variant, rapid tests

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

Thursday, December 2 • Volume 75, Issue 13

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Students say rapid tests flawed, unclear

Health services merger underway

Beacon Staff

Beacon Staff

Frankie Rowley & Adrianna Pray

Vivi Smilgius

Emerson students reported announced its intention to merge its physical and mental health services, both departments have been expanded with several new hires and increased services.

In preparation for the impending merger, the Center for Health and Wellness and Emerson Coun-

taking their college-mandated and provided at-home rapid COVID-19 tests in order to return to campus following the Thanksgiving break.

Now at-home rapid tests to stuthat they take the tests within 48 hours of returning to campus.

have contracted BIPOC-focused clinicians and student-led men-

was little instruction provided on how the test should be administered.

“There should have been a separate set of instructions that the ones that were just on the box,” said Caroline Lagrangeira, tions major. “I did miss a couple of things about how to get the website and the app, and it was just very complex for me.”

Emerson’s campus in Well, Netherlands. The Berkeley Beacon Archives

Omicron found in Netherlands; no change in sight for Castle

prematurely were forced to procure a new rapid test, since opening their box prior to a virtual proctor’s “I opened the box assuming there would be an instruction pamphlet in there,” said Lucinda Bertolet, a junior theater and performance major. “I didn’t open any of the testing materials. Then I found out from the [Navica] app that you had to get a proctor. I showed them my box and I had the unfortunate moment of realization when they told me that the label on the front that said ‘do not open’ meant the box. I had to get a new one.”

Though Bertolet was able to replace her test, she said that the experience brought her undue stress that could have been avoided if instructions were clearer.

“It was really stressful and rushed,” she said. “I was worried I wasn’t going to get it in time, Testing, Pg. 3

Bailey Allen Beacon Staff

Weeks after a surge in COVID-19 cases forced the Netherlands into another lockdown, the appearance of Omicron—the latest mutation of the virus—threatens to throw Europe, and Emerson’s Kasteel Well studyabroad program, into turmoil.

Two days after the new variant Netherlands had reported 14 cases of the new variant—all tied to international travel, according to the Dutch National Institute for Public Health.

Its emergence in Europe comes as Emerson students near the end of their 13-week stay at the Castle—a stay that has seen students travel

across the continent on a regular basis.

“Does this have the potential to be a global spreader?” said Dr. Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseasthe answer is yes. The concern is that omicron has a mutational pattern that is really taking some of these ‘all-star mutations’ from many of the other variants that preceded it.”

Ellerin and other epidemiologists are concerned that Omicron may prove to be much more contagious than previous strains—including the Delta variant, which now accounts for over 99 percent of cases in the 30 mutations to its spike protein, which sparked concern it could

evade the protection generated by vaccines.

Despite concerns, administrators at the castle have no plans to implement new precautions.

“The impact of the new Omicron and its possible spread will have minimal to no impact on our program and its students,” wrote Kasteel Well Executive Director Dulcia Meijers in an email statement to The Beacon.

The Kasteel Well program discourages student travel for the last two weekends of the semester, in order to encourage students to ly, the weekend of Nov. 26-28 was the last chance for students to leave the castle.

Variant, pg. 3

Men’s basketball triumphs in back and forth game Tyler Foy

Hall on Tuesday. “We’re providing a menu of services so when the student comes in, we’re able to assess what [they] need.”

Dear, who previously worked as a clinician at Harvard, was tapped to head the merger in Janhe said he has focused on holistic healthcare for students.

“We’re not just looking at physical health, wellness, or mental health,” Dear said. “We’re we’re thinking about racial and thinking about the student all the way around.”

That approach is the reason for merging the two services in the first place, Dear told The Beacon earlier this year.

“We want to provide a more holistic experience for students,” Dear wrote in an Oct. 19 email.

“We want students to know that we care about their overall health.

Merger, pg. 3

INSIDE THIS EDITION

SGA hosts annual Academic Town Hall Pg. 2 New minor in religion studies to debut Pg. 2 Plaques are a key marker of the past Pg. 4 Steely Dan remains in fine form at Orpheum show Pg. 5 Institute of Contemporary Arts opens new exhbits Pg. 7

Beacon Staff With less than one minute left on the clock, senior guard Nate Martin made four of six free throws to solidify the men’s basketball team’s Heading into Tuesday’s game with Plymouth which tipped off on Nov. 11. The Panthers entered the game 4-2 coming off a loss against New England College.

The Lions were led to a 75-72 win over Tufts University in their previous match led by a stunning performance from senior center Jarred Houston who had caught fire in non-conference play.

The early season momentum was put on a brief hold through the Thanksgiving break but Houston showed no signs of rust, securing a double-double with 24 points and 13 rebounds––against Plymouth in the Bobbi Brown ley said Houston’s reliability calms the team.

“It’s huge because it allows guys to get out and really pressure knowing that if they do get by that, they’re going to go into that big redwood tree there and Jarred has done a great job really rebounding and cleaning up the paint,” Curley said after the game.

The Lions scored the first points of the game on a jump shot from senior guard Zach Waterhouse. The game would stay close throughout as both teams exchanged buckets. Plymouth

Brandin Dear, who serves as the Director of Counseling, Health and Wellness, will head the as yet unnamed newly-integrated health department.

“What we’re looking forward to is having that integration and being able to provide cutting edge care to our students,” Dear

93

positive COVID-19 tests

.14%

positivity rate

Emerson Lions Guard Nate Martin in attack. Syndey Ciardi / Beacon Staff started finding a rhythm midway through the half and held a 10-point lead three times, but the Lions were able to remain competitive—

ripping off a 7-0 run of the half to end 33-30 heading into the second.

Basketball, Pg. 8

66,000+ tests completed

News

The Berkeley Beacon

December 2, 2021

2

Student Government hosts annual town hall

Vivi Smilgius Beacon Staff

their concerns about the college’s virtual attendance policies and discussed the college’s spring reopening plans at annual academic town hall on Tuesday. hosted in-person since 2019—and like diversity and inclusion and the COVID-19 pandemic. It included an with several administrators, including Interim Provost Jan Roberts-Breslin pus Life Erik Muurisepp, followed by another hour of discussions broken up by department.

“It is one of the few events that we do on campus to bridge the gap between faculty, students, and administrators,” Executive Vice President Pranit Chand said in an interview.

“Not only is it a time for us to share our grievances but also make sure that people are hearing them and sharing their opinions as well.”

During the town hall, Muurisepp touted Emerson’s response to the pandemic. He said the college was never pushed to implement a virtual or hybrid learning model despite a surge in rest of the semester, he said, showed low positivity rates—which he noted were to be expected with the college mandating COVID-19 vaccines—and low active case numbers. The college racked up 93 positive COVID-19 tests this semester, with an overall test positivity rate of 0.14 percent.

Muurisepp said Emerson will continue its testing policy, mandating all students get tested weekly, into the spring semester and maintain its indoor mask mandate in the winter months. He also encouraged students to get their nations to limit the severity of illnesses, should they become infected.

The college does not currently plan to implement new restrictions to stem

substitute for being there,” she said.

Nevertheless, Roberts-Breslin said faculty are continuing to make adjustments.

“It’s a shifting landscape and one that

though Muurisepp acknowledged that administrators were wary, he said the variant was “not cause for panic.”

“We don’t see it impacting our operations for the rest of the fall semester and we’re hoping nothing will be impacted for the spring,” Muurisepp said.

Roberts-Breslin added that the college plans to continue delivering an in-person experience next semester.

While masking, distancing, and testing

May said that while these negotia-

Roberts-Breslin said guest policies and in-person events have yet to be determined. utive president, pressed administrators on whether the college would be more health breaks or attending classes virtually in the future. During ayehsa-wirasmade a stronger push for the college to adapt its policies to accommodate students’ need for time off.

Roberts-Breslin said that, while faculty are “always talking” about students’ well-being, online learning and faculty to meet their respective learning goals.

“One of the issues with Zooming into classes is it’s really not a great

discussion,” she said.

Professor Heather May added that online attendance poses not only logistical issues, but also pedagogical issues as, in many cases, they make it more ant to ensure students are receiving the education they came to Emerson to get.

“We want to meet the students where they’re at but we also want to make sure we’re maintaining a level of excellence in our teaching,” May said.

Roberts-Breslin encouraged students and faculty to expand on this discussion “It’s something we need to continue to work on,” Roberts-Breslin said during the town hall. “I would welcome digging into this with the faculty, with new solution that takes advantage of the good parts of technology but doesn’t create both logistical and pedagogical issues.”

Fellow panelist and Director of Paxton also noted that the writing and academic resource center has doubled its hours this semester and is working hard to help students complete and submit work, especially as end-of-semester stress and procrastination set in.

Roberts-Breslin added that students need to be “proactive in their communication” when needing to miss class and that faculty should be upfront about their attendance expectations at the

Hongyu Liu / Beacon Staff

beginning of the semester.

“If you have to be out for your own wellness and the protection of others’ wellness as well, that’s okay,” said Roberts-Breslin. “But at the same time, what does shared accountability in that situation look like?” were left unanswered at the end of the hour. Chand said the shortcomings of this year’s panel—namely, technical would be taken into consideration and prevented in the future.

“Obviously, with every event, there are things we can improve on,” Chand told The Beacon after the event. “We will certainly be taking [time limits] into consideration when we conduct the town hall next time.”

Chand said he was happy with the overall turnout and considered the town

hall a success despite not lasting long enough to address all the audience’s regarding academics at Emerson.” afternoon’s conversations, collect notes from each departmental session as well as the larger panel discussion and begin drafting legislation for next semester. work with,” he said. “When these opinions are raised beforehand, administrators are able to act on it effectively… the long run.”

vivi_smilgius@emerson.edu

College to offer new religion minor in Marlboro Institute Jonathan Yao

Beacon Correspondent In a bid to expand its interdisciplinary offerings, the college will offer a new minor focusing on religious studies, starting in the

Boston police detectives depart the store following the alleged robbery. Hongyu Liu / Beacon Staff

Boylston convenience store robbed Camilo Fonseca Beacon Staff

store was robbed on Wednesday evening, according to a store employee.

Boston police responded to 40

and approached the register.

“I was just standing there shouting at him, ‘don’t do that,’” she said. “I couldn’t push him or anything because he was stronger than me—what if he punched me?

That was in my mind. I’d rather he take the money and leave me safe “Then he told me, ‘I have a gun,’” she added.

spokesman. Downtown Convetold The Beacon a man came in and opened the cash register, threatendescribed as ragged and older-looking, was trying to sell gloves and water bottles to her. When she asked him to leave, he went around the counter to the employee’s side

which the man said was in his bag.

Though she said police investigators assured her otherwise, she doubted the man was telling the truth.

“I didn’t check,” she said. “In that kind of situation, [everything] just happened all of a sudden.”

The man grabbed all the large bills in the register and walked out said.

details, noting that the police investigation was still ongoing. The Emerson College Police Department did not issue a campus-wide alert for the incident. had witnessed a robbery in the past, she wasn’t sure if she would return to work after the incident.

“If I don’t feel safe, I don’t need the money,” she said. “My life is everything for me.” the morning to review the store’s surveillance footage.

“Hopefully he will get caught— because it’s just not about that guy,” she said. “It’s about the safety of hood, you know?” camilo_fonseca@emerson.edu

The new minor, offered as part of the Marlboro Institute for Libies, combines several existing courses with new ones. The decision to create the minor was made collectively by Marlboro faculty,

“We found that the existing courses combined with our new perspectives was sufficient to create this new minor,” she said. the minor had already been laid within the Marlboro Institute.

Courses like Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Ways of Life existed as a sort of “hidden curriculum,” before the department introduced new material, such as Living in a Broken World: The Power of Ritual Imagination, to make a fully-realized program.

“This merely serves as the means to make it visible to the priate for a liberal arts curriculum to have a religion minor.” sor at Marlboro College who came to Emerson in 2020 as a part of

the Marlboro merger, will help teach and develop new classes for said he hoped to bring his experience to a new generation of students.

“I’m really looking forward to this opportunity to refine courses and revise them by teaching them multiple times,” Latif said. “It’s an opportunity that Emerson really gives [us].”

Latif already teaches courses that touch variously on different aspects of Islam, Buddhism, and religious mythology. He said he plans to introduce new courses to the curriculum as soon as the 2022-23 academic year—namely

have enrolled in the minor, according to Latif.

Nevertheless, he said many students may have already taken the minor. He said the minor also appealed to those students “interested in the larger picture, who want to see how a small part connects to the larger whole.”

While Latif acknowledged that many Emerson students are irreligious, he argued that the mannerisms and aspects of religion remain present in everyday life. jonathan_yao@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

December 2, 2021

3

New variant to have ‘minimal impact’ on program, adminstrators say

Emily McNally / Beacon Staff

Cont. from Pg. 1 “For the remainder of the Fall ‘21 term, travel and movements will be limited to the absolute minimum,” Meijers wrote. ing faculty and staff—also tested on a weekly basis—are the only ones that travel locally. arts major Drew Mitchell said he was relieved that students are result of the encroaching variant.

“It is reassuring to know that we’re not going to be traveling anywhere,” Mitchell said. “We’re all kind of in our little bubble. Especially because finals are coming up, things are dwindling down.

We’re pretty much staying here [at the Castle].”

Mitchell traveled to London last weekend, just before multiple countries were forced to reinstate “It was a little scary because last weekend was our last travel weekend and we kept hearing information that the variant was found in different places,” Mitchell said. kids had already traveled through or from—but luckily, we’ve been very cautious here.”

Lida Everhart, also a sophomore visual and media arts major, was met with a slew of new COVID-19 guidelines upon her arrival in Brussels, after the variant was first reported in Belgium on Nov. 22— two days before it was officially

“It was definitely the most COVID-impacted trip I’ve been on thus far,” Everhart said. “We had some refunds happen because we couldn’t go to any clubs or anything. Belgium was the first European country to have the variant, so that did feel a little bit apocalyptic.” ty of the Kasteel Well community was compromised after a numstaff members tested positive for COVID-19.

“We were just released from members tested positive a while ago,” Everhart said. “Then, things were a little bit different. We had time slots at the dining hall, which was pretty sad and pathetic-feeling, and then our classes were on Zoom, which was also a huge bummer.”

“We had to be on Zoom [classes] for the past two days until everyone collectively tested negative,” Mitchell said. “It’s been a little crazy, but hopefully we’re all good.”

Even though the Omicron variant has been in the Netherlands for at least a few days, Mitchell said he was more nervous about going “I just heard the very first case is out in California,” he said. “Being here, I feel a lot safer because we’re in such a closed environment. There aren’t many interactions with the outside world. We’re

getting tested weekly, wearing our masks and following a lot of precautions.”

Everhart shared similar sentiments, noting the high volume of coronavirus cases in her home state of Colorado last year. back to my state, just because last winter, something like one in every 50 people had COVID, and the cases just keep rising there,” Everhart said.

While Everhart feels safer in the Netherlands than she would back at home, she continues to worry about the Omicron variant.

“I’m a little bit more paranoid about every ebb and flow of my body,” she said. “Like, ‘Oh my gosh, is this COVID?’ just because I know there’s a slightly higher probability. But I still feel safer honestly.”

Ellerin said the best way to protect against the new variant was to increase vaccine distribution, and shifting the parameters for being fully vaccinated to include a booster shot.

“We need to vaccinate more,” he said. “We need to boost more.

People aren’t fully vaccinated for more than six months from [their] last dose. Now you’re really only partially vaccinated. You need that booster… we’re going to have to do that and then develop next generation vaccines as rapidly as possible. That’s important. That’s the take [away].”

Returning students report missing materials, conufsing instructions Cont. from Pg. 1 Other students reported more extreme predicaments—some even reporting that they were missing important materials to administer their tests.

“My bottle had nothing in it, so I had to search and buy another test,” tweeted Morgan Looby, a junior politician communication taining the solution that triggers the results.

Miles Legrow, a junior visual and media arts major, also reported having no solution in his dropper. When he reached out to the college at the email listed sponse.

Other students, Bertolet among them, expressed more serious personal security concerns about the personal information collected by

the proctoring app.

“I found out that the whole account that we had to make with Navica, all the information we had to put in, all of the proof of the negative was not being used,” she said. “The college essentially asks for our word and provides a yes of that works for something that anybody could lie about.”

Jill Hetherman, a first-year interdisciplinary studies major, agreed, saying she would have preferred to be tested in a professional setting rather than at home.

“If Emerson is trying to be proactive by getting people tested before coming back to campus, I feel like it should be done in a more accurate setting,” Hetherman said. community and then uploading a picture of your test result [would be better than] this at-home DIY

bailey_allen@emerson.edu

Health center merger aims to incorporate BIPOC focus

Cont. from Pg. 1

We know the mind and body intertwine to shape the health of a person and we want to support students in taking care of themselves.”

The holistic approach will make it easier for students to get all the medical assistance they need in one place, he said.

“With integration, the left hand knows what the right hand is doing.”

Dear also said he has focused on meeting student demand for clinicians focusing on marginalized groups—namely recent hires clinician and Kate Fox-Fuller, a graduate trainee.

“We’ve been really working on doing a lot of hiring,” he said. “We do want to represent... the students that we’re seeing, and it is my goal

to continue to have that diversity.”

Vice President and Dean of Campus Life Jim Hoppe attested to Dear’s hiring developments. “[Dear] has been making a lot of progress,” Hoppe said. “He’s been really focusing on hiring staff and

In addition to new staff members, the post-merger center will feature student-run counseling services and peer groups in addition to healthcare professionals. These groups will allow students to connect with each other and hopefully prevent crisis and mentor groups will help the “preventative and not reactionary,” according to Dear.

He added that he hoped to train to listen to students—regardless of whether they are licensed therapists or not.

“Whatever makes the student experience better is what I’m here for,” he said. “One of my jobs is to coach staff and faculty on having some of those more benign conversations with students and to feel more comfortable about having those conversations.”

While Dear takes pride in the progress made thus far, he noted that the college still has a ways to go.

“We are still in the early stages of this merge,” Dear said. “There is a lot more to do in terms of increasing programming, accessibility, and student engagement.”

No date has been set for the culmination of the merger. The Beacon previously reported that it would be completed by the fall semester.

Caroline Helms contributed reporting. vivi_smilgius@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon Archives

testing kit that people don’t really understand how to use.”

Bertolet echoed Hetherman’s concerns, saying she was worried about whether people actually took the tests to begin with.

“I just have a lot of concerns about the whole process and don’t think it was helpful or useful or even really reliable because we don’t know who actually took the test if they could just say yes or no,” she said. the proctoring aspect of the test— an added surprise to the process.

“I wasn’t prepared,” said Bianca Cormier. “I didn’t know we were going online to see a real person proctoring it.”

Despite the concerns, Erik Muurisepp, “COVID Lead” and associate vice president for campus life, said that “hiccups” were

bound to happen due to the high volume of tests distributed.

“When we had those situations arise, we worked with the students case by case to help make sure they get back to campus either with an extra test on arrival from the Campus Life Office,” he said.

Muurisepp remained confident tests that students took, very few positives were reported. who attested to 4,000 rapid tests, and [seeing] very, very few positives from that, [the process] seemed to work overall.”

contact@berkeleybeacon.com

The Berkeley Beacon

Opinion

December 2, 2021

4

Plaques are a key historical landmark — and can help signal the future of the city

Gabel Strickland Beacon Correspondent In 1807, it was where John Quinwould govern our nation for centuries to come. Now, it’s where Emerson morning. These two realities are separated by centuries of time, yet tied The 62 on The Park building now holds apartments, a FedEx store, and the building commemorates it as the original site of the home of John

Boston. Emerson’s stretch of buildthe past and take our society into the future––and Emerson students are learning how to be a part of this and yesterday, but tomorrow. They aim to help Boston juggle being a city that prides itself both on being full of history and forward-thinking.

Though most people don’t considthey symbolically say much more than what they say literally. Historical society’s past, but of both the potentially problematic and progressive aspects of a society’s present state.

Individual citizens can lobby for the social consciousness. for example, have long been revered by many. However, some of them, such as a statue of Robert E. Lee that was removed in Richmond two months ago, are being taken down with mounting public sentiment condemning the Confederacy’s efforts to preserve the institution of slavery.

Meanwhile, in the last few years, institutions including universities, churches, counties, and museums knowledging the Indigeonous people of the land on which their current institutions are built.

This emphasis on incorporating social justice into memorials is at the heart of the Emerson College course rials Revisited and Reimagined: PubBelkina and Cheryl Knight.

“Not just in Boston, but even in the rials that we have are overwhelmingly to white men and wealthy white men,” said Knight, who specializes in public art and museum studies. does it look like if we were going to try and—not on a surface level—say let’s sow some social justice issues in there, build the whole class around the perspective of social justice through that’s what we did.”

The class does so with all sorts of example, one of the class’s projects concerned the Boston Women’s Mewhich pays homage to three women:

ine a change they would make to the memorial to enhance its social justice components and came up with a number of creative ideas such as adding another female historical

a property owner, downplaying the chaotic revolts that took place around the tree.

“There’s two different types of a lot of preservations and organizations,” Webster said. “But then you have in the 19th century, early 20th necessarily monitored or like vetted in the same way. People who had money were able to develop a property and of inscription into the building.” ation process means the narrative less curated by wealthy landowners and more a public effort to memorialize what is important to them going forward. Emerson students studying public memorials have a chance to aid this process, perhaps starting within their own school, where some may acknowledging the native people of the land on which Emerson was built (much like the aforementioned universities).

“In the past few decades, we’ve seen more people kind of going to these preservation groups and saying, ‘I think that we want to have a we either need to be more conscious about things that we’re preserving or PhD student at Boston University’s

memorial so someone could sit in it themselves. ing social consciousness combats one potentially problematic aspect owners potentially perverse historical narratives. This is a problem that can be observed not far from Emerson campus.

Maddie Webster is a PhD student specializes in urban history, Boston history, and historic preservation. Her article “Redeveloping Place and Narexplains how in 1849 wealthy develizing an idyllic version of the tree’s history to emphasize his “liberty” as

Program. ciety’s growth ideologically, but they also aid society’s growth industrially.

Tearing down old structures to build new ones is a natural part of a city’s

give people a greater sense of appreciation for the area they live in while still letting that area be livable, like at -

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John Quincy Adams plaque at 62 Boylston building. Hongyu Liu / Beacon Staff ont. nology aims to do.

“The other thing that’s really at the rience when they might be walk- very kind of horizon of public histoing down one of these cobblestone ry that people are playing with are streets on Beacon Hill and then they augmented reality and virtual realweren’t necessarily out searching for history, but they just sort of stumble sudden you’re looking into the past upon it. That’s a very common expe- historical photo or you’re looking at rience,” Webster said. “These private people moving through it. It’s kind moments where you kind of stumble upon some kind of marker or perhaps an old building that doesn’t necessari- tions about what kind of content that ly have a marker, but you’re intrigued would be who would curate it.” by it.

“Those intimate moments are really potentially be Emerson students. Virspecial,” she said. tual reality is something that is used extensively in Belkina and Knight’s of a building, but they aren’t always curriculum to explore expanding the - uments. panding as an art form. Dr. Nick Ju“One of the things that’s nice about ravich, assistant professor of History VR is it’s not the ‘real world.’ Issues of funding and approvals go away, but Massachusetts Boston, notes that physical markers can be incorporated such a cliche, but like that blue sky into a wide variety of public history thinking of what’s possible,” Knight interactions and activities. This is said, before adding that “VR is also something that Knight observes in her a great visual communication tool for classroom daily. us because if you work in the arts, “You’re seeing people push back sometimes things can’t always be put against the conventions of the text,” into words.”

Knight said. “Not that they don’t want Knight’s course will be available to text anymore, but what kind of text take during the Fall 2022 semester, and where you would read it and just and she hopes that her students will in general the use of things like QR take these ideas to heart as they learn codes or websites in conjunction with to create historical monuments that are forward-thinking in design and necessarily feel like you have to read purpose. everything on site.”

- just kind of changed their thinking on deed been experimenting with imple- everything. When you walk around menting technology into their designs. the city, they weren’t just accepting Dr. Juravich worked on a mural in El things at face value anymore. You’re Monte, California that commemorat- thinking about ‘how did this memoried preexisting murals and local his- al get there? Why? What was the purtory that had been erased. The mural, pose? Who paid for it or pushed for it?’” Knight said. These are, we hope, Posse, included QR codes that led us- ideas that are becoming ingrained and that people feel a kind of an ethical El Monte’s murals. Dr. Juravich says obligation, really. You know, it’s kind that these codes are also often used to of a moral obligation.” connect viewers with more historical content, much like virtual reality tech- gabel_strickland@emerson.edu Editor-in-Chief Charlie McKenna Managing Editors Lucia Thorne (Content) Hongyu Liu (Multimedia) Campbell Parrish (Operations) Section Editors Camilo Fonseca (News)

Kaitlyn Fehr (Copy) Advisor Jerry Lanson

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

The Berkeley Beacon

December 2, 2021

5

‘Absolutely Normal’: Steely Dan makes a triumphant return to Boston Charlie McKenna Beacon Staff Donald Fagen, decked out in a blazer and sunglasses, remarked to the raucous crowd of Baby Boomthat he and the band were going to play a “carefully curated collection of random shit.”

I, dear reader, sat amongst those boomers, cheering loudly for Fagen and the band after every song, often singing along, much to my girlfriend’s chagrin. The Nov. 19 show marked the second of three — the band’s first since the onset of the pandemic. a jazz-rock fusion band formed by the aforementioned Fagen and Walter Becker in the early 1970s. The duo met at Bard College, formed a band called “Leather Canary,” and Dan (the band’s name comes from a mechanized, steam-powered dildo in a William Burroughs novel).

I’ve seen the band perform six times now — four times at the Orpheum Theatre that played host to the Dan (as they are affectionately known) performed 1976’s “The if I do say so myself) in its entirety, before transitioning into that aforementioned “collection of random shit.”

That wit is a trademark of the band — and evident throughout Friday night performance. The album’s fifth song, entitled “The Fez,” finds the narrator singing that he is “never going to do it without the fez on,” and pleading to not make him “do it without the fez on” because he “wants to be a holy man.”

I’ll leave it to you, dear reader, to fill in the gaps. But, on the night of the show, instead of Fagen performing the song as he does on the

Donald Fagen and the Steely Dan band wave to the crowd at the conclusion of their show. Charlie McKenna / Beacon Staff album, he departed the stage and let “the Danettes” — the backup guage rendition of the song. I have no idea why, but I suspect Fagen, now 73, likely got a kick out of it.

The band surrounding Fagen on this tour is one familiar to fans, comprised of elite musicians from across the country — the inimitable John Herrington leading the way on guitar, Keith Carlock effortlessly conveying the styles of the many elite drummers who joined the band in the 70s, and of course “ready” Freddie Washington on bass.

When I entered the theater, I darted for the merch table and immediately spent $80 on t-shirts. When in Rome, right?

The show kicked off with a set from the “Pat Bianchi Trio,” a jazz trio who noodled the night away while the boomers in my vicinity streamed into their seats the largest cans of Truly I’ve ever seen. Once I peeled my eyes away from that I bitterly focused on the performance

in front of me.

If improv jazz is your thing, then more power to you, but I detest the Pat Bianchi Trio — having seen their improvisational stylings four times now. It seemed they were there to provide some sonic entertainment as people streamed into their seats — not to be an actual compelling opener. and we grew closer to the real show starting, my anticipation grew.

When the lights finally dimmed and the band streamed on stage, with Fagen the last to take his place at his signature Rhodes keyboard, I hollered loudly.

With the show beginning, the Danettes dropped the needle on the on-stage record player, presumably spinning a vinyl of “The with the signature opening chords of “Kid Charlemagne” — which Dan song, thanks to its sample on Kanye West’s “Champion” (did

you realize you were a champion in their eyes?).

The band effortlessly sliced its way through “Kid Charlemagne,” and Herrington put his own take on Larry Carlton’s iconic solos, while also remaining faithful to the ra” remains one of the best tracks in the Dan’s catalog and it’s a shame they refuse to trot it out more often (I blame the boomers, who only want the band to play the hits).

I won’t bore you, dear reader, by going through each and every just know — they all slap. There’s an iconic moment in the album’s penultimate song “Everything You Did” where Fagen croons “turn up the eagles the neighbors are listening” — a response to the “stab it with their steely knives” in “Hotel California.” I suspect the moment may have been lost on the boomers in the crowd, but I made sure to point it out to my girlfriend who probably rolled her eyes just a little

bit internally.

The album concludes with the title track, and the ominous, looming chords embedded in the song’s melody played so well live. It’s long been a favorite on the album and has been even better each time I’ve seen the band play it for an audience.

Fagen navigated the album well, even despite a few lyrical slip-ups.

His voice sounded closer to the recordings than I have ever heard.

The man is 73, so it’s difficult to expect his voice not to have aged at all, but a year and a half of not touring probably did his vocal cords well.

Then, as the band moved into its “carefully curated collection of random shit,” the more traditional hits were played—with songs like “Hey Nineteen” (a yacht rock staple) and “Bodhisattva” comprising the rest of the evening’s setlist.

There was one fun surprise in whacker,” which was the best song on its final album “Everything played live and was tremendously fun to hear because of its rarity.

Dan show if Fagen didn’t break out his melodica and toot along to one of the tunes, providing a somewhat unnecessary (albeit fun) accompaThe show concluded with a rendition of the band’s most popular song “Reelin’ in the Years,” a song Fagen once dubbed “dumb but effective,” that absolutely blew the audience away. With Herrington and relative newcomer Connor Kennedy trading licks, it felt like the vibe had shifted away from roll. The boomers had not felt excitement like this in years.

The tour may have been “absolutely normal,” but the show was anything but.

charles_mckenna@emerson.edu

Dive right in, head first: giving head should be a two-way street Mariyam Quaisar Beacon Staff

tional. Let me make something clear: dy, they’re reproductive organs with

Let me tell you a story about a guy who meets a girl. They like each other, there’s sexual attraction, so eventually they want to have some sexy time.

missed a major part.

The girl never got any tongue action, and guess what, oftentimes the

candy.

When girls want the same treatment they give to guys, we often feel insecure about our bodies and that is generally rooted in society’s mockery of the vagina itself. Just take the word “pussy” for example. When someone calls another a “pussy,” it is to make fun of them for being a coward or scared.

More so, when someone has a bad experience with a woman, more specifically her vagina, it is seen as a chance to make jokes.

In high school I heard jokes like,

problem.

made me self-conscious even if the

they kiss, get all touchy-feeling—the works. Before they get to the—let’s call it the climax—they’re doing foreplay. With foreplay, often comes oral sex—giving head. How fun! guy asks the girl to give him head (a blow job), the girl obliges, and then they have sex. The end.

but are met with stigmas when they want the same treatment. It should go without saying, that if you are going to get, you have to sometimes be willing to give. Within the boundaries of consent and comfort. Furthermore, if you have aversions to giving your female sexual partners oral sex, consider why because your mentality is harmful and simply not sexy.

Many guys take it upon themselves to characterize giving girls head as “intimate.” Calm down kings, it really is not. Like men, we also want pleasure, and sex doesn’t always give it to us, so suck it up and then, literally, suck it up.

University of Florida Professor Lau-

Illustration Lucia Thorne rie Mintz, who teaches the psychology of human sexuality, says there is “incultural over-privileging of male sexuality and a devaluing of female sexualdirect clitoral stimulation—which haporgasm, but it “is rarely depicted.” uality, show that women are less likely to receive oral sex than they are to give it, and ironically, oral sex plays a major role in making a woman orgasm.

-

ner knowing how to locate the clitoris, which is another stigma that those who are averted and/or scared of giving head should get over.

In heterosexual relationships, women on average have fewer orgasms than men, and Mintz calls this the “orgasm gap.” This “gap” is because of “our cultural ignorance of the clitoris,” according to Mintz. Thus, even if men give head to women, what are the chances they’ll know where the pleasure place all reading this: whip out an anatomy book or have your female partner physically show you where her clitoris is.

Females feel pleasure when the clitoris is engaged, not from the vagina. and focus on the bud of nerves. If you’re gonna do it, do it right. often don’t receive the pleasure they give is the stereotypes of vaginas, which goes back to the aforementioned “devaluing of female sexuality.”

Whether it’s the stereotype of what vaginas are supposed to smell, taste or look like, too many men and others are misguided. Whatever a vagina tastes like is natural, but girls are expected to taste and smell “good,” which is irra-

it has been in the back of my mind to always make sure I taste and smell “good,” even though I know that’s not realistic. Jokes like this may be intended to be harmless, but they have heavy impacts on women, especially in adolescence. expected to put a penis in her mouth, the same expectation should be placed on men for vaginas. Better yet, let’s get rid of these expectations altogether. If it happens, it happens. If or when it does happen, then it should be a balance between both parties. mariyam_quaisar@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

Living Arts

December 2, 2021

6

Therapy dogs, chair massages and more

Iwasaki Library to host first ‘Cirque de De-Stress’ since 2019 Sophia Pargas Beacon Staff

While the pandemic put a stop to in-person activities conducted at the

In the midst of the most stressful time of any college student’s semeswhere students can unwind with therapy dogs, chair massages, guided meditation, and more.

The event will be held on Friday Dec. 3 from 1-4 p.m., and is open to any student looking to participate in self-care activities to alleviate stress as the semester comes to an end.

“The library will still be available for all of its library functions, but at the front part, we’re going to have a space for people to be doing arts and erence coordinator and co-creator of the event. “There will also be a spot for them to swipe in and sign up for an appointment with a therapy dog or a chair massage.”

The event, started in 2014, was born from students’ growing desires to engage with animals on campus as Engagement Lab’s Community PlanIt project, a grant fund for projects on campus, the Iwasaki Library was given the necessary funding to make this

a result, the event was moved online for the 2019-20 school year as a hub for self care, featuring yoga, spa, art, meditation, and music resources for students to enjoy on their own time.

“It’s not like people were under said. “It’s become a real tradition at Emerson, and it breaks my heart that there’s almost two years worth of Emerson students who have never gotten

“The point of the event is to provide a brief break during what is always a stressful time for students,” she said. “That’s why we like to do it before the end of the semester.

There’s a lot of ‘this is a really busy week for me.’ I know it’s hard for folks, but if we wait until all the deadlines are passed, then what do you need to destress for?” take this time as an opportunity to revitalize, explaining that productivity can only be increased by practic-

things that makes Emerson a little bit semester strong.

Courtesy Iwasaki Library

ness of therapy dogs and meditation, things you could do for stress relief that don’t cost a lot of money or time, but can really have an impact on your well being,” Executive Director of said. offer students a space to practice self care during a time when they need it a fun and engaging way and provide -

from there.

during this time of year so students

pus.

“It’s a trend that I’ve seen nationally in libraries for the past decade or two, where librarians would see the students come in and see how hard

encouraged to stop by and either return to or get to know the event that has become a staple of Emerson’s campus.

“Come in for as little or as long as

breathing meditations, with dog petting meditations, with mindfully sipping your hot chocolate, you can think about why you’re here, what

“You’d see the same student in the same seat sometimes for six hours, just being so dedicated, working

want the library to be a resource for people at all times, so if you haven’t had a chance to come to the library before, this is a great time to start.”

While some may worry that this event may take away from time that could be spent studying or complet-

hours might not be as productive as taking a break and re-centering yourself. You have so many gifts, and taking a moment to pause and give yourself something that you need is going to help you go out there and share those gifts with the world, even if it

said the event is strategically placed

sophia_pargas@emerson.edu

up from their table after a couple of hours and pet a dog can really relax you and get you in a mindset to go back for the next four hours of sitting at that same table and studying.”

New initiative ‘Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence’ launches two undergraduate courses Sophia Pargas Beacon Staff Emerson’s Engagement Lab is launching a new three-year initiative titled “Transforming Narratives of

and the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, beginning this spring. launch event on Thursday from 2-3 p.m. over Zoom, which will feature guest speakers like Congresswoman the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute Clementina Chery.

The initiative aims to ensure that future generations of media will tell the stories of those affected by gun violence truthfully and respectfully.

It will work to educate students on the ways that their storytelling modes can impact the narrative on gun violence as a whole.

Thursday’s event will introduce the initiative and the topic it will seek to teach in the next three years.

The initiative will be offering eye-opening and hands-on courses across various subjects such as visual media arts, theater, and eventually more, to teach students about the true impacts of gun violence, and the ways they can work toward in their future careers.

Violence in Boston” and “Topics in tion.”

strength in media and storytelling, [Emerson] is really well positioned to have a positive and demonstrable impact on the issue of gun violence,” of Engagement Lab and professor within the initiative.

More often than not, gun violence is covered as an attention grabber try which takes the lives of thousands, which will be emphasized in the courses, those involved in the initiative said. In today’s climate where mass shootings like Tuesday’s seem to occur daily and have become normalized, it is crucial to take a step back and truly examine the way gun violence is viewed in the media, they said.

“There’s a mantra in the news business called ‘if it bleeds, it leads,’” said Theodore Life, senior distinguished director-in-residence and another professor within the initiative.

“What ends up happening with the reporting of gun violence is that we’re it. The issues that surround gun violence are far more personal.”

Life said this coverage is harmful not only to audiences, but also to the individual lives dealing with these tragedies long after the cameras cut.

“When the news moves on to the next ambulance to chance, the people who were involved in the story that we all heard about for shock value are left behind,” Life said. “The narrative that needs to be told is what happens to people’s lives because of this.” revealing that the important narrative comes with those that the victims of gun violence leave behind.

“Narratives should be tied to why people pick up guns, what it actually takes to heal once the gun has gone ten ends with the body lying on the ground, but nobody talks about what happens then. There are these ripple effects in people’s lives that go well beyond the individual victim. That’s a story that just doesn’t get told.”

The goal of this initiative is to teach the future generations of storytellers how to address the issue of gun violence in a way that not only honors those affected today, but prevents more from being affected tomorrow. there is no better place than Emerson to address this issue.

a strength in media and storytelling, we are really well positioned to have positive and demonstrable impacts on the issue of gun violence. The idea that we can concentrate our superpowers and strategically align them with other institutions and organizations that are working for change is really exciting to me.”

While there are big hopes for the possibilities of this initiative, there is also a lack of personal experience and remedying that, the initiative is centered around amplifying the voices of with the tragedy of gun violence as they work with Emerson students.

“The way that we are approaching this is through a message of co-design, meaning that our Emerson students who may not have direct experience with gun violence in their lives or families are going to be working

“Within each of our studios, we’ll be partnering with people who are family members of the deceased and working with them to tell stories.”

“It’s not us telling stories as Emerson students and faculty members, but it’s actually us using our creative lenses and talents to collaborate with people who are truly experts in the

“It is crucial to take a step back and truly examine the way gun violence is viewed in the media” subject matter,” he continued. gether to teach the visual media arts course, and are looking forward to creating material as they go based on the needs of those involved. They said they are excited to learn from those closest to the issue of gun violence and address their needs with creativity and compassion as the course develops.

“We are going to be making videos “We’re not actually dictating whether

Eric Gordon. / Courtesy Emerson College

tion. We’re going to make these stories, but we want to work with [our collaborators] to understand where these stories go and what kind of work these stories need to do. Do they need to be used as advocacy? Do they need to be used as storytelling tools within community settings? What is the real power of these stories? We’ll While the courses offered this upcoming semester are limited to the initiative is looking to expand into other areas of study in the near future. Life encouraged students to be on the lookout for these courses, and to learn all they can about the issues addressed during this initiative. really the ones creating it,” Life said.

“I think it’s an exciting thing to get involved in. You have a chance now to make a difference not only for the people we’re going to be working with, but also for Emerson College and what it stands for in the city of Boston. We say a lot of things at Emerson that we’re about, but this is our chance to not just talk it, but walk it—to make a difference and let people know why Emerson is what it is.”

sophia_pargas@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

December 2, 2021

7

New exhibits at Institue of Contemporary Arts evoke a plethora of emotions

Boston born artist Eben Haines’s “Facades.” Maeve Lawler / Beacon Correspondent

Maeve Lawler

Beacon Correspondent Two exhibitions currently on display at the Institute of Contemporary and bleeding edge experience, as they call current ideas of race, culture and Foster Prize” exhibit and “Raúl de Nieves: The Treasure House of Memwill close on Jan. 30, 2022 and July 24, 2022, respectively.

The Foster Prize exhibit is the the work of three Boston-area artists—Marlon Forrester, Eben Haines, and Dell Marie Hamilton. The Treasure House of Memory exhibit is composed of artwork by Raúl de Nieves.

Each of the artists’ work in the Foster Prize exhibit was developed ity, and the formation of personal relationships, all of which have been brought to the forefront as the world faces a health crisis. said this year’s exhibit has a different feel than the previous year. people are creating during the pandemic,” which oftentimes strives to illuminate the ever present social issues that have become more clear Fly, consists of four large oil, acrylic, and gold leaf paintings, all depicting Black men throughout history. Each shapes of a basketball court in the background.

The Black male body is at the center of Forrester’s work, depicting both historical and contemporary In his work, Forrester includes Jesus Christ, former President Barack -

shapes to illustrate a basketball court

while other paintings depict uniden-

background surrounding the portraits stands out, perplexing one’s eyes as they trace the geometric maze.

Forrester’s allusion to the sport through the depiction of these shapes

around a dining table.

Haines incorporates rich details and color into his paintings, making them appear exceptionally realis-

identity. the marginalization of Black individuals throughout history, his use of bold blue, gold, and red colors depict the Black male body in a way that evokes a celebratory feeling.

The intricacies of his work push one to understand how his use of bold colors and overlapping shapes represent a deeper meaning relating to the intersectionality of Black identity, a similar pose to saints and biblical sculptures on display at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres in France.

Forrester replaces these religious who did not receive similar recognition throughout history.

Boston born artist Eben Haines’ installation, “Facades,” is displayed in a room adjacent to Forrester’s.

“Facades” is designed as a stage set that integrates styles of New England architecture, including weathered teal colored walls and a gable roof.

Haines’ work elicits themes relating to home, the passage of time, and structures of power.

Haines’ stage set holds a mysterious and dominant grip over the dimly lit room.

Burning and extinguished candle sticks are seen throughout his work signifying that time is passing or running out. The addition of weathered domestic furniture, both as physical pieces throughout the set and integrated into the paintings, builds upon his ideas relating to the concept of home and shelter and how it can warp with time.

Haines’ inclusion of dominant appearing head sculptures in his Nelson Head—resembling ancient speak on the corruption of unchecked power.

rester’s cultural background and inthe architecture of a Dutch fortress, and elements of Queen Elizabeth II’s crown are integrated throughout Forrester’s work.

“It’s a lot of personal work for [Forrester],” Lindsey Flickenger, an In each of his paintings, Forrester uses bold, Tiffany blue geometric

around “contemplating what home is” and has a “connection to the pandemic,” as COVID-19 has highlighted necessities, comforts, and obstacles found within the home.

Decorated with oil paintings on canvas, some walls of the set depict New England pastoral landscapes paired with inviting shades of green.

Many landscapes include comets streaking across dark grey skies, giving his paintings an uncanny feeling,

feelings of comfort found within the home and the powerful danger of a shelter’s impermanence. trasted in the large oil painting titled propped on a chair, depicts a levitatthe abandoned building symbol—a ground, creating feelings of mystery as the levitating and seemingly endangered, possibly deceased body, pasture with trees in the distance.

When one enters the room, they are blanketed by an inviting, warm feeling that emulates Denker’s home.

“It’s not what you’d traditionally

sists of seven lavish sculptures. Five free-standing sculptures are made of

text, Hamilton uses her own body, as well as Denker’s possessions, as a tion, “How do we make meaning out of what is left behind after someone dies?” clined to provide their name to The Beacon said Hamilton’s work is “like a memorial, but less dark.”

Viewers experience the feeling of Denker’s life being memorialized, but in such a way that evokes more joy than sadness.

On one wall of the room spans a long, white bookshelf with mul-

and plastic toys. “[Raúl’s work] also creates this extra dialogue of exploring your own way of creating with these mediums,”

books, magazines, and DVDs. Literary works and images of famous Black leaders, including Toni Morrison, James Baldwin, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and former president Barack Obama, stand out in the front of the shelves.

On the next wall sits Denker’s desk below another shelf spanning eo called “Jackson Pollock: Two Figilton takes on the role of Denker in a performative reading, as well as the role of Pollock when painting in his splashed paint style.

Hamilton’s presence in the video, surrounded by Denker’s possessions, gives the impression of a loving, mother-daughter-like relationship between the two. are two smaller bookshelves decorated with records, books, and family are some of Denker’s everyday items, such as a camera, a pair of glasses, seashells, and a restaurant menu.

Hamilton included some of her

Raúl de Nieves’s “The Treasure House of Memory.”

Maeve Lawler / Beacon Correspondent

In the next room over, Dell Marie The End of Everything,” is also on display.

Hamilton, born in New York, often explores themes relating to gender, history, and memory through the human body in her work, which are also Hamilton created the installation to couple her own artistic creations san Denker, a mentor and friend who Denker, who was also a faculty memmany of Denker’s belongings.

Hamilton’s work is separated into three sections that are modeled after the living room, study, and bedroom of Denker’s apartment in Cambridge.

own objects, intertwining Denker’s life with her own, but one cannot tell which objects belong to whom, developing an understanding of the intersectionality of their personas.

The intent of doing so was to display Denker’s life through a selection of objects.

“I think about that and my belongings and how someone would choose tween life and death through Hamilton’s work, pondering how the dead have the possibility of being “resurrected” through the relationships they form with others.

The “Raúl de Nieves: The Treasure House of Memory” exhibit, by Raúl de Nieves––a New York based artist, musician, and performer––con-

hardware. Two sculptures hanging on the wall make use of everyday ob-

said. de Nieves’ sculptures explore the transformational abilities of identity.

His work references costumes from traditional Mexican culture and relates to religious iconography, mythology, and folktales. He also inteculture modes of fashion into his art.

The narrative of de Nieves’ work evokes feelings of unity, and the interconnection between the sculptures is undoubtedly breathtaking.

“In this beautiful exhibition, all the pieces are interconnected,” said Yuzhu Wang, another visitor assistant. “The curator and the artists did a great job.”

The story told throughout de Nieves’ exhibit starts with a free-standing, three-panel painting in the style of a room divider, titled Dragon,” referencing a legend told throughout Byzantine culture about outlines of faces paired with a multitude of colors allow one to feel connected to the art.

Dispersed throughout the room are three sculptures. de Nieves uses to sculpt the curved and misshaped phing into a horse. The bending shape of these sculptures creates a sense of movement, building on de Nieves’ central theme of transformation, but also a sense of discomfort, successfully portraying de Nieves’ themes relating to intersectionality and identity.

“Raúl is really a master of the body,” Mele, the visitor assistant, said.

In the center of the room stands a life-size sculpture of a horse on its hind legs. The horse’s pose gives off an initial sense of dominance. However, upon a closer look, feelings of joy and love are provoked by de Nieves’ hidden messages. fensive but I don’t really see it that a small key embedded in the horse’s body that reads, “Whoever holds the key can unlock my heart.”

On a side wall sits a large map consisting of colorful ribbons, feathers, yarn, and glitter layered on top of de Nieves’ black and white drawings and vintage postcard reproductions.

Hanging on the back wall sits the large circular collage, “The Leap into tal-like effect that entrances the audience with an array of emerging colors and materials. de Nieves’ themes of personal transformation are seen throughout each piece, as he layers colors, patterns, and shapes to create pieces that ultimately evoke joy.

The works of Forrester, Haines, Hamilton and de Nieves each use a style, providing one with the opmeaning and look beyond its surface for deeper cultural interpretation and importance.

With the artists’ exploration of themes relating to personal culture, identity, power and interconnection of present-day societal issues, a distinctive artistic narrative is created for one to explore. maeve_lawler@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

Sports

December 2, 2021

8

Men’s lacrosse team raises $2,700 for Daniel J. Hollis Foundation Clarissa Calderon Beacon Correspondent The men’s lacrosse team raised $2,700 for The Daniel J. Hollis foundation in November through a “movember” campaign that saw them grow mustaches until their goal was reached.

Hollis, a former goaltender on the lacrosse team, died on Oct. 2, 2019 at 19, four days after an altercation outside a Brighton house party left him with extensive brain injuries. Marine London was later convicted of manin prison in connection with Hollis’ killing.

The $2,700 goal was set by the team in honor of Hollis’ number 27.

Named “Muzzy’s for Dan,” the fundraiser prompted players to grow mustaches until the $2,700 goal was met.

The team reached the goal in nine days, but will continue to fundraise, Franklin, one of the team’s captains.

Hollis’s family created the foundation in his memory, with the aim of supporting young students with a high school, senior student-athletes are awarded the scholarship based on tion, and love for their sport.

The team’s fundraiser was organized by junior attacker Nick Fulgione. Franklin said Fulgione approached him with the idea in the gym.

“He originally wanted to grow mustaches in the month of November for something,” Franklin said.

“He came up to me in the gym one day with the idea and asked me what I thought and I said ‘what if we did for Dan’s foundation?’ It was a great show of leadership on his behalf.”

The team promoted the fundraiser through social media with posts popping up on the team’s account as well omore defenseman Josh DeMattos created the graphic displayed on the post.

“I just was asked to make a graphic by [Fulgione] and he told me his plan,” DeMattos said. “He came to me because he knew of my graphic design background. I thought it was a well-thought-out idea and started to make a graphic for a good cause.”

Head coach Matthew Colombini said the team works to keep Hollis’ hard working mentality alive. tice jersey every week to the player that exhibits all of Dan’s best characteristics and is a great teammate, so he is never far from anyone’s mind when we are playing,” Colombini said. “That added honor of represent-

er room, but what stands out is the team’s honoring of Hollis’ reputation.

Franklin said the team was motivated to reach the goal and that the fundraiser attests to the team’s character.

“This younger generation of guys who never knew Dan are really excited to keep Dan’s legacy alive and the things Dan stood for like helping other people.”

Colombini said the team hopes to make the fundraiser an annual tradition for Hollis and his family.

“Back in the spring of 2020 we had plans to have Dan Hollis Day for one of our home games prior to the COVID shutdown,” Colombini said.

Daniel J. Hollis. The Berkeley Beacon Archives

ing him while being the practice player of the week is something our guys really appreciate and take pride in.”

Franklin is one of the few players still on the roster who played alongories of his late teammate.

“I knew Dan from the day he

stepped foot on campus,” Franklin said. “He always managed to appreciate every single day whether it was a practice when it’s cold and it’s raining or when it’s sunny out and everything’s perfect.” of two years for a collegiate lock-

this spring so we can continue to raise funds and honor Dan.” Colombini shared how meaningful it is to coach a team that’s giving back. He said that Hollis will continue to impact the lacrosse program at Emerson.

“They are incredibly hardworking and always try to do the right thing,” Colombini said. “Dan was and is a huge part of our program and will always be. My favorite part of this fundraiser is that Nick came to me with it and he never played with Dan. That really speaks to the role Dan plays in our program today.” clarissa_calderon@emerson.edu

Sydney Ciardi / Beacon Staff

Men’s basketball tops Plymouth State Univeristy 77-74 Cont. from Pg. 1 Waterhouse said the message at half-time was to bring more energy terhouse said after the game. “We but I think we realized that. Coach gave us some things that got us mad and got us riled up, but it was mosthad to do. We wanted to pound it into Houston at the start of the second half.” off the second half with two layups and a dunk to put the Lions back on capture the lead on a layup of their own and the team’s would trade possession of the lead throughout

the second half. Each time one team would put themselves out front the opposition would answer back with a bucket of their own.

With the score knotted up at 48, Plymouth took a one-point lead on a free throw by senior guard, Cody terhouse, The Panthers took a six-

wouldn’t end there. Waterhouse said Houston allows the team to do more on offense.

“It feels really good because we feel we can press up a little higher because we know we have someone back there who is the best big in the league,” Waterhouse said. “We think he is probably the best in this side of the country so we are very

a dent in the lead with a layup and back within one.

Emerson called a timeout with 6:43 left in the game and when they resumed play they regained the lead off a jump shot by senior guard Vince Conn. Two free throws from Houston put the team up by three and rounded out his night he wouldn’t add any more points to his total, his impact on the court

The Panthers continued to put up free-throw deadlocked the game at 68 with 2:43 left in the half.

The Lions took another timeout and in less than 20 seconds Martin scored a layup to make the score 70-68. Waterhouse would put one in from beyond the arc for his 17th point following a forced turnover and Conn steal.

Trevor McLean attempting a shot. Sydney Ciardi / Beacon Staff

from the three-point line was a relief after a string of poor shooting performances “Coach always tells us hard work pays off,” he said in a post-game interview. “We’d be shooting after practice, do extra shots, get whatever we can with our busy schedule stuff. It was bound to fall at some point. I’m a good enough shooter where I get that shot every time but it was good to see.”

Each team had their turn at the free-point line with Emerson only scoring one, the Panthers found a layup to make the score 74-72 with just 30 seconds leaft. Following their efforts to close the gap, Plymouth called a timeout of their own and substituted three players.

The teams exchanged fouls in an effort to regain possession and stop the clock, but the Lions stood their

ground and won the game 77-74 after Martin’s clutch free throws. through their faults is the motto for Emerson. “[Martin] has been working hard and he didn’t let the missed shots or the foul trouble get on him, he kept continuing to play hard,” Curley said. “That’s what our message to these guys has been like, you’re gonna have rough times when the ball doesn’t go in. But if you just then you’re not going to be very good for our team and we’re not going to win a lot.”

The Lions’ next match will be sity on Thursday at 7:00 p.m.

Charleston Fallon contributed reporting. tyler_foy@emerson.edu