When Aaliyah Hammer-Furbert arrived at Rollins College as a first-year student, she kept looking for something that she could not find.
“There was no intentional space or publication on campus that featured stories that are stigmatized,” she said. “Stories about identity, mental health, trauma, and healing.”
So, she created one. The result is Rewoven, a student-led magazine that published poetry, art, and photography from marginalized and silenced voices on campus. Launched in 2025 during Hammer-Furbert’s sophomore year, she currently is working to make sure it outlasts her.
Inner Motivations
In high school, Hammer-Furbert worked on a project with survivors of sexual violence, where her own grandmother was a participant. Seeing an important figure in her life be a vocal advocate for marginalized people was a turning point for her, especially since her grandmother had stayed silent about her own experiences of violence until she was 72 years old. “That experience made me realize the importance of talking about your experiences and reclaiming them, and writing it on your own terms,” she said.
‘Rewoven,’ the name, comes from that idea. It is a made-up word that represents weaving individual stories together. “I want to celebrate people’s individuality and their own story, but, at the same time, there are so many overlapping themes,” she said.
What Reclaiming Looks Like
“Reclaiming a story can take many forms,” Hammer-Furbert said, “for me, it means being loud about [what] people are told to be ashamed of.” She also mentioned how several contributors to the first edition told her it was the first time they had shared the experiences they wrote about.
There are two themes that commonly appear in submissions: interpersonal/sexual violence, and racism. Hammer-Furbert said she’s glad students feel comfortable writing about their pain, so they can show it and share the message of: “this happened to me, but I’m not defined by it.”
A Welcoming Space, An Open Door
Rewoven’s editorial approach is to publish as many students as possible. Work qualifies if it is raw, vulnerable, or about something traditionally stigmatized. Their purpose is to provide a platform for authentic storytelling, creative expression, and critical dialogue that reshapes narratives of identity, culture, pain, healing, and liberation. Only a few submissions fall outside what the magazine is looking for, or that can’t be edited stylistically speaking.
The response has been strong, Hammer-Furbert says. The magazine has an executive board of eight students and six co-editors, plus supporters who come to their events, some in partnership with other organizations of Rollins. She says, so far, there has been no pushback over what its been published.
The Funding Issue
The biggest challenge is money. Rewoven began as a Student Government Association (SGA) project under Hammer-Furbert’s role as “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Chair,” eventually, it became an independent student organization. Unlike other campus publications, it receives no funding from Student Media, and their staff is not paid.
Printing is a more urgent worry. As an independent student organization, they need to look for funding from different departments, grants, or fundraising. “Without printing, we don’t exist,” she said. “That’s a big threat and a big fear.”
Looking Ahead
Hammer-Furbert is a current last-year student, and the thought of graduating is emotional. She said she cried at a recent Rollins College event because of how much Rewoven means to her. Running it has become a central part of her college experience, from soliciting submissions and editing, to advocating for funding and designing the magazine.
Her hope is for Rewoven to become part of an academic department, with paid positions through work-study or stipends. A thing that keeps her positive is that several executive board members have mentioned that they want to continue the work.
Her message to Rollins students is: “Everybody has a story. Rewoven can be a home for yours.” Sharing it takes courage, she said, “but there’s power in refusing to be silent.”
Information
Submissions for the next edition close December 1. Members of the Rollins College community can submit their job through this form.
You can follow their Instagram account: @rewoven.rollins
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