The University of Alabama’s suspension of Alice Magazine and Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine has gravely disappointed decades of University of Alabama alumni who worked for the University’s student media publications.
Participating in the Office of Student Media jumpstarted many of the undersigned’s careers in journalism, multimedia, public engagement, law, teaching and communications. Working in student media provided us a platform to put the Capstone Creed into action: striving for excellence in the classroom and beyond, acting with fairness and integrity, and fostering individual and civic responsibility. The outlets under the OSM gave us opportunities to grow our portfolios, learn critical skills, take risks and tangibly improve our campus community, and we entered the workforce with a strong edge in the marketplace because we had the opportunities to be not just students, but media professionals.
The students of Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six do not deserve to lose those same opportunities because their University decided that now, months later, their publications are seemingly too divisive to continue because of the audiences they seek to serve. It is also not lost on us that this is far from the first space that Black students have lost on campus in what appears at face value to be an attempt to suppress the freedom of expression and safe existence of Black students on campus.
The U.S. Department of Justice may have recommended that publicly-funded entities like The University stand down on allowing certain policies and procedures related to diversity, equity and inclusion, DEI, in their organizational operations. But there is no indication the university was ordered or even asked to shutter two student lifestyle magazines. In fact, this act of institutional anticipatory obedience appears unprecedented in higher education. The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that UA is the only institution that has taken such a drastic measure in response to the DOJ memo.
In an emailed statement to The Chronicle, the University said it must “ensure all members of [its] community feel welcome to participate” in student publications. Never once has either magazine stated that their personnel or coverage areas cannot include all members of the University community. To suspend these publications based on an untenable, potential “feeling” of unwelcome based on who these magazines’ perceived audiences are is cruel.
We are not alone in believing this is unreasonable. Mike Hiestand, senior legal counsel at The Student Press Law Center, argues that suspending these magazines is illegal viewpoint discrimination. In a statement published to the SPLC’s Instagram account, Hiestand affirms that the DOJ memo “was aimed at race-exclusive programs that deny access to benefits. These magazines do not exclude anyone; they amplify the voices of communities that have historically been marginalized. That is protected expression, not unlawful discrimination.”
As we see it, this is purposeful suppression of student voices, particularly the voices of Black students and women. The University of Alabama — an institution that chronically chooses to be on the wrong side of history – took this convenient opportunity to silence two powerful publications designed for the good of the student body. While the University has promised to create a new, general magazine featuring a “variety of voices and perspectives” to replace these two award-winning, student-created publications that already do so, this does not pass muster, nor should it.
We, as alumni, vow to do more than just pay attention and offer our full support to the student media professionals of Alice Magazine and Nineteen Fifty-Six magazine. We encourage the readers of this letter to consider supporting Media Alumni Seeking to Highlight Equity and Diversity, or MASTHEAD, which is a non-profit alumni group established in 2020 that advocates for diverse, anti-racist and equitable student media at The University of Alabama, especially as UA is actively making decisions and policies against these principles.
Meanwhile, the broader implications this decision has for student press rights are deeply concerning, and the beginning of a slippery slope of censorship for all student media.
We should all take notice.
Signed,
Lydia Seabol Avant | Class of 2003, MA 2004 | Crimson White Contributing Writer; Corolla staff
Augustus Barnette | Class of 2024 | Crimson White Multimedia Editor
Isabelle Bennington | Class of 2025 | Alice Design Editor
Sara Beth Bolin | Class of 2019 | Alice Lifestyle Editor
Keely Brewer | Class of 2022 | Crimson White Editor-in-Chief; Alice Assistant Photo Editor
Kathleen Buccleugh | Class of 2011 | Crimson White Copy Editor/Designer; Corolla Editor-in-Chief
Savannah Bullard | Class of 2020 | Crimson White Editor-in-Chief
Kalei Burgess | Class of 2021 | Alice Contributing Writer; WVUA-FM and Crimson White staff
CJ Byrd | Class of 2023 | Nineteen Fifty-Six Photo Editor
Josha Charlery | Class of 2025 | Alice Photography Editor
Catherine Clinton | Class of 2022 | Alice Lifestyle Editor; Crimson White Contributing Writer
Corey Craft | Class of 2010 | Crimson White Editor-in-Chief; Corolla Editor-in-Chief
Abbey Crain | Class of 2014 | Crimson White Culture Editor
Meredith Cummings | Class of 1994, MA 1996 | Crimson White Managing Editor
Kyndall Cutts | Class of 2020, MS 2024 | Crimson White Social Media Editor
John Davis | Class of 2012 | Crimson White Chief Copy Editor
Stephen Dethrage | Class of 2013 | Crimson White Production Editor
Tom Ellington | Class of 1994, MA 1996 | Crimson White Editorial Page Editor
Madison Ely | Class of 2021 | Crimson White Lead Page Designer; CCW Visuals Editor
Ava Fisher | Class of 2022 | Crimson White Opinions Editor
Caroline Gazzara-McKenzie | Class of 2016, MA 2019 | Crimson White Sports Writer
Leah Goggins | Class of 2021, MA 2024 | Crimson White Managing Editor
Rebecca Griesbach | Class of 2019, MA 2021 | Crimson White Editor-in-Chief
Jacob Harrison | Class of 2020 | WVUA-FM Sports Contributor
Sarah Hartsell | Class of 2023 | Alice Creative Director
Kinsey Blake Haynes | Class of 2016 | WVUA-FM Music Director; Crimson White Contributing Writer
Ethan Henry | Class of 2024 | Crimson White News Editor
Kylie Henson | Class of 2017 | Crimson White Visuals Editor
Janeé Hill | Class of 2024 | Nineteen Fifty-Six Engagement Editor
Annie Hollon | Class of 2021 | Alice Editor-in-Chief; Crimson White staff
Isabel Hope | Class of 2022 | Crimson White Assistant News Editor
Bryant Horn | Class of 2020 | WVUA-FM Sports Contributor
Samantha Huff-Robertson | Class of 2017 | New College Review and Slash Pine Press
Emma Junck | Class of 2019| Crimson White Photo Editor
Johnny Kampis | Class of 1999 | Crimson White Staff Writer
Caroline Karrh | Class of 2025 | Alice Editor-in-Chief
Sarah Kimball Stephenson | Class of 2019 | Alice Contributing Writer
Ashanka Kumari | Class of 2013 | Crimson White Chief Copy Editor
Ben Lasseter | Class of 2020 | Crimson White Contributing Writer
Carson Lott | Class of 2024, MS 2025 | Crimson White Managing Editor
Sarah Lumpkin | Class of 2021 | Alice Creative Director
Natalie Marburger | Class of 2024 | Crimson White Chief Page Editor
Meg McGuire Conder | Class of 2017, MBA 2020 | Alice Managing Editor; Mosaic Social Media Editor
Alex Miller | Class of 2022 | Crimson White Multimedia Editor
Will Miller | Class of 2024 | Crimson White Sports Staff Writer; WVUA-FM staff
Jolie Money | Class of 2022 | Alice Lifestyle Editor
Elizabeth Moseley | Class of 2019 | Crimson White Chief Copy Editor
Phil Owen | Class of 2012 | Crimson White Managing Editor
Saige Petski | Class of 2020 | Alice Editor-in-Chief
Ryan Phillips | Class of 2014 | Crimson White Contributing Writer
Ainsley Platt | Class of 2024 | Crimson White News Editor
Emily Rabbideau | Class of 2025 | Alice Video Content Editor
Rebecca Rakowitz | Class of 2019 | Alice Editor-in-Chief; Crimson White News Editor
Bhavana Ravala | Class of 2023 | Crimson White Editor-in-Chief
Madeline Reda | Class of 2022 | Crimson White Assistant Culture Editor
Jon Reed | Class of 2012 | Crimson White Managing Editor
Irene Richardson | Class of 2018 | Alice Culture Editor; Crimson White staff
Ryan Riha | Class of 2022 | Crimson White Digital Editor
Ronni Rowan | Class of 2024 | Crimson White Social Media Editor
Hannah Saad | Class of 2021 | Crimson White Photo Editor
Grace Schepis | Class of 2022 | Staff Writer
Caroline Simmons | Class of 2024 | Alice Assistant Photo Editor
Vannah Smalley | Class of 2023 | Honors College Contributing Writer
Kayla Solino | Class of 2022, MA 2023 | Crimson White Assistant News Editor
EK Standard | Class of 2024 | Alice Editor-in-Chief
Ben Stansell | Class of 2020 | Crimson White Managing Editor
Jake Stevens | Class of 2018, MA 2020 | Crimson White Editor In Chief
Keli Goodson Stiglich | Class of 2009 | Crimson White Staff Reporter, Copy Editor
Jennifer Stroud | Class of 2024 | Alice Photography Editor; Crimson White staff
Camille Studebaker | Class of 2019 | Crimson White News Editor
Sophia Surrett | Class of 2022 | Alice Web Editor
Tionna Taite | Class of 2022, JD 2025 | Nineteen Fifty-Six Founder and Editor-in-Chief; Mosaic Magazine and Crimson White staff
Will Tucker | Class of 2013 | Crimson White Editor-in-Chief
Christina (Tina) Turner | Class of 2020 | WVUA-FM Station Manager
Melanie Viering | Class of 2016 | Crimson White Design Editor
Lindsey Wilkinson | Class of 2022 | Alice Editor-in-Chief
Emily Williams | Class of 2016, MA 2019 | Crimson White Staff Writer; WVUA-FM Program Director
Alden Wiygul | Class of 2023 | Alice Contributing Writer
Ashlee Woods | Class of 2024 | Crimson White Assistant Sports Editor, Sports Editor and Editor-in-Chief; Nineteen Fifty-Six Features and Experiences Editor and Editor-in-Chief
April Wortham Collins | Class of 2000 | Crimson White Staff Writer
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