Universities and colleges are supposed to be the pillars of free speech, free thinking and diverse communities. But on the campus of the University of Alabama (UA), women and Black students were left defenseless after the administration pulled the plug on two prominent student-led publications citing President Donald Trump’s ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).
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We previously told you Trump’s DEI ban sent shockwaves across the nation, with companies completely shutting down diversity offices and firing entire departments. Apparently, the ban has also impacted colleges like UA. On Monday (Dec. 1), the school announced the suspension of Alice Magazine — a women’s lifestyle publication– and Nineteen Fifty-Six — the school’s Black culture magazine — in accordance with Trump’s order.
“You can understand why as a public institution we might not be able to support magazines that are based on demographics like these two magazines are,” Dr. Steven Hood, the university’s vice president of student life said, according to an audio recording obtained by the New York Times. Hood called both publications “unlawful,” adding that the university was given no other choice in the matter.
But while UA and Dr. Hood are justifying the end to these historic magazines, students on campus are beyond frustrated.
“I thought that because of the First Amendment, the freedom of press, that Alice wouldn’t be affected by any identity-based legislation, or rulings, or memos,” Gabrielle Gunter, the editor-in-chief of Alice, said in an interview. “Supposedly, it’s not applicable here.”
Gunter got her start in journalism through Alice. She said the suspension is another reminder of the plight of women and Black people in America. “It breaks my heart that there will no longer be spaces like Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six where students can learn to create beautiful, diverse magazines that honor all types of identities,” she continued.
Nineteen Fifty-Six was birthed out of the ashes of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. “The magazine was named after the year the first Black student, Autherine Lucy Foster, was allowed to enroll at the University, to connect to the history of Black students on campus,” according to the publication’s website. “Foster was only on campus for three days before the Board of Trustees expelled her.” 1956 also marks the year the Montgomery bus boycott ended.
The editor-in-chief of the university’s Black publication, Kendal Wright, admitted in a statement she wasn’t as shocked by UA’s decision to suspend the magazine because of who is sitting in the White House. “This publication has cultivated incredibly talented and budding Black student journalists and brought our community on campus together in such a beautiful way,” Wright added in an interview with the Crimson White.
The suspension has outraged the greater UA community. Now, a petition to reinstate Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six has over 2,000 signatures. “Both outlets have and continued to employ workers outside of their target demographic until their suspension, meaning that anti-discrimination does not necessarily apply in this case,” the petition read. “This is, instead, a direct attack on free speech on a college campus and must be combatted by all students.”
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