Emerson College’s student newspaper since 1947 • berkeleybeacon.com
Thursday, March 12, 2020 • Volume 73, Issue 21
COVID-19 OUTBREAK RAPIDLY DISRUPTS LIFE AT EMERSON PELTON RESPONDS TO “UNPRECEDENTED” COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Utah Jazz player tests positive for COVID-19 after team practice at Emerson
Dana Gerber, Beacon Staff
Ethan McDowell and Aaron J. Miller, Beacon Staff
President M. Lee Pelton said many answers concerning long-term extracurricular continuation, housing feasibility, summer and fall classes, and room, board, and tuition refunds remain uncertain amid the transition to conduct remote classes due to the spread of the COVID-19 virus. “We spent nearly three hours going over significant questions and resolving how those questions should be answered,” Pelton said in a phone interview with The Beacon. “Each day we’ve been faced with a new set of circumstances and we are managing a whole set of issues related to this global crisis.” Pelton said upper college officials, including members of the IT, Campus Access and Security, Center for Health and Wellness, and Academic Affairs departments met for a meeting on Wednesday, and plan to meet again either Thursday or Friday to reassess the situation.
Following a Utah Jazz practice at the college’s gym on March 5, a player on the team tested positive for COVID-19, according to a statement from the team. The player, center Rudy Gobert, was preparing for a game against the Boston Celtics on March 6 and the team held practice in the Brown and Plofker gym. Pelton said Director of Health and Wellness Jane Powers has reached out to the Boston Public Health Commission for assistance. “We typically give a wide berth to the professionals who practice in our gym,” Pelton said in an interview late Wednesday night. Boston public health officials have advised the college that “no immediate action is required at this time,” according to a statement from Emerson College. The test came back positive shortly before tipoff and the NBA canceled the game. At 9:37 p.m. Wednesday evening, the NBA announced the suspension of the 2019-2020 season following Gobert’s positive diagnosis of COVID-19.
See Online, page 2
See NBA Player, page 2
What does this mean for us? What we know and what we don’t See Know, page 3
See Response, page 2
Emerson athletes question season’s future See Athletes, page 8
How Emerson’s response differs
How COVID-19 impacts Marlboro See Marlboro, page 3
INSIDE THIS EDITION
Alum’s live podcast tour comes to Boston in mid-March Pg. 5
The Beacon online
Good customer etiquette empowers the service industry Pg. 6
berkeleybeacon
Students respond to drastic changes See Grapple, page 5
Emerson College transitions to online classes See Online, page 5
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