LET IT BE NOTED: The opinions reflected by individual authors do not reflect the opinions of the Bulwark nor its academdic department facilitators.
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Social justice. Economic justice. Activism. Progressivism. Student voices. Established in 2025.
"If there is no struggle, there is no progress. " - Frederick Douglass
Welcome to the page of The Beaven Bulwark at Holy Cross.
A foreword to our project from Max Cote '26, Founder
Activism has a place here at Holy Cross—as a student body, we’re often easily placated and politically unmotivated. We have occasional bouts of activism, sure—a small protest there, a town hall here. What we lack is a continuity of activism—regular contributions to the campus environment to push for a better life for people of all creeds, races, orientations and identities. To that end, the Bulwark is Holy Cross’ first social justice-oriented newspaper. What does this mean? Well, Holy Cross has a lot of papers—The Spire, The College Street Journal, Her, and so on—and none dedicated to the pursuit of social justice topics. Our mission is to provide a platform for leftist discourse at HC where none has previously existed. Our team of editors and writers come from a wide variety of backgrounds, majors and political positions, and we solicit works from outside our organization to provide our campus with a proper voice for these issues. Our members work with the SGA, JEBI, Pride, Pax Christi, the SSJC and others to form a coalition of activist voices. By regularly producing these examples of the student voice—in the form of current events pieces, op-eds, essays and even artistic works like film reviews or cartoons—we hope to foster an environment of discourse that promotes activism on our campus.
It’s easy to feel hopeless. Every day we look at our social media feeds and our news apps and hear about some new tragedy enacted. Our government all but captured under the rise of American white nationalism, fascism and criminality. It’s terrifying. But the only thing more terrifying to me is the idea of doing nothing in the face of it.
Hence, The Beaven Bulwark.
A continuation from Ian Sykes '28, Head Designer.
As a new publication, we are still looking to find our identity, both as a publication and in terms of how we exist on campus. With that in mind, approach our work with patience; there may be typos, formatting errors, and otherwise. Nevertheless, just know that what you are witnessing is the genesis of something far greater than ourselves—far greater than a one-off project, or an idea from office hours, or something whipped together quickly during Thanksgiving break. This is truly something—an earnest attempt to do something that matters. This is the Beaven Bulwark.
No massive donor networks. No faculty submissions. No huge endorsements. Just student voices and grassroots activism at its heart.
The Bulwark is one way we can speak out and bear witness to injustice, and to advocate passionately for love. As we find our identity with the Bulwark, think about what you feel called to do with what you’ve learned. Consider yourself lucky to see the genesis of something far bigger than you, and consider participating in it yourself in your next issue. Feel its vibrance. Read its love. Enjoy our site!
In lieu of a printed issue, our first is fully published online! View this document to read the Bulwark in its full 40-page entirety! We have worked very hard throughout the semester to get this project off of the ground, so we would love it if you made the time to see what came out of it!
You can view Issue 1 of the Bulwark embedded in the site here by clicking Full Issue #1 at the top of the page, clicking this link to open that page, or by clicking this link!
Thanks to the hard work of our many writers and editors, our first issue of the Bulwark has curated academic essays, social commentaries, opinion editorials, and even poems! Read all of those works here!
Yuri Kochiyama and How We Put the "Social" in "Social Movements" by Rose Knoll '28
Louis Althusser and Karl Marx Reproduction in Education and Economy: A Summation of the Historical Critique of Bourgeois Theories of Labor by Patrick "Finn" Mungovan '27
Picking up the Sword: How Christian Nationalist Leaders Weaponize American Ignorance by Ian Sykes '28
Socialism in Mass? Massachusetts’ Socialist Candidate for Senate by Rose Knoll ‘28
