WASHINGTON — Alabama’s Democrat U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell and Shomari Figures sent a letter Monday to the University of Alabama calling on the school to reinstate two student-run magazines, one of which focused on Black students and the other on women’s issues.
The editors of Nineteen Fifty-Six and Alice magazines were told earlier this month that the university was stopping the magazines immediately. A university official cited recent federal guidance against diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campuses as a reason behind the suspensions.
In the letter, the pair of lawmakers wrote that ending the two magazines has “profound implications for free speech, academic freedom, and the University’s stated commitment to fostering an inclusive campus environment.”
“This decision undermines the significant progress made by the University over the last six decades towards fostering a welcoming and inclusive campus environment for all students,” the letter reads.
Sewell and Figures also requested a meeting with university leadership to discuss the matter and to see what could be done to restore publication.
Alice editor-in-chief Gabrielle Gunte said during a meeting with a UA official about the suspension, they cited a July memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi that the magazines could be considered “violating federal guidelines on unlawful proxies.”
The memo defines unlawful proxies as using “ostensibly neutral criteria that function as substitutes for explicit consideration of race, sex, or other protected characteristics.”
The two lawmakers wrote in the letter that the “proxy” suggestion was alarming,
“They serve as vehicles for student storytelling, creativity, and scholarship, not for the advantage or disadvantage of any one group,” the letter reads.
The magazine, Alice, has published editions for the past decade and Nineteen Fifty-Six had been published on campus for five years.
A spokesperson for the university previously said UA plans to fund a new student magazine that “has a broader scope.”
The Alabama Democrats said that was not an “adequate solution.”
“While we appreciate efforts to promote unity by combining distinct voices into a single publication, this action dilutes and diminishes the culture, contributions, and personal experiences of women and Black students, over half of your campus student population,” the letter reads.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.