SPORTS LIFESTYLE OPINION Athlete scores in academics Cheeky Business boosts self-care Transfers tough out transition The Berkeley Beacon Emerson College’s student newspaper since 1947 • berkeleybeacon.com Thursday October 13, 2016 • Volume 70, Issue 5 THE FEATURE Students Sexual health surprised by and self-care automatic combine tuition charge Kyle Labe, Beacon Staff Bret Hauff, Beacon Staff In the words of iconic hip-hop duo Salt-N-Pepa, “Let’s talk about sex.” Or If you didn’t check your ECmail this rather, as Cheeky Business aims: sex-pos- summer, you may have missed a few itivity. emails that could’ve saved you $130. Cheeky Business is a feminist website In years past, students voluntarily en- created by Emerson alumni Ashley Cun- rolled for tuition insurance to assure they ningham. It seeks to examine the intrinsic would be refunded 80 percent of their tui- connectivity of sexual and mental health, tion and fees if they left the college mid-se- and to bring taboo branches of self-care, mester because of a physical or mental like masturbation and pornography, into health issue. This year, all undergraduates the spotlight. were automatically charged for the insur- With articles ranging from body image ance, according to Emerson’s website. Stu- in bed to the various flavors of one’s va- dents were given until Sept. 7, the first day gina, the website features original content of classes, to opt out of the plan. from Cunningham, and submissions and The college does reimburse a portion of forums. students’ tuition if they drop out for med- Cunningham graduated in ‘15 with a ical reasons, but the amount decreases as degree in marketing. She was president the semester progresses. If a student must and founder of Active Minds at Emerson leave during the first two weeks, Emerson for her four years, and started Cheeky will reimburse 80 percent of their tuition. Business just earlier this year. But if someone leaves after the fifth week, “Cheeky Business is essentially a cul- uninsured, the college will give them mination of my advocacy,” Cunningham nothing. One of the Dragtoberfest performers woos the audience. • Shelby Grebbin / Beacon Staff said, “[It] is a call to action to disrupt Students with the insurance are guaran- sex-negative culture, to defy stigma. teed 80 percent of their tuition if they drop health problem, physical or mental. Room "There are This year, 2,971 students bought—or Women deserve stress-free erotic spaces out at any time; insurance covers what the and board are not refunded. did not opt out of—tuition insurance. Al- more than anything else.” school doesn’t. If someone who is insured Last year, 84 students purchased full- alternatives though the Office of Enrollment provided leaves in week four, the college will pay 20 year insurance and 12 more paid to be to automatic these figures, it declined repeated requests percent and the insurance pays 60 percent. insured for only the spring semester, for comment. But this coverage is only applicable if a according to the Office of Enrollment. enrollment." Addy Rose, a junior writing, literature, student leaves because of a medical issue. Of these students, seven left the college and publishing major, said she didn’t Students must have a doctor's note and mid-semester, along with another 66 who —Ragan verification from the college to certify the were not covered. Lower See Tuition page 3 See Cheeky page 8 Junior quartet launches production company Olivia Gerasole, Beacon Correspondent Monto, an acquaintance at the time, for "One day, assistance in producing. She discovered Watching the seed of an idea blos- they were an amazing team. Around the som successfully doesn’t happen very of- I over- third movie, the two played with the idea ten. But for junior visual and media arts heard them of starting a production company togeth- majors, Katya Alexander, Victor Velle, er, and Velle quickly joined. Chance Tyler Molenda, and Alex Mon- talking “One day, I overheard them talking to, their seedling dream became reality about starting a company and just said, ‘I early in 2016, when they founded their about start- want in,’” Velle said. “I also knew I wanted own film production company: Colorless ing a com- Chance with me, so I brought him along.” Queen Studios. The meaning behind the studio name The locally-based indie business car- pany and sheds light on how the group of juniors ries projects through to completion and just said, 'I work together. Before the four joined forc- covers everything from consultation and es, Velle and Molenda created the charac- pre-production to filming and post-pro- want in." ter of the Colorless Queen in a fictional duction. What started as a small company world they thought up together. of four kids making films out-of-pocket —Victor “The Colorless Queen is the main char- False alarm in Little Building has turned into a business with clients Velle, ju- acter in this world and she’s sort of this like photographer Christian Hopkins and perfect mix of all these different species, By Max Reyes • p. 3 dance company Take it Away Dance, who nior VMA and is the closest thing to what the original approach the studio through its website. and co- human was,” said Velle. Last year, when Alexander had many Evacuated students waited outside for updates. • Nathanael King / Beacon Staff projects on her plate, she reached out to founder See CQ page 7 The Beacon online /berkeleybeacon @BeaconUpdate berkeleybeacon berkeleybeacon berkeleybeacon The Berkeley Beacon October 13, 2016 2 The Berkeley Beacon October 13, 2016 3 news Immigration advocacy rolls out Students Bret Hauff, Beacon Staff phone, from a coffee shop in Denver. “I surprised by think in this moment, all problems with Members of the Emerson community immigration is a big connection with ed- tuition charge are making their way across the country ucation.” in an effort to humanize the immigrant The three are about halfway through Continued from page 1 experience. their weeks-long, 4,500-mile trip from Continuing the two-year-long en- Boston, through Colorado, to California, know about the insurance. deavor, Proyecto Carrito, a cross-country but they won’t stop there. “The fact that it costs extra, that stu- trip in a van literally wrapped in the text The group will finish their trek by dents weren’t consulted, is a bad thing,” of the immigrant stories of its members, looping back to Kentucky, where they’ll she said. “But it's good that students have co-directors Tamera Marko, an Emerson meet with Maria Portillo, another Emer- that option [to be insured].” professor; and Ryan Catalani, an Em- son maintenance worker, to present at the Emerson offers this policy through a erson alumnus and former Beacon edi- Thomas R. Watson conference on rhetoric partnership with Quincy-based nation- tor-in-chief, are traveling with Emerson and composition at the University of Lou- al tuition insurance firm Dewar. Ragan maintenance worker Mario Ernesto Oso- isville from Oct. 20–22. Lower, vice president of the firm, said that rio to promote his immigrant story. nearly a quarter of the about 140 colleges “I think it’s a very beautiful time be- the firm serves enroll students in tuition cause my story is about immigration and insurance automatically, like Emerson did education,” Ernesto Osorio said on the [email protected] The Proyecto Carrito van’s itinerary map . this year. Courtesy of Ryan Catalani To understand why institutions are do- ing this, it’s important to know how insur- Overheated A/C ance works. All policyholders at Emerson Teach-in to paid a $130 fee. This money is put into a sets off alarms 'Clowns' on campus pool from which all claims are paid. touch on racial Say Emerson enrolls 100 students in this policy; the college would have Max Reyes, Beacon Staff Max Reyes, Beacon Staff issues $13,000 to reimburse any one of those 100 students if they dropped out due to med- Students in the Little Building were At least two people wearing costume Ross Cristantiello, Beacon Staff ical emergency. That’s hardly enough to evacuated Wednesday for what was later masks were sighted on Boylston Street cover 80 percent of one student’s semes- determined to be a false alarm. on Wednesday night. Two men were de- In an effort to spur conversation about ter tuition. But if every undergraduate at At 2:45 p.m., Emerson’s Emergency tained by Emerson College Police Depart- race-related issues at Emerson, the col- Emerson (3,757 people, according to the Notification System warned students of a ment officers. lege is convening a teach-in at various school’s website) enrolled in the program, possible fire on the fifth floor of the Little ECPD Lieutenant Robert Bousquet locations across campus, according to an the college would have $488,410 to draw Building. said in an interview that there were no email sent by President M. Lee Pelton. A from. Students on the fourth, fifth, and sixth arrests, and no one was harmed. He de- teach-in is an educational forum, similar More students enrolled in tuition insur- floors were evacuated. Those on other clined to comment further or say whether to a seminar but with less restrictions on ance means the college has more money to floors were recommended to take shelter charges were filed. "It was topics and time. reimburse if some leave mid-semester. where they were. Around 20 minutes later, Emma Weeks, a sophomore visual This event sprouted from the ad-hoc “What we’ve seen over the past five ENS confirmed that the Boston Fire De- and media arts major, said she saw a man kind of Cultural Competency Committee formed years is a very large increase in the num- partment secured the building.