(WDNews) — The University of Alabama has permanently suspended two long-standing student publications as part of its effort to comply with state and federal restrictions targeting diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
UA’s Department of Student Life announced Monday that Alice Magazine and Nineteen Fifty-Six will cease operations following the release of their fall 2025 editions. The decision ends a decade-long run for Alice, which launched in 2015 as a fashion and wellness magazine geared toward women students, and a five-year run for Nineteen Fifty-Six, founded in 2020 to highlight Black student life and culture. Both magazines published biannually.
Editors from both publications expressed disappointment in interviews with The Crimson White, UA’s student newspaper.
“It is so disheartening to know that so many of us have put so much hard work into these magazines that are now being censored,” Gabrielle Gunter, editor-in-chief of Alice Magazine, told The Crimson White. “Alice is what got me into journalism, and 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.”
Kendal Wright, editor-in-chief of Nineteen Fifty-Six, also shared her frustration.
“This publication has cultivated incredibly talented and budding Black student journalists and brought our community on campus together in such a beautiful way,” Wright said to The Crimson White.
University officials cited a July memo from U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi regarding campus DEI practices as the basis for discontinuing the magazines. Steven Hood, UA’s vice president of student life, said the publications were considered “unlawful proxies” because they primarily served specific demographic groups, which is now prohibited under state law.
The move follows a series of steps the university has taken to comply with Senate Bill 129, Alabama’s anti-DEI legislation signed in March 2024 and enacted on Oct. 1 of that year. Since then, UA has closed its Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, the UA Safe Center, and Black Student Union spaces inside the Student Center.
The suspension of the two magazines marks another significant shift in campus life as the university continues adjusting to government-mandated DEI restrictions.
