Emerson College’s student newspaper since 1947 • berkeleybeacon.com
Thursday, April 22, 2021 • Volume 74, Issue 26
@berkeleybeacon // @beaconupdate
Emerson pivots to fully in-person curriculum Hybrid learning gives way to sign of post-pandemic normality Dana Gerber Beacon Staff
In a shift from previous plans, Emerson will transition to a fully in-person academic semester on all campuses this fall for students, who will now be mandated to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, the boldest step the college has taken to signal its foray into a post-pandemic world. The Wednesday afternoon email from President M. Lee Pelton pivots from plans set just two months ago to continue hybrid learning into the fall semester, which begins on Aug. 31, with the option of switching to fully in-person learning at the beginning of or during the fall term depending on the state of the pandemic. “Today, it is with measured optimism that we announce that Emerson expects to return to in-person learning and to a more familiar pre-pandemic, on-campus environment for the 2021 Fall Term,” Pelton wrote. “I am confident that our careful and well-researched planning with the aid of excellent medical guidance will enable us to respond quickly and appropriately, just as we did this academic year.” Erik Muurisepp, assistant vice president for campus life and “COVID Lead,” said the college is developing ways to reverse course and reinstitute hybrid learning should the state of the pandemic require it. “As we’ve learned a lot this year and COVID—always have backup plans,” Muurisepp said. “We are having conversations and planning what ifs, and having lots of scenarios if we needed to adjust in various ways.” Emerson, following the lead of nearby Northeastern University and Boston University, will require students to be vaccinated in order to participate in fully in-person learning barring medical or religious exemptions, with “an expectation” that faculty and staff will also get their shots. First-year theatre and performance major Alexa Polawsky said that having fully in-person classes was daunting, considering she has never known anything but the hybrid model.
Tufts vaccine entrance sign. Alec Klusza / Beacon Staff
All people 16 and over eligible for vaccine Dana Gerber, Camilo Fonseca, Ann E. Matica, Alec Klusza Beacon Staff
An in-person class in Walker Building. Alec Klusza / Beacon Staff “When I heard I got really nervous because this is all I’ve ever known for the whole year,” Polawsky said. “I’m so used to doing things over Zoom and staying inside and dealing with COVID. Now that it’s ending, I’m like, ‘Whoa, everything’s going back to normal. I don’t remember what it’s like to have things be normal. What if I don’t like college when it’s back to normal? What if I like it better when it’s flex learning?’” Pelton’s announcement follows a steady decline in positive COVID-19 tests at Emerson in the past week. Since the college lifted the bevy of restrictions imposed on campus life after a spike left 81 people in isolation or quarantine on campus, just four positive test results have been recorded, including none so far this week. In the prior two weeks, Emerson reported 57 positives. First-year media arts production major Anthony Paladino said he saw the college’s email
during class and proceeded to share the news with the rest of his classmates. “Everyone started applauding, we were all really excited,” he said. Pelton’s message represents a deviation from the conservative nature of prior plans to continue hybrid learning announced in February. Then, Pelton suggested the possibility of “herd immunity” if COVID-19 vaccines became widely distributed, but stopped short of promising in-person learning in the interest of avoiding “disappointment.” Now, Pelton cites “the vaccine roll-out advances efficaciously in Massachusetts, California, across the nation, and around the world” as an encouraging sign that a planned fully in-person semester will remain feasible. Massachusetts’ Suffolk County, where Emerson is located, remains a “very high” risk for COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In-person, Pg. 2
When the clock struck midnight on Monday, 1.7 million Massachusetts residents—including any Emerson students who didn’t yet qualify—became eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, a signal of hope for students prompting eagerness and anxiety as an unprecedented academic year draws to a close. The universal eligibility comes one month after Emerson announced its vaccine partnership with Tufts Medical Center had fallen through due to supply chain and timing issues, as there stands just ten days between the move to Phase Three of the vaccine rollout and the end of the semester. It also coincides with a modest dip in statewide coronavirus cases following a spike in late March and early April. In order to participate in the fully in-person fall semester the college announced April 21, students will be required to be vaccinated barring medical or religious exemptions, with “an expectation” that faculty and staff will also get their shots, according to a community-wide email from President M. Lee Pelton. Northeastern University and Boston University will also mandate inoculation for students this fall. In order to book their appointments, students have cobbled together myriad tips and tricks, utilizing everything from pharmacy website workarounds to pre-registration through the state to travelling home to secure a shot. Kadyn Darrow, a first-year marketing and communications major, pre-registered for a vaccination appointment on March 18 through mass.gov. However, she ultimately ended up booking an appointment for this Friday for her first dose at a Walgreens in her hometown when the state website gave her trouble. Vaccines, Pg. 3
Pelton says Chauvin College search for new verdict not cause sustainability manager underway for celebration Frankie Rowley
Global Pathways slated to resume next winter Pg. 2 Updated class registration leads to confusion Pg. 3 Climate change hurts the most vulnerable Pg. 4
Beacon Staff
Editorial: Gun violence must be addresses in the U.S. Pg. 5
President M. Lee Pelton mourned the loss of George Floyd and called for an end to violence and hate against Black people in a letter addressing the Emerson community Tuesday evening. The letter comes following the conclusion of the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin—who was found guilty on all three counts of murder and manslaughter charges against him on Tuesday. Chauvin, Pg.4
A new Jake Paul scandal happens everyday, bro Pg. 7 Emerson Athletics teams lose weekend games Pg. 8 Catherine Liebowitz. / Courtesy Christina Solazzo
Bailey Allen Beacon Staff
President M. Lee Pelton. Beacon Archives
INSIDE THIS EDITION
As Emerson prepares to hire a new sustainability manager, the college is pushing forward in its effort to create a more environmentally friendly campus. Cathy Liebowitz, Emerson’s former sustainability manager, left the position in March 2020 after holding it for almost a year, joining the college in April 2019. In her absence, Emerson has been left to figure out ways to continue her work while seeking to fill the role in the Fall 2021 semester, said Duncan Pollock, interim assistant vice president of facilities and co-chair of the
sustainability committee. “[Liebowitz] left here the week that we closed due to COVID last year, and there was a hiring freeze on all positions,” he said. “With the flex learning and remote ‘no people gathering,’ it really didn’t make sense to fill that position. But next fall semester we’ll be back in a better boat.” Liebowitz, who now works as the director of sustainability at College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, said in an email that her job at Emerson consisted of working with student groups such as Earth Emerson and developing campus-wide sustainability initiatives. Sustainability, Pg. 3
226
positive COVID-19 tests
.18%
positivity rate *Accumulated from 2020-2021 school year