Housing Portal Crashes

The Berkeley Beacon

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

Thursday April 11, 2019 • Volume 72, Issue 25

Housing portal crashes on first day of suite selection Website glitch leads to student frustration amid high demand for singles

Jacob Seitz, Beacon Staff Students piled into the Office of Housing and Residence Life after a website malfunction caused the college to freeze the housing application on April 17.

Vice President and Dean of Campus Life James Hoppe said the college closed the housing application portal on the first day of suite selection because of a software issue with StarRez, the company the college uses for housing.

The website glitch, higher demand for suites with singles, and fewer applicants winning the off-campus housing lottery frustrated students trying to get housing for the 2019–20 school year.

Associate Director of Housing Operations Kendra Stokes sent an email to affected students at 10:13 a.m. explaining that OHRL knew the system malfunctioned, froze the website, and planned to notify students when the portal would reopen.

“At 9:45 a.m., [Stokes] checked the system and saw nobody had made a choice, according to the system,” Hoppe said. “She started checking and realized what was going on. So they tried to see really quickly if they could fix it themselves and realized it was more of a company problem.”

OHRL sent another email at 2:59 p.m. explaining that the new suite selection began at 3:15 p.m.—16 minutes after OHRL sent the email—for students who were originally scheduled to select housing at 9:15 a.m.

“Unfortunately, any suite you may have attempted to book or think you may have booked earlier today did not process through to student profiles allowing you to secure the space for the upcoming year,” the email stated. “All spaces that were available for today, are still all available for this delayed process.”

See housing, page 2

Students gather in the Office of Student Affairs to discuss their living situation for next semester. • Jacob Seitz / Beacon Staff

Pub Club authors to donate profits to Boston Scores and 826 Boston

Spiritual Life Director to assess kosher and halal options in Dining Center

Katiana Hoefle, Beacon Correspondent Junior Antonio Weathers wrote poetry to pass time during classes—sometimes writing only single words or stanzas. His compiled work then became Bird Folk, an anthology about the African-American experience in America and at Emerson.

Undergraduate Students for Publishing, or Pub Club, will release their second Book Project of the school year that will feature Bird Folk by Weathers and Here, There, & Everywhereby senior Rebekah Scarborough on April 18 from 7-9 p.m. in the Bill Bordy Theater. Pub Club will sell the books for $8 each and donate the proceeds to charities of the authors’ choosing. The authors will read a short passage from their work, answer audience questions, and sign books at the event.

The Book Project began 15 years ago and allows students to experience the publishing process. In Pub Club students work as editors, designers, and marketing agents, and submit written manuscripts of any genre for the opportunity to get their own work published.

This semester, co-president and junior Alyssa Weinberg said Pub Club received 11 submissions. The executive board voted and selected four finalists.

See Pub Club, page 7 OPINION

Anissa Gardizy, Beacon Staff

Junior Antonio Weathers wrote Bird Folk, an anthology about the African-American experience in America and at Emerson. • Xinyi Tu / Beacon Staff

The need for a lower drinking age

The Beacon online

Berkeley Beacon

SPORTS

Junior leads conference in strikeouts

@BeaconUpdate

berkeleybeacon

Director of Religious and Spiritual Life Julie Avis Rogers is in the process of meeting with Emerson’s food service provider about whether it can provide more kosher and halal options in the college’s dining facilities after receiving student complaints about the lack of choices.

Avis Rogers said the former director, Harrison Blum, found that about 9 percent of the 430 Emerson students he surveyed in 2017 identified as Jewish, and 1.2 percent identified as Muslim. Avis Rogers said student leaders from Emerson’s Hillel organization brought the lack of kosher food to her attention when she started working at the college in February 2019.

“I have heard of students who would like to keep kosher and are not able to—the need is there,” Avis Rogers said in an interview. “It’s so hard to hear, and it makes me realize that I have my work cut out for me in an important way.”

The college hired Bon Appétit Management Company to head its dining services beginning in fall 2018, following student complaints about the college’s previous provider, Sodexo.

See Dining Center, page 2

LIVING ARTS

E3 spotlights student entrepreneurs

Berkeley Beacon

Berkeley Beacon

news

The Berkeley Beacon

April 18, 2019

2

StarRez crashes leaving students with fewer housing options

Continued from page 1 OHRL sent another email at 2:59 p.m. Stokes told the Beacon in March 2018 that Emerson began using StarRez in spring 2018 to improve the application process because older software tended to crash or freeze.

The malfunction follows the new three-year residency requirement that resulted in OHRL denying many students’ suite requests. Sophomore Sarah Heidrick said she applied for a suite with other friends, but OHRL disbanded their group of four.

“When I signed the housing contract, I was under the impression that [rising] juniors would get priority,” Heidrick said in a statement to the Beacon. “I’m essentially going into my junior year with an ‘Okay, what are they gonna do next?’ attitude. I also understand that spaces for singles are in high demand, but if that is the case then I don’t understand why they didn’t turn Little Building into more apartment-style living for upperclassmen.”

Stokes attributed the issues to higher demand

“More people want singles then there are sinand not the system.

“There’s no issue with any system,” Stokes gles available, so that in and of itself was going said in an interview on April 12. “There is more to cause some stress,” Hoppe said. “So you add demand for four and five-person suites than the system malfunction on top of it—it’s exacerbated. I would offer my apology [to] any student there are physically on campus.”

Sophomore Claire Farnsworth and freshman that’s been affected by this because it’s certainly Gabriella Avelino applied for a four-person not what should have happened.”

If students feel frustrated with their housing suite, but OHRL disbanded their group. Farnassignment, they can sworth then had to choose a double in the " I would offer my apology [to] still apply to live off campus, but Hoppe Paramount residence any student that's been affected said the college needs hall.

“My heart dropped by this because it's certainly not to fill the more than 2,500 beds on camimmediately when I what should have happened." pus before releasing saw that there [were] - James Hoppe students from their absolutely no singles housing requirement. available,” Farnsworth Former Senior Associate Director of Housing said. “The only thing that was available were doubles in Paramount, so I just picked some and Residence Life Seth Hodge left in January random room—I’ve never researched dorms 2019 leaving Stokes as the only employee in in Paramount. I cried a little bit, and then I charge of housing operations.

Stokes said approximately 130 students apemailed housing.”

Hoppe said part of the problem is people plied for the off-campus lottery for the fall 2019 semester, and about 35 percent of students rewanting more singles than there are available.

ceived approval—a decrease from previous years, as the college predicted in fall 2018. Students receive no priority for off-campus approval depending on their year or credits.

“We can’t release you if there’s not somebody to take the space, so that’s the cold comfort,” Hoppe said. “That there could still be an opportunity to move off campus if [students] are not happy with [their] assignment. It’s just a trade as people come in who want the space, then we release people.”

Avelino said that she hopes that OHRL keeps the best interests of students in mind.

“I just hope that the goal on Emerson’s side is to do the best they can to help us find living situations that are most beneficial for us as students and not what is most convenient for the school,” Avelino said.

Xinyi Xu contributed to the reporting of this article.

Editor-in-Chief Maya Gacina did not edit this story due to a conflict of interest.  jacob_seitz@emerson.edu

Students ask for more religious dining options in Dining Center Continued from page 1 Bon Appétit offers kosher or halal options at other colleges such as Macalester College, Goucher College, and Washington University, according to specific college websites and the Bon Appétit website.

Resident District Manager for Bon Appétit Dawn Sajdyk said the college would need a new kitchen and mashgiach—a kosher establishment supervisor—to offer kosher food in the dining hall.

“Some larger universities in the area have [kosher kitchens], but we have one pretty small kitchen,” Sajdyk said. “We do offer some kosher-esque things and have worked with Hillel for Shabbat and high holidays all year. We do have halal chicken everyday on the grill, and all of our chicken breasts in dining hall are halal, so we do have that option.”

In a 2013 Beacon article, Director of Business Services Karen Dickinson said the Dining Center—which previously resided in the Little Building under Aramark’s services—did not include enough space to provide kosher options.

Since then, the Dining Center relocated and increased in size from 8,800 to 18,800 square feet.

The center could also expand into Whiskey Saigon, a 15,000-square-foot nightclub.

Kosher foods comply with Jewish dietary guidelines for food preparation and consumption, and halal foods comply with Muslim dietary guidelines, such as avoiding pork or alcohol.

“I’ve been hearing more specifically about the need for kosher options,” Avis Rogers said. “I think that if we’re going to do kosher, we should definitely make sure that we’re also providing halal options, but that’s not a conversation I’ve had with Muslim students.”

Hillel President Maya Simon does not keep kosher daily but said dining centers must prepare kosher food in a kosher-certified kitchen that eliminates cross-contamination, which Avis Rogers said can pose a challenge for small colleges such as Emerson.

“There are three basic rules of being kosher— no shellfish, no pork, and no milk and meat together,” Simon said in an interview. “Some people have two separate kitchens to prepare milk and dairy—that is very extreme—but others have separate pots and pans, and that is what we are looking for.”

Besides building a separate kosher kitchen, the college could take other steps to provide kosher and halal options, such as sourcing outside pre-packaged foods, Avis Rogers said.

Sajdyk said the college can adhere to students’ dietary needs by using outside vendors.

“For Passover, I have a few students who want to do kosher lunches and dinners, and we will bring in food from outside and have that food available for them,” Sajdyk said.

Simon said she doesn’t think the college should expect students to organize a demonstration or plan a campaign to ask for kosher options or halal options.

“We are all Emerson students, which means we are all involved in 40,000 other organiza-

Kosher and halal foods comply with strict dietary guidelines for food preparation and consumption, such as avoiding consuming pork or alcohol.

Anissa Gardizy / Beacon Staff tions—it’s a huge crusade to start,” Simon said. “Jewish students would be benefiting from it as “I am the president and I do not have time to well—and I think we have a large Jewish student population—so it is kind of surprising that we start a petition.”

Founder and co-president of the Muslim don’t cater to their ways of eating.”

President M. Lee Pelton said he thinks the Student Association Maysoon Khan does not college should offer eat halal daily but said options that cater to she often feels as if the "Even if it was like 5 percent, the needs of students school does not need to cater to her dietary people who are eating kosher who follow religious guidelines. needs since she is part pay the same amount that “I think we should,” of a minority commupeople who eat in the [Dining Pelton said in an innity at the college.

“There are not Center] pay, and we can't eat terview. “I mean, I hope that we would many Muslim stuall of the food." be able to do that, but dents, so I always - Pia Bildirici [it] may be more comthought I was one fish plicated than I think it in a very big ocean,” Khan said. “What I want doesn’t really matter, is.”

Kosher and halal meat is prepared in a spethat’s how I’ve always thought of it, so I operate cific way, from how the animal is slaughtered to as such for the most part.”

Khan said she was surprised that other col- how it is prepared for eating. However, the “huleges that use Bon Appétit offer kosher and halal mane” label on some foods in the Dining Center does not meet kosher or halal standards, Simon options.

“They are our caterer, so that is something and Khan said.

Pia Bildirici, a freshman from Istanbul, TurEmerson should definitely try to do,” Khan said.

key who identifies as Jewish, said she knew it would be difficult to keep kosher at the college.

She eats vegetarian in the Dining Center and often brings her own tuna fish to eat with her salads for protein.

Bildirici said the percentage of Jewish students should not dictate whether or not the college provides kosher options.

“Even if it was like 5 percent, people who are eating kosher pay the same amount that people who eat in the [Dining Center] pay, and we can’t eat all of the food,” Bildirici said.

Avis Rogers said providing kosher and halal options could bring more religious diversity to the college.

“I just keep thinking about how getting to that point is going to make Emerson such a better place,” Avis Rogers said. “There’s the phrase from Field of Dreams: If you build it, they will come—and [if we] provide this food, we’re going to have students who are coming from a Muslim background [and] from a Jewish background.”  anissa_gardizy@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

April 18, 2019

news

3

College focuses on faculty hires over department budget increases Hanna Marchesseault, Beacon Staff The college’s departmental operating budget has not increased in the last seven years, President M. Lee Pelton said in an interview after the Student Forum on Finance on April 10.

The money in the departmental operating budget goes toward equipment, programs, trips, and other endeavors that help students complete their major. The lack of an increase in the operating budget puts a strain on some academic departments at the school and caused department chairs to seek outside funding and to make careful decisions about where they allocate money, according to interviews with chairs of the Communication Sciences and Disorders and Visual and Media Arts departments.

Other chairs of academic departments were not available to comment before publication.

“While salaries and benefits have increased substantially, generally the operating budgets of the academic departments have not been increased since I arrived in 2013–2014,” Michaele Whelan, provost and vice president of academic affairs, wrote in a statement to the Beacon.

According to a presentation at the financial forum, the college allocates 85 percent of its budget to faculty and staff members’ salaries, financial aid, maintenance, housing, and food costs. This accounts for $232 million of expenses for the projected financial year 2020. Pelton said the other 15 percent of the budget, which includes the departmental operating budget, is constrained because it also includes contracts and other expenses that must be carried from one year to the next. The leftover 15 percent accounts for $41 million of expenses for projected financial year 2020.

“If you look just for inflation [over the past seven years], then the departmental operating budgets are flat,” Pelton said. “We did put $600,000 each year into operation budgets for departments, but we still have a long ways to go.”

Joanne Lasker, chair of the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department, said in an interview that her department must get creative in how they spend money, so they can allocate funds to projects that will enhance student learning.

“We will look to provide technology to analyze the quality of someone’s voice because we know that the students require that tool to help

Department chairs said they use outside funding from donors to support their students.

Alexa Shapiro / Beacon Staff do clinical work,” she said. “That would be a choice we would make to spend our money in those kinds of pursuits.”

Lasker said because the budget stayed the same for the past seven years, the department often looks to foundations and donors to pay for certain aspects of the program from which students and clients of the The Robbins Center—a speech, language and hearing center at Emerson—can benefit.

The CSD department receives support from donors to soundproof rooms in the center for students and clients who are hard of hearing.

“We’ve also been lucky because a lot of our faculty have gotten external grant funding,” she said. “As a result we’ve been able to work with the faculty who have money from the National Institutes of Health or the National Science Foundation to acquire pieces of equipment that help with research, as well as clinical work.”

Brooke Knight, chair of the Visual and Media Arts Department, said in an interview that the stagnant operating budget puts a strain on the department as the college added more faculty and 500 more students to the department in the last seven years.

“We’re finding [the budget] is really limiting in terms of, if someone comes up with a good idea in the middle of the year, the money has already been allocated,” he said. “There’s very

little leeway. The other thing is, we don’t have a contingency budget. If things cost more money than we anticipated them costing in the spring, when we put in our budget, and it costs something different in December, there’s no way to get around that.”

The departmental operating budget manages day-to-day costs, and the personnel budget pays faculty and staff. The VMA department also receives a separate equipment budget from the school to purchase new equipment for faculty and students, Knight said.

“We’ve been able to add faculty, and through the union process we’ve been able to increase salaries for staff and faculty along the way, ” he said. “We’ve also been able to add to our equipment budget significantly, which is at $1 million a year—when I started it was closer to $700,000.”

Knight said that the college is working hard to provide money for the various academic departments but feels the VMA Department could accomplish more with an increase in its operating budget.

“While VMA has been getting a lot of resources in really critical areas in faculty, staff, and equipment, the operating budget hasn’t kept up with those other increases,” Knight said.

“We’ve had to look for efficiencies and be really careful about how we spend our money.”

Pelton said that he recognizes the lack of an

increase in the departmental operating budget hurts the VMA Department the most. Pelton said the college does plan to increase the budget allocated to departments in the future, but at the moment is working to hire more faculty as the student population grows.

Knight said the VMA Department breaks up its expenditures to finance student curricular support, faculty curricular programming, faculty support, departmental operations, special programs, and the Bright Lights Film Series.

Knight said that out of the $300,000 in the VMA Department’s operational budget— about half the overall operations budget— $100,000 gets allocated directly to student support for programming and projects.

Knight said that it has been challenging to receive outside funding for the department due to turnover in the institutional advancement office. Funds donated to the department go directly to student support, often paying for students’ Bachelor of Fine Arts projects.

Lasker said while she does recognize that having a larger budget for CSD would be ideal, she feels the department can still provide what faculty and students need with the current budget and outside funding.

“I have to say that if people have needed something, we’ve typically been able to provide it through a variety of different strategies,” she said. “We sometimes have to think outside of the box, but I don’t know if there are that many faculty who are desperately concerned about equipment.”

For the VMA Department’s equipment budget, Knight said the college holds up well against other film programs, and most schools use a different model for operational budgets. Unlike some colleges, Emerson allocates a specific amount of money from the budgeting office to each department and does not determine the amount based on the number of students enrolled in those departments.

“We recognize that it’s a tight time,” Knight said. “The investments the institution is making are the right investments to make for the benefit of the college. While we could use a greater operating budget, we understand the context of the environment. But it would really help us provide more opportunities for students.”  hanna_marchesseault@emerson.edu

Office of Community Standards reviews policies on medical cannabis Belen Dumont, Beacon Staff The Office of Community Standards and Student Conduct is reviewing its drug and alcohol policy regarding medical cannabis on campus as part of a larger campus-wide policy review for the JED Program and will continue discussions throughout the summer, according to a college official.

Melissa Woolsey, assistant director of community standards and student conduct, said in an interview that the policy review is a part of Emerson’s participation in the JED Campus program, which guides schools through processes that address student’s mental health and overall well-being. A committee of several students, staff, and faculty members from across departments are re-examining the state and federal laws regarding cannabis and potential approaches when dealing with medical marijuana cards, Woolsey said.

“As the state is ramping up its dispensaries, we are continuing to educate ourselves on what any implications might be on the college and our students, and part of that continued review will include medical cannabis,” Woolsey said.

Emerson would lose its federal funding if the college changed its policies to abide by the Massachusetts state law that legalizes cannabis.

The college follows federal policy which dictates that medical cannabis is not to be permitted on campus or used within residence halls or any campus facility—the same protocol the college uses for recreational cannabis and other

controlled substances, Associate Dean for Campus Life Erik Muurisepp said in an interview.

Woolsey said the college should have more concrete information in fall 2019 regarding the committee’s discussion on medical cannabis on campus. She said she doubts changes will come from the review besides altering policy language, such as replacing “cannabis” with “marijuana.”

“The way that the federal government talks about and requires us to respond to cannabis-related issues is really strict,” Woolsey said.

“We’re just trying to see if anybody has found any wiggle room. Not saying that means we would take it, but as of right now there’s really only one way we can respond.

Freshman Erika Bloom said obtaining a medical cannabis card for her Crohn’s disease diagnosis in Boston during her first semester at Emerson took several months. A medical card is a state-issued identification card that allows an individual to obtain, posses, or cultivate cannabis for medical use. After the process concluded, Bloom said she had a dispute with the college regarding the possession of legal cannabis on campus.

“Legally, I am allowed to have possession of it, even if federally I’m not, which is where it becomes tricky,” Bloom said in an interview.

Muurisepp said if students with a medical card felt they were unable to live on campus because of the college’s cannabis policies, the Office of Housing and Residence Life would work with them on a case-by-case basis to find a housing

Emerson Elevator Watch Editors at The Berkeley Beacon decided to catalog all elevator entrapments reported in incident journals and confirmed through eyewitnesses for the 2018-19 academic year. These numbers only detail incidents where individuals were trapped and do not include when an empty elevator broke down.

situation that supports their well-being, which could include getting a housing exemption.

“It’s easy to say, ‘You can’t use it on campus,’ but then you also can’t store it on campus,” Muurisepp said. “So, we don’t have a sense of where folks would go and do that, and I think that’s a part of that unfortunate grey area.”

Muurisepp said that, to his knowledge, no student has reached out for such housing accommodations during his time as associate dean. The college does not keep track of students with medical cards.

Bloom said officers from the Emerson College Police Department came to her suite after her roommate reported her for possession of cannabis, and the officer confiscated everything related to cannabis, such as her rolling papers, THC cartridges, and cannabis. Bloom said the officer took pictures of her medical card and wrote a report to the college that Bloom uses the drug medicinally and she was simply storing it in her dorm.

“Everyone was so nice about it because they understood it was medical—they just can’t be explicit because they get federal funding,” Bloom said.

Bloom said the residence director that handled her case gave her a warning and explained that other misconducts could lead to the college fining Bloom or prohibiting her from living on campus. In the warning, the college informed Bloom about the use of cannabis and the school’s federal drug policy, Bloom said.

“The school cared more about letting me

know the effects of [drug use] and what the implications are for smoking,” she said.

Bloom said she does not use other medications daily because they don’t work for her, and she feels frustrated that she cannot smoke as easily as she does at home in Los Angeles, California.

“If I have a medical reason, why can’t [the college] make some sort of accommodation for that?” Bloom said.

Emerson joined the JED Campus program in 2016 to focus on mental health, substance abuse, and suicide prevention among college students.

“We are looking for students to participate in the JED committee, as well as staff and faculty,” Woolsey said. “If anybody was ever interested in being a part of this committee they absolutely can write to us, and we’re always looking for people to come in and give us their viewpoint.”

The committee looks at the school’s alcohol and drug policies and typically meets every other week, while other Emerson JED committees might meet once a month or every other month depending on where they are in discussions and plans related to their respective topics.

Muurisepp said he supports medical cannabis use, and he wants to find a middle ground for card holders so students can care for themselves while adhering to the college’s policies and regulations.

 belen_dumont@emerson.edu

Week of March 11

Week of March 18

Week of March 25

Week of April 1

Week of April 8

1

1

2

1

0

editorial

The Berkeley Beacon

April 18, 2019

4

Leaving our past in the Piano Row basement At issue: A moment of self-reflection before we relocate Our take: There's still work to be done Editorials are written solely by Editor-in-Chief Maya Gacina, Managing Editor Monika Davis, Opinion Editor Katie Schmidt, Deputy Opinion Editor Diti Kohli, and Assistant Opinion Editor Ziqi Wang without consultation from other staff members, and does not influence any stories. OpEds reflect the views of only their authors, not The Berkeley Beacon.

Starting this fall, the Beacon will occupy a new office at 172 Tremont St. With this transition, we hope to take our strengths with us and leave our mistakes and shortcomings behind in the basement of Piano Row where our current office resides.

As we prepare for our big move, we say goodbye to a newsroom that has provided the foundation for hundreds of journalism careers, leading to jobs at The Boston Globe, New York Magazine, WIRED, and more. It provided us and many other Beacon staffers, all who share many fond memories of their time here, with a creative and productive space for generations. We look forward to transitioning into the new office and continuing the work we do on campus next fall.

Though we believe we accomplished a lot this semester, there are always opportunities to improve our publication.

As an outlet for student voice, we want to build more connections with our readership.

We realize we still need a greater presence on campus, so the staff has been trying to increase our outreach to students online.

We increased our social media and digital coverage by live-tweeting events such as the nine-alarm fire in East Boston and the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference men’s basketball championship game and the following NCAA opening tournament. And we expanded our podcast, The Beacon, to user-friendly streaming services such as Apple Podcasts and SoundCloud.

"Though we believe we accomplished a lot this semester, there are always opportunities to improve our publication." office will be a haven for journalists of all races, cultures, sexualities, genders, and more.

In an effort to highlight diverse writers and their viewpoints, the Living Arts section also debuted its person of color column this semester which featured rotating columnists each week. Columnists tackled cultural stereotypes, discrimination, and the overall minority experience. The introduction of the column is an instrumental piece in our effort to bring more voices and diversity into our newsroom, and we will continue to improve it next semester.

With our current staff this semester, the Beacon broke stories about important issues around campus. This included stories like the annual tuition increase, cannabis on campus, and the impending closure of Whisky Saigon.

We strive to continue to be a reliable and consistent news source from our new home.

This hard work paid off in other ways as well.

Our senior editors and section editors attended the Midwinter National College Journalism Convention in San Diego this past March and walked away with second place for best website and ninth place for best fouryear weekly newspaper for schools with under 10,000 enrolled students. In addition, Beacon staffers won best outstanding opinion editorial and sports article at the 38th Annual EVVYs Gala this year. The paper also received EVVYs nominations for outstanding print publication and outstanding news article.

This semester, we noticed more students picking up print editions from newsstands around campus. As we stated in our first editorial of the semester, “Our print issues are more than pieces of paper—they are a way for our readers to hold an artifact that represents a point in time.” We hope that readership of both our print and online content continues into the 2019–20 school year and other years to come.

And though we will miss our basement office, we promise to continue to dedicate ourselves to providing daily news to the Emerson community—but this time, from a shiny new office with a window.

If you want to respond to, or share an opinion about, an article in the Beacon, you can write a short letter to the editor. Email it to letters@berkeleybeacon.com.

Please note that letters may be edited. Submissions for print must be shorter than 250 words.

Letters The Berkeley Beacon

© 2019 The Berkeley Beacon. All rights reserved.

The Beacon is published weekly. The Beacon receives funding from the Student Government Association of Emerson College. Anything submitted to the Beacon becomes the sole property of the newspaper. No part of the publication may be reproduced by any means without the express written permission of the editor.

Website berkeleybeacon.com

In February, we wrote an important editorial on the lack of attention to Black History Month at Emerson and pointed out the importance of having a diverse student body. Our newsroom, however, fails to include all the different voices on campus. That said, we are continuing to work to attract correspondents and hire editors of all backgrounds in an effort to build a more diverse newsroom next semester. We hope the new

Phone (617) 824–8687

Email Office Address contact@berkeleybeacon.com Piano Row, Rm. L-145 150 Boylston St. Twitter Boston, MA 02116 @BeaconUpdate

Editor-in-Chief Maya Gacina

News Editor Chris Van Buskirk

Living Arts Editor Caroline Broderick

Opinion Editor Katie Schmidt

Chief Copyeditor Kyle Labe

Copy Managing Editor Monika Davis

Deputy Enterprise Editor Abigail Hadfield

Deputy Lifestyle Editor Grace Griffin

Deputy Opinion Editor Diti Kohli

Photography Editor Emily Oliver

Visual Managing Editor Kyle Bray

Deputy Express Editor Stephanie Purifoy

Deputy Arts Editor Cassandre Coyer

Assistant Opinion Editor Ziqi Wang

Deputy Photo Editor Daniel Peden

Business Manager Allison Hagan

Assistant Express Editor Anissa Gardizy

Assistant Arts Editor Frances Hui

Sports Editor Aaron J. Miller

Assistant Photo Editor Maia Sperber

Advisor Douglas Struck

Assistant Enterprise Editor Belen Dumont

Assistant Lifestyle Editor Katie Redefer

Deputy Sports Editor Domenic Conte

Social Media Manager Ally Rzesa

Assistant Sports Editor Andrew Lin

Web Producer Dylan Rossiter

Editorial Cartoon

by the Editorial Board illustration by Ally Rzesa

This year’s housing selection was Emerson’s Fyre Festival.

opinion The Berkeley Beacon

April 18, 2019

5

Don't let social norms pressure you out of solitude

For women, eating alone, seeing a movie alone, or even traveling alone raises eyebrows because it’s not typical. • Illustration by Ally Rzesa / Beacon Staff Katie Schmidt Schmidt is a senior writing, literature and publishing major & the Beacon’s opinion editor.

Last semester, my intermediate magazine writing class at Emerson required me to travel to Gloucester, Massachusetts, to report on the Portuguese fishing community there. I was more than eager for this opportunity—my first chance to travel and report in a new town that was a considerable distance away from Boston.

I finally felt like I was beginning to embody the image of the independent, female journalist I

aspire to be.

But in the weeks leading up to my trip to Gloucester, I became apprehensive. I felt selfconscious about traveling by myself to a town I had never been to, not for safety reasons, but because I’m a woman. I questioned whether I’d feel self-conscious traveling alone, eating alone, or walking the streets of an unfamiliar town alone. To some, this may seem unreasonable, but in a world that depicts women as extroverted, social beings always with a friend or man by their sides, I sometimes feel wary of independence.

I conversed with a close friend—also a female journalist—about my apprehensions, and came

to find out she was also familiar with this stigma.

We discussed how our passions for writing and journalism require us to work, travel, and act on our own. Yet as young women, there is a constant pressure to always have friends or someone in our company.

Just this past weekend, I was having dinner with friends, when one discussed how excited she was to see the horror film Us, yet hasn’t seen it because she had no one to go with. She even told us how she debated seeing it by herself, only to stay home instead, out of fear of a friend or acquaintance seeing her alone at the theater.

I’m always perplexed by people’s fears of doing things by themselves, even though I’m guilty of this fear as well. But I’ve never understood why people—specifically women— experience scrutiny and self-consciousness as if being in public without friends or a man is a sort of repugnant crime. From my personal experience, I can assume this fear derives from social norms that position women as social, caring, and emotional beings.

But there’s a double standard between men and women when it comes to independence.

For men, there’s a sense of being the “lone wolf,” the distinguished rebel. If a man acts alone, no one questions it—he’s simply an independent, confident man. For women, eating alone, seeing a movie alone, or even traveling alone raises eyebrows because it’s not typical. People begin to think, “Where are her friends?” or “Why isn’t she being social? Is she okay?”

Women being alone in public places also carries another problem—predatory men. I know from personal experience that when I’m alone in public, men are more likely to approach me, to hit on me, or to flirt with me. But just because a woman is alone does not mean she is asking for company. This all ties back to the

stigma and oddity about women and solitude— that if a woman is alone, she isn’t supposed to be.

Yet it’s important not to equate being alone to feeling lonely. Solitude, when done in a healthy manner, is actually beneficial for our psychological health. In his op-ed “A Quiet Cheer for Solitude,” New York Times columnist Frank Bruni describes solitude as a state where “much of the sharpest thinking is done and many of the best ideas are hatched. Yet solitude is often cast as an archaic luxury and indulgent oddity,” Bruni states. “Inferior to a spirited discussion and certainly to a leadership conference.”

This isn’t to say we should all ditch our friends and take on the world alone—we should balance the two. According to an article from Harvard Health Publishing, “dozens of studies have shown that people who have satisfying relationships with family, friends, and their community are happier, have fewer health problems, and live longer.” Thus, this equilibrium of solitude with strong, healthy relationships allows us to be happier.

Learning to become self-reliant and even enjoying leisurely activities such as going to the movies, dining, and sitting in the park alone is not something women, or anyone, should feel self-conscious about. If we constantly spend time with others, we leave no room for self-reflection and self-assessment. Without solitude and acting alone, we have no basis for discovering our own views of the world, or what we are capable of.

 kathryn_schmidt@emerson.edu

American age restrictions increase students' craving for alcohol Xinyan Fu Fu is a freshman journalism major & Beacon columnist.

When I decided to study abroad in the United States I received advice about the drinking culture at American colleges. One friend, a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told me that drinking is essential to “fitting in” and “making friends” on campus despite the fact that the legal drinking age in the U.S. is 21. He talked about “Thirsty Thursday,” a term used on college campuses that refers to students’ tendencies to drink and party on Thursday nights because they don’t typically have early classes on Fridays.

Hearing this information overwhelmed me.

I feared I would not be able to make friends at Emerson since I don’t drink or smoke. But after arriving, I found that the craving for alcohol among college students in the U.S. is not as scary as people described, but it still exists and most students tend to favor attending parties with alcohol.

The intense drinking culture in college surprised me since none of my friends in college back home in China experienced this. College students in China don’t feel such an intense impulsion and curiosity for drinking alcohol.

There is a huge distinction between the drinking culture in China and the U.S. The national age restriction for purchasing alcohol in China is 18, and China does not enforce an age restriction for who can consume alcohol, and it is more likely for middle-aged and older people to drink abusively. Drinking is also not considered a fun activity in Chinese culture.

Based on personal experiences, young people in China feel indifferent toward alcohol and do not crave it, most likely because of the pervasive presence of alcohol in China and the lack of drinking regulations. First, people view alcohol as a daily necessity in China—it’s often used as an important condiment for cooking, adding flavor and color to food and helping to suppress the unwanted smell of fish and meat.

I remember always seeing homemade rice wine on the dinner table, especially during the holidays.

Moreover, the lack of age restrictions in China contributes to an indifference toward alcohol.

In the U.S., whoever purchases or attempts to

purchase or possess alcohol under the age of 21 commits a misdemeanor and faces a penalty from $200 to $500, or even the suspension of the one’s motor vehicle operating privilege for up to one year.

Instead of having clear and definite regulations toward underage drinking, there is no age restriction toward drinking in China, which means a five year old could drink alcohol on the street in public. It was not until 2006 that the country passed a law that forbids stores to sell alcohol to teenagers under the age of 18. However, I feel that this age restriction for purchasing alcohol is rarely enforced. I remember buying beer and other liquor at the grocery store for my family reunion and other special occasions when I was in elementary school. No one would ask to see my ID, and no one ever refused to sell me alcohol.

People might think that the absence of a legal drinking age could pose a big problem in China, especially among teenagers. But instead of contributing to abusive drinking, the lack of restrictive legislation and a wider presence of alcohol consumption normalizes alcohol for teens and young adults in China. Thus, they have more of an indifference toward drinking instead of a deep desire to indulge in it.

Additionally, people don’t usually drink for fun in China. Instead, they drink alcohol for business and social purposes, especially among middle-aged people. People tend to drink during important business dinners, family occasions, and holiday celebrations, and to show respect.

Drinking gin China is seen as a social skill, thus it became a tradition. For many Chinese people, drinking is rather a mission than an enjoyment.

Elders or people in higher positions tend to urge others to drink more. It is rude if someone refuses to drink when an elder urges them to do so. In fact, the Chinese drinking culture in China is such an essential part of cultivating “guanxi” and forging successful business deals that it’s practically considered as part of the job.

Since centuries ago, many important business transactions were accomplished around a banquet table among endless cups of alcohol.

Unlike in China, more young people in the U.S. tend to drink abusively. Binge drinking is the most common, costly, and deadly pattern of excessive alcohol use in the U.S. The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

There is a huge distinction between the drinking culture in China and the U.S. Illustration by Ally Rzesa External defines binge drinking as a pattern of drinking that increases a person’s blood alcohol concentration to 0.08 grams percent or above.

This typically happens when men consume five or more drinks or when women consume four or more drinks in about 2 hours. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, binge drinking is most common among young adults aged 18–34 years. According to the 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 58 percent of full-time college students aged 18–22 drank alcohol in the past month, while 37.9 percent of college students aged 18–22 reported binge drinking in the past month.

The age restriction in the U.S. increases the desire for alcohol among underage kids.

According to a CNN article, a University of Indiana study of students at 56 colleges found that, after 1984, “in the immediate aftermath of 21 becoming the national drinking age, significantly more underage students drank compared to those of legal age.”

The University of Indiana study also found that “telling persons not to do something often produces the opposite reaction. People value their sense of freedom and autonomy and like

to project an image of self-control.” It also says that, according to reactance theory, people tend to enter a reactance motivational state whenever they think their freedom is under unjust threat.

And by entering a reactance motivational state, people try to regain their control over their freedom by not complying.

The strict age restriction affects some of my Chinese friends who study in the U.S. A friend of mine from China, who is currently a freshman, used to have an intense craving for wine after she abstained from alcohol in the U.S. She decided to buy Tropicana grape juice every time she went to the Max Cafe because it was the closest thing she could get to wine here.

Though regulations and age restrictions are necessary to prevent abusive drinking among underage people, setting the limit to 21 seems overly strict and fails to achieve its original purpose to reduce alcohol drinking among those underages. Drinking can become unhealthy, but banning it entirely from people under 21 only increases their desire for it.  xinyan_fu@emerson.edu

living arts

The Berkeley Beacon

April 18, 2019

6

E3 Exposition allows students to pitch business ventures Taina Millsap, Beacon Staff Junior Julia Perry has struggled with an eating disorder since she was a teenager. The lack of knowledge Perry, her family, and her friends had on the topic made treating the condition harder for her to navigate.

After arriving at Emerson, Perry enrolled in the entrepreneurship studies minor and decided to start a nonprofit organization called “Your Mother Never Told You,” an educational initiative that will aim to incorporate non-traditional health topics such as eating disorders into Massachusetts public school curriculums.

Perry, along with 17 other students, will participate in the E3 Exposition next week. At the event, Emerson entrepreneurial studies students will pitch their business ideas to a panel of four judges in under five minutes for a monetary prize.

There are six awards, with first to third place ranging from $5,000 to $2,000. In addition, the Karl Baehr Memorial Scholarship Award of $1,500 and the Clemens Social Entrepreneurship Scholarship Award of $1,000 will be awarded at the Expo. The students will also decide who should win the E3 Entrepreneurial Spirit Award, choosing the student who has shown the most passion and commitment to their business throughout the year, according to the class.

The expo will take place on April 26 from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Bill Bordy Theater.

Anyone can attend the event, and free lunch will be provided.

The judges for the expo include Patricia Cotter, executive director of the Martin Trust Center for Massachusetts Institute of Technology Entrepreneurship; Founder of Windy Films Tripp Clemens ‘13; Director of the Business of Creative Enterprises major Wesley Jackson; and Leslie Medalie, founder of Leary Public Relations, and entrepreneur and E3 public relations mentor.

Students will be judged on 10 categories including innovation of idea, value proposition, market analysis, customer or user profile, startup costs, launch plan, monetization model, credibility, sustainability, and pitch clarity.

Lu Ann Reeb, director of the entrepreneurial studies and business studies minors, has guided this class of students since the beginning of the fall 2018 semester. The program consists of a year-long course in entrepreneurial studies.

Reeb does not judge the competition and serves

Senior Victoria Raschi won the Outstanding Business Startup EVVY award for her company Hear Buddies, which designs accessories for children’s hearing aids. • Courtesy of Victoria Raschi as a mentor to her students.

Reeb, a former broadcast journalist and entrepreneur, said she loves sharing her insights with her class so they can achieve clarity about what to do on their path toward launching a business.

“When I launched my first company I didn’t have an entrepreneurship minor or major,” Reeb said. “I didn’t have those skills to know how to start a business, so I learned by making a lot of mistakes. So that’s why I teach it, because I don’t want students to have to make those mistakes.

They might make other ones but I feel like I can share with them some of what I learned the hard way.”

Wombi Rose, CEO and co-founder of the greeting card company LovePop, Inc., will give the keynote speech at the E3 Expo.

“We usually like to find a local entrepreneur who has started a business that is sort of Emersonian—creative but business oriented,” Reeb said. “Wombi Rose’s story is so cool, and it all started here in Boston. He and his partners were investing their own money on it at the beginning, but then they went on Shark Tank and they got an investor and they’re really successful now.”

Perry managed to combine her passion for business with her desire to change curriculum in public schools so teenagers could learn more about topics that it often excludes, such as eating

disorders, gender non-binary, gay sex, suicide prevention, and miscarriages.

“I have an eating disorder and it’s something that I definitely didn’t know how to handle, and those around me didn’t know as well,” Perry said. “So that got me thinking I need to do something that educates people on this. And then during Christmas break my best friend had a miscarriage, and she had no idea she was having one. So it’s one of those things where we were just like, ‘How are these things so prevalent but not talked about at all?’”

Perry is in the process of finding directors of education for the five topics she hopes to highlight in the new curriculum. Once she builds her team, she hopes to start contacting superintendents at local public schools to begin implementing the material.

“It’s definitely been a learning and growing experience for me even with my recovery,” Perry said. “If I can empower one person to get better then I can empower myself, too.”

Senior Victoria Raschi will pitch her idea for behind-the-ear hearing aid accessories for children at the Expo. Raschi will decorate and make earrings that are built into the hearing aids.

Raschi took home the award for the Outstanding Business Startup Award at the 38th Annual EVVY Awards Gala on April 14.

“I was speaking to an audiologist who was talking to me about the issues of confidence that

she sees with some of the little girls she works with,” Raschi said. “I already had an interest in doing something that involved fashion but that also involved social responsibility and helping people out. It took me back to being a little girl and feeling self-conscious about other things that I couldn’t change.”

Raschi said she hopes to launch her company Hear Buddies in a year. She is working on a prototype and collaborating with Emerson faculty and audiologist Cathy Bakkensen.

“In the end, I want to get FDA approval as well, so that’s a long process that takes a lot of time and money,” Raschi said. “So I want to make sure I work with audiologists now to ensure that whatever I’ve made is up to standards and is as good as it can be.”

As someone who cannot relate to the struggles of her customers, Raschi tries to find a way to respectfully honor the people she’s trying to help.

“The biggest challenges are me relating to why I’m making these hearing aid accessories because I don’t have any hearing loss,” Raschi said. “So for me, I just want to make sure that I’m doing what I can to help and represent those who have hearing loss but also not make it about me.”

Junior Elise Sanchez already launched her personal styling business, P.S., where she styles women on a budget and ships them their clothing. She is working on fine-tuning small details like getting custom packaging to ship out the products.

“I’m going to start doing boxes in May, so if I win one of the awards I’ll spend the money on inventory, marketing, and packaging,” Sanchez said.

Sanchez said she loves that, even with competitive goals in mind, all of the students support each others’ ventures.

“It’s cool because some of us have similar categories and some don’t, but we’re all very supportive. We all give good honest feedback and are always giving ideas,” Sanchez said. “It’s been awesome to see it all come to life because at the beginning, we all had our little baby ideas and now we’re actually fine-tuned, and since the class is a year long, we’ve all become really good friends too.”

 taina_millsap@emerson.edu

She Goes Down: Navigating desire versus tradition Allison Hagan Hagan is a senior journalism major, the Beacon’s business manager, and the sex columnist.

Facebook Memories personally attacked me earlier this month by reminding me of an important anniversary—the last time I changed my relationship status to “In a Relationship.”

Seven years ago.

My ideal lover would want to share our rife and intense sex life with multiple partners, but I used to feel intense pressure from friends and family to find a more traditional, monogamous mate. I never followed through with commitment in the past, even when a boy I wanted to date proposed monogamy to me. I said yes but quickly backpedaled. I remembered the reason why I stayed single all these years: I’m attracted to people of all genders, and I do not want to commit to enjoying just one.

On my journey from desperately trying to get a boyfriend to realizing that I didn’t want one, I learned to prioritize a potential partner’s sexual preferences when considering long-term relationships. I stopped chasing a perfect love story that mirrors a picture of romance painted by popular media and reinforced by my Catholic upbringing—love is exclusive, love is modest, and love brings a lot of missionary sex. I want to spend my life with partners who are just as freaky as I am, and I think clear communication surrounding one’s sexual desires should be a priority for everyone to ensure a healthy, sustainable relationship where sex is a highlight,

not a pitfall.

A desire to frequently have sex with other people, or any other need that doesn’t align with a partner’s boundaries, can cause contention and jealousy among couples, whether or not they act on it. Communicative partners with similar needs can better figure out how to satisfy each other sexually and emotionally.

Dating someone who shares the same preferences creates a happier and more fulfilled relationship, senior Jeremy Ray Delgadillo said.

Both Ray Delgadillo and their girlfriend of five months identify as pansexual and polyamorous, which means they’re willing to take on additional romantic partners.

The live-in, open couple sometimes brings people home from clubs or swipes through Tinder together. In the bedroom, their shared high sex drive and interest in BDSM helps them avoid feeling embarrassed or self-conscious, Ray Delgadillo said.

“I’m fully aware it was fast, but with her also being poly and open, it’s rare to find someone who’s just like you in that sense,” Ray Delgadillo said. “Our sex life is very open, and we’re okay with that.”

Before meeting their current partner, Ray Delgadillo had a boyfriend who agreed to a non-monogamous relationship but wasn’t genuinely enticed by the idea of sharing his partner. While their boyfriend compromised what he wanted to satisfy their needs, he didn’t desire an open relationship, which ended in a mutual breakup.

“He was okay with me being poly but it centrally didn’t make him feel good,” Ray Delgadillo said. “My boyfriend was not happy. He allowed me to do it ... but if he could have their way, it

would just be me and him.”

On the other end, some people who desire multiple partners enter monogamous commitments anyway—I will admit I’ve kissed a lot of boys with girlfriends in my many years of Tinder hookups. I don’t condemn cheating or breaking promises, but I do empathize with adulterers because I think many cheaters who want to engage in sex with more than one person struggle with the pressure to find a sole life companion.

It’s hard to feel like you’re looking for something different than everyone else, plus you’re seen as a harlot for wanting it in the first place.

Sex is stigmatized, so especially as a woman, I feel guilty for prioritizing sex over love despite understanding my own desires. I feel bad that I’m not searching for a monogamous partner because I’m not working toward the nuclear family I was taught to want. This guilt built a home deep inside me from the time I dressed in a tiny white gown to play pretend wedding in pre-K, to when I watched my high school friends’ boyfriends get down on one knee.

Beyond traditional Western values that condemn promiscuity, portrayals of polyamory and monogamy in the media further perpetuate negative stereotypes. Shows such as Californication and Mad Men negatively portray non-monogamy by glamorizing playboys and cheating.

Many people negatively associate polyamory with large Mormon families with multiple sister wives or cults and don’t take the idea seriously, Ray Delgadillo said.

Despite stigmas and poor representation, young people are changing the dating landscape. An estimated 4 to 5 percent of people in the United States are polyamorous, while an-

other study found at least 20 percent of people engaged in non-monogamy at some point in their lives, according to Fatherly. Ray Delgadillo thinks there are a surprising number of non-monogamous, kinky people out there, especially within the LGBTQ+ community.

“If you’re fooling around behind your trustworthy, loyal partner’s back who’s never done anything to hurt you, just break up with them then and be non-monogamous with someone else,” Ray Delgadillo said.

Since I don’t want to limit myself to one sexual partner, I need to express my disinterest in monogamy to people looking for an exclusive commitment. Whether you want a kinky queen you’ll never get bored of, a vanilla cutie to cuddle all night long, or one of each, start every connection with open, honest communication, and it’s possible to find a partner who shares your exact fantasies.

If you don’t know what or who you want, take a few months off from searching for the one to experiment with your sexuality and spend time alone. I stayed single for seven years and counting because I needed time to reimagine an old-fashioned definition of love that I learned from fairytales and romantic comedies. What will it take to meet someone just like you? I wish I knew. But I believe somewhere there’s some weirdo out there scrolling through the same niche porn site you’re embarrassed for frequenting.

Living Arts Editor Caroline Broderick did not edit this article due to a conflict of interest.  allison_hagan@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

April 18, 2019

living arts

7

Students' fundraiser brings inclusive books to elementary school Juliet Norman, Beacon Correspondent Junior Althea Smith never saw her queer identity represented in books or on television growing up. But when her Nonprofit Fundraising Campaigns class started a fundraising campaign this semester, Smith, along with her classmates, had the opportunity to provide children with books inclusive of all identities.

Professor Cathryn Edelstein helped create and run the campaign, On The Same Page. On The Same Page gives newly purchased books to students at Conley Elementary School in Roslindale, Massachusetts. The campaign went live on April 2, Edelstein said.

Set up entirely through an Amazon wish list, the campaign allows outside supporters to purchase a range of children’s books that feature characters from diverse backgrounds for the school. Smith said supporters can buy the books through Amazon and their order gets mailed directly to Conley Elementary.

The class reached their initial goal of 100 donated books in less than two weeks. They’ve already donated 148 books out of the 170 listed on the wish list.

“We have a lot of titles with main characters that are people of color because the Conley school is majority people of color,” Smith said.

“There are books about kids with autism, kids who are differently abled, and kids who have different sexualities and gender identities.”

Smith said that by seeing relatable portrayals of themselves in media, children can gain more self-esteem and awareness.

“Not seeing my identity reflected around me, whether it would be in books or shows or movies, was really hard,” Smith said. “I think it’s really important to do that for kids.”

Junior Jonathan Sherfey, one of the students in the class, said it’s important for the students at Conley Elementary to see themselves represent-

ed in the media.

“Most children’s books are underrepresented in terms of diversity,” Sherfey said. “They don’t really represent the community of Roslindale.

We wanted to give students something they can relate to when they’re reading.”

The class chose to donate to Conley Elementary when Edelstein reached out to former Emerson professor Neil Harris, who now teaches fifth-grade special education classes at the elementary school. Harris volunteered his school to be a part of Edelstein’s proposed campaign.

Edelstein said the class assists a nonprofit organization every semester, and it is the first time one of her class campaigns has lasted for the entire semester. She said students from past years typically organized a one-day event.

In previous years, the class helped other nonprofits, including Operation Lipstick, an organization dedicated to helping women wrongfully accused of firearm-related crimes. Last spring, her class worked with the Pawtucket Red Sox by hosting a game called “A Paw-fect Day for a Better Tomorrow,” benefitting the Tomorrow Fund Foundation for families of children with cancer, Edelstein said.

Smith said she hopes On The Same Page expands to other colleges.

“We wanted it to be something that other schools can take up,” Smith said. “So in class we’re making a plan about how to go about doing this, and then hopefully other schools can adopt this and do the same thing.”

The class also worked with the Introduction to Public Relations class, which helped promote the campaign with press advisories.

“I’ve had family members who have bought the books, and friends who have really loved the idea,” Smith said.

Edelstein said the class plans to visit the children at Conley Elementary and read the books to them on Thursday, April 25.

The Nonprofit Fundraising Campaign and Introduction to Public Relations classes teamed up to start a book drive providing literature to students at Conley Elementary School in Roslindale.

Courtesy of Abbey Finn “We’ve got pictures from the school of the kids holding their new books,” Sherfey said. “I think it’s cool that instead of just raising money, it’s a tangible thing that we’re giving them.”

Edelstein said the campaign will continue through the summer, or until all 170 books are donated. She is confident that the remaining 22 books will be donated before the end of the semester.

“I don’t think we ever imagined that it would be this successful,” Edelstein said. “We knew it would be, but not this successful.”

She said she intends on having her students

participate in a similar project next semester for a different school.

“The campaign is doing so well,” Edelstein said. “There’s this whole idea that a book is either a mirror or a window. A window is when you can’t see yourself and a mirror is when you can. Children are much more apt to read and feel good about what they’re reading if they can read a book that’s more like a mirror than a window.”  juliet_norman@emerson.edu

Pub Club to release students’ books on racial differences and adulthood Continued from page 1 “We go through each book and talk about pros and cons and keep in mind editorial potential, design potential, marketing and different restrictions some things will have,” Weinberg said.

Pub Club, with 50 students working in the

Book Project department, chooses and votes for the final two pieces which then go through the process of editing, revising, copy editing, designing, proofreading, and printing under Wilde Press, the publishing company run by Pub Club.

Weather’s submission Bird Folk involves themes of racial tension. Weathers said he chose

Senior Rebekah Scarborough wrote Here, There, & Everywhere, an anthology of entries originally written for her personal journal. • Xinyi Tu / Beacon Staff

the title because it is a metaphor for how people treat African-Americans in America.

“Birds are the most mutilated species in America in the fact they are used for target practice and repeatedly poisoned by bread,” Weathers said. “Pigeons can’t eat bread, but we still feed them that the most even though it really messes up their digestive system. If you connect that to African-Americans in America, they are the lowest on the spectrum in terms of power and privilege.”

In one of the poems in the book called Her Grace, Weathers wrote about getting groceries and experiencing a stop-and-frisk by the police. In another, Weathers discussed the power dynamic between men and women within the black community.

“The poem ‘Land of Opportunity’ is about America,” Weathers said. “Even though you feel like you have all of these opportunities, it comes with this crippling thought of debt or the nature of things that make it hard for you to improve yourself financially or potentially.”

Co-president and senior Shadin Al-Dossari said many Pub Club members felt Bird Folk was unusual and seemed lyrical.

“It spoke about the African-American experience in America, and that is not something that we often publish, so it was exciting to have something more diverse,” Al Dossari said.

Weathers chose to donate the proceeds of his book to Boston Scores, a team-based educational program he participated in as a child.

The organization provides students in the Boston Public School system with the opportunity to learn about health and well-being, academic engagement, and civic leadership, according to its mission statement. Weathers said his interest in writing poems began in Boston Scores’ poetry program.

“A lot of these poems were ideas that I had,” Weather said. “Like they were a seed and I was waiting for them to plant.”

Pub Club’s other selection, Here, There, & Everywhere, is a compilation of Scarborough’s personal essays about discovering home. She began writing and compiling them for her senior thesis.

Scarborough said she originally wrote the essays just for her own personal journals. She said she writes predominantly for women and about themes such as not feeling alone, having sex for

the first time, and independence.

Scarborough grew up in Macon, Georgia and attributes her Southern upbringing to the difficulties she experienced while transitioning to life in Boston.

“I remember I said ‘ma’am’ to a customer at my first barista job here and she was super offended and yelled at me,” Scarborough said. “I just felt like I am going to get yelled at if I don’t say this to you—like it feels disrespectful not to.”

In her essays, Scarborough writes about her close relationship with her mom and how leaving her was difficult. She said she debated whether she should come to Boston and be so far away from her.

“My mom and I are best friends,” Scarborough said. “I think we are funnier than Gilmore Girls.”

Al-Dossari said the relatable writing in Here, There, & Everywhere allowed her to feel like she was friends with the author.

“Her writing is so good that it can be read like it’s fiction sometimes,” Al-Dossari said.

Scarborough decided to donate the profits of her book to 826 Boston, a non-profit organization she interned with last year from August to December. The organization aims to uplift low-income middle and high school students in Boston through the power of storytelling.

“When I left, I was so heartbroken I did not want to leave,” Scarborough said. “That process taught me about what I want to do post-grad, like would I want to go in the non-profit sector or would I want to work with kids?”

Weinberg said Pub Club is looking for students interested in being a part of the publishing process and submitting their own work for the Book Project next semester. She believes the key to successful writing is authenticity.

“When I read writing, I just want to feel compelled by the author in whatever way they do it,” Weinberg said. “I think that is something these two pieces do really well in that they are so natural in the way they are written. My best advice is to write from your heart.”

 katiana_hoefle@emerson.edu

sports

The Berkeley Beacon

April 18, 2019

8

RECENT RESULTS MEN’S LACROSSE : MIT 7 — Emerson 4 , April 17 MEN’S TENNIS : MIT 9 — Emerson 0, April 17 BASEBALL : Gordon 11 — Emerson 9, April 17 SOFTBALL : Emerson 3 — Wellesley 2, April 17

Junior pitcher leading NEWMAC in strikeouts Lara Hill, Beacon Staff At three years old, Jack Fox said he practiced pitching by throwing rocks into his neighbor’s yard. Now in his junior year, he leads the conference with 56 strikeouts on the baseball team and became the first starting pitcher in Emerson history to pitch a complete game.

“I have always been surrounded by baseball,” Fox said. “My dad would surround me with baseball, all of my friends would be from baseball. Baseball has always been the center of my life.”

Fox, a junior business of creative enterprises major from Los Angeles, California, totals 56 strikeouts in 52.1 innings pitched—the highest strikeout per inning ratio in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference for players with over 40 innings pitched. Fox accounts for four of the six wins for the Lions this season and has a 3.10 earned run average in 10 appearances.

Fox started playing Little League Baseball at age our with his father as his coach. At age 12, Fox joined a club baseball team where he made the roster but never started. While playing on the club team, Fox also played for the baseball team at Cleveland Charter High School in Los Angeles.

In his junior season at Cleveland Charter, Fox did not receive much playing time on his high school or club teams. When looking for colleges, Fox said he wanted to find a place where he could pitch more.

“I saw that Emerson didn’t have the best season that year,” Fox said. “They ended 4–28, and it seemed like they needed some new pitchers. I called [head coach Nick Vennochi], and he said ‘Buddy, if you come here, you’ll start for all four years.’”

About a week later, Fox flew out to tour Emerson’s campus and former home stadium in Brockton, Massachusetts. He said both the players and facilities impressed him.

“I saw the players working out in the gym, I saw this beautiful stadium, and I got along well with all of the players that I met,” Fox said.

Fox pitched at least five innings in four of the Lions’ six wins in the season.

Photo courtesy of Kate Foultz.

“Boston is a beautiful city, and with everything the school offered, it just seemed like a great environment to play baseball.”

After deciding to join the Emerson baseball team, Fox began to put a lot more work into his training and strength as a pitcher. Even though the sport surrounded him his whole life, Fox said he did not take training for baseball seriously until his senior year of high school.

“It was a maturity thing,” Fox said. “I just always expected results, but never put in the work required to see those results. I realized the more relentless I was about my work ethic,

the more I would see it pay off. I went from throwing 80 miles per hour in my junior year to hitting 90 after committing to Emerson.”

In his freshman year at Emerson, Fox pitched a team-best ERA of 2.52 with 26 strikeouts but finished with a 2–5 record as a starting pitcher.

As a sophomore, Fox pitched an ERA of 4.07 with a team-high 49 strikeouts.

Vennochi said Fox showed a strong work ethic since he joined the team.

“He’s been ready to rock since he’s been here,” Vennochi said. “He’s been an absolute horse for us. He’s the hardest worker on the pitching staff,

and it shows.”

Even though the baseball team has experienced little success since he joined the team, Fox said he learned to push through difficulties.

“The adversity of Emerson baseball has made me a tougher baseball player mentally,” Fox said. “Playing through adversity is like swinging a weighted bat—it’s harder than it should be.

When things do go well, and our team can make the plays, it feels super easy.”

Fox said he feels satisfied that the work he puts in independently during practice shows on the mound.

“It feels good to have all of the hard work I’ve put in pay off,” Fox said. “A crucial part of pitching is long tossing consistently, and it’s been hard to find a partner [to long toss with] here. I have probably thrown to a wall or a net with a bucket of baseballs by myself about 100 times in the past year, and it’s nice to see that paying off.”

Freshman infielder Joe Colucci said Fox’s speed makes him a standout pitcher.

“What makes [Fox] so good is the pace that he works at,” Colucci said. “He works faster than a lot of hitters can keep up with. You’ll look down and look back up, and the inning will be over with three strikeouts.”

As Fox’s junior season winds down, he said he feels hopeful and looks forward to his senior season.

“Without a doubt, this season we have more talent than the Emerson baseball program has ever had from what I have seen,” Fox said. “We have surpassed our extra base hits from last year halfway through the season, and our outfield is solid. We have a lot of potential. I think if the coaching and players prioritize getting better in the right ways next season, we have a lot of potential.”

Fox and the baseball team will take on Babson College on April 19 at 3:30 p.m. at St. John’s Prep in Danvers.  lara_hill@emerson.edu

Softball one spot shy of playoffs with two doubleheaders remaining Peirce Eldredge, Beacon Staff As the softball team heads into its final weekend in the conference regular season, the Lions have a chance to make the playoffs with two doubleheader games remaining.

The Lions hold a conference record of 5–9 and sit in seventh place in the New England Women’s and Men’s Conference standings— only the top six teams make the playoffs.

The Lions will host Clark University on Friday, April 19 at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Clark places two spots below Emerson in the NEWMAC standings with a conference record of 3–11. The Lions are one game behind Wheaton College and will play Wheaton at home on Saturday, April 20 at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Head coach Phil McElroy said the team remains in control of the season even though they did not perform their best in conference play.

“We haven’t done as well in conference play this year,” McElroy said.

“We’ve given away a few games but we’re alive and kicking, and we have a big weekend coming up. We have to get at least three out of four this weekend.”

The softball team includes four upperclassmen, nine freshmen, and three sophomores on the roster. Senior outfielder and co-captain Alena Jones—who has 12 runs batted in this season—experienced an injury in early April and left a big hole in the team’s onfield leadership, McElroy said.

McElroy said senior outfielder Marisa DeFranco filled in for Jones when she was sidelined.

”She’s taken on more of a leadership role since Jones went down with an injury, and Marisa [DeFranco] has taken over that leadership role in the outfield,” McElroy said.

DeFranco hits leadoff for the Lions and holds a 0.450 on-base percentage and a 0.449 slugging percentage. This season she scored 31 runs and 10 RBIs, drawn 12 walks, and accumulated 37 hits, including five extra-base hits. She ranks sixth in runs scored and seventh in hits in the NEWMAC so far this season.

Freshman infielder Lexi Semanchik said she feels very confident in DeFranco’s performance on the field and looks to her for advice when she needs it.

“On the field, she has a big impact because she leads off. I always have a lot of confidence in her getting on base. As an infielder, even if she hits it on the ground there’s a high chance she still gets on because she can beat out the throw.” Semanchik said, “She’s always really good at giving everybody pointers because she has a lot of experience in different positions. If you have any questions she’s always someone that is willing to help.”

DeFranco declined to comment on this story.

Senior catcher and co-captain Kallista Leonardos has yet to record a fielding error all season while hitting 0.333 percent and driving in seven home runs and 28 RBIs. She ranks second in the NEWMAC for home runs and third for RBIs. McElroy said the team relies on underclassmen for pitching throughout the season. Sophomore Neely Eddleston started in 16 games so far this season while freshman Karagan Knowles started in 10. The pair combined for 14 wins

"We have a big weekend coming up. We have to get at least three out of four this weekend."

- Phil McElroy

Freshman Lexi Semanchik plays first-base and hit one home run this season.

Alexa Schapiro / Beacon Staff and a total of 153.2 innings pitched. Eddleston struck out 38 batters so far this season while Knowles totaled 55 strikeouts.

McElroy said he feels optimistic about the strength of his team for the remainder of this season and future seasons because of its strong leadership and youthfulness.

“We think we have a good shot at making the

playoffs,” McElroy said. “It’s really in our hands if we make it or not. Even if we don’t, the two captains and Marisa will help lead the team through the experience headed into the future.”

 peirce_eldredge@emerson.edu