University of Alabama Faces Calls to Reinstate Student Publications After Controversial Censorship
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama is facing mounting pressure from students, faculty, and advocacy groups to reinstate two student publications, Alice Magazine and Nineteen Fifty-Six, after the administration effectively shut them down following the arrest of a staff writer weeks after the spring commencement address. The publications were removed from the University’s funding and operational support, sparking accusations of selective enforcement of the First Amendment and a chilling effect on student journalism.
The editorial board of The Crimson White, the University’s student newspaper, published a scathing critique of the administration’s actions, arguing that the University is “cherry-picking whom it deems worthy of the protections of the First Amendment.” They contend that the silencing of the publications sends a message that the voices of immigrants and those supporting diversity are “viewed as less than.”
The controversy stems from the arrest of a Nineteen fifty-Six staff writer, Doroudi, weeks after the commencement address.Following the arrest, the University removed recognition and funding from both publications.
The Crimson White editorial draws parallels to a 2022 campaign that successfully pressured the UA System Board of Trustees to fully remove the name of Ku klux Klan member Bibb Graves from bibb Graves Hall, renaming it Lucy-Graves Hall in honor of Autherine Lucy Foster, the University’s first Black student. students organized a website, action plan, petition, and open letter, while faculty and the Student Government Association (SGA) also voiced their opposition. The trustees ultimately relented following community outcry and national media attention.
The Crimson White is urging students and faculty to follow that example, calling on the SGA to pass a resolution condemning the censorship and encouraging students to sign a petition at https://sign.moveon.org/petitions/reinstate-alice-and-1956-to-the-university-of-alabama-s-campus,protest the decision,and contact UA President Peter Mohler directly.
The editorial board – Maven Navarro, Jacob Ritondo, Emma Brandenburg, Ella Seaton, Lauren Chumbley, and Rachel Talley – concludes with a direct challenge to the University: “Have the backbone that the University doesn’t.”
