Don’t miss the full story, whose reporting from Kim Chandler at The Associated Press is the basis of this AI-assisted article.
The University of Alabama has suspended two student-run magazines focused on Black students and women’s issues, citing recent federal guidance from Attorney General Pam Bondi against diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, programs on college campuses.
Some key facts:
• The University of Alabama suspended Alice magazine (focused on women’s issues) and Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine (focused on Black students) effective immediately on Monday.
• University officials cited July guidance from Bondi regarding DEI programs at institutions receiving federal funding as the reason for the suspension.
• Alice magazine had been in publication for 10 years and had just marked its anniversary before being shut down.
• Nineteen Fifty-Six is named after 1956, the year Autherine Lucy Foster became the first Black student allowed to enroll at the university, and has been published for five years.
• Neither magazine restricted who could work on their staff, despite having primary target audiences.
• University Vice President Steven Hood told editors the magazines could be violating federal guidelines on “unlawful proxies” because of their target audiences.
• Alice editor-in-chief Gabrielle Gunter expressed shock at the decision, stating she believed the publications were protected by freedom of the press and the First Amendment.
• The university plans to fund a new student magazine with a broader scope while stating that students’ First Amendment rights remain intact.
READ MORE: University of Alabama shutters Black, female student magazines
This article is written with the assistance of generative artificial intelligence based solely on Washington Times original reporting and wire services. For more information, please read our AI policy or contact Ann Wog, Managing Editor for Digital, at awog@washingtontimes.com
The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
