Fall in-person

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

Thursday, April 22, 2021 • Volume 74, Issue 26

@berkeleybeacon // @beaconupdate

Emerson pivots to fully in-person curriculum Hybrid learning gives way to sign of post-pandemic normality Dana Gerber Beacon Staff

In a shift from previous plans, Emerson will transition to a fully in-person academic semester on all campuses this fall for students, who will now be mandated to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the boldest step the college has taken to signal its foray into a post-pandemic world.

The Wednesday afternoon email from President M. Lee Pelton pivots from plans set just two months ago to continue hybrid learning into the fall semester, which begins on Aug. 31, with the option of switching to fully in-person learning at the beginning of or during the fall term depending on the state of the pandemic.

“Today, it is with measured optimism that we announce that Emerson expects to return to in-person learning and to a more familiar pre-pandemic, on-campus environment for the 2021 Fall Term,” Pelton wrote. “I am confident that our careful and well-researched planning with the aid of excellent medical guidance will enable us to respond quickly and appropriately, just as we did this academic year.”

Erik Muurisepp, assistant vice president for campus life and “COVID Lead,” said the college is developing ways to reverse course and reinstitute hybrid learning should the state of the pandemic require it.

“As we’ve learned a lot this year and COVID—always have backup plans,” Muurisepp said. “We are having conversations and planning what ifs, and having lots of scenarios if we needed to adjust in various ways.”

Emerson, following the lead of nearby Northeastern University and Boston University, will require students to be vaccinated in order to participate in fully in-person learning barring medical or religious exemptions, with “an expectation” that faculty and staff will also get their shots.

First-year theatre and performance major Alexa Polawsky said that having fully in-person classes was daunting, considering she has never known anything but the hybrid model.

Tufts vaccine entrance sign. Alec Klusza / Beacon Staff

All people 16 and over eligible for vaccine Dana Gerber, Camilo Fonseca, Ann E. Matica, Alec Klusza Beacon Staff

An in-person class in Walker Building. Alec Klusza / Beacon Staff “When I heard I got really nervous because this is all I’ve ever known for the whole year,” Polawsky said. “I’m so used to doing things over Zoom and staying inside and dealing with COVID. Now that it’s ending, I’m like, ‘Whoa, everything’s going back to normal. I don’t remember what it’s like to have things be normal. What if I don’t like college when it’s back to normal? What if I like it better when it’s flex learning?’”

Pelton’s announcement follows a steady decline in positive COVID-19 tests at Emerson in the past week. Since the college lifted the bevy of restrictions imposed on campus life after a spike left 81 people in isolation or quarantine on campus, just four positive test results have been recorded, including none so far this week.

In the prior two weeks, Emerson reported 57 positives.

First-year media arts production major Anthony Paladino said he saw the college’s email

during class and proceeded to share the news with the rest of his classmates.

“Everyone started applauding, we were all really excited,” he said.

Pelton’s message represents a deviation from the conservative nature of prior plans to continue hybrid learning announced in February. Then, Pelton suggested the possibility of “herd immunity” if COVID-19 vaccines became widely distributed, but stopped short of promising in-person learning in the interest of avoiding “disappointment.”

Now, Pelton cites “the vaccine roll-out advances efficaciously in Massachusetts, California, across the nation, and around the world” as an encouraging sign that a planned fully in-person semester will remain feasible.

Massachusetts’ Suffolk County, where Emerson is located, remains a “very high” risk for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In-person, Pg. 2

When the clock struck midnight on Monday, 1.7 million Massachusetts residents—including any Emerson students who didn’t yet qualify—became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, a signal of hope for students prompting eagerness and anxiety as an unprecedented academic year draws to a close.

The universal eligibility comes one month after Emerson announced its vaccine partnership with Tufts Medical Center had fallen through due to supply chain and timing issues, as there stands just ten days between the move to Phase Three of the vaccine rollout and the end of the semester. It also coincides with a modest dip in statewide coronavirus cases following a spike in late March and early April.

In order to participate in the fully in-person fall semester the college announced April 21, students will be required to be vaccinated barring medical or religious exemptions, with “an expectation” that faculty and staff will also get their shots, according to a community-wide email from President M. Lee Pelton. Northeastern University and Boston University will also mandate inoculation for students this fall.

In order to book their appointments, students have cobbled together myriad tips and tricks, utilizing everything from pharmacy website workarounds to pre-registration through the state to travelling home to secure a shot.

Kadyn Darrow, a first-year marketing and communications major, pre-registered for a vaccination appointment on March 18 through mass.gov. However, she ultimately ended up booking an appointment for this Friday for her first dose at a Walgreens in her hometown when the state website gave her trouble.

Vaccines, Pg. 3

Pelton says Chauvin College search for new verdict not cause sustainability manager underway for celebration Frankie Rowley

Global Pathways slated to resume next winter Pg. 2 Updated class registration leads to confusion Pg. 3 Climate change hurts the most vulnerable Pg. 4

Beacon Staff

Editorial: Gun violence must be addresses in the U.S. Pg. 5

President M. Lee Pelton mourned the loss of George Floyd and called for an end to violence and hate against Black people in a letter addressing the Emerson community Tuesday evening.

The letter comes following the conclusion of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin—who was found guilty on all three counts of murder and manslaughter charges against him on Tuesday.

Chauvin, Pg.4

A new Jake Paul scandal happens everyday, bro Pg. 7 Emerson Athletics teams lose weekend games Pg. 8 Catherine Liebowitz. / Courtesy Christina Solazzo

Bailey Allen Beacon Staff

President M. Lee Pelton. Beacon Archives

INSIDE THIS EDITION

As Emerson prepares to hire a new sustainability manager, the college is pushing forward in its effort to create a more environmentally friendly campus.

Cathy Liebowitz, Emerson’s former sustainability manager, left the position in March 2020 after holding it for almost a year, joining the college in April 2019. In her absence, Emerson has been left to figure out ways to continue her work while seeking to fill the role in the Fall 2021 semester, said Duncan Pollock, interim assistant vice president of facilities and co-chair of the

sustainability committee. “[Liebowitz] left here the week that we closed due to COVID last year, and there was a hiring freeze on all positions,” he said. “With the flex learning and remote ‘no people gathering,’ it really didn’t make sense to fill that position. But next fall semester we’ll be back in a better boat.”

Liebowitz, who now works as the director of sustainability at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, said in an email that her job at Emerson consisted of working with student groups such as Earth Emerson and developing campus-wide sustainability initiatives.

Sustainability, Pg. 3

226

positive COVID-19 tests

.18%

positivity rate *Accumulated from 2020-2021 school year

News

The Berkeley Beacon

April 22, 2021

2

First Global Pathways programs in two years slated for winter break Camilo Fonseca Beacon Staff

Applications opened last week for two of Emerson’s study abroad programs that will run this winter break, paving the way for the first Global Pathways programs since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The college’s programs in Sydney, Australia and Santiago, Chile are slated to run from Dec. 28, 2021 to Jan. 9, 2022, and will focus on public relations and theater business, respectively. The application period began April 15 and will remain open until Oct. 1.

Global Pathways are intersession programs, allowing students to study abroad in the interval between regular semesters. For the duration of their stay—two-to-four weeks in the winter and four-to-six in the summer—students focus on specialized curriculums taught by Emerson faculty.

The winter programs will mark the first physical Global Pathways program since the winter of 2019.

Emerson canceled three Global Pathways sessions as a result of the pandemic—including those planned for summer 2021, according to Associate Director of Internationaliza-

tion Initiatives Corey Blackmar.

“This is the second summer in a row that we haven’t been able to run these programs that a lot of students really enjoy and utilize to earn credits,” he said. “We’re trying to make a little bit of a buzz about it—to get back in the game and run some of these programs.”

The Global Pathway programs of summer 2021—a creative writing program in Ballyvaughan, Ireland and a film production program in Prague, Czechia—were cancelled on Feb. 27, scuttling the summer plans of nearly 30 students, Blackmar said.

Blackmar cited the continuing restrictions of the pandemic as the reason for the cancellations.

“It is disappointing—but in both of those countries there were quarantine requirements that would have impacted the program,” Blackmar said. “What we’ve seen, even up until now, is that a lot of these travel restrictions and quarantine requirements have not changed since February. It’s unfortunate, but it’s also the necessary thing we had to do.”

Since the announcement, Ireland and Czechia have both stepped up their vaccination rates—though, as European Union member states, they are still subject to disruptions in their predominantly-AstraZen-

eca distribution chain. Chile, on the other hand, enjoys the world’s third-highest vaccination rate, and Australia has largely eradicated the virus—reporting under 25 new cases a day nationally.

By the fall semester, Blackmar said Emerson plans to open applications for “as many summer 2022 programs as [it] can.”

Though the college has not yet officially announced either of the confirmed programs, Blackmar said he plans to begin publicizing them before the end of the spring semester.

“We’re in the process of trying to get some promotion out there for those two programs and start to get students excited again—because it’s been so long,” Blackmar said.

Emerson usually operates 18 different Global Pathways programs across its summer and winter sessions, including a documentary lab in Montreal, a public diplomacy workshop in Mexico, and a screenwriting lab in Greece.

“As hopeful as the picture is with vaccinations in the U.S., opening up and easing restrictions, we haven’t really seen the same type of thing abroad yet,” Blackmar said. “But it is coming.” camilo_fonseca@emerson.edu

The global pathways programs in Sydney, Australia (top) and Santiago, Chile (bottom). / Courtesy Emerson College

Emerson students set plans to get vaccinations in their arms

Cont. from Pg. 1

Students attend an in-person class in Walker. Alec Klusza / Beacon Staff

Vaccines to be required for in-person fall semester Cont. from Pg. 1

Muurisepp said the college hopes to offer a vaccination clinic through Tufts Medical Center prior to reopening in the fall for anybody who isn’t able to secure a shot, after the planned vaccine partnership in the spring fell through due to timing and supply chain issues.

As of April 20, about 30 percent of the state’s population is fully inoculated against COVID-19, a figure that ranks Massachusetts twelfth in the nation, according to The New York Times. Massachusetts—along with the rest of the country—just expanded vaccine eligibility to all residents over the age of 16.

Muurisepp added that the vaccine mandate allows the college to move forward in determining other policy decisions for the fall.

“With now requiring the vaccine, that will help us down that path for what does that mean for what the on-campus experience looks like,” he said. “Testing, quarantining, symptom checking, masking, and all of that stuff.”

Kaitlyn Shokes, a junior publishing major, said she thought Emerson’s decision was premature.

“We don’t have enough information,” Shokes said. “If they did it in July… I just feel like [Emerson] should wait.”

For students unable or unwilling to study in-person, online classes will continue to be offered, also an unprecedented move for the college that raises questions about whether a virtual modality will be offered in perpetuity.

Caden Rodems-Boyd, a first-year visual and media arts major, said modality

for particular classes should be at the discretion of individual professors.

“Some classes could stay partially or even totally online,” said Rodems-Boyd.

“Sometimes things are more suited for being online now that we’ve all gotten used to it.”

First-year theater design and technology major Susan Eyring said she felt concerned as an international student about being able to get the vaccine on time.

“I can’t get it in the U.S. and then get my second dose in Singapore,” she said.

“I’m hoping Emerson College creates some way for international students to get their vaccine if they need it in time for school to start.”

Additional information on graduate and study abroad programs will be released in the coming weeks, Pelton added, as will information for international students who may still face travel or U.S. visa restrictions.

Pelton also said Emerson anticipates reopening all campuses this fall, including Emerson Los Angeles and Kasteel Well, both of which have been shuttered since last March due to local guidelines and travel restrictions.

“Throughout the pandemic, I have been inspired by the commitment of our community to care for each other, to adapt and persevere, to maintain our connections, and to ensure that our campus remains a safe and healthy place to teach, learn and live,” Pelton wrote. “All of this gives me hope for our 2021 Fall Term.” dana_gerber@emerson.edu

“There was a little bit of digging involved, especially to get an appointment that was closest to my house,” she said.

“When I clicked on [mass.gov], it said ‘Sorry, this is all booked up.’ But then I would refresh the page, and then it said they had available time slots, so I tried to get one and then when I would finalize it, it said it was all booked up.”

As of April 19, about 44.6 percent of the state population has received at least one dose of any vaccine, and 29.9 percent of the population are fully inoculated, according to The Boston Globe. Nearly 600 vaccination sites now collectively administer a 7-day average of 81,923 doses a day.

On Wednesday, Massachusetts was twelfth in the country in percent of population fully vaccinated, tenth in doses used, and fourth in percent of population who have received at least one dose, according to The New York Times.

First-year visual and media arts major Serenity Velazquez received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine at the Hynes Convention Center on April 11, after pre-registering through the Mass.gov website. Velazquez, who is the first person in her immediate family to get the shot, said she was eligible early because she is a smoker and has a body mass index that categorizes her as overweight.

“It definitely feels better to have that reassurance that all my COVID tests should come back negative now,” Velazquez said.

Harry Robinson, a first-year business of creative enterprises major, traveled back to his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina at the end of March to receive the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Because he has Type 1 diabetes, he was eligible in South Carolina in TK month, but not in Massachusetts. He and his family had to book their vaccination appointments nearly two months in advance.

“Three weeks after [the vaccine] came out, everybody over the age of 18 could get it,” he said. “It’s because literally a handful of people in my state were get-

ting it, or in my town at least.”

Robinson received his second dose on April 15 at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Roxbury, Massachusetts.

“It was really hard to get an appointment for the first dose,” he said. “But then if you had the first dose and you had the little vaccine card—anywhere they do the first dose they can accept anybody who’s already gotten one dose to get the second dose.”

Some students expressed concern about their ability to receive a second dose of either of the currently in-use vaccines, as both require weeks-long waits between doses.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the use of which has been paused following six women developing severe blood clots after receiving the vaccine, requires just one shot.

Rules vary state by state regarding if individuals can receive their second dose of a vaccine in a different state than their first, and availability across the nation is also a complicating factor, according to The Boston Globe.

On-campus students who receive their first of two doses prior to moving out can apply with the Office for Housing and Residential Education on or before April 26 for an extended stay in the residence halls to receive their second dose.

First-year visual and media arts major Natalie Sciallo said the halt of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines was a disappointment, but she still booked an appointment in her home state of Connecticut for the day after she moves back for the summer.

“The day I went to go schedule my appointment I realized that they had been paused and I was like, ‘Oh shoot!’” Sciallo said. “It’s scheduled for Thursday because I’m leaving Wednesday to go home. So I’m getting the COVID vaccine, like, immediately.”

Jack Tortland, a senior VMA major, said he is skeptical of getting a vaccine given the speed at which they were developed, a common misconception the CDC has repeatedly discredited.

“I’m still debating about it, because I definitely would like to get the vaccine in the future,” Tortland said. “But especially with the recent Johnson & Johnson issues,

the blood clotting and stuff, [I’m] a little wary.”

Spencer Strickland, a first-year VMA major, said he received his first dose at Hynes Convention center after he became eligible in Phase 2 due to his asthma. Instead of applying to stay later in the dorms, Strickland plans on getting his second dose of the vaccine in his hometown of Freeville, New York, thanks to his mother, who is a nurse and signed him up for his second dose.

“As long as I have my card with me, I don’t think it’ll be an issue,” Strickland said.

After getting his second dose, Strickland said he “would be lying if I said I wouldn’t act more relaxed after,” but said he will still abide by mandated safety precautions.

“I’m sure I’ll be more eager to get out and do stuff, but I plan on keeping in mind that it’s not over yet,” he said.

For other students, Massachusetts appeared to be the most accessible state to get a shot.

Isabella Cubba, a first-year VMA major from Grosse Pointe, Michigan, said she hopes to get her first dose in Massachusetts and then receive the second dose from her health care provider at home.

“My goal was trying to get it here in Massachusetts,” she said. “There has been quite a few difficulties within Michigan trying to get it because our numbers have been so high, so a lot of people have been trying to go and schedule their appointments.”

Cubba said she often sees her grandparents when she’s at home, and wants to get the vaccine to minimize the risk that she infects them.

“I’ve seen a lot of people that have been trying to get it in before they go home,” she said. “We only have a short amount of time left and most people are going back to their families and being around siblings and their grandparents and things like that, so I think they want to go home fully vaccinated.” contact@berkeleybeacon.com

The Berkeley Beacon

April 22, 2021

3

Updated class registration system leads to student confusion, praise Camilo Fonseca Beacon Staff

Emerson students were met with an updated system when fall course registration opened on April 12—and not all of them responded well to the unexpected changes.

The college actualized updates to Ellucian Banner, the self-service registration database it has used since 2008, before fall 2021 course listings were first posted on March 19. The new system offers students several new features, including an option to plan and preload potential schedules, though the abrupt upgrade caught some students off guard.

“I started the night before and looked at the available courses— and everything looked completely different,” first-year visual and media arts major Elizabeth Albahary said. “I had no idea that they changed their format. The [new] Banner format is a lot more confusing than the old format, because the older format was very straightforward; this one was all over the place.”

Despite her initial confusion, Albahary said she was ultimately able to navigate the new updates.

“I’m a very visual person,” she said. “I like to get things and see them laid out on paper rather than just have it all jumbled in my head.

I really liked it; I found that very helpful.”

Matthew Fabian, associate registrar for technology and communications, said he sees the new formatting as an improvement for students registering for classes.

“As an undergrad at [Worcester Polytechnic Institute], I actually registered on an old Banner self service system,” Fabian said. “The two features that I was like, ‘Why on earth are these not features?’ were making course plans ahead of time, and the visual weekly schedule. I’m very happy with those features.”

Fabian said the changes were implemented as part of the college’s step-by-step move from Banner Version Eight to Version

A sample of Emerson’s registration system. / Courtesy Emerson College Nine.

“The people that make Banner upgrade it one module at a time,” Fabian said. “Ideally, we would just do all of them at once, so

you’d have one big cohesive experience.”

In the new “Plan Ahead” section, the new system displays overall courses instead of individ-

ually offered class sections—a feature Fabian referred to as a “common pain point.” Nevertheless, he said the Registrar’s Office did not observe any serious confusion re-

garding the new update.

“I can’t really think of a lot of students who were just completely thrown off, like, ‘What is this new thing? Where am I?’” Fabian said.

“The confusion points were not too much different from the old system: ‘Why do I have a hold?’

‘What is this prerequisite thing?’”

Fabian said he expects most registrations will be unaffected by the college’s Wednesday decision to shift to in-person classes, and the vast majority of students shouldn’t have to re-register for classes. At the moment, most hybrid classes are split between one in-person and one remote class. ”We’ll cross that bridge when we get there—it’s going to be a lot of work to make sure that everything that was online has a room [where] distancing guidelines are taken into account,” he said.

While some students like Albahary found the new updates confusing, others, like first-year visual and media arts major Aaron Razi said he wasn’t bothered by the new features.

“I don’t mind the system per se,” Aaron Razi said. “When I registered with the new system, it was 7 a.m.—it’s not like I was really getting to soak in the [new user interface].”

Razi said his gripes lay with the way Emerson approaches registration in the first place.

“I feel like I’m at a disadvantage based on a factor that’s somewhat arbitrary,” Razi said. “I wasn’t necessarily the best student in high school, and now I’m still being punished for that. I didn’t take any APs, and now I don’t have enough credits. I can’t take the classes I want to.”

Despite the process updates, Albahary said she was able to adapt after some trial and error.

“I didn’t see too many issues, aside from the organization,” Albahary said. “When you’re looking at twenty different courses at once, it’s a little bit confusing. But once everyone gets used to the new system, it will be fine.” camilo_fonseca@emerson.edu

Green efforts continue at college during pandemic

Cont. from Pg. 1 “The sustainability manager role aims to progress the College’s Climate Commitment, which outlines the goal to reach zero carbon emissions by 2030 and advance campus climate resilience measures,” she said.

During her time at Emerson, Liebowitz said she worked on a few different projects to make the campus more sustainable, including The Tiny Thrift Store, which allowed community members to drop off their unwanted clothing in a cabinet in the Colonial Building. Students could take items from the Tiny Thrift Store for free so that they would not go to waste.

“A student-led initiative that I supported was the Tiny Thrift Store,” she wrote. “Ben French pitched and led the project. The project concept is simple, but it provides an easy way for the Emerson community to get involved in campus sustainability while supporting student wellbeing.”

Liebowitz also worked on another student-focused green initiative called Dormside Recycling.

“Eco-Ambassadors, [hired student leaders who work with the sustainability manager], went door to door in the Little Building where they facilitated a quick recycling [competition among] students,” she said. “The initiative aimed to increase awareness about proper recycling and student participants were entered into a

Trash bins in the dining hall. Zhihao Wu / Beacon Staff raffle to win movie tickets.”

Amid the search for a new sustainability manager, Nadezhda Ryan, co-president of Earth Emerson, an on-campus student organization that promotes environmental awareness through student action, said she hopes the college hires someone who acknowledges the social justice side of the climate crisis.

“The world of environmentalism within a private institution can become quite small, so it’s important to have someone who pushes for long-term systemic change and can work within the community to ensure those changes are beneficial,” Ryan said in an email.

Outside of the work of the sustainabil-

ity manager, student organizations help to supplement on-campus green efforts.

Before the pandemic, Earth Emerson would collaborate with other sustainability-oriented organizations on campus such as Emerson Green Collective, Eco Ambassadors, and the Vegan Emerson Group, Ryan said.

“Every year, there would be a schoolwide event called the Green Gala, in which we’d provide a vegan buffet and feature various environmental advocacy-related performances, films, art pieces, etc.,” she wrote. “Last year, some notable events were a trip to the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment facility to learn about its success with local environ-

mental clean-up, screenings through the Bright Family Screening Room, a campus visit from a bee farm, a couple vegan potlucks, and a vegan food fest catered by our favorite Boston vegan and vegetarian restaurants.”

The coronavirus pandemic has made it more difficult for college students to maintain eco-friendly practices since health precautions have made it advisable to use plastic and single-use materials, like when purchasing food, said Ryan.

“It’s a constant struggle between doing everything you can to keep yourself and those around you safe in the short term vs. in the long term, since increased waste contributes even more to pollution,

especially in low-income and BIPOC neighborhoods,” she wrote. “Ultimately, we continue to do what we can as individuals, but I think the pandemic has opened a lot of people’s eyes to the fact that individual actions can only do so much—true change happens when we work as a community.”

Emerson has made some progress with sustainability despite the pandemic, Pollock said. Although he said there have been some actions that have forced the sustainability committee to compromise, like grab-and-go dining center meals served in take-out containers, their method of heating the buildings has become more eco-friendly.

“We no longer heat any of our buildings or hot water with natural gas,” he said. “We use green steam. We made that conversion over the summer. The only place we use natural gas anymore is for cooking in the dining center.”

Liebowitz said getting involved with sustainability efforts is attainable for college students, especially if they want to make a difference.

“Getting involved in sustainability isn’t limited to environmental studies students, activists, and professionals,” she said. “No matter a student’s interests and skills, there are places for sustainability work to sneak in.” bailey_allen@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

April 22, 2021

4

News/Opinion

President Pelton provides insight on Derek Chauvin verdict and calls for police reform

Cont. from Pg. 1 Chauvin knelt on Floyd’s neck for nine minutes and twenty-eight seconds on May 25, 2020, causing his death and sparking a nationwide reckoning with systemic racism and police brutality. Chauvin was convicted of second and third-degree murder as well as second-degree manslaughter. As a result, Chauvin will likely spend decades behind bars.

“He was found guilty on all three charges,” Pelton wrote. “But let us not forget that Derek Chauvin was aided and abetted in his awful murder by three other officers: one white, the other two of African and Asian descent.”

Pelton lauded Darnella Frazier, the 17-year-old who recorded Floyd’s arrest and murder on her phone.

“Most important, let us not forget the terrible impact on the brave seventeen-year-old Darnella Frazier, whose film captured the nine minutes and twenty-nine seconds of Derek Chauvin pressing his knee into George Floyd’s neck until he cried out for his Mama and took his last breath,” Pelton wrote.

“She was courageous and brave.”

Viewers waited anxiously for the verdict to be announced and for the 330-day period between Floyd’s death and Chauvin’s conviction to conclude. . President Joe Biden said the guilty verdict of Chauvin was “a step forward,” in a speech given from the White

House this afternoon.

“It’s not enough,” Biden said. “We can’t stop here.”

Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris called on Congress to swiftly address police reform.

Pelton called on readers to “acknowledge—beginning today— that we, all of us—including the community of the educated folk— are deeply implicated in this terrible truth” following with a reminder that now is not a time for celebration.

“It is a time for reflection and resolve, of true bravery and courage,” Pelton wrote. “A time to confront, head-on, hate, fear and ignorance in all of their various forms and manifestations These killings must stop. As U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings reminded us while he was still among us: ‘C’mon now, we’re better than this.’ Yes, we are.

Yes, we must be.”

Pelton also reflected upon other recent, fatal police shootings of Black people—including those of 20-year-old Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota and 13-year-old Adam Toledo in Chicago.

“These deaths are a reminder of the other pandemic that plagues these United States: the fear of Black people, but especially the fear of Black men and boys in public spaces,” he wrote. “A fear of their bodies. Sadly, there is no vaccine yet discovered and manufactured to eradicate it. It lives on

President M. Lee Pelton condemned the police killing of George Floyd in a statement released to the Emerson Community Sunday night. / Beacon Archives

in the hearts and minds of many Americans. It conjures up a racist past of angry white men stringing up a Black man to a tree as white women and even white children look on in celebration and merriment, taking with them the trophies of the Black man’s body – an ear here, a finger there.”

“When will it stop?” he continued.

“When will those of us in places of power, privilege and influence, in our thunderous voices, exclaim to the heavens above: ‘Enough. It is enough.’”

Pelton ended the statement on a somber note, saying he will not be considering the decision as a win.

“Some will celebrate tonight. Some will dance in the streets,” he said.

“But not me.”

“I hear the somber and sorrowful voices of the past (and of the future) calling to me about this disease that ravages our country, desecrating the promise of America, blaspheming its much-lauded beauty,” he stated. frankie_rowley@emerson.edu

Climate change is detrimental for people living in poverty Shannon Garrido Beacon Staff

A few days ago it was raining, and for the first time in a while, it wasn’t too cold for me to enjoy the drizzle. Whenever I see rain, my mind immediately travels back home to the Dominican Republic, where heavy rain is common.

The nostalgia of a cloudy day reminds me of Sundays at home, staring out the window with a nice book in hand, often a young adult fantasy. However, the more I read into something as trivial as the weather, the more I realize how it’s not trivial at all.

While I can call a storm an excuse to stay home under my covers, oftentimes for others it can be a natural disaster.

Natural disasters, such as drought, extreme rainfall, and flooding, are huge environmental factors in keeping people in poverty, according to BBC News.

Most developing nations invest money in responding to these disasters instead of preparing (especially through infrastructure) for these inevitable disasters.

This means that the poorest citizens lose more when disaster hits.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs released a 2012 report about the residents of La Ciénaga, a poverty-stricken settlement along the banks of the Ozama River in the Dominican Republic. Residents of La Ciénaga recall the fear that comes with living in an area that floods whenever it rains, recounting times where it took them up to three days to get water out of their homes. This isn’t just an inconvenience to them—flooding can cause property damage, financial distress, and even loss of life.

In October 2007, Tropical Storm Noel cost 439 million pesos in material losses, claimed 87 lives, and another 42 people were reported missing.

OCHA states that these people suffer through harsh conditions simply be-

Illustration Lucia Thorne

cause they have no alternative. In this case, 400,000 people live on the banks of the two main rivers of Santo Domingo–the Ozama and the Isabela–where they are exposed to hazardous weather constantly. What to me is a lazy day off or a cute picture of the droplets on my window can be the loss of life or livelihood for thousands of people.

Now that I live in New England, I see the other side of the same coin.

As someone who previously lived in a tropical country, experiencing snow was almost like an adventure to me.

But what I don’t always realize is the estimated 18,471 people experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts are ten times more likely to freeze to death during the winter months due to lack of shelter.

However, it is a whole different beast when climate change becomes a factor in how we experience weather. Because we are all seeing the effects of climate change everywhere, its consequences are felt unevenly around the world. This

isn’t an isolated issue— this affects millions of people across the world.

With the effects of climate change, it’s not just the weather; it’s the continuous rise in natural disasters, flooding, coastal erosion, changing temperatures, and rain patterns. Most of which affects people living in poverty, even though the 50 least developed countries in the world contribute only 1 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. The disastrous weather as a result of climate change leads to 99 percent of total fatalities and 90 percent of all economic losses to occur in less developed countries. Which, according to the UN, constitutes low-income countries confronting severe structural impediments to sustainable development. Making them highly vulnerable to economic and environmental shocks.

Climate change affects everything from where a person can live to access to health care. For example, the ongoing forest fires in Australia have caused tens of thousands of people to flee their

homes, and those who managed to flee are being affected by intense pollution that was released into the air. All forms of air pollution lead to an estimated 8.79 million premature deaths worldwide each year, disproportionately affecting impoverished people.

After natural disasters like hurricanes, countries repair differently. Puerto Rico is still reeling from Hurricane Maria years after the storm. The United States, however, though there is certainly room for improvement, has the resources to aid communities after natural disasters. For example, the 2005 Hurricane Katrina marked the first real use of the National Response Plan’s Emergency Support Function-14, Long-Term Community Recovery. Or the LRA— the Louisiana Speaks Regional Plan, which helped approximately 128,000 homeowners to repair their properties or to sell them to the state.

If we do not start focusing our energy on the climate crisis, there could be even more significant economic and ecologi-

cal disruption. This is especially true for already vulnerable populations. Climate change is expected to reduce assets for many impoverished people, by altering economic growth and regional food security. Rising temperatures are expected to cause water resources to become stressed through increased evaporation losses and water demands. Food production, which is closely linked to water, will face increased stress in regions where water is scarce.

Thinking about this makes me realize it’s a privilege to enjoy the rain or the snow and romanticize its appeal.

I find myself in the position where I have the option of staying home when it rains without the fear that my house will flood. The way we experience the weather says a lot about our positionality and our privilege. However, it’s not enough to feel bad about it—we need to do our part in spreading awareness and reducing the effects of climate change.

Talk to your friends and family about their carbon footprint and talk to your local representatives about their plans to address climate change. Encourage Congress members to enact new laws that limit carbon emissions. The NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) encourages individual citizens to choose a utility company that generates at least half its power from wind or solar power. They also recommend choosing a company that has been certified by Green-e Energy, an organization that vets renewable energy options. If that isn’t possible for you, they also suggest taking a look at your electric bill; many utilities now list other ways to support renewable sources on their monthly statement. There are countless ways we can make a difference, no matter how small. shannon_garrido@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

April 22, 2021

5

Social media forces us to relive our relationships

It is far past time for common sense gun safety laws in the US. / State House News Service

The Other American Epidemic: Gun Violence Editorial

Since the pandemic began, the U.S. has shifted much of its attention to improving public health.

Despite this, an epidemic separate from the coronavirus has been plaguing the country for years prior—the gun violence crisis.

In the month since the March 16 Atlanta shootings, there have been at least 45 mass shootings across the U.S., according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.

The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as a shooting when four or more people have been shot or killed, not including the shooter. With that in mind, this year alone, the U.S. has averaged more than one mass shooting a day.

This is unacceptable. Mass shootings have become so frequent, they’re hardly considered front page news among the many crises that pop up daily in the U.S. Some mass shootings remain unforgettable to the broader public because of the number of people killed—like Columbine, Newtown or Parkland. However, there are so many others that never receive the same level of attention. This month, on April 7, on Rock Hill, S.C. a former N.F.L. player shot and killed a doctor, the doctor’s wife and their two grandchildren inside their house, as well as two air-conditioning technicians who were working outside the home.

‘Thoughts and prayers’ from politicians have never worked, and it’s long past time we accept these responses to mass shootings from our representatives. If we want to see the deaths by gun violence decrease in the U.S., we must call on our local representatives to enact gun control legislation.

High rates of gun violence is, in most cases, a uniquely American problem. Although the gun death rate in the U.S. is much higher than in most other nations, it is still far below the rates in several Latin American nations. U.S. gun death rate was 10.6 per 100,000 people in 2016, which is far higher than in countries such as Cana-

da (2.1 per 100,000) and Australia (1.0), as well as some European nations. Over 14,000 people in the U.S. died by gun violence in 2017, while around only 1,000 Europeans faced the same fate. What is unique is that 83 percent of these murders are from legally obtained firearms, meaning they are preventable.

Even with the pandemic forcing most of us to limit our social interactions, mass shootings jumped by 47 percent in 2020, according to USA Today. The USA Today analysis of Gun Violence Archive statistics from 2020 stated that “In 2020, the United States reported 611 mass shooting events that resulted in 513 deaths and 2,543 injuries. In 2019, there were 417 mass shootings with 465 deaths and 1,707 injured.“ Many gun violence deaths are a result of legally purchased firearms. Nearly 40 million guns were purchased legally in 2020 and another 4.1 million bought in January. According to USA Today, U.S. gun sales in January surged 60 percent, and the FBI found there was a 40 percent increase in background checks for gun purchases in 2020 as compared to 2019.

The time to act is now. With more and more people being vaccinated, summer rapidly approaching, and businesses expected to reopen in coming weeks, we need to remind our public offices that the gun epidemic is still an issue, and is bound to worsen without intervention. With the excess of gun violence in the past year, this paints a concerning image of what gun violence in summer of 2021 could look like.

The Biden Administration has already issued a recent initiative to address gun violence following the publicized shootings in Atlanta and Boulder. According to the statement, President Biden is committed to reducing all forms of gun-related violence and has plans to enforce tighter firearm regulations, including new legislation that will bar “people in crisis from accessing firearms if they present a danger to themselves or others.” Many of these proposed restrictions are on a state-by-

state basis, which is a great start.

However, if we want to prevent as many deaths as possible, more federal laws should be imposed that keep people from having such free access to guns on a federal level, instead of leaving decisions up to the states.

Gun violence should be addressed as swiftly, just like the COVID-19 pandemic.

Doing nothing does not solve the problem, and more people are dying every day because of this lack of concern. Only in the U.S. do we throw our hands up at gun deaths and call it unavoidable. Yet many other prominent countries, like New Zealand and the UK to name a few, seem to have no problem imposing restrictions to mitigate gun violence.

Clearly, gun violence cannot be solved overnight. This crisis may seem insurmountable, but that is just more reason for government officials to make gun control a priority. We deserve to live in a country where we don’t fear for our lives while going to class, watching a movie in theatres, or attending a concert. Pressure on the local government must be unrelenting if we want to see this decades-long issue addressed.

Gun violence is so common in the U.S. that shootings are no longer shocking; they are expected—and it’s getting out of hand.

© 2021 The Berkeley Beacon. All rights reserved.

Editor-in-Chief Katie Redefer

Christopher Williams (Sports) Hongyu Liu (Photo)

Managing Editors Charlie McKenna (Content) Madison E. Goldberg (Content) Maximo Aguilar Lawlor (Multimedia) Dylan Rossiter (Operations)

Advisor Rachel Layne

TW: This editorial contains mentions of gun violence, homicide, and suicide

The Beacon is published weekly.

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.

Section Editors Dana Gerber (News) Mariyam Quaisar (Living Arts) Juliet Norman (Opinion)

The Berkeley Beacon Editorial Board is the voice of the student newspaper that looks to serve the Emerson College community with thoughtful insight into ongoings and occurrences affecting their everyday lives.

The board’s positions are determined by its members. The board consists of the editor-inchief, managing editors, and opinion editors. The opinions expressed by the Editorial Board do not impact the paper’s coverage. You can respond to a position brought forward by The Beacon Editorial Board in the form of a Letter to The Editor by email: Letters@BerkeleyBeacon. com. contact@berkeleybeacon.com

(617) 824–8687 berkeleybeacon.com contact@berkeleybeacon.com

Juliet Norman / Beacon Archives

Juliet Norman Beacon Staff

With a simple Google search, I can find out the employer of my middle school crush, know that my high school boyfriend is pledging to a fraternity, and see photos of an old classmate’s newborn baby.

Social media sleuthing isn’t just limited to checking in on exes. It’s childhood friends, distant relatives, and co-workers. Internet stalking is a rabbit hole that everyone is bound to fall into at some point, even if accidentally. Curated search engine optimizations and “people you may know” lists constantly pop up on our screens, prompting us to remember people who would otherwise be background characters in our lives. Of course, in 2021, checking up on people from the past is pretty standard, but I can’t help but compare it to how people maintained their relationships even just ten years ago, and long before that.

It feels like before the 21st century, our relationships were more sincere.

We actually had to pick up the phone and call someone to keep up contact. Now, young adults are used to forming friendships and maintaining relationships through technology, and may sit back during an opportunity to connect with their peers in person.

Author Sherry Turkle argues in her book Reclaiming Conversation that numbness to social interaction does not stem initially from Social Media communication. Turkel writes “We use technology to ‘dial down’ human conversation, to titrate its nature and extent. People avoid face-to-face conversation but are comforted by being in touch with people who are emotionally kept at bay.”

When relationships inevitably did disintegrate pre-social media, they were more easily forgettable. Now, even if someone is no longer in my life, they are still just a few clicks away. It may not seem that detrimental, but it is. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America have linked anxiety disorders directly to social media usage and 20 percent of social media users say they have to check at least one of their accounts every hour to avoid “feeling anxious.” It doesn’t help that basically every social platform reminds users about photos they took that day, but one or several years earlier. I can effortlessly scroll through a backlog of several month’s of old text messages and even wallow by laughing at memes someone sent me before we stopped talking for good.

When I asked my mom about how she got over her first heartbreak when she was my age, she said moving on after her boyfriend and her broke up was easy because she moved away and never had to run into him again.

When he disappeared from her life, he disappeared for good. Unless she wrote him a letter or showed up at his door to contact him on purpose, there was no way to see how he was doing. Having someone stay exactly the same in my mind forever sounded comforting to me. There is absolutely no reason for me to know what’s

going on in someone’s life when they’ve been out of mine for years.

According to a NortonLifeLock Survey, young adults are more likely to engage in online stalking behavior and justify it as harmless. One in ten Americans even confessed to having created a fake social media account just to check on their exes.

My roommate and I routinely make fun of her cousin’s ex boyfriend’s podcast and the odd life choices he shares publicly on his Instagram account, despite the fact that he lives in Michigan and has never met us. Why? I’m not entirely sure, but it’s entertaining, and the link to her family member makes it feel like we know him. It all comes down to curiosity, like the rest of social media. People are inherently interested in other people’s business and social media provides us with 24/7 access to the personal lives of both people around us and those who no longer are.

Going on social media strikes a cord in our brain that releases dopamine, causing us to repeatedly check these apps over and over. It works similar to an addiction. What’s difficult about mitigating this “addiction” is that social media is integral to so many parts of our daily lives; it’s almost unavoidable. Employers communicate with us on coworking apps and messaging boards, friends and colleagues post career updates and connect with each other on Linkedin, your aunt expects you to tell her that you saw the holiday family portrait she posted on Facebook.

Even if someone is no longer in your life, they will still manage to pop up when a friend of a friend “likes’’ a post about their latest life achievement and for a split second, you have to relive your failed relationship all over again.

Within the past decade, the way we communicate has shifted from phone calls to texting to just liking someone’s post on a social media platform, each one more impersonal than its predecessor. These aren’t ways to truly connect with each other or fully catch up with someone. As our everyday interactions through social media are becoming normalized, our genuine connections become rare, so instead of obsessing over someone’s online life, it makes more sense to devote energy into cultivating our relationships in real life.

Keeping track of people from the past is unhealthy, whether consciously done or not. We all know this. Yet, we continue to abuse these platforms in a self destructive way, knowing we may not like what we see. You have two options: either delete social media altogether (probably the best option but undoubtedly the most difficult) or try not to let it affect you.

The next time you find yourself creeping on someone’s profile, try to focus on the relationships you already have instead of the ones you’ve lost.

From the looks of their latest political post, you’ve clearly dodged a bullet. juliet_norman@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

April 22, 2021

6

Living Arts

First comedic arts graduates reflect on program one year later Taina Millsap Beacon Staff

Following their 2020 graduation, Emerson’s first comedic arts class is finding new ways to do what they love in the midst of the pandemic—from hosting podcasts to writing self-help books.

The major, conceived by Director and Founder for the Center of Comedic Arts Martie Cook in 2012, welcomed its first class in 2016. For the prospective students who saw the new, first-of-itskind major, it was a unique offering that combined the writing and performance elements of comedy.

“I actually found out about Emerson’s comedic arts program through a clickbait listicle that was like, ‘Fifteen things you can actually study in college,’” Noah Bender ’20 said. “It was

Courtesy Hannah Cairo

up there with horse maintenance, diving, wine culture and [then] comedy. It stuck out to me.”

When it was first instituted, incoming students offered their input on how to improve the new major’s classes and curriculum.

“It was really exciting because we actually had a hand in creating that major ourselves,” Hannah Cairo ‘20 said. “We went through freshman year, and we were taking theory classes and history classes, and we said ‘Hey, I think that freshmen should take improv first semester.’ We were the reason that they started doing that with classes after, so it was a really cool thing to kind of help shape our major while also learning from it.”

Bender currently lives in San Francisco, California and works as a DoorDash driver. He stays involved in comedy by producing and co-hosting “Two Dummies,” a podcast he started as a WECB radio show with Devin Ruskin ’20 in the spring of 2019.

“The podcast is my safe way of practicing hosting, storytelling, producing, improvising and booking guests,” Bender said. “It started as a comedy advice show answering old column questions from 20 years ago, but we got bored with it. So now we’re a comedy interview show, and we talk about the dumbest moment of our week. It’s been a totally liberating thing to be able to better laugh at myself.”

While at Emerson, Bender spent a semester at the college’s Los Angeles campus and interned at Mad Chance Productions and the Conan late-night talk show. Putting his performance chops to use, he is currently in the pro-

The first comedic arts class as first-years, when they entered the college in 2016. / Beacon Archives cess of narrating a self-help book titled “Remember More: 30 Essential Strategies For Unlimited Memory Power, Increase In Brain Health And Improving Concentration.”

Spencer Cash ’20 said he felt that being part of the first comedic arts cohort put students in a difficult position at times. Cash said he occasionally felt like he wasn’t getting his money’s worth as the department tried to establish and better the nascent major.

“Something that’s very difficult for the major is how broad of a spectrum it tries to cover, because comedic arts attracts people that [want] to be TV writers, producers on a TV show, and people that want to be theater actors or someone who wants to act in television or improv, and those are drastically different types of training,” Cash said. “There’s so much that they try to accomplish and cover that for the first year, it was incredibly difficult for them to pull off.”

Cash said despite the initial hiccups with the comedic arts program, he feels prepared for a career in comedy.

“A lot of the Emerson productions I’ve been on, they have been more professional than the ones that I’m trying to find professionally,” Cash said.

In January, Cash moved to Los Angeles, where he’s been applying for jobs in writing and production. He has worked on-and-off as a COVID Production Assistant for the CBS game show, “The Chase,” where he helps enforce and ac-

commodate COVID restrictions and precautions on set. During his free time, he works on an independent romantic coming-of-age feature film that he co-wrote with Joe Scardilli ‘20, about the lives of four college students who move into their old apartment.

Some comedic arts graduates got lucky, finding careers in their desired field even while the pandemic radically disrupted the industry.

After completing a job as a sound engineer for the musical “Next to Normal” at the Lake Worth Playhouse in Lake Worth, Florida in March and April, Cairo was given a contract to run their youth outreach showcase beginning this month. In this role, Cairo will teach songs to kids in underserved schools, who can come to the theater for a rehearsal and put on a show for parents and the community.

Cairo said the comedic arts program was critical to her early success, teaching her how to be herself in whatever job necessary, even while working as a waitress at Burt & Max’s restaurant in her hometown of Delray Beach, Florida.

“It taught me—not to be punny but also to be punny—improvise,” Cairo said. “Your personality is the thing that’s going to make you stand out the most and that should be the first thing you put out [there].”

Now that the major has better footing, a long-form improv class, a physical comedy class, and a class in solo performance were recently added to the

curriculum, Cook said.

“They really had a desire to have an acting class that was more geared towards comedic arts. This is the first year we’re teaching that class, and it’s going really well,” Cook said. “We’ve made that a permanent offering so that comedy students will take not just acting, but acting geared towards comedy.

And we’ve added some performance classes, just trying out to see how they like them.”

As the major grows past its infancy, some incoming students are more experienced coming into the program than initial applicants were, often participating in comedy clubs, or doing standup, TikTok, and Youtube, Cook said. Many incoming comedy majors arrive at Emerson with resumes and portfolios already rife with independent projects.

In terms of the major’s growth, Cook said the administration wants to keep the program tight-knit, accepting only around 24 students a year. Cook said the main quality the department looks for in applicants is “seeds of comedic talent.”

“We don’t look for people to come into the program perfectly polished, but we also don’t look for people who don’t have an ounce of fun in them,” Cook said. “We can grow comedic talent, but we can’t take somebody who doesn’t have a funny bone in their body and make them talented in comedy.” taina_millsap@emerson.edu

Student’s newest collection of poetry hits shelves this week Campbell Parish Beacon Staff

Senior creative writing major Kelsey Day Marlett explores her relationship with society and nature in her new poetry collection Rootlines, which was released on April 21.

“Humans have always been a part of nature, and nature has always been a part of human life,” Marlett said. “Rootlines is sort of my own exploration and attempt to work through the questions that come with that sort of realization.”

Marlett is a queer neurodivergent writer from Appalachia, which is a cultural region in the Eastern United States. She is specifically from North Carolina, and these aspects of her identity are expressed in her writing. Growing up in a rural part of Southern Appalachia, Marlett said she was itching to get out and go to the city.

In March 2020, when students were sent home because of COVID-19, Marlett went from being extremely busy in Boston to having excess free time. As her time at home increased, Marlett spent her days outside, in the woods behind her house, growing a connection

Courtesy Kelsey Day Marlett with the nature around her. She describes her quarantine experience as an existential reckoning.

There were many events that happened in Marlett’s life that inspired Rootlines.

“I moved to Colorado to take care of my sick grandmother, a friend of mine committed suicide, and my longtime partner broke up with me,” Marlett said.

Going through the motions of

grief, Marlett was able to be in a place where she could reflect on herself and the environment around her.

“Politics and art are irreversibly intertwined,” Marlett said. “I started to write about it. I wrote these poems as a way of sorting through the questions I had and the feeling I had and the anger and like hurt and terror and hope that comes with loving a place desperately that is in danger.”

Wilde Press is publishing the first edition of Rootlines, and is printing only 150 copies of the book. A second edition is in the works independently, as it can be more expensive to print more copies. All funds from the second edition are going to the Indigenous Environmental Network, a grassroot environmental justice activist group.

Cary Curlee, an adjunct professor at Appalachian State University located in Marletts home state, uses Marlett’s book Last Four Years in his class as required reading. He teaches a first-year seminar course as well as Appalachian studies, a subject that discusses the history of the area. He is trying to diversify the reading and the perspectives that he includes in his classes, especially because he is

a white man.

Marlett’s book resonated with Curlee’s students. Curlee said her stories hit home for a lot of his students and that reaction sold him on her writing even more.

“The best reaction [to Marletts writing] I’ve ever seen [was], I remember one person emailed me and said, ‘Thank you for making me feel seen.’ This is the first time I’ve felt seen in a class this early,” Curlee said. “As an instructor, that’s what you want.”

Curlee is extremely proud of the work that Marlett has completed over the past years that he has known her. He said Marlett brings a lot more to the table than just skill, that she’s someone that you want to be around and talk to.

“We need her,” Curlee said. “Her heart’s in the right place, and she’s got the skill and the ability [to succeed].”

Megan Busbice and Brianna Cunliffe met Marlett in 2017 at the Governor’s School, where they were enrolled in classes about writing ranging from fiction to poetry.

“Kelsey has always been a great writer. Great at fiction writing, great at poetry, great at everything,” Bus-

bice said. “I’ve always enjoyed her poetry.”

Busbice expressed her excitement about Rootlines being published by Wilde Press. She recounted how she shared Marlett’s book, The Last Four Years, with a friend in high school and how that friend is a fan of her work and excited to read Rootlines.

Cuniffe shared how thrilled she was to see Marlett write Rootlines and be involved in the process of putting the book together. She said the poems included in the book encompass many different emotions.

“I think that Rootlines is a collection that refuses to be just one thing, it encompasses so much fierce joy and so much sorrow,” Cuniffe said.

“It takes us to these broad questions that we all grapple with while being really intimate. I think that’s a remarkable thing.”

All of Marlett’s supporters emphasize how much hard work she put into this collection of poems and how privileged they are to see her grow and develop as a writer and beyond. You can purchase Rootlines with the link in Marlett’s Instagram bio, @KelseyDays. campbell_parish@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

April 22, 2021

7

‘Keepers of the Faith’ beautifully tells of heart wrenching love during rebellion Mariyam Quaisar Beacon Staff

“Keepers of the Faith,” published last April and written by author Shaukat Ajmeri, tells the tale of two Bohri Muslims, set in India and the United States.

Mixing elements of history, sociology, romance, and drama, Ajmeri eloquently and efficiently highlights the struggles of Bohris in India and how the lives of two lovebirds unfold.

Dawoodi Bohras are a sect within the Shia branch of Islam. Originating from Yemen, the religious denomination spread across various parts of the globe over the past several decades. The priesthood of the sect, Sayedna, enforced rules upon the Bohra community that some obliged by and others rebelled against, creating Youth versus Shabab or, as it is stated in the novel, Loyalists versus Radicals.

Sayedna’s demands, including charging his followers money and requiring his permission to allow them to participate in events like births, deaths,

marriages, and misaq (ceremony to enter adulthood), caused havoc within the community. Sayedna declared that those who passed away would need a written note from him to go to heaven, however, without a solid financial standing, one would not get said note. These rules, among others, pushed the Radicals to refuse to support him and his demands, causing the divide. Radicals were excommunicated, denied access to religious structures, and shunned.

About 100 miles out of Udaipur, Rajasthan (Udaipur being the main setting of the novel), many Bohras went for pilgrimage at a dargah (shrine) in Galiakot. In the novel, Ajmeri illustrates the violent happenings at this sacred space where Sayedna decided to punish those who did not support his rules. Ajmeri’s detailed descriptions of the attacks against women, the chaos of those trying to survive, and the pain felt by those seeing their loved ones hurt or die, puts the reader directly into the scene so they can feel the horror.

The conflict at Galiakot, with fol-

lowers of Sayedna ruthlessly attacking the Radicals, caused the divide between Radicals and Loyalists to deepen, and get far more dangerous. Families, friendships, and relationships began to split between those who supported Sayedna and those who did not. Fighting in streets, blood smeared on roads, deaths, and tragedy surged in the Bohra community.

Among all the disarray, Ajmeri beautifully tells the story of Rukhsana and Akbar. Ajmeri’s realistic story follows two children as they grow up alongside each other, fall in love, are torn apart, and eventually come back together. The novel follows the harsh fate of Rukhsana and Akbar throughout the revolution, as Akbar’s family belongs to the Radicals and Rukhsana’s is loyal to Sayedna.

Despite their undenying love, Rukhsana’s father will never allow her to be with Akbar. He ships Rukhsana away to live with her aunt, while Akbar resides in Bombay achieving his dreams of becoming a writer. Rukhsana is married off and settles in the United States with a strong

devotee of Sayedna, having two sons and despising her husband. Rukhsana’s life as a wife in an unhappy marriage illustrates the reality of loveless relationships and the hardships many women go through, within the Bohra community and outside. Akbar marries as well, and resides in Bombay with his wife and daughter.

Don’t worry though, Akbar and Rukhsana’s paths cross again many years later, proving the strength of their love.

They meet again and are forced to make difficult choices in response to their current situations and familial commitments.

Ajmeri’s telling of Rukhsana and Akbar’s heart-wrenching love story pulls readers through a rollercoaster of emotions: butterflies, goosebumps, tears, hope, heartache and so much more.

Ajmeri paints a beautiful, vivid picture of their lives as they individually continue their journeys, never forgetting about each other along the way.

“Keepers of the Faith” is a story filled with meaning. It is a page turner, and highly recommended to those who en-

the “YouTube Stars Diss Track” where he claimed he stopped other kids from being bullied in school.

At the 2017 Teen Choice Awards, Paul did take time out of his acceptance speech to apologize for his scandals, saying, “The past few months have humbled me quite a bit, and I have to be more mindful of my actions and words and how they impact others.” As a journalist, the one concerning part of Paul’s speech is when he says he just has to “ignore the negative press.”

The one thing I have to mention that’s not really a scandal, but important to note, is Jake Paul’s relationship with children—both in his audience and in the Team 10 house. In an interview with ABC News, Paul stated that his audience is “definitely younger, like eight years old to sixteen years old.” If I was a parent, I absolutely would not let my child watch any of Jake Paul’s content.

Multiple children call the Team 10 house their home, and Paul regularly makes content with family channels.

The youngest of the children is “mini Jake Paul,” also known as Tydus Talbott, now six years old, but four when he originally moved into the house.

Personally, I find it a little strange that someone who posts video content with porn stars, not to mention other questionable videos, is so hell-bent on involving children in his videos.

Moving on from 2017, Paul had a few relatively quiet years in the media. In 2018, he was featured in a Shane Dawson documentary that helped clean up his image, and the community at large seemed to feel that he was a changed person.

In 2018, Paul scammed his young fans out of their money with his cash-grabbing “influencer classes,” but any backlash he got from this scandal didn’t deter him from starting another paid website for influencer classes in 2020. A video of Paul saying the n-word at Coachella in 2015 resurfaced, but it happened at the same time as his brother’s suicide forest scandal, so it garnered much less criticism than it should have.

While this article is about Jake and not Logan, the brief summary of the Logan scandal is that he filmed a dead body in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, also known as the “Suicide Forest,” and uploaded the footage to YouTube.

Clearly, both Paul brothers have a knack for forgetting the consequences of their actions.

In 2019, Paul married fellow con-

troversial YouTuber Tana Mongeau in a scam wedding, netting both stars a combined $600 million from the paid-livestream of the event according to Insider, not to mention that the livestream crashed, lagged behind, and froze for many viewers.

And then comes 2020. In May, Paul “attended” a Black Lives Matter protest at a mall in Arizona. On social media, Paul made it look like he was there in support, but a video later surfaced of him looting a P.F. Chang’s with his friends, because the multimillionaire definitely needs to steal from a restaurant. Paul was later charged with two misdemeanors for Criminal Trespass and Unlawful Assembly.

The FBI later raided the Team 10 house in August 2020. Authorities seized multiple illegal weapons from the property. News reports during the raid claimed that firearms were scattered all over the house, and a picture shows a rifle propped up against a hot tub. Definitely seems safe, considering the young children that are often present in the Team 10 House, right?

That brings us to 2021, with allegations of Jake Paul making girls sign non-disclosure agreements before sexually assaulting them.

On April 9, 2021, TikToker Justine Paradise uploaded a video to YouTube titled, “TRIGGER WARNING: Jake Paul Sexually Assaulted Me.” In the video, Paradise details meeting Paul through mutual friends, and her experience being forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement upon entering the Team 10 house for the first time.

Paradise claims she and Paul texted for the whole month of July 2019, until Paul sexually assaulted her at his house. Paradise goes into extreme detail in the video, providing screenshots and an explicit retelling of the assault itself. I believe the video is incredibly important to watch, but please do so with caution, as it may be triggering to some individuals.

Paradise admits she was reluctant to actually say Paul’s name, but said she was told through her TikTok comments that NDA’s do not cover assaults. In California specifically, where the assault occurred, “Under the law, a perpetrator cannot use an NDA to silence a survivor from discussing conduct like rape or felony sexual battery,” according to the ACLU. Despite what people like Jake Paul and Harvey Weinstein might think, an NDA does not inherently protect them from facing consequences for alleged criminal actions.

This is not the first time Paul has been accused of unseemly acts towards women under the guise of NDAs. In 2018, a group of mothers who live in the same city as Paul, Calabasas, came forward claiming that their daughters had been drugged at a Paul party after being forced to sign

It’s ‘Everyday Bro’ with the new Jake Paul scandals Kaitlyn Fehr Beacon Staff

TW: This column contains mentions of domestic abuse, sexual assault, racism and xenophobia.

There are two main reasons the name Jake Paul might be familiar to you: one, for his infamously annoying song “It’s Everyday Bro,” and two, for being a genuinely terrible human being—the most recent example of this being the sexual assault allegations Paul is currently facing.

In April 2021, a video posted to YouTube by Tik Tok creator Justine Paradise detailed Paul’s alleged assault against her, and the events leading up to the incident. This allegation is one in a string of many heinous controversies currently following the younger Paul brother. Before we dive into Paradise’s allegation, let’s look back at who Jake Paul is, and why he needs to be removed from YouTube.

Paul got his start on YouTube long before the aforementioned 2017 diss track, on a channel he started with his brother Logan in 2007, called “ldogandjslice.” As you can probably guess, this channel did not lead to fame for the Paul brothers. Both Jake and Logan can attribute their success to the now-defunct video app Vine for their millions of followers.

In 2016, Paul purchased a grandiose Los Angeles property, which would later become known as the “Team 10 House,” where he and other creators would live to collectively produce social media content together.

This started his descent down the path of controversy, and later, crime. A year after acquiring the house, Paul announced the official members of Team 10, and started wreaking havoc across various internet platforms with them.

The first blow of many to Team 10 was when Paul and his (at the time) girlfriend Alissa Violet went through a very public and messy breakup in Feb. 2017. Paul accused Violet of cheating on him, and Violet accused Paul of mentally and emotionally abusing her.

In May of that year, Paul uploaded his “It’s Everyday Bro” video to YouTube. In 2021, the video sits at almost 300 million views with a like/dislike ratio of 5.2 million dislikes to 3 million likes. “It’s Everyday Bro” currently holds the amusing title of the 11th most disliked YouTube video of all time, according to Dexerto. In the track, Paul and former Team 10 member Tessa Brooks take multiple jabs at Violet, mentioning how she’s “talking shit on

Jake Paul. / Courtesy

Twitter” because she left the Team 10 house.

Violet later posted a video to YouTube in June 2017 detailing the relationship and how strict the rules of the Team 10 house are, mainly relating to the money they owe Jake, the rules surrounding alcohol, and the times they were mandated to be awake to create content.

With the attention garnered by “It’s Everyday Bro,” it didn’t take long for the Team 10 House’s address to be leaked online. In July 2017, his neighbors came forward and explained that between the constant fans outside of the house and the house’s stunts and partying, their quiet street had been turned into a “war zone” and a “living hell.” Paul responded on live television by dabbing, climbing on top of a news van, and saying, “I feel bad for them, but there’s nothing we can do.

Jake Paulers are the strongest army out there.”

Amid the media attention surrounding Jake Paul being a terrible neighbor, Disney announced that they would remove him mid-season from his role on the television show “Bizaardvark.”

But that’s not all for 2017. It seems that there’s a Jake Paul scandal for every single month of the year. Adding xenophobia to his list, Paul posted a video in August where he told a fan from Kazakhstan that “it sounds like you’re just going to blow someone up.”

Finally, the last of the 2017 scandals: in August, Paul’s former classmates came forward and exposed him as a bully. (Is anyone surprised?) The classmates came forward after Paul released

joy a tragic love story paired with historical realities unknown to many.

Cover of “Keepers of the Faith.” / Courtesy Shaukat Ajmeri mariyam_quaisar@emerson.edu NDAs. The group claimed the girls returned from the party “half-naked” and “unable to walk or talk,” according to Newsweek.

Despite the previous allegations, Paradise’s video about Paul garnered lots of negative attention. The video has 24,000 dislikes, and many of the comments claim that Paradise is “looking for clout.” Many of the comments also mention the timing of the allegation, as it came days before Paul’s boxing match with former UFC fighter Ben Askren.

On Twitter, Paul responded with what looks like a Word doc apology—a slight step up from the notes app. Paul claims that the allegation is “100% false,” and that “[the] claim is solely a manufactured accusation and a blatant attempt for attention during a highly visible fight week.” Paul also states that he will be pursuing a defamation lawsuit and that he’s been dealing with “fake news” since he was 16.

Paul’s claim that the allegation is false has not stopped the incident from reaching mainstream attention.

On the night of his boxing match, comedian Pete Davidson asked Paul about the allegations, to which Paul said “You can’t joke around about that,” and Davidson responded, “No, I’m not.”

Later, during an interview with Askren, Davidson responded to a question about why he doesn’t like Paul by saying, and I quote, “Well, I mean, do you have an hour? He’s not a good person. He’s clearly not a good influence on any of the youth culture. Why isn’t he in jail?”

If someone like Davidson, who lives their life off the internet, heard about this, that means it’s likely spread far beyond the YouTube community.

Paul has a massive following, and his social media presence clearly demonstrates his high levels of narcissism. He thinks he can get away with anything he wants and that he won’t face consequences for it.

Hopefully, the attention from the media and the non-YouTube community can bring Paul the consequences he deserves.

Jake Paul should not be allowed to post content on YouTube aimed at child audiences. He should have been stopped from making content for kids in 2017, and now after the allegations, he definitely should not be allowed to target the younger generation. Just as Davidson says in the Askren interview, “That’s the message we’re trying to get to the kids—that [Jake Paul] is a piece of shit.”

I counter with, that’s the message we’re trying to get to the world at large, that Jake Paul is a piece of shit. kaitlyn_fehr@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

April 22, 2021

8

Sports

Lions drop five games in return to action Tyler Foy

Beacon Staff Three Emerson spring sports teams fell to their opponents in their returns to play on Saturday, April 17, resulting in a combined five losses on the day.

All spring sports competition was suspended for the weekend on April 5 due to COVID protocols—the following Wednesday, that weekend’s competition was canceled. Teams were allowed to practice at their respective fields beginning on Thursday, April 15.

The baseball team played a doubleheader away against Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The first game was neck-and-neck, with an offensive showcase from both teams.

The Lions gained a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth inning, but WPI

Christopher Williams Frankie Rowley Camilo Fonseca Beacon Staff

The soccer world was seemingly forever changed when 12 of the world’s biggest teams announced their plans to form the European Super League, an unprecedented breakaway, mid-week tournament that would change the structure of leagues and soccer business forever.

The proposed league would’ve guaranteed 15 of the 20 teams permanent places in the competition every season—which vastly differs from the current promotion/relegation system of European club soccer, where teams earn promotion into more prestigious competitions. Fans worldwide protested against the greed and lack of competition surrounding ESL, leading to the suspension of the league on Wednesday following 10 clubs’ withdrawals from it.

Soccer fans at The Beacon, expressed their frustrations with their clubs’ actions in the past few days in open letters below. Another writer explained the changes that must be made throughout the soccer industry following the attempted coup against the sport.

Arsenal FC - Camilo Fonseca Arsenal is not some sixth-rate club—it holds 13 league titles, 14 Football Association Cups, and is, according to Forbes, the eighth-most valuable soccer brand in the world.

Yet even a lifelong Arsenal fan like myself would admit that our club’s once-insurmountable star has fallen.

Arsenal fans were infuriated by the announcement. They adopted the mantra chanted by soccer fans globally: the sport “made by the poor” had been “stolen by the rich.”

Cognizant of the very public backlash, Arsenal announced its withdrawal from the ill-thought-out ESL on Tuesday.

“We know it will take time to restore your faith in what we are trying to achieve here at Arsenal,” the club’s public apology said.

Arsenal was the first club to come out and explicitly, honestly, and unequivocally apologize to its fans.

Good for them, because they were right. It will take time.

For Arsenal’s long-suffering, frustrated, and angry fanbase, the golden age of Arsene Wenger, Thierry Henry, and the legendary unbeaten run of 2003 are distant memories. Holding a dismal ninth place in the Premier League, the club is

caught fire offensively in the bottom half of the inning, scoring six runs to make the score 8-3. The Lions fought back in the top of the ninth, scoring four runs, but it wasn’t enough to push the game into extra innings. The final score was 8-7.

Despite the losses, head coach Nicholas Vennochi said there were positives to take away from the game.

“It was good to get back to the basics, the things we talked about every single day,” Vennochi said in a postgame press conference. “I thought we did a lot of those things right today.”

In the second game began a backand-forth contest, with both teams fighting for a lead. With the game tied at two, sophomore Matt Nachamie hit a home run to give the Lions the lead in the fourth inning.

The Lions held onto this score until the bottom of the eighth. Much like they did in game one, WPI scored two runs and captured the lead, making the game 4-3. That stood as the final score, pushing the baseball team’s record to 1-5 on the season.

The softball team was also tasked with facing WPI, but this game was the team’s home opener at Rotch Field. It seemed that the magic of the home atmosphere wasn’t present in game one after WPI scored five runs in just the first inning of the game.

The Lions attempted to chip away at the deficit, scoring a run in the third and fourth inning from an RBI triple off the bat of junior Lexi Semanchik and an error from WPI. Although the Lions tried to put up a fight, WPI scored two more runs and put the game out of reach. The final score was 7-2.

In game two, the Lions went back out with the intention to split the doubleheader but were shut down by WPI. Over the seven-inning game, WPI scored 14 runs and shut out the Lions. The team recorded five hits

The Men’s Lacrosse fell 21-5 in their game against Babson. Beacon Archive but scored zero runs. The softball team moves to 0-6 on the season.

The men’s lacrosse team traveled to Babson College last weekend to face the Beavers. Saturday’s game was their first game of the season due to cancelations in their previous three match-ups “due to COVID-19 protocols,” according to Emerson Athletics.

Senior Austin Franklin led the Lions in scoring with two goals, but

Beacon staffers decry the ‘Super League’

Fans complained that the ‘Super League’ was against the fundamentals of the sport. Courtesy “fine”—despite a boatload of young talent, massive international fanbase, and $2.8 billion net worth.

Enter Stan Kroenke, owner of Arsenal; every sports fan will be an eternal critic of their team’s ownership, but Arsenal fans have had a bone to pick with Kroenke for time immemorial.

Kroenke knows nothing about running a soccer club—if he does, he doesn’t care enough to do it well.

Despite his exponential wealth—derived not only from his business but also from the Los Angeles Rams, the Colorado Avalanche, and other sports teams he mismanages—his recalcitrance at investing in his club has caused years of bad transfers, painful mediocrity, and “close-but-no-cigar” league finishes.

What’s infuriating, though, is not his cheapness. It’s his hypocrisy— which this week was laid bare this week for the world, along with that of all the other members of the “billionaire owners club.”

The man who views Arsenal as another source of revenue never cared about the club or the leagues. He has no interest in winning a trophy—just the profit it entails. The ESL was simply the best way to increase his profits.

Yet Arsenal fans stood tall. In solidarity with their comrades of

Liverpool, Chelsea, even the hated Tottenham Hotspur, they marched at Emirates Stadium in defense of the integrity of their sport and club.

“We have to fight to keep football simple, understandable and based on merit,” Wenger said on Tuesday.

“Everybody [should have] the same chance and dream to be successful.”

We’re trying, Arsene. We’re trying.

Liverpool FC - Frankie Rowley Liverpool FC was one of the last teams to secede from the Super League—yet its supporters’ demonstrations against the league were among the strongest in the world.

Outside of Anfield Stadium, fans burned jerseys and hung scarves and banners reading “SHAME ON YOU, RIP LFC” to show their dissent for the club’s decision.

Liverpool, a team renowned for its working-class history and community mindset, went against its history by joining the ESL. It took the withdrawal of several other clubs and social media criticism from the team’s own players for the owners to leave the competition.

The lame, two-sentence statement released by the club reeked of public relations flack—and there was no apology to the fans or to the institution of soccer to be seen.

Fans continue to call on John W. Henry, the chairman of the Fenway Sports Group which owns both Liverpool and the Boston Red Sox, to sell the club.

As someone from Liverpool, the events that unfolded within my hometown shook me. How could some greedy businessmen jeopardize the very nature of soccer for money? Soccer exceeds just a game; it’s a part of your life. Liverpool is a family heirloom, passed down from generation to generation. It becomes a part of your identity, and you’ll defend it until the day you die.

To see a bunch of Americans in Boston try to destroy the pride of Liverpool infuriated me.

Liverpool fans don’t forgive you, Henry. You threatened our club, our history, and the life of the city. A two-minute video apology saying “I’m sorry for trying to destroy the football pyramid for money” doesn’t erase the events that unfolded this week. You own the “brand” of Liverpool FC, but we, the fans, own the club.

Liverpool, I love you with all my heart. You are a part of me—from meeting club legends Fernando Torres and Pepe Renia as a child to having club legend Sammy Lee at my christening. Liverpool has worked its

the Beavers overpowered the men’s team with nine goals in the first period. The Beavers scored another eight in the third period, pushing the score to 18-3. The game ended 21-5.

The women’s lacrosse team was also scheduled to play the Babson Beavers at home, but the game was canceled “due to COVID-19 protocols.” tyler_foy@emerson.edu way into every part of my life, as it does to all of us, simply because we’ll never walk alone.

Soccer is more than just a game to us in Britain—it’s a way of life. Nothing can break that bond.

Manchester United - Christopher Williams Growing up as the son of an Englishman, my life has always surrounded soccer and Manchester United—my dad’s favorite club and arguably the biggest club in the world. I was raised watching David Beckham’s freekicks, Cristiano Ronaldo embarrassing defenders on the wing, Wayne Rooney scoring seemingly-impossible goals, and Sir Alex Ferguson—the greatest manager of all time—lifting the Champions League and Premier League trophies.

Needless to say, I was spoiled.

The past eight years since Ferguson’s retirement in 2013 have been difficult. The owners—the Glazer family, who also own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—have fired three managers, leading the team to reach a high of second place across its last eight years of competition.

The club’s failures are due to two parties: the Glazers and executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward. The Glazers are money-hungry American businessmen who couldn’t care less about United’s history. Woodward, a rugby-loving Englishman, is the same.

During the ages of 13 and 14, I trained with Manchester United Soccer Schools in England. I was surrounded by players who lived for the club and taught me how to live and play “The United Way”—respecting the club’s legacy, keeping faith during the hard times, and settling for nothing less than the best.

Selling out our team, our fans, and our history to play in a league that we don’t have to compete to stay in isn’t “The United Way.” United has always fought through the hard times repeatedly.

The Glazers’ and Woodward’s actions are of no surprise after years of ignoring players’ and fans’ voices.

Club Captain, Harry Maguire, confronting Woodward in his office to express the team’s outrage with the decision was the final straw, pushing him to finally resign from his role and the club to withdraw from the ESL. Tuesday’s events were the tip of the iceberg. Get the Glazers out of United, give the power to a true supporter of the club, and get back to winning. contact@berkeleybeacon.com