dishes to please an American crowd.

American sushi also used this concept to appeal to their American consumers. Sushi is also known as vinegar rice. This type of rice is smaller in grain and seasoned with rice wine vinegar, sugar, and salt. However, the sushi I ate in that Boston restaurant were bigger in size and

challenge is trying something you’ve never had before.

Senegal’s national dish, ceebu jen, meaning rice and fish, is in the menu of former South End restaurant Teranga. When I interviewed owner Marie-Laude Mendy for an article, she said it was hard to serve the dish to customers because the fish is served bone-in. Customers would complain and ask her to serve the fish without the bones, but Mendy wanted to keep to tradition. Unfortunately, the restaurant is now permanently closed.

When my current boyfriend and I ordered takeout with his parents from Somerville’s DAKZEN, his father said he didn’t want to order pad thai. “Pad thai is too sweet,” he said.

If he tried true pad thai like I, fortunately, was able to, I’m sure he’d say something else. It saddens me to think that Americanized food has created a different taste palate. The food might taste good, but the true taste is lost.

In an episode of The F Word, Gordon “It’s unfair that chefs have to tweak their dishes to please an American crowd.” • Illustration by Ramsay cooked his “quick and easy” pad thai.

Christine Park / Beacon Staff He wanted to serve it to the Buddhist monks in a Thai temple in London, but Thai chef Chang didn’t have the slightest hint of the vinegary and Panda Express is delicious, but it’s not real said he wanted to taste it first. sweet flavor I expected. At some restaurants, Chinese food. General Tso’s chicken, orange He gave Ramsay a blank stare and said, sushirritos were also introduced to appeal to chicken, and even fortune cookies originated in “This is not pad thai at all. Pad thai has to be America’s large portion size despite the dish America, not China. ChowHound said lo mein sweet, sour, and salty.” Ramsay tasted the dish made to enjoy in one bite. noodles are traditionally cooked in a lighter and replied, “I think that doesn’t taste too bad.”

These practices introduced American people and thinner sauce made with soy sauce and rice Chang’s final words: “For you, but not for me.” a range of food that is vinegar, but lo mein in Cuisines shouldn’t adapt to cater to not authentic to their the U.S. is cooked in a Americans. If Americans want to be more culture, and thus made thick, brown sauce made cultured and explore different types of food, the authentic foods seem with chicken broth, soy they should taste dishes in their true form.

“The real challenge is weird and confusing. I sauce, hoisin, ginger, Look for Chinese restaurants where there once went on a date to sauce, sesame are predominantly Chinese guests, research trying something you’ve oyster China Pearl Restaurant. oil, rice wine, and authentic restaurants in your area, order My date was confused cornstarch. something off the menu you haven’t tried never had before.” as to why there was a My date looked at me before, and ask for recommendations from server going around the and said he didn’t know friends. restaurant pushing a cart how to eat the spare No matter how foreign and unappetizing the full of steamed baskets. ribs. I giggled to myself food may look or smell, or difficult to eat, there I ordered spare ribs, and my date said he’s never but was happy to show him. In retrospect, I is no harm in exploring your palate. You can heard of the dish before. I was shocked he had was lucky to go on a date with someone who always spit something out, but you can never never eaten my favorite Chinese dish before, so was willing to try something new. I believe taste something authentic if you haven’t tried it. when I asked him what his favorite dishes were, Americans’ perception of what is good and he basically listed the Panda Express menu. real food is unfortunately not true. The real melissamarie_rasales@emerson.edu

Living Arts

The Berkeley Beacon

February 6, 2020

6

Emerson artist-in-residence releases book about transition Taina Millsap, Beacon Staff A few months before P. Carl’s fifty-first birthday, just over two years ago, he made the final steps to transition from female to male. Around a year later, in an effort to better understand his own journey, Carl began brainstorming ideas for a book that would document his journey.

Carl’s new book, Becoming a Man: The Story of a Transition, released on Jan. 28, 2020 and tells the story of his transition. The book is currently being adapted into a play by Carl for the American Repertory Theater at Harvard.

“The book moves from cultural to personal to political, and it weaves in and out of different times of my life—it’s not a linear story,” Carl said in a phone interview from Princeton, New Jersey. “I really tried to write a book that anybody could draw things from and so I very much connect this idea of transition of gender to a lot of the social and political conflicts that we are in now. It’s both a cultural and political analysis and a personal journey.”

Carl, an artist-in-residence at Emerson College, also holds the Anschutz Distinguished Fellowship at Princeton University, where he teaches a class he created on confronting narratives of white masculinity. The topics discussed in the class are also present in his book.

The memoir also touches on questions surrounding the current political climate in the

U.S. Carl said one of his goals for the book is to raise more questions than answers.

“Things are changing now but historically there’s been so few trans narratives, and very few transmasculine narratives,” Carl said. “I was very interested in the questions of becoming a man and also becoming a white man in the era of [Donald Trump] and the #MeToo movement and the implications of that.”

Carl relived the painful experiences of transitioning while going through the process of editing his work. Carl said the process taught him a lot about allowing himself to sink into the dark and unknown places of his mind.

“The challenge with this book is that it’s very open and honest and I think that it’s painful to go in and out of it, and when you’re writing a book you go through many stages,” Carl said.

“It’s kind of like going back to your most difficult experiences and you kind of have to keep doing it over and over again and that’s one of the challenges of writing a book like this.”

The different emotions Carl encountered while transitioning also took on a new form as he discovered new layers to his experiences.

“I think for me writing is learning,” Carl said.

“Sometimes you think you understand an emotional situation and then when you start writing about it, it becomes more complex.”

Carl said he is a few drafts into his play adaptation with no set timeline for when the project will be ready.

At Emerson, Carl teaches courses in various departments, including a class called contemporary play adaptation, where students learn about how to adapt books into plays.

“Last semester I took his contemporary play adaptation,” Senior Jenna Glazier said. “That class was especially focused on the writing of his book and the adaptation of his book to play.

We all got pre-published copies of it at the beginning of the semester which was really exciting.”

Glazier read and discussed the book in class before it was officially released to the public.

Glazier said students experienced first-hand the passion he had for the story and followed his process of writing the book and adapting it into a play.

“Because I know [P.Carl] it was really easy for me to hear his voice in the book which I really liked,” Glazier said. “I think that even if you don’t know him his voice is very distinct, he’s a very theoretical and cerebral person and I think that comes through in the book. The magic of [P. Carl] is that he makes all those things very approachable and understandable.”

Sylvia Spears, vice president for Diversity and Inclusion and Carl’s long-time coworker was excited to get to know Carl’s past through the vulnerable retailing in his book.

“When I read the book I found it to be, as I describe it, painfully beautiful,” Spears said.

“Because it gives you such a close-up and real-

ly personal sense of [P. Carl’s] experience over time, and some of the pain that was associated with that experience as well as this incredible moment of stepping into who he’s always been.”

The pain in Carl’s words surprised Spears as she read his story. Even after knowing him for roughly six years, she was unaware of many elements of his family life and past experiences.

“It was interesting to realize his sheer resilience in going trough his transition and the discrimination that he faced in the world, but also to see him go through that and now be recognized as an artist, writer, and a teacher,” Spears said. “There’s no other book out there that shares that close-up and personal the nature of the experience of transitioning, and the joy that comes with that.”

The book was released to the general public only one month ago, but Carl is already thrilled with the responses from readers.

“I’ve heard from a lot of people that they’ve been able to connect to it even if it’s not their story, or maybe not even similar to their story, and it’s been a very moving experience to have people have that reaction,” Carl said.

taina_millsap@emerson.edu

Emerson alum appears on late-night talk show for magic and comedy Julian Valgora, Beacon Correspondent Alum Justin Willman ’02 already had the idea of combining his passion for comedy with his showmanship as a magician before he graduated from Emerson. Willman is appearing on late-night talk shows 18 years later, starring in his original Netflix series Magic for Humans, and performing stand-up in venues and theaters across the country.

“Magic is escapism. It gives you a little wonder and reminds you of that feeling of joy that we all remember feeling as kids,” Willman said in a phone interview from Los Angeles. “Magic inherently appeals to old people, young people, and everyone in the middle, and that’s what really draws me to it.”

Willman recently appeared on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon on Jan. 16, 2020 following the release of the second season of his Netflix series Magic for Humans, released Dec. 6, 2019. Willman is now on his “Magic in Real Life” tour, traveling all over the country from Feb. 8 to May 16, 2020.

Willman said he began practicing magic professionally in high school, where he often performed card tricks and sleight-of-hand illusions at birthday parties. He arrived at Emerson in 1998 and began studying broadcast journalism while visiting colleges across Boston and practicing his stand-up comedy. Both experiences eventually assisted him as a performer, as his studies in broadcast journalism prepared him for appearing on television and his tours allowed him to hone his craft, he said.

In his sophomore year, Willman met Dan Leavy ’03, an Emerson student who also practiced comedy. The two participated in open-mic nights together around venues in Boston and eventually moved to Emerson’s Los Angeles campus together in 2001. In LA, they co-hosted a comedy night once a week.

After graduating, Willman decided to stay in LA and began brainstorming and pitching ideas for a comedy and magic-infused TV show.

“I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what my TV magic show was going to be,” Willman said.

In August 2017, after many failed pitches, Willman released Magic for Humans on Netflix. He said the release allowed his career to pick up steam.

“It’s a show that uses magic to explore the human condition,” Willman said. “I use magic to explore all the facets of life that I don’t know how to do: love, fatherhood, technology, all these things that I struggle with and that I’m curious about. I use this disarming art form of magic to hopefully chip away at the truth.”

Willman described Magic for Humans as a fresh take on the magic genre, and a show de-

Justin Willman is riding the late night circuit after a successful second season of his Netflix show Magic for Humans.

Courtesy of Justin Willman signed to inspire kindness and friendliness between people. He said that the series stands out from others because of its use of comedy and unique twist on the traditionally mysterious and all-knowing magician figure.

“Here the magician is not the superhero, superhuman magic archetype with no flaws that we’re used to,” Willman said. “I’m just a dude, a normal human like everyone else.”

Willman said season one of Magic for Humans is the main reason for his increased success outside of television. He said that he has started to perform stand-up in theaters and auditoriums, moving away from venues and restaurants. He performs comedy shows at The Wilbur, a theatre across from Emerson, at least once a year.

Maxx Carr, an Emerson Freshman with an interest in comedic writing, has been following Willman since the first season of Magic for Humans. In an in-person interview, Carr said how much she enjoys the show and what it means to her as a student pursuing comedy.

“Magic for Humans is like a really nice feel-

good show with a lot of fun tricks,” Carr said in an interview. “[Willman] has a really strong and exciting personality that makes him an engaging comedian, and I feel like I’ve even learned a little from that.”

Along with his stand-up tours, he said the second season release of Magic for Humans gave Willman the opportunity to appear on many late-night talk shows. So far, Willman has appeared on Conan, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and most recently on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Willman said his appearances on these shows are a dream come true, as he would often watch them when he was younger and study the performative personalities of the show hosts.

“Justin’s ability to bridge the gap between comedy and magic is what separates him from other magicians,” said Alex Murray, Willman’s manager since 2010. “His attention to detail and overall great attitude is another secret to his success.”

Willman said he is excited and about his future career opportunities, potential upcoming

seasons for Magic for Humans, and a possible stand-up special. He also said he dreams of establishing a talk-show and perform with his own distinct and engaging talk show personality.

“I always identified with the goal of hosting,” Willman said. “I would want to keep being a guest on those talk shows, and maybe host a show like that myself.”

When reflecting on his growing success, Willman said that he owes a lot of his experiences and achievements to his time at Emerson.

He said studying at Emerson opened him up to different opportunities in Boston and Los Angeles that ultimately landed him in his current position.

“I really lucked out with Emerson,” Willman said. “I’m grateful that I had the opportunity to gig around town as much as I did, and befriend people who were like-minded to bring me out of my comfort zone and get me to where I am today.” julian_valgora@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

February 6, 2020

Living Arts

7

Students of color create series representing minority communities

Katiana Hoefle, Beacon Staff

Sam Fish ‘15 felt frustrated with the lack of space for young artists in Boston. He opened EXIT, a pop-up gallery near Emerson to solve that problem. • Courtesy of Andre Beriau.

When Emily Cristobal realized that she was one of the few minorities in her honors program, she wondered if she was being “tokenized” because of her ethnicity.

“All the white kids, I just thought were so much smarter than me, because they came from these great schools that had great educational programs,” Cristobal said. “I felt like they only put me in the program because I am brown and I am from Hawaii and I tick off the minority boxes.”

Now, as a senior, Cristobal began creating a four-part documentary series called “Beneath the Surface” with Emerson Channel to represent the narratives of other Emerson students of color and their experiences at predominantly white institutions. Cristobal is one of three executive producers on the show, including Gabriella Leonel and Brenda Herman.

“At the end of the day Emerson’s campus is not one that is inviting to students of color or to lower socio-economic students of color specifically as well as international students,” Leonel said.

The crew, made up of entirely students of color, is in its beginning stages of production.

Cristobal said they plan on filming interviews within the next two weeks for their 10–15 minute episodes.

“Just doing interviews for crew hiring and meeting so many incredible freshmen that have felt the way we have felt at times is so heartbreaking,” Leonel said. “And it is so heartbreaking to see the way that our community continues to unconsciously affect students who just came here who are already thinking of transferring because they feel as though their skin color is showing in their classes because

they walk around and everyone is white.”

Cristobal and Leonel said white students in particular make up their intended audience, as the series is supposed to be educational. However, they hope everyone, including other students of color and faculty members, watch the series as well.

“Having this conversation and being able to talk about these issues is the only way that we can hopefully change the perspective of other people,” said freshman Jose Barrera-Aguirre, member of the concept development team.

The themes of episodes will vary depending on the interviews. Leonel said they hope to touch on experiences of feeling unwelcomed and pressured to represent minority communities.

“It’s often really hard, especially for students of color, to be those voices and say those things,

because as much as you want to feel comfortable with white students, there’s a disconnect,” Leonel said. “It’s hard to say something to those white peers that you love and you care about because you don’t want to feel like you are attacking them or damage your relationship with them.”

Leonel said she felt she was at a disadvantage compared to her fellow white students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds who came to Emerson with full resumes.

“I think students at Emerson are afraid of acknowledging their white privilege, and their white fragility,” Leonel said. “White students are often very scared to admit that they have money, very scared that they come from a way more advantaged situation. Use your position that is more advantaged as a way to help other students and recognize biases. Some students need to be taught how to use a camera in their freshmen year.”

Emerson is known for being one of the top ten most inclusive universities for LGBTQ+ students, according to the Princeton Review.

Leonel believes the college hides behind this fact in order to not acknowledge the school’s diversity problems. Leonel said this is particularly noticeable when students react to misgendering, but not racial microagressions.

“We are all very quick to be a good ally in that sense but again there is a difference between queer ally-ship and racial ally-ship and white ally-ship specifically, and it’s not the same,” Leonel said.

Due to Emerson’s lack of diversity, Leonel said she is often grouped into one community, even though students of color come from all different backgrounds. They hope to combat the single narrative by including as many different voices of color as they can.

“I can’t find a Latinx person that identifies with the same things I do, being from the United States from a lower socioeconomic status and immigrant parents,” Leonel said. “It’s just important to keep in mind that everyone’s narrative is different and everyone’s story is different and even within our own communities we can feel left out too.”

Cristobal said students of color responded positively to the project and expressed a desire to have more awareness raised around the topic.

“Every time I hear that, a little part of me just hurts because it is sad that it has taken this long for something like this to happen but also so happy that we are the people starting this,” Leonel said. katiana_hoefle@emerson.edu

The unseen side effects of slave films Melanie Curry is a junior journalism major and this week’s Film columnist.

When I was around ten years old, I watched a miniseries titled Roots that explored generations upon generations of slavery. At such a young age, I never connected the characters of Roots and their suffering with my ancestors. As I grew up, however, and slave movies such as 12 Years a Slave and The Birth of a Nation became more popularized, I learned that our history isn’t just history. It is something that continues on today and negatively impacts African Americans through mass incarceration and the economic gap.

These three consequences, along with many others, are reasons why I refuse to watch movies about slavery. When the official trailer for Harriet was released six months ago, everyone around me, both white people and people of color were excited to finally see a film about the courageous Harriet Tubman. I, on the other hand, was horrified and decided to not see a movie where my ancestors would be whipped and beaten in front of me.

Watching movies like Harriet and Django Unchained are traumatic. Don’t get me wrong—I think it is wonderful that Hollywood is making more films with predominantly black actors and actresses. However, as a black person living in a country where racism, prejudice, and discrimination were just as real in the 19th century as they are now, watching slave mov-

ies are reminders of how barbaric my ancestors experience racism and prejudice firsthand, but were treated and how their pain and suffering now black people have to witness their ancestor’s experiences as well—an emotional and now lives on in their offspring.

Think about it—slavery ended over 100 traumatic experience.

“When we look at American chattel slavery, years ago and yet, there are police officers murdering or harassing young black men and wom- we are not talking about a single trauma—we’re en, including Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, and talking about multiple traumas over lifetimes Laquan McDonald. These incidents are broad- and over generations,” Joy DeGruy, an educacasted on social media and television where tor and author who coined post-traumatic slave black audiences see people who look like them syndrome, said to Ebony. “Living in black skin killed solely because of the color of their skin. is a whole other level of stress.”

More and more African Americans are tired This aggravates feelings of fear, anger, and isolation, which are symptoms of post-traumatic of watching movies about our past, an experience called slave narrative fatigue, according slave syndrome, according to Ebony. to Our Weekly. There Unlike post-traumatic are already more than stress disorder, post-trauenough slave films, so matic slave syndrome is “I, on the other hand, was why are slave narrathe consequence of multives continuously being tigenerational oppreshorrified and decided to not made? sion caused by slavery, According to the Asinstitutional racism and see a movie where my ances- sociated Press News, prejudice, and the adapslavery films reflect totive behaviors African tors would be whipped and day’s political climate Americans adopted to and serve as a commusurvive. This syndrome beaten in front of me.” nication tool. Since conexplains why black peoversations about slavery ple live cautiously and are often too hard to are more than 20 percent conduct because of inlikely to experience severe mental illness than other races, according accurate education, slavery movies act as a surto the Anxiety and Depression Association of rogate to explain and remind audience members of America’s brutal history.

America.

Slavery movies are important—they educate With more slavery movies appearing on the big screen, black audiences are more suscepti- and remind blacks, whites, and people of color ble to experiencing PTSS. In today’s political of our country’s past. They seek to help audiand social climate, seeing slavery films where ence members come to terms with the true stoyour ancestors are beaten and whipped are re- ries of how and why this country was built. Deminders of the black men and women gunned spite the Civil War ending over 150 years ago, down in the streets. It’s already hard enough to slavery still affects our country today. However,

this does not mean these films are not traumatic, disturbing, and anxiety-inducing to black people.

Furthermore, watching slavery movies is not as educational to black people as it is for white people. With most films either dramatized or fictional, what’s the message behind these films? If people want to know more about slavery, they need to pick up a book instead.

If Hollywood wants to be more inclusive while focusing on black stories, slavery films are not the answer. From the rebooted Roots series to the film Freedom, there are more than enough slave films. If filmmakers want to focus on our history, there’s the Civil Rights era, War on Drugs, or mass incarceration. The Help and If Beale Street Could Talk are among a few movies that showcase black struggles outside of slavery. Slavery is not the only aspect of our identity that defines the lives of black people and should not be treated as such.

The truth is that being a black person can be traumatic. And, seeing my ancestors whipped and beaten on the big screen for entertainment value doesn’t make it easier for me to live with my history and identity as a black woman.

Yes, slavery existed. Yes, it is a part of our history, but only one part and not the entirety. Think about that the next time you head to AMC for the latest slavery flick.

melanie_curry@emerson.edu

Sports

The Berkeley Beacon

February 6, 2020

8

UPCOMING ACTION MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Emerson at Eastern Nazarene, 7 p.m., Thu. MEN’S VOLLEYBALL: Emerson at Dean, 7 p.m., Tue. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Emerson at Wheaton, 1 p.m., Sat. MEN’S BASKETBALL: Emerson at Springfield, 3 p.m., Sat.

Lack of storage space leaves cheerleading appeal in limbo Emily Cardona, Beacon Staff The cheerleading team received an appeal of more than $10,000 in fall 2019, but are unable to purchase supplies due to a lack of storage space.

The team received the ten thousand dollar appeal from the Financial Advisory Board for new tumbling safety mats, new equipment storage bins, and new warmup uniforms. They spent $900 on new three-piece uniforms.

Junior team captain Emily Harrison said the athletic department does not have space for the team’s new mats and equipment bins, and that the organization is waiting for a solution before ordering the equipment.

“We are in a bit of a limbo,” Harrison said.

“We have the money, but we don’t have the storage space.”

The advisor of the cheer team and Associate Director of Athletics Boe Pearman said the athletic department is working on a solution for the storage issue.

“Unfortunately, our building here is stuffed to the gills,” Pearman said in a phone interview.

“We’re just landlocked with the amount of space underground here.”

SGA Executive Treasurer Abigail Semple said the team confirmed with the Financial Advisory Board that they planned to make space for the mats, and that is why the Board approved the appeal.

“We are not going to authorize making that purchase until they provide further evidence that they have space for the items,” Semple said in an interview. “They said in their FAB hearing that they were in conversations on finding a space.”

Harrison said the original storage plan for the new tumbling mats fell through.

“We originally thought we had a closet space in Paramount,” Harrison said. “We are still currently reaching out to Andy Donahue about figuring out a space in Paramount, but it’s a very slow process.”

Before the team was recognized in spring 2018, members paid out of pocket or did off-campus fundraisers for expenses. New members paid for their own cheer shoes, bows, and spandex to wear underneath their uniforms.

The cheerleading squad practicing in the Bobbi Brown and Steven Profkler Gym. Montse Landeros / Beacon Staff The total expenses range from $101 to $171.

“Being recognized, this gives a lot of opportunities for the team,” Harrison said during an interview. “We can focus on cheering and continuing the expansion of the team.”

Harrison said the team’s recognition by SGA creates financial stability and is a step in the right direction.

“It was really exciting when the team got recognized,” junior and ex-treasurer of the cheer team Lea Tatoris said. “Our final goal has always been being able to compete.”

The cheer team does not have a coach, so Harrison choreographs their routines. Harrison said the team’s main focus this semester is to be

more involved with the athletic department and collaborate more with Emerson organizations.

“We want to be more visible around campus,” Harrison said. “We’re trying to stop people from asking ‘Does Emerson has a cheer team?’”

The team practices on Tuesday and Thursday nights in the Brown and Plofker gym. The team cheers at basketball, soccer, volleyball, and lacrosse games. Harrison said the team’s busiest weeks are during the basketball season because they perform a routine during halftime.

“This season we came up with a new thing that I call ditties,” Harrison said. “During a full timeout or in between the corners of the gym,

we will go out and we’ll do a quick little couple eight count to a song.”

Pearman said the team has taken more ownership and become more serious about their practices.

“They took it upon themselves to schedule their practices at the gym and they just have a more professional manner on everything they do,” Pearman said. “They take their position as ambassadors very seriously.”

emily_cardona@emerson.edu

Houston matures as centerpiece of the Lions Pedro Figueiredo, Beacon Staff Jarred Houston’s high school coaches almost cut him during his freshman season. He now leads the conference in multiple categories as a 6’10” center on the men’s basketball team.

“I had my end of year meeting with my freshman coach, and he told me they were planning on cutting me,” Houston said in an interview.

“But they needed height on the freshman team, so they kept me. I think that is a valid point.

I wasn’t great at basketball until I developed more into my own body and worked on my game more and more.”

Houston, a sophomore for the Lions, leads the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference in field goal percentage at 68.5 percent, is third in total rebounds with 172, and leads the conference in blocks with two per game.

Before arriving on campus, Houston transferred from Norwood High School to Beaver Country Day in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

Houston said Beaver Country Day helped improve his chances of getting into a better school.

“I wouldn’t have gotten into Emerson if I continued in the route that I was on,” Houston said.

Head coach Bill Curley said the coaching staff saw potential in Houston during the recruiting process.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have landed him as a recruit,” Curley said in an interview.

“We saw him being the big center point of what we wanted to do.”

On Jan. 6, Houston won the NEWMAC Defensive Player of the Week award for his performance against Nichols College. Houston scored 21 points, grabbed 16 rebounds, blocked three shots, and recorded four assists. Houston scored

Jarred Hosuton is averaging 8.5 rebounds per game this season.

Kate Foultz / Beacon Correspondent at least 13 points in the nine games since then, and he leads the team in rebounding during conference play.

Curley said Houston’s ability to protect the

paint and rebound, along with his competitiveness and fierce drive for success, proved he could name Houston a team captain in his sophomore year.

“I think he is a very good leader,” Curley said. “We can have conversations with him as a coaching staff, and he can pass those along as a captain as a sophomore. I think that shows what his leadership qualities bring and the fact that his peers voted for him and we were on board as well.”

Sophomore guard Trevor McLean said he already knew about Houston’s leadership abilities before arriving at Emerson because they played against each other in Amateur Athletic Union basketball. McLean said Houston and the rest of the Lions have a bright future.

“The success we’ve had this year shows that we haven’t reached our potential yet,” McLean said in an interview. “The sky’s the limit, and Jarred is going to continue to get better and better.”

When McLean and Houston roomed together last year, McLean woke up Houston when he ran late for practice.

“I had to run all the way upstairs in full practice gear to get Jarred up,” McLean said.

“We made it down in two minutes. Jarred made it into the locker room, got his shoes tied, he got all dressed, and he was basically playing asleep,” McLean said. “But that just shows his transformational character. He’s a lot more mature this year, and he knows he has that responsibility.”

As Houston progresses, Curley said the team will as well.

“His maturity, and the way the team has matured, has been tremendous,” Curley said. “It’s a great group of kids, and it starts with the big guy.”

pedro_figueiredo@emerson.edu