Lisa Erenstein

Articles

Stuck inside, but looking out.

Quarantine from the lens of a photojournalist

Like everyone else, life has shifted abruptly and dramatically for these seven photojournalists. Although The Beacon continues to work remotely amidst the coronavirus pandemic, photojournalists face new challenges as they attempt to capture images that represent the stories we continue to write. They are faced with the grief that comes from what they have lost in the transition, the frustration that comes with helplessness, and the anxiety of not knowing what will happen next. 

UP students share their love for stickers.

Students self-express through stickers

We have all seen it before. You walk along your merry way and see countless people with their water bottles layered in copious numbers of stickers, making the actual color of the water bottle hardly visible. Behind the sound of the tip-tapping of fingers flying, typing notes and papers on keyboards, is the image of a completely sticker-covered laptop. With all the opportunities for self-expression stickers make available to us, even refrigerators can gain opinions and personalities.  The Beacon decided to talk to students about their stickers, setting out to discover the reasons why students love putting them on just about any surface and the meanings behind the ones they chose. 

Members of the UP community kicked off the Lenten season by having their foreheads marked with ashes during the Ash Wednesday masses.

Faces of Lent: Community members share why they celebrate

 On Wednesday, University of Portland community members could be spotted around campus with black ashes smudged into the shape of a cross (more or less) on their foreheads. Members received these ashes at an Ash Wednesday Mass, a day to kick off the Lenten season where the application of the ashes represents the Catholic belief that people are made from dust and will return to dust. In commemoration of this day and the season of fasting, praying, and almsgiving before Easter Sunday that is Lent, The Beacon got to talk to these members about why they are celebrating the season this year. 

Lisa Erenstein, Beacon photographer.

STAFF OPINION: We could all use art

For as long as I can remember, I have connected to art before I even knew myself. My mom has always said that I inherited her artistic talents, but more than anything, the true value came out of her encouraging my love for art. I remember the eagerness I possessed to create at every opportunity throughout my childhood without fear of the product. My mom would set up a table for me in the backyard that I would transform into my very own workspace and paint the day away. As the days went by, however, the reality of more pressing matters of life became a part of my awareness, leaving that folding table and my routine of carefree creativity in the past. 

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