SGA president overrides voting precedence

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The Berkeley Beacon

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

Thursday December 6, 2018 • Volume 72, Issue 13

Campus construction projects result in limited theater spaces Emily Cardona, Beacon Correspondent

Esports team qualifies to compete in professional tournament

By Aaron Miller • p. 8 George Capalbo (right) is the team captain of the Emerson Overwatch A team, which is competing this weekend. • Anissa Gardizy / Beacon Staff

Many students struggle to find performance spaces because of a limited number of performing areas available on campus, according to several representatives of performance-based organizations.

Over 21 Student Government Associationrecognized and unrecognized performing organizations can choose from five different theater spaces—the Greene Theatre, Semel Theatre, Jackie Liebergott Black Box Theatre, the Multipurpose Room, and the Cabaret—to orchestrate rehearsals and performances.

New auxiliary spaces in the Little Building, including two Cabarets and other student performance spaces, will open in winter 2020— about a year after the projected opening of the residence hall, according to Campus Center Director Joshua Hamlin.

Cabaret Coordinator Georgina Coffman said the current location of the Cabaret on 52 Summer Street will not close until the new Cabarets in the Little Building open.

“The additional theater space in the new Little Building has been our goal for a while to help the students have more available space,” Senior Associate Vice President of Real Estate Arthur Mombourquette said.

See Spaces, page 2

SGA president overrides voting precedence

Fitness Center to relocate after Little Building renovation

Chris Van Buskirk, Beacon Staff

Stephanie Purifoy, Beacon Staff

Student Government Association Executive President Jess Guida appointed herself as the board of trustees representative without a vote at a Sept. 18 joint session meeting. In an interview with the Beacon, she admitted it may not have been the best choice.

The board of trustees representative acts as a liaison between undergraduate students and the board of trustees. The representative delivers a speech to the board at meetings in October, February, and May. Guida said she appointed herself to the position without a vote to leave a legacy for future representatives and to increase student interaction with the board of trustees.

Prior to the fall 2018 elections, there was no defined process for how to proceed with appointing a board of trustees representative. A constitutional amendment passed this semester mandates joint session to approve the board of trustees representative with a vote requiring two-thirds approval.

However, the amendment does not go into effect until fall 2019. The original draft of the amendment proposed the executive president would always be the de facto representative to the board of trustees. The first draft was shot down with eight “no” votes and one abstention.

Ethan Young, one of three captains on the baseball team, said he and his teammates use the Fitness Center every day, including 6 a.m. sessions once a week. He said when he was a sophomore living on-campus in 2017, it wasn’t a huge problem that the Fitness Center moved from the Little Building to 52 Summer St. Now that Young has moved off-campus, he said it is more of a nuisance. Because of this, he said he looks forward to having it in Piano Row. “I think it’ll probably actually be more beneficial to those not on sports teams because we have mandatory times where we have to be in the gym.

We’re going there no matter what,” Young said. “For everyone else, it can be hard to get yourself to walk 15 minutes to work out. But if it’s in your building or two doors down, it’ll be much easier for those who want to be more active.”

The college plans to locate the entire Athletics Department to one building for the first time in its history by moving the Fitness Center from 52 Summer St. to Piano Row, according to college officials.

Young said he hopes the space in Piano Row will be just as big as the one in 52 Summer St. The Summer St. location is substantially larger than the space in the basement of Little Building where the Fitness Center used to reside, according to Athletics Director Patricia Nicol.

See Athletics, page 2

Ketner-curated exhibit broadcasts archived art

See Guida, page3

The Beacon online

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By Cassandre Coyer • p. 7 The late professor’s final curated Emerson exhibit opened mid-November on campus.

Maya Gacina / Beacon Staff

@BeaconUpdate

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The Berkeley Beacon

December 6, 2018

2

Students concerned about limited performance space

Continued from page 1 The Multipurpose Room will relocate from the Piano Row building to 172 Tremont St. on March 2, Hamlin said in a Nov. 2 forum with student organizations anticipating the move.

Once in The Commons, the Multipurpose Room will no longer act as a performance space but rather as a meeting area for students because the room is smaller and contains an irremovable pillar, according to Hamlin.

“Student organizations could benefit from having collaborated events, to make up for the temporary lack of performance space,” Hamlin said in the forum.

In the forum, Emerson Independent Video officials and theatre and performance majors expressed concern about having neither the Little Building’s or the current Campus Center’s performance rooms open.

“Performing spaces need to be more accessible to students because most student-run productions don’t have that kind of money in their budget that the SGA gives theater organizations,” Kassiani Mamalakis, a sophomore theatre and performance major and the executive producer of the EVVY awards, said in an interview.

Mamalakis said Emerson’s theater performance community already struggles with pro-

viding every student who auditions with an the space need to be an SGA-recognized group opportunity to perform in a production because or departmentally sponsored event.

Unrecognized organizations that are departof a limited amount of performance space, and this will only exacerbate the issue, according to mentally sponsored must submit requests for their events in the following semester through Mamalakis.

“Getting a theater space is very competitive a separate priority booking process held at the when there is over a dozen of productions hap- end of each semester.

The Greene Theatre fits about 108 people, pening at the same time,” sophomore Erica Deand the Semel Theatre gen, the star actress fits about 216 people. of Six Characters in "Performing spaces need to Both theaters cost Search of an Author, be more accessible to students about $1,000 for setup said. and equipment use.

According to Ian because most student-run The Multipurpose Mandt, the SGA Room fits about 55 Executive Treasurproductions don't have that people and the Cabaer, SGA distributed kind of money in their budget ret fits about 200 peo$86,466 among the ple standing or 150 21 SGA-recognized that the SGA gives theater people sitting. The performance groups organizations."

Black Box Theatre has in the 2017-2018 acaan audience capacity demic year. This averof 150. The Multipurpose Room, Cabaret, and ages to $4,117 per group.

“You also have to have in mind that 11 out of Black Box Theatre do not have fees.

Mandt said if the organization realizes they those 21 groups are comedy troupes, and they usually don’t ask for much money because they need more money, they should submit an appeal request. usually use the Cab, which is free,” Mandt said.

“We usually don’t turn down appeal requests,” For students to book the Multipurpose Room and the Cabaret, it must be done two weeks in Mandt said. “If we have the money, we will give advance through Spacebook or in-person at the it to whoever needs it.”

Emerson students can book the Bill BorCampus Center. Yet the organizations booking

dy Theatre for free during their usual business hours. If the students need to book the Bill Bordy outside of approved business hours, they will be charged a fee. Business hours are Monday to Thursday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday at 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The building closes on Saturday and Sunday. The fee depends on how much space and time the students need. The Bill Bordy can fit about 108 people.

The Black Box Theatre does not have any fees. The Robert J. Orchard, located in the Paramount Center and the Cutler Majestic Theatre, fees vary depending on how many hours or days it will be booked. The Robert J. Orchard fees for booking the spaces and setup can reach up to $2,500. The Cutler Majestic Theatre fees for booking and setup can accumulate up to $5,400.

The fees for equipment, screen, projector, and controls come to a total of $3,800. This information is found at the Office of the Arts web page on eCommon. The event staff, if needed, charge by the hour. If the spaces are not booked within 21 days in advance there is a late fee of $500.

“All performance organizations get the short end of the stick,” General Manager of EIV Nuria Pellicer said.“We have to fight each other for these performing spaces and have to use our semester budget to book them.”  emily_cardona@emerson.edu

First time athletics department housed in one building Continued from page 1

The Fitness Center moved from the basement of Little Building to 52 Summer St. when conJames Hoppe, vice president and dean of struction on Little Building began in May 2017. campus life, said the Fitness Center will relocate Hoppe said the move to Downtown Crossing to the first lower level floor of Piano Row. The was always temporary—it was just unknown to floor currently holds meeting spaces for clubs where the gym would return. and organizations, like the Multicultural Center.

According to Emerson’s 2018 Institutional Hoppe said the start and end date of the proj- Master Plan, the college’s lease of 52 Summer St. ect depend on the construction at 172 Tremont expires in fall 2019.

St., as that’s where the new destination for stu“When 172 Tremont St. was purchased, we dent meeting spaces will be housed. were looking at potentially putting the FitCollege officials predict the 172 Tremont St. ness Center there, but it became apparent very building will open in March. quickly that the space there just wasn’t right,” The price of the gym move also remains Hoppe said. “We had to figure out how to move unclear because the the different puzzle around, and college has not hired "This is only going to add to the pieces a contractor yet, acthis worked out percording to Senior Asfectly.” experience for our students."

According to sociate Vice President Smithers, all of the for Real Estate Arthur Mombourquette. The college began its search current equipment will be moved over and for a contractor in November, but Mombour- some will be upgraded. He said the new equipquette said this process can take 40 to 60 days. ment has not yet been purchased.

Mombourquette said the college recently Nicol said she feels excited to have the Fitsent out general plans for the project in order ness Center in Piano Row because it will place to find a contractor. After 30 to 45 days, he said the entire athletics department under one roof the school will choose a contractor and discuss in addition to making the Fitness Center more specific details which can take another couple of accessible to the student body. weeks. When this process is complete, there will “This is only going to add to the experience be a better estimate of the cost of the project and for our students,” Nicol said. “My department is how long it should take. certainly going to benefit from it but I think the General Manager of the Fitness Center Ron intent is what’s best for the student body while Smithers said these preliminary plans are like- also taking into account the needs of the athly to change throughout the process, and he is letics department which we greatly appreciate.” unsure whether there will be a period of time where the Fitness Center is unavailable to all students.  stephanie_purifoy@emerson.edu

The college is unsure whether there will be a period of time where the Fitness Center will be unavailable to all students. • Sabrina Ortiz / Beacon Correspondent

Incident Journal The Emerson College Police Department provides the Incident Journal to the Beacon every week. Beacon staff edit the Incident Journal for style and clarity but not for content.

Monday, Nov. 26 The Emerson College Police Department responded to the 12 Hemenway residence hall after a student used hairspray to kill flies and set off the fire alarm.

The Office of Housing and Residence Life turned over a confiscated glass pipe used to smoke cannabis.

Tuesday, Nov. 27 The Boston Fire Department and ECPD responded to a fire alarm at the Dining Center caused by grease from cooking hamburgers inside a pizza oven. Officers reported no fires or injuries.

Wednesday, Nov. 28 An Ansin Building elevator trapped three students, and ECPD and Facilities Management responded. The doors opened and the students exited the elevator after a few minutes.

Two students reported an aggressive panhandler disrupting students walking to and from the Paramount Center. The students said the panhandler was aggressive and vulgar towards them.

ECPD is attempting to identify the individual.

Officers investigated suspicious activity in the foyer of the Paramount Theatre and reported students filming. An employee said they were aware of the activity.

Friday, Nov. 30 ECPD, the Boston Police Department, and Boston Emergency Medical Services responded to the corner of Boylston and Tremont streets for a motor vehicle accident involving a Coca-Cola

truck and a passenger car. The driver of the car went to a hospital and BPD is investigating the accident.

ECPD and BPD responded to a fire alarm at the 12 Hemenway residence hall caused by burnt oil inside a frying pan. Officers reported no fires or injuries Saturday, Dec. 1 ECPD and BPD investigated a report of a person screaming and found an individual on Mason Street with two active warrants for their arrest. BPD took them into custody.

Sunday, Dec. 2 A motor vehicle in reverse on Boylston Street struck the Emerson shuttle van parked in front of ECPD picking up students for a safety escort. The accident caused minor damage to both vehicles but injured no one.

The Berkeley Beacon

December 6, 2018

news

3

Iwasaki Library sees unusually high turnover rates Katie Redefer, Beacon Correspondent Five resignations by Iwasaki Library staff over the past six months has resulted in two vacant positions and three positions filled by new employees, according to a college official.

The resignations began this summer and continued until October, Library Executive Director Robert Fleming said. The vacated positions include a full-time digital access and metadata librarian and a part-time service desk coordinator.

Autumn Pattison, a junior who works at the library service desk as a student employee, said the multiple resignations happening in a short period of time are coincidental.

“We’ve had a high rate of turnover with people finding new positions,” Pattison said. “It’s mostly people who’ve been at the library a long time, and it just so happens that the timeline comes together in a way that they’re all finding new and better things at the same time.”

In the 2017 Emerson360: Community Climate Survey, 30 percent of the six librarians who participated responded positively to the statement “I understand the necessary requirements to advance my career at Emerson,” and 20 percent to “I am paid fairly for my work.” However, 71 percent of librarians responded positively to overall job satisfaction.

The three vacant positions earlier in the year include acquisitions manager, assistant access services manager, and interlibrary loans coordinator, with all full-time positions now filled by new staff members.

Aside from the initial five resignations, Fleming is also retiring at the beginning of fall 2019.

After working at the Iwasaki Library for 35 years, Fleming said it is time for him to move on to responsibilities outside of libraries.

Fleming said he is prioritizing the search for a service desk coordinator because it is positioned at the front of the library and assists students, staff, and faculty, while the digital access and metadata librarian converts archives into a digital format.

He estimates the college will fill both positions by spring 2019.

The Iwasaki Library posted a job listing for service desk coordinator online at the beginning of November and plans to edit the job description for digital access and metadata librarian soon, according to Fleming.

Fleming said the position of digital access and metadata librarian is a position that’s only been around since 2015, and the college is still trying to perfect the responsibilities. The position was previously filled by Amy Bocko, who left to fill a similar position at Western Michigan University.

“Trying to find the best match between the position and the needs of the organization is something that we’re still working on,” Fleming said. “We’re almost done with the revision of the job description. Certainly, after the holidays, we’ll have the position posted.”

Document Delivery Supervisor Allison Boudreau, a part-time staff member, temporarily filled in as the interlibrary loans coordinator while the library searched for someone else to fill the full-time position. Boudreau received a pay raise for her increased workload, according to Boudreau.

Boudreau said there is a wait time of 10 to 14 days people can expect after requesting an interlibrary loan due to her working only five hours per week under this position. This is in contrast to the typical seven-day maximum wait period.

“It’s been challenging to balance working two jobs while also trying to help people meet their deadlines and get them the research they need from other institutions,” Boudreau said.

The Iwasaki Library filled the positions of assistant access services manager and acquisitions manager the earliest because these positions became vacant first.

The college hired new employees for both of the full-time positions on Sept. 4, according to Fleming.

The college formed a search committee after Fleming announced his retirement in November. The committee is comprised of eight rep-

Five Iwasaki Library employees have resigned in the past six months, though three positions have already been filled. • Chassidy David / Beacon Correspondent resentatives from different departments in the college, including the School of Communications, the School of the Arts, and the Iwasaki Library.

Dean of Liberal Arts Amy Ansell chairs the search committee and said the group wants a candidate who is creative and innovative and can build on the library’s strengths.

“We’re really looking for someone to build on Bob Fleming’s success and continue the trajectory that he’s set. We’re not looking for a big change of course, because everybody on this search committee and the people we’ve consulted thinks the library is already a fantastic resource,” Ansell said.

At the time of publication, the search committee had only met once to discuss their plans to search for a new director. They plan to form a group of candidates to consider at the beginning of the s pring 2019 semester, from which they will pick their ideal candidate for the position.

Ansell predicts the search committee will find a candidate to fill Fleming’s position by April 2019, based on the current timeline of their search.

 kathryn_redefer@emerson.edu

Guida apologizes for taking board of trustees position without vote Continued from page 1 Guida informed SGA members of her decision at a joint session meeting on Sept. 18.

“The [Board of Trustees] student rep is my appointment decision and I’ve talked to many people, deciding to appoint myself to the position for the year so SGA president holds this position in the future,” Guida is quoted as saying in that day’s minutes. “We are looking to create more involvement with [the Board of Trustees]. I’m hoping there will be more regular student interaction.”

Prior to the fall 2018 elections, there was no defined process for how to proceed with appointing a board of trustees representative. A constitutional amendment passed this semester mandates a joint session to approve the Board of Trustees representative with a vote requiring two-thirds approval.

However, the amendment does not go into effect until fall 2019.

Despite no documented process, for the past four years executive presidents have appointed and approved the Board of Trustees representative by vote in joint session meetings, according to meeting minutes dating back to 2014 on the SGA website. The fall 2013 minutes, also available on the website, provide no information on whether or not a vote took place to appoint the Board of Trustees representative.

“I could do whatever I wanted on a broad scale. There’s nothing written down. There’s nothing anywhere,” Guida said. “It’s just something that is…designated to the president to SGA to say, ‘OK, find us a representative, appoint someone to the board.”

Guida said she talked to SGA Advisor Sharon Duffy, Vice President and Dean for Campus Life James Hoppe, and President M. Lee Pelton about the issue and nobody had the same description for the position.

“We talked a lot about the position because there’s no job description of this position. That doesn’t exist anywhere—nobody has that,” Guida said. “The answers weren’t conflicting, but nobody had a one-liner for the position.”

Executive Vice President Raz Moayed held the Board of Trustees representative position for the 2017-2018 academic year. Moayed said

SGA Executive President Jess Guida appointed herself as the board of trustees representative without a vote. • Beacon Archives over the summer of 2018, Executive Treasurer all go out for the position and a vote would take Ian Mandt, Guida, and herself were all interest- place in joint session. ed in becoming the representative. “[Guida] just said that, through her discusGuida, Mandt, and Moayed are all members sions, it just led her to be more in her belief that of the SGA executive [the SGA president board. and Board of Trust“Over the sumees representative] "I think there is a way of mer, Ian, Jess, and I should be the same were all talking about person,” Moayed said effectively getting what you running and how we she remembers Guiwant while still having people should try different da saying. “I don’t options of getting know if Sharon and have a voice." more than one stuJim were like ‘Yes, do dent in the Board that.’ I think it was of Trustees room,” more just like ‘You are Moayed said in an interview. the president. You do have the power in your Moayed said she remembers the summer hands, therefore whatever you want goes’.”

2018 conversations concluding with the asHoppe said he and Guida discussed the pros sumption that Mandt, Guida, and herself would and cons of the executive president and the

board of trustees representative being the same person and the best way to ensure a connection between the members of the board and the student body.

“Ideally, you want somebody who has the ability to present that broad picture and then also to spe ak with authority on issues on-campus and be able to answer questions that come from members of the board,” Hoppe said. “Often times, the president of SGA is in a good position to fill that role.”

Moayed said she wanted to extend understanding when Guida first told her of the self-appointment.

However, Moayed said she disagrees with the fact that SGA members and students were left out of the decision process for appointing the Board of Trustees representative for the 20182019 academic year.

“I think there is a way of effectively getting what you want while still having people have a voice,” Moayed said. “When [Guida] brought it up to joint session it was in her reports, so reports are hard to listen to every single one, anyways, and there is no room for discussion on reports anyways.”

Mandt, the SGA executive treasurer, said anything put before joint session should generally receive a vote. However, Mandt said he takes no issue with Guida appointing herself to the position.

“I think [Guida is] excellent for it and has done a great job,” Mandt said. “But, I think because that’s the way it had been done in the past, doing it by vote wouldn’t have hurt.”

Guida said she feels glad that a defined process now exists for selecting a Board of Trustees representative following the fall 2018 elections.

“I’m glad that future presidents, when faced with this, will have something to go off of because there’s a process there,” she said. “I’m in this position, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to make mistakes, you know, and I hope that people will let me know when those mistakes happen.”

News editor Riane Roldan did not edit this article due to a conflict of interest.  c_vanbuskirk@emerson.edu

editorial

The Berkeley Beacon

December 6, 2018

What we've accomplished, what we can improve

At issue: Our fall 2018 semester.

Our take: We're proud of our advancements, and we strive to do better.

Editorials are written solely by Editor-inChief Shafaq Patel, Managing Editor Kyle Labe, Opinion Editor Hannah Ebanks, Deputy Opinion Editor Katie Schmidt, and Assistant Opinion Editor Diti Kohli without consultation from other staff members, and does not influence any stories. Op-Eds reflect the views of only their authors, not The Berkeley Beacon.

Last semester, we tried something new. For the first time, The Berkeley Beacon restructured from weekly print editions to a digital-first, daily publication. We experimented with staff positions and roles, the layout of our website, content rollout, and more.

Yet, this semester we were no longer the guinea pigs for this unfamiliar but still fresh configuration. As this is our final print issue for this semester, we have officially completed our first nontransitional period, and we like to think we did so successfully.

For one, the scope of reporting and coverage broadened throughout the sections, from news to living arts, to sports, to opinion, and even to editorial.

We posted content almost daily, working through days off in a timely, efficient, and professional manner. We had over 10 people produce special coverage with a temporary website homepage dedicated for breaking news, live updates, and a Facebook Live recording during a student-led protest at City Hall when Sen. Jeff Flake spoke. We began what we hope will be a weekly podcast and allotted positions on our masthead to aid this process.

In addition to expanding our multimedia, we continued to develop coverage in all our sections. Our news team started the semester with covering

breaking news about the late professor Rob Todd who was found responsible for sexual harassment. We held the administration accountable, and we were consistent with writing follow-up articles on larger projects and issues, like 172 Tremont St. and the Title IX office. And we also covered topics that made national headlines and impacted our community, for example, the wildfires in California and the shootings in Pittsburgh and Thousand Oaks, Calif.

Students at Emerson have an entrepreneurial spirit and the living arts section featured several student businesses and also attended and covered more student events.

Additionally, the columns in living arts gave students a platform to talk about issues they care about on a regular basis.

In our opinion section, we debuted our international student column.

Our columnists covered topics such as language barriers, cultural conformity, and civic duty. We’re grateful not only for the success of this column, but also for the voices of international students on campus. We hope international students continue to speak up about important issues they face here at Emerson.

Our sports section, now with a full staff, covered a diverse array of stories outside of game coverage. The section

wrote about the successes of alumni in sports broadcasting, our cheerleading team, and the historic playoff season of our women’s soccer team.

This semester the Beacon staff, led by an editor-in-chief identifying as a woman of color, is majority women with four out of five section editors identifying as female. Since the fall 2018 semester, incoming students are 63 percent female according to the college website. Because the collegewide percentage is not far from this figure, gender representation is vital.

So the Beacon accurately reflects Emerson’s demographic. Unfortunately, we lack the same level of racial and ethnic diversity, but we have improved significantly from past years and want to continue to improve.

For next semester, the Beacon aims to continue being a daily newspaper.

We also hope to expand our multimedia efforts by releasing more videos and weekly podcasts.

The newspaper strives to increase the quantity and quality of content by producing even more stories that affect and impact our community.

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

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

Letters The Berkeley Beacon

© 2018 The Berkeley Beacon. All rights reserved.

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

Website Phone berkeleybeacon.com (617) 824–8687

Editor-in-Chief Shafaq Patel

News Editor Riane Roldan

Living Arts Editor Caroline Broderick

Opinion Editor Hannah Ebanks

Chief Copyeditor McKinley Ebert

Copy Managing Editor Kyle Labe

Deputy Enterprise Editor Maya Gacina

Deputy Lifestyle Editor Grace Griffin

Deputy Opinion Editor Katie Schmidt

Photography Editor Erin Nolan

Visual Managing Editor Monika Davis

Deputy Express Editor Chris Van Buskirk

Deputy Arts Editor Annika Hom

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

Editorial Cartoon

by the Editorial Board illustration by Ally Rzesa

Students searching for Emerson-related activism this semester would be disappointed.

Assistant Enterprise Editor Stefania Lugli

Assistant Sports Editor Anissa Gardizy

4

opinion The Berkeley Beacon

December 6, 2018

5

Merit-based aid helps the privileged, need-based aid helps all Ian Mandt Mandt is a senior interdisciplinary major & the executive treasurer for the Student Government Association.

In order to pay for his daughter’s semester at Emerson Los Angeles, Chloe Warfford’s father used his retirement funds.

“He wanted the opportunity so badly for me,” Warfford said.

The average student in Massachusetts holds $32,065 in debt, and the state is the seventh highest in the nation for average debt per student, according to The Institute for College Access and Success’ 2018 report. Across the state, low-income families disproportionately carry the burden of college debt.

The story is no different at Emerson. After the Student Government Association released the Financial Accountability Initiative last semester, students had the opportunity to share their experiences through an online survey.

Senior Cathleen Cusachs, a former editor at the Beacon, said, “I’m graduating $100,000 in debt. I’m a journalism major. When will I ever make enough to pay that back?”

Colleges, especially ones that profess values of social justice and equity, have an obligation to pursue need-based aid. Until equal access is granted to all students, rewarding achievement counters the college’s mission and instead perpetuates problematic systems.

The aid provided by colleges falls into two major categories merit-based and needbased. Merit-based aid is awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional academic and leadership ability, while need-based aid is awarded based on students’ financial needs.

Need-based aid ideally serves as an equalizer. single $20,000 need-based scholarship.

Additionally, the vast majority of students Adequate need-based programs would create an environment where any student, regardless simply don’t have the chance to earn meritof background or economic standing, could based aid. Students who come from lower and even middle-income families often spend their receive an education.

This is not to say that merit-based aid is not free time working for pay rather than studying important. Merit aid is what allows Emerson to or participating in extracurriculars that could attract highly talented students from wealthy earn them merit-based aid, while also attending backgrounds. These students keep the college schools that offer fewer advanced courses, afloat by paying nearly full tuition and donating limited resources, and weaker academic post-graduation, an important source of experiences.

Need-based aid creates spaces for students revenue. These students worked incredibly hard in their pre-college years to earn their merit- who could not attend college without it. Meritbased aid. In most cases, merit-aid is earned based aid, while essential to the success of Emerson, at entry to an perpetuates institution and inequality. can’t be earned Until equal access is granted to all M a ny as a returning Ivy League student except students, rewarding achievement and leading t h r o u g h liberal arts individual counters the college's mission and institutions applications.

H o w e v e r , instead perpetuates problematic systems. around the nation are when colleges making the offer meritaid, it is with the intention of attracting transition to dedicate all financial aid resources higher income students who can pay full price to need-based aid.

For example, Franklin & Marshall College, according to The New America Foundation. Not only are lower-income students systematically a liberal arts college in Pennsylvania, recently disadvantaged, they are also routinely made the switch to only need-based aid. Since overlooked in the distribution of merit-based making the switch, “24 percent of domestic students in the Class of 2021 are eligible for aid.

In a scenario where a college has $20,000 federal Pell grants, 20 percent are the first in in aid to award, that school could attract four their families to go to college, 26 percent are wealthy high-achieving students through domestic students of color, and 14 percent individual $5,000 merit-based scholarships. In come from countries outside the United States,” the alternate scenario, that same school could according to Franklin & Marshall’s website. attract one underprivileged student with a Additionally, student debt after graduation sunk

20 percent since 2012.

With a smaller endowment and higher student population, Emerson most likely cannot make this transition, nor should they. However, the benefits of need-based aid are clear.

At Emerson, 76 percent of students receive some portion of the $40 million in aid awarded each year. However, students continue to share stories like Warfford’s and Cusachs’s. Those stories only scratch the surface of the financial stress and strain students feel while at Emerson and after leaving.

Just as students have spent decades fighting for racial equity on campus, students have also fought for financial access, including the overwhelming support for Student Access in Emerson’s recent Voice Your Choice student poll. Nonetheless, tuition has increased steadily for more than a decade.

A school for future creators, artistic leaders, and activists should be open to all. This seems the only way to challenge the norms and institutions that hold back and take advantage of marginalized communities.

That is why, as SGA executive treasurer, I have worked closely with Institutional Advancement and Financial Aid for nearly six months to reestablish the SGA scholarship as a need-based, topper-style scholarship. The newly reformed scholarship will allow students to receive that last bit of aid necessary to stay at Emerson. For some, the extra $2,000 of need-based aid means the difference between staying and leaving. As an institution, that is where need is highest.

 ian_mandt@emerson.edu

Major Thoughts: Making the most of journalism's outdated curriculum Daysia Tolentino Tolentino is a junior journalism major & a Beacon correspondent.

Emerson is consistently ranked by College Factual as one of the best journalism schools in the country. During my senior year of high school, I visited the college and my tour guide showed my group the newsroom in the Walker Building. After the tour, I was impressed by the facilities, projects, and opportunities so much that I was convinced Emerson was the college for me.

Five semesters later, I’ve realized the major isn’t designed for journalists with my interests.

My passion lies in writing and deep reporting, and I especially want to expand on my narrative and investigative abilities. Thus far, none of my classes have provided me with the opportunity to improve these skills. There are courses within the journalism department that focus on the type of in-depth and enterprise reporting I wish to pursue in the future, but the availability of those courses varies each semester. It’s difficult to take classes specific to my interests when scheduling and other requirements within the major inhibit me from enrolling in them.

I understand it isn’t practical to focus my career on narrative or investigative journalism.

It is important to learn different technical skills in order to become a more holistic reporter, and I appreciate Emerson’s attempt to give us the tools to do this. However, as much as the department says it tries, the curriculum lags behind the industry’s standards.

The “Foundations of Journalism” course did not help improve my writing, even though strong writing skills are the basis of good journalism. I had hoped my professor would edit my articles and detail upon what could be improved. Instead, she never even shared feedback on my work.

“Beat Reporting” was the one mandatory class I found helpful. My professor invited guest speakers from a wide range of beats, gave valuable feedback on my stories, and taught me the value of local reporting. As much as I enjoyed the course, I know my experience isn’t a universal one. While I had only six assignments over the course of the class, I had friends complain about having to travel to their neighborhood and report every week. Other friends even switched majors because they disliked their “Beat Reporting” class.

Additionally, the program’s foundational

It’s difficult to take classes specific to my interests when scheduling and other requirements within the major inhibit me from enrolling in them.

Illustration by Ally Rzesa / Beacon Staff courses are supposed to teach first-year students the basics of print, audio, and video journalism.

These classes teach students to make audiovisual packages on outdated software like Garageband and Final Cut Pro instead of Adobe programs like Audition and Premiere, which was an issue brought up during the Faculty/ Student Town Hall last month.

Each required course—­ “Discovering Journalism,” “Foundations of Journalism,” “The Digitalist,” (referred to “The Digital Journalist” in the old curriculum) and formerly “Beat Reporting”—­ is taught differently depending on the professor. When I ask other students about their experiences in their freshman and sophomore journalism classes, I get answers different from my own. For instance, some students did more original reporting in their “Foundations of Journalism” classes while others did more book exercises for the classes.

These classes are supposed to ensure that all students have the same foundational skills to build off of, whether they had previous journalism experience or not. The courses

are designed to level the playing field, but they can’t when each class is taught differently.

As I plan my final semesters at Emerson, course descriptions are often misleading, and information about which classes fulfill which requirements is often confusing. Since the curriculum has changed a lot in the past year, I have often misunderstood what is required of upperclass and underclass journalism students.

The major’s curriculum was changed for students entering the college after fall 2017.

Since I started in fall 2016, I have been fulfilling pod requirements, and there are only a handful of classes that satisfy the requirements.

Oftentimes, the classes are not particularly interesting or relevant to my intended career path.

To supplement the classes I’ve taken for my major, I have taken advantage of the exceptional extracurriculars offered at Emerson. I credit most of my growth, creatively and professionally, to the organizations and projects in which I have played a part. I would advise anyone—especially journalism majors who don’t fit the newspaper

or broadcast niches—to find organizations or start projects that interest them. Being proactive in extracurricular activities is an incredibly valuable way to gain experience and learn more about the skills that aren’t covered in the classroom.

As I look at the new curriculum, it seems more practical and leaves more room for students to take classes that interest them. I believe this is a great thing for incoming students, and I am hopeful for more improvements in the coming years.

This article is part of the “Major Thoughts” series. Contributors will be voicing their opinions about their major, including improvements they would like to see and advice for other students.

If you are interested in contributing to this series please contact the opinion editor, Hannah Ebanks, at hannah_ebanks@emerson.edu  daysia_tolentino@emerson.edu

living arts

The Berkeley Beacon

December 6, 2018

6

Student’s charity idea turns into campus-wide project Cassandre Coyer, Beacon Staff Purple cardboard boxes appeared around campus after sophomore Justin Ventura started a clothing drive for Catie’s Closet, a non-profit that provides clothing and toiletries for children in need.

“I thought, ‘Why can’t we as a community here at Emerson try to come together and help these kids out?’” Ventura said.

Catie’s Closet’s staff goes to schools and fills empty classrooms with donated clothing for kids in kindergarten to 12th grade.

Children come in and discreetly pick a week’s worth of clothing. Executive Director and co-founder Mickey Cockrell said the idea for the organization was born after learning her niece Catie went to school with children who were homeless.

She passed away several months after, and Cockrell said her family felt inspired to provide resources these children needed. It now operates within 70 schools and supports 37,000 children in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.

The clothing drive quickly gained momentum thanks to the help of Ventura’s former professor and Emerson’s Director of Nonprofit Communications Cathryn Edelstein. At the end of the first day of the drive on Nov. 26, Ventura said he already collected one and a half garbage bags.

Ventura and Edelstein put the boxes in the Piano Row lobby, the Dining Center, the Iwasaki Library, and the Emerson’s Fitness Center until Dec. 17.

“People head out for winter break, and maybe they’re taking clothes home with them and they see an extra sweater or an extra pair of pants, or maybe even shoes or socks they don’t wear that often that they might want to donate,” Ventura said. “I thought it would be a good idea to run it all the way up until winter break.”

Ventura told Edelstein he wanted to hold a clothing drive at Emerson last year when he

took her class. Edelstein said she immediately thought of Catie’s Closet because of a TED Talk Cockrell gave.

“I was so thrilled, when he asked me, to be able to say Catie’s Closet, because they do incredible work,” Edelstein said.

Edelstein said Cockrell told her lack of access to basic necessities is one of the top reasons students miss school.

“I’ll never forget when she first said that. I was like, ‘Wow, you don’t think about that,’” Edelstein said. “Especially, I remember, she said especially for girls that are just developing, and they don’t have bras, they don’t have clothes that fit. And they just feel they’ll be made fun of if they go. And you don’t think about things like that.”

Edelstein said she introduced Ventura to Cockrell and reached out to the Division of Student Affairs.

“They said he couldn’t do it as an individual—you have to be part of an official club. And you also need a letter from the non-profit saying that they know this is happening, and that there is a date when they’re going to come and collect the merchandise,” she said.

Edelstein said she pushed for the Communications Studies Department and the Athletic Department, since Ventura plays on the men’s basketball team, to sponsor the clothing drive.

“The Athletic Department is supporting him by getting all the athletes involved so that they bring donations in,” she said. “He wanted their support, and he needed my support.”

Ventura then came into Edelstein’s Introduction to Nonprofit Communication Management class this semester to get advice from students on how to efficiently run the drive.

Junior Althea Smith was in Edelstein’s class when Ventura presented his idea.

She ended up providing the design for the fliers around campus.

“A lot of my friends, I go into their dorm rooms and they have clothes just spilling out of all the storage, and they don’t even have enough

"A lot of my friends, I go into their dorm rooms ... they don't even have enough room for everything they have."

"It's just a good feeling to know that you're doing something for someone else."

Donation boxes are in Piano Row, the Dining Center, Iwasaki Library, and the Emerson Fitness Center until Dec. 17. • Sabrina Ortiz / Beacon Correspondent room for everything they have,” Smith said. “I thought that might inspire some people to donate their clothes. I highlighted the fact that they would be having more room.”

Cockrell said they accept and encourage all kinds of gently used clothing donation, but need boys and men’s wear the most.

“I don’t even get to see the faces of these kids yet that get these clothes, and I’m probably not going to ever get to, which kind of sucks, but I know that it’s going to help someone in the end,”

Ventura said. “It’s just a good feeling to know that you’re doing something for someone else.

You may not know who they are, but they’re struggling, and you just have to kind of keep that in mind.”

 cassandre_coyer@emerson.edu

Read It and Weep: How Milk and Honey rebranded poetry

Katie Redefer Redefer is a freshman journalism major, and the Beacon’s literary columnist.

The resurgence of poetry seemed to happen all at once. A few years ago, I could only find poetry in classroom settings or in small online communities like Tumblr and Wattpad. However, within the past year or so, poetry books successfully broke the mainstream barrier and flew off bookstore shelves across the country.

The National Endowment of Arts reported that, in the past five years, the percentage of young adults reading poetry in the U.S. has more than doubled from 8.2 percent in 2012 to 17.5 percent in 2017. Personally, I believe this is largely attributed to the 2014 publication of Rupi Kaur’s debut poetry collection Milk and Honey.

Through Milk and Honey, Kaur laid the

foundation for an entirely new genre of poetry, characterized by its minimalistic style. Concise and clear, this shortened version of free verse poetry fits perfectly in the mold for social media virality. Often referred to as “Instapoetry,” this genre caught the readership of millennials and Generation Z, a feat the publishing industry rarely accomplishes in modern day.

After its publication, verses from Milk and Honey quickly became unavoidable on my Instagram and Tumblr feeds. Kaur’s book remained on the New York Times Best-Seller list for over a year, selling 2.5 million copies from publication to current day.

Despite its popularity, I wouldn’t consider myself a fan of Kaur’s poetry. After sitting down and reading both Milk and Honey and The Sun and Her Flowers, I decided Kaur’s poems were too minimalistic to captivate me and, at times, I found them unbearably cliché.

When I try to evaluate what I find lacking in Kaur’s poetry, I often return to its extreme conciseness. The entirety of one poem from Milk and Honey read a mere nine words: “you have sadness / living in places / sadness shouldn’t live.” To fans of Kaur, this excerpt may feel ex-

"For the most part, art is subjective— we don't all have to enjoy the same works."

pressive in an understated way. To me, it just seems lazy. In poetry, I expect deeper meaning and more artistic word choice than that poem contains. This problem recurs throughout Instapoetry. Free verse poetry has no “rules” by which the author must abide, but should that mean any sentence can be considered poetry?

I’m not alone in my dislike for Kaur’s poetry. Kaur’s more playful critics have turned her poems into memes circulating Twitter and Facebook that mock her formulaic writing style.

A parody book, Milk and Vine, by Adam Gasiewski and Emily Beck makes similar commentary, swapping Kaur’s verses for famous quotes from the social networking app Vine. Milk and Vine received its own internet virality and at one point charted as the No. 1 best seller worldwide on Amazon after its release.

For the most part, art is subjective—we don’t all have to enjoy the same works. Even though I’m not a fan of Kaur, it’s only fair to give credit where credit is due. As an appreciator of poetry, I’m grateful for the attention Kaur’s books bring to the genre. Perhaps Kaur isn’t the poetic mastermind of our generation, but her books

get young people to read, and that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

Poetry collections using the simplistic “Instapoetry” style popularized by Kaur include Pillow Thoughts by Courtney Peppernell, I Hope This Reaches Her in Time by R. H. Sin,The Princess Saves Herself in This One by Amanda Lovelace, and Flux by Orion Carloto. All of these books experience high readership from young adults and focus on topics such as romance, mental health, and social justice.

This rebirth of free verse changed my view of what poetry is and can be. Previously, when I thought of famous poems, the first to come to mind were classic works written by poets like Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, and Edgar Allan Poe. I realize now that poetry isn’t a dying art only readable to traditionalists and English professors—poetry that attracts the masses can be anything it wants.

"Kaur laid the foundation for an entirely new genre of poetry, characterized by its minimalistic style."

 kathryn_redefer@emerson.edu

The Berkeley Beacon

December 6, 2018

living arts

7

Junior makes primetime debut in BET political thriller Monika Davis, Beacon Staff When junior Sydney Elise Johnson’s agent told her about a potential role in an original primetime television movie, Johnson frantically learned lines in between classes. After learning three scenes and sending in a video audition that day, Johnson heard a few hours later that she landed the part.

“I wasn’t feeling super good about it because [the process] was so fast, but [my agent] called me the same night and was like, ‘Hey you got the part!’” Johnson said.

Johnson stars in the new film Running Out of Time, which premiered Saturday, Dec. 1 at 8 p.m. on the Black Entertainment Television channel. The political thriller features a family that is kidnapped while trying to navigate a new life without a father. Johnson plays the daughter, Kristen.

“It was my first booking and my first professional job ever, and I went in really nervous because the people I was working with had been in [the business] for a really long time,” Johnson said. “I only had one line the first day, and I was terrified, but the cast was really friendly and they taught me a lot.”

Junior Sydney Elise Johnson sitting on set of her first feature film, BET’s Running Out of Time, with co-star Telma Hopkins. Courtesy of Sydney Elise Johnson

Shot over one month in Los Angeles last spring, each day consisted of 12 hours of filming, according to Johnson. She said she felt nervous and had a difficult time getting into character early on. Her co-star Tasha Smith, who stars in FOX’s Empire, gave her some advice to channel her energy.

“She was like, ‘OK, just take a breath and think about your circumstances, be in the character, and just be with me right here, and you can do it,’” Johnson said. “She was so open, and after that it was super easy to connect with her and really just feel how I was supposed to be feeling in that moment.”

Junior Destini Stewart, a friend of Johnson, said she frequently helped Johnson record self-tapes for auditions and was there when she heard about the role.

“She was here last semester when she got cast in the movie, so just seeing her go through the process of being cast in the movie, going to L.A., and watching her go to her red carpet premiere—just the whole experience of watching this dream come true for her has been really amazing,” Stewart said.

Stewart said she and Johnson were both cast in a student production last semester, but Johnson had to drop out after being cast in the movie. Johnson said she took time away from Emerson to film the movie last April and completed her exams when she came back at the beginning of May. She’s currently studying in New York but plans to eventually come back to Emerson to finish her degree.

“Sydney is such a hard worker and she was doing video audition after video audition,” Stewart said. “Just to see that work pay off for her—being an outsider watching that happen for her was amazing.”

The movie premiered at the Urbanworld Film Festival in New York City in September. Johnson said she felt nervous on the red carpet but enthralled by the experience.

“It was amazing, and I saw a lot of people I look up to,” Johnson said. “Ava DuVernay is a director and she was there and I was freaking out, and it was like my first red carpet, so I was very nervous. But it was a lot of fun.”

Johnson said her family gathered to watch the film when it premiered on television last weekend, and she found it awkward to watch herself on screen.

“It was hard to watch, but I think we all did a really good job,” Johnson said. “It was just hard for me to watch myself and not critique it.”

Lindsay Beamish, an assistant professor in the Performing Arts Department, taught Johnson in a scene study class last semester. Beamish said Johnson had an innate professionalism and open heart that was present in class.

“Sydney was really generous and open as a student and an actor,” Beamish said. “No matter how hard I was pushing or how difficult what we were doing was, she always had this incredible attitude through it all.”

Beamish said her scene study classes focus on teaching actors how to make art from their vulnerability. The students work on basic scenes and study how to make their experience a performance.

“Honestly, I find it kind of shocking for her to land such a big profile part and job while she was in school,” Beamish said. “That really does not happen that often and [especially] outside of Boston. So I was really happy for her, and I think it’s like a kind of a significantly big deal.”

Johnson said studying performing arts at Emerson made sense as the next step after acting for 10 years. She said she plans on acting full time after she graduates.

“I grew up in the theater world and then in high school—I think junior year—I got really serious about it and decided I wanted to major in it in college,” Johnson said.

Johnson said the cast gave her tips on entering the industry and becoming a professional actor.

“They said to ‘keep training, keep working, find your people who are there for you and root for you’” Johnson said. “They told me, ‘If I’m not having fun, then it’s time to find something else, because you’re supposed to have fun doing this.’”

 monika_davis@emerson.edu

Colleagues finish late curator’s rare broadcast exhibit Cassandre Coyer, Beacon Staff The opening night of “The Vision of Television” exhibit filled the Emerson Media Art Gallery with flashing wall projections of experimental media art, staticky television screens, and an unusual emotional charge on Nov. 15.

Late art historian and curator Joseph D. Ketner II researched archives in Germany for five years to gather the work of avant-garde artists who used broadcast television as a medium for art.

The exhibit was not only the first one of the season, but also the first to follow Ketner’s passing in September.

Freshman Cameron Carleton, a gallery guide, received a packet from his superiors beforehand to study and understand the artwork presented that night.

“In the late 1960s and mid-1970s, this was the new medium of the time,” Carleton said at the event. “This was groundbreaking technology, so a lot of artists kind of took the chance and hoped that television stations would give them air time to air whatever they wanted. They tried to push the boundaries as much as possible.”

“The Vision of Television” runs until Jan. 19 in the Emerson Media Art Gallery, which is open Wednesday through Saturday from 2 to 7 p.m.

James Manning, exhibition manager and Ketner’s long-time friend, helped finish and put together the show after Ketner’s passing. He said the exhibit displays how mid-century artists experimented with mixing art and broadcast.

“There is a lot of pieces that he found, especially in the German archives, that hadn’t been seen since they were aired,” Manning said. “And some of them are very important pieces—there is documentation of the first Fluxus event, and there’s also documentation of one of Joseph Beuys’ most famous performances where he talks to a dead rabbit.”

According to the Tate museum, Fluxus is an active avant-garde collective of artists that engages in experimental art performances since its start in the 1960s.

Ketner’s son, Alex Ketner, attended the exhibit on opening night after following his fa-

ther’s work for years. He said he witnessed his father discovering the pieces one by one during his travels back and forth from Germany.

“I’ve always loved that about all my dad’s work. Everything he’s ever found, every exhibit he’s ever shown, it’s never been the most popular thing—it’s always been the obscure,” Alex Ketner said. “It’s always been the rare finds.”

George Fifield, director of Boston Cyberarts and Ketner’s friend, stepped in after Ketner’s passing to help finalize the exhibit as well.

He wrote the explanatory texts on the kiosks interpreting the pieces displayed.

“A number of people there really felt that it was their responsibility to bring avant-garde culture—not just culture—to the people,” Fifield said in an interview.

Fifield described Ketner’s discoveries of documentaries on avant-garde art in these archives as gems that reveal the overarching interaction between video art and public television stations in Germany and the United States.

“Key to this are these early German documentaries from German television stations that made an effort to go out and make documents about things like the Zero group, things like Joseph Beuys, and present them on air. Some of these shows are being seen for literally the second time ever,” Fifield said.

Fifield urged people to come see the exhibit and learn about the historical gems and said his favorite is “Three Transitions” by Peter Campus, which he refers to as the most perfect piece of video art ever made.

Fifield said he thinks the history of video art has recently grown and people should look at the wealth of information made available to them.

“Anytime I’m sad, I’ll be around here, or anytime I’m happy, whatever. But I’ll come here as much as possible, definitely. And everyone should,” Alex Ketner said. “Everyone should always come here, all the time, this is a little gem that you would never know, right next to the Common.”

 cassandre_coyer@emerson.edu

“The Vision of Television” gallery features German art from the 1960s and 1970s and will run until January. • Maya Gacina / Beacon Staff

Alex Ketner, son of late Joseph D. Ketner II, watches an installment in his late father’s gallery.

Maya Gacina / Beacon Staff

sports

The Berkeley Beacon

December 6, 2018

8

UPCOMING ACTION WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Emerson @ Lasell, 7 p.m. tonight WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Emerson vs. Smith, 1 p.m. Saturday MEN’S BASKETBALL: Emerson vs. Curry, 3 p.m. Saturday

Women’s basketball opens NEWMAC play with consecutive wins Maximo Lawlor, Beacon Staff The women’s basketball team started their season strong and intends to make a statement in the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference this year.

Emerson placed sixth in the preseason coaches poll, just behind Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The Lions hold a 5-3 overall record and a 2-1 conference record with wins against Wellesley College and Worcester Polytechnic Institute.

The Lions lost against Suffolk University, University of Massachusetts Boston, and Wellesley so far this season.

Junior guard Quinn Madden explained the Lions came back from a 27-point deficit but lost 68-62 in the game against Suffolk. The women’s team also made a comeback against UMass Boston but lost 66-61, according to Madden.

“I think [these losses] show that we can hang with good teams,” Madden said.

The Lions started the season strong on defense with an average of 37.5 rebounds per game and 9.4 steals per game.

Sophomore forward Sam Boyle said the team implemented a new defensive strategy for the 2018-19 season.

“We’re implementing a different defensive mindset this year and focusing more on that,” Boyle said. “[We’re] hoping it translates into our offensive game by [making] better decisions and cleaning our play.”

Head coach Bill Gould said the Lions will focus on strengthening the team’s defense this season.

“The defense has been the biggest focus area that we really need to improve on, and I think they have done a [really] good job although we are still working on that and need to get better,” Gould said.

Gould said the team is familiar with NEWMAC and created a game plan to prepare for the conference games coming up.

“We have a very veteran group, and they know the conference,” Gould said. “They know the things that we maybe didn’t do as well as we

Natalie Clydesdale (center, No. 2) won NEWMAC Offensive Player of the Week on Nov. 26.

Anissa Gardizy / Beacon Staff could have last year and what we need to improve on.”

Madden said the team aims to make Emerson a threat to its fellow NEWMAC competitors.

“We want to compete harder than we did last year—we want to do more than we did last year,” Madden said. “We have a lot of tough competition in our conference, and we want to make a name for Emerson.”

Gould said the coaching staff benefited the women’s team this year.

“We have a really good staff that have been very, very helpful, so we get a lot of experience and a lot of different viewpoints,” Gould said.

The women’s basketball team approached the game with a different attitude in previous seasons, according to Madden.

“We have had a pretty big culture change this year,” Madden said. “In the preseason we did great changing that by doing conditioning and going hard in pick-up.”

Gould added that the team has a strong bond

with each other.

“The group dynamic is really positive and really energetic and engaged with each other,” Gould said. “They’re supportive, and they hold each other accountable. It’s like the cliché that you hear about what teams should be—I feel like we are that.”

The NEWMAC recognized junior guard Natalie Clydesdale as the NEWMAC Women’s Basketball Offensive Athlete of the Week.

Clydesdale shot 66.7 percent on the court to gain 16 points for the Lions in the game against Wentworth Institute of Technology.

Boyle also shined this season with an average of 10.8 points per game and 49 total rebounds.

Gould praised his players for showing the dedication to become a better team this season and for stepping up to the plate.

“Everybody is really doing well and doing what we are asking them to do,” Gould said.

“They’ve either met or exceeded the expectations that we had for them coming in.”

Boyle said that the team agreed to work towards their goals for the season.

“We want higher goals this year and in order to have those higher goals you have to put in the work for it, and Emerson is a very academic, demanding school,” Boyle said. “It’s basically dedicating all your off time to the sport, and we had to make sure that everyone was in the same mindset to work hard and reach our goals.”

The Lions sit first in the NEWMAC standings just above Coast Guard Academy.

Gould said he believes his team can take the conference trophy home in the spring.

“Our goal is to win the NEWMAC championship, and I feel like we have a very good shot,” Gould said. “We’ve never done it, but it’s something that I believe we can do. I 100 percent believe that we can beat every team in this conference.”

The Lions play next in a conference matchup at home against Smith College on Dec. 8 at 1:00 p.m.  maximo_lawlor@emerson.edu

Esports team to compete in Boston Uprising Collegiate Cup Aaron Miller, Beacon Staff Emerson College Esports qualified to compete in the Boston Uprising Collegiate Cup tournament. One group of six Emerson students competitively playing the video game “Overwatch” can be crowned the best college team in New England and watch Boston’s professional team, Boston Uprising, play in Burbank, Calif.

Esports consists of competitive teambased video gaming. Emerson’s “Overwatch” team qualified for the tournament through a round-robin type bracket splitting twelve teams into four groups of three on Nov. 17. The winning team from each group made it through to the live event on Dec. 8.

“Overwatch” is an online multiplayer first-person shooter video game consisting of two six-player teams competing against each other in a variety of game modes. Like most video games, people casually play “Overwatch” for individual entertainment, but some players created leagues and divisions to showcase their talent.

Boston Uprising will host the Boston Uprising Collegiate Cup, which is set to include four of the top twelve teams in New England. Emerson ranks last out of the invited teams, following the University of Connecticut, Boston University, and Northeastern University, respectively.

Teams compete in tournaments for prizes ranging from trophies to cash prizes amounting up to millions of dollars.

In 2016, a single tournament hosted by the creators of “Overwatch,”Blizzard Entertainment, granted the winning team $1 million.

Emerson Esports Organization President Neal Sweeney said he wanted to compete in an “Overwatch” tournament for a while but never had the chance. When the opportunity finally

presented itself, he said the team jumped on board.

The Kraft Group, a Boston-based investment corporation, is the primary shareholder of the Boston Uprising team and played a significant role in the creation of the collegiate cup, according to Sweeney.

“I wanted to put on an “Overwatch” tournament event together and [Kevin Mitchell], who’s an adjunct Esports professor [at Babson College], is close with the chief marketing officer of The Kraft Group,” Sweeney said. “The Kraft Group wanted to do the same thing, so then it was us starting to work together to plan this event.”

Despite being part of the initial planning of the event, one of the team’s longest standing players, Austin Litt, known by his username “AustNSpace,” said the team did not receive a free invite to the tournament. They, like the other eleven teams interested, had to compete to get in.

“The fact that the Emerson team got in was definitely not a shoo-in, but we happened to make our way through qualifiers,” Litt said. “It’s cool to actually represent the school in this tournament.”

Team Captain George Capalbo, who goes by the username “Stormyness,” joined Emerson’s team in fall 2017. Capalbo said the team has been together for a while, which helps their chemistry.

“We’ve gotten really good together and we’ve become really good friends,” Capalbo said.

Unlike other Esports games, “Overwatch” requires significant team coordination—no individual standout-player can typically carry a team to victory. “‘Overwatch’ requires a lot more team-play [than other games], and the better you mesh as

"We're going to win—and we're going to win convincingly."

The Emerson College Esports ‘Overwatch’ team plans for its upcoming tournament on Dec. 8.

Anissa Gardizy / Beacon Staff a team the better your chances are at winning the match,” Capalbo said. “That’s why us getting together since last fall and becoming such good friends is so important.”

Capalbo said he made some of his closest friends by playing for the team.

“I would say these guys have become my friends more than anyone at the college,” Capalbo said. “This is my big interest and meeting people that are also super into it made it really easy for me to make friends.”

Capalbo said he feels confident in his team’s ability and believes they have what it takes to bring home the collegiate cup trophy.

“We’re going to win—and we’re going to win convincingly. We’re facing Northeastern first, and I am not worried about it,” Capalbo said. “I know that our team is going to fight to the bitter end and we’re going to play our hearts out; so,

if Northeastern doesn’t bring the same thing, we’ve got a good chance of winning.”

Emerson will play first-seeded Northeastern in the tournament’s opening matchup. Whichever team wins will play the winner of the University of Connecticut and Boston University matchup in the championship.

Each match will consist of a best of three style where the first team to win two games advances.

The official event is closed to the public, but Boston Uprising’s Twitch channel will broadcast all of the matches beginning at 12 p.m. on Dec. 8.

 aaron_miller@emerson.edu @theaaronjmiller