Locke, who is currently pursuing four majors at Cedarville University, launched the initiative with longtime friend Connor Burke in October 2025. While Burke himself is currently a student at the University of Maryland, both Locke and Burke found themselves encountering the same challenge as undergraduates. According to Locke, gatekeeping among some organizations made it difficult to get op-eds published as undergraduates. As a result, the pair decided to team up to create a digital publication laser-focused on providing constructive dialogue on policy, economics and philosophy through opinion editorials.
“The thing that really inspired me was that I noticed (from being) an undergraduate to someone seeking a master’s degree it’s a lot harder for example to get an op-ed published because, especially with a think tank, they look for doctors to write op-eds,” Locke said. “This is frustrating because I’d written a couple of op-eds for a think tank out of Oakland, California. I realized that they would drag their feet whenever I wrote them something.”
Ease of use and the pair’s target demographic of young, business-minded professionals made LinkedIn a natural environment for Burke & Locke. The publication is only a search away on the digital platform, with articles easy to find and read.
“Allowing people of a younger demographic to have the opportunity to not only develop their logic skills but also develop their ability to sit down and put their ideas into words has been enriching,” Locke said.
“It’s very easy to be reactionary. It’s very easy to hear something you don’t like and to immediately shoot back with your own ‘venom,’ so to speak. Yet doing so does not further anything. In fact, it only separates people more and I think this is where starting something like Burke & Locke comes in,” he said. “If you approach with the idea that venom will not be tolerated and discourse is the mode of conversation then you’re functionally able to overcome some major differences between people.”
Locke believes that social media and online anonymity have combined to play an especially harmful role in the toxicity seen across the internet today.
“Especially with algorithms where if you see one post and you interact with it and then you’re sent a bajillion others like it,” Locke said. “Touching on being anonymous that one is a very big contributor to some of the toxicity we see today because if people had to attach their name to what they’re saying they would be more careful.”
Burke & Locke has been well-received both online as well as on LinkedIn.
“I’ve had a few economists actually add me as a connection. They’ll add a little message whenever they add me that’s like, ‘I like the work that you are doing. I am interested in seeing where you go.’ That’s always reinforcing. It’s always nice to get something like that from a stranger,” Locke said.
On campus, however, Locke acknowledged that the reception to their project has been mixed.
“For example, when Mr. (Mark) Weinstein, the PR director at Cedarville, posted the initial article I saw a comment that said, ‘Civil discourse is not the problem. People just need Jesus Christ.’ I just kind of sat there for a while and was like, ‘You clearly have not read the article.’ Even on campus it’s been a little mixed because of sentiments like that.”
But that hasn’t stopped the pair from forging ahead. In fact, Locke sees it as further evidence of the greater need for civil discourse in society.
“In a democracy, civil discourse is, I believe, one of the foundational principles that sustains democratic government. Without it, truth be told, you really don’t have a democracy - you just have clanging gongs,” he said. “I think that if we take a deep breath and realize people will think differently because they come from different places, then pairing those two will go a long way.”
Burke & Locke can be found on LinkedIn and is open to collaborations. Locke said that anyone can submit an editorial by sending a submission to burkelocke25@gmail.com.
The pair plans for the platform to be around for years to come.
“I would like to maintain the relationship I have with Cedarville that way undergraduates can still have the same opportunity to do work through Burke & Locke because at the end of the day, I’ll age out of the authorship that we’re seeking,” Locke said.
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