The University of Alabama (UA) has suspended publication of two long-running, student-produced magazines — Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six — after administrators claimed the outlets were no longer in compliance with federal guidance associated with the Trump administration’s anti-DEI agenda. The decision, announced late Monday, has prompted immediate pushback from student journalists, press freedom advocates, and campus community members who view the move as an infringement on First Amendment rights.
Editors for both publications said UA officials told them the suspension stemmed from the university’s interpretation of a July memo issued by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. Though the memo is non-binding, UA leaders described it as relevant to student media groups that receive university funding, despite the fact that Bondi’s guidance does not specifically address student publications.
“I was under the impression that we were protected from being affected by any anti-DEI legislation and rulings because of our First Amendment right to freedom of press, but it appears I was wrong,” Alice Magazine Editor-in-Chief Gabrielle Gunter said in a statement Tuesday.
Alice, founded in 2015, focuses on women’s issues, while Nineteen Fifty-Six — named for the year Autherine Lucy became UA’s first Black student — covers Black student life and culture. Both employ students of all backgrounds, a point repeatedly emphasized by editors and supporters who argue that their existence does not constitute discrimination.
Alex House, an associate director of communications at UA, said in a statement that the university suspended the magazines to “ensure all members of our community feel welcome to participate in programs that receive university funding from the Office of Student Media.”
Students and press freedom advocates strongly dispute that rationale. Tionna Taite, founder of Nineteen Fifty-Six, said the publications play an essential role in elevating marginalized voices on campus. “Truly both 1956 Magazine and Alice are pivotal to the minority experience at UA. I am beyond disappointed in the regression UA has made since I created 1956 Magazine,” she said. “In 2020, UA made promises to be more diverse, inclusive and equitable. Five years later, I do not see any progress and their decision regarding both magazines confirms this.”
Her concerns were echoed by current Editor-in-Chief Kendal Wright, who called the magazine’s mission indispensable. “The students who have cultivated this magazine over its five-year lifespan have poured their hearts and souls into their work,” Wright said. “Regardless of our suspension, there will continue to be a need on campus for the stories of the university’s Black community to be told.”
The suspensions also drew scrutiny from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), whose Student Press Freedom Initiative is reviewing the case. The group called the shutdowns “deeply concerning” and “a blow to the student press in Tuscaloosa.” In a statement Tuesday, initiative leader Marie McMullan said, “The university’s decisions must respect the First Amendment rights of student publications like Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six.” She later added, “No federal anti-discrimination law authorizes the university to silence student media it dislikes. UA’s claim that the magazines’ content is an ‘unlawful proxy’ is nonsense. This is an attack on the student press and nothing less.”
The suspensions come amid broader efforts by state and university officials to dismantle DEI-related resources across Alabama’s public campuses. After the legislature passed SB 129 in 2024 banning publicly funded DEI programs and so-called “divisive concepts,” UA closed its Black Student Union office and its Safe Zone for LGBTQ+ students, arguing that reopening the spaces would constitute “unlawful discrimination.”
Students have launched a MoveOn petition demanding that the administration reinstate both magazines, calling the decision “a direct attack on free speech on a college campus.” By Tuesday evening, it had drawn more than 1,700 signatures.
UA officials said they intend to launch a new magazine next academic year, though they did not clarify how it will differ from or replace the suspended publications.
