Monday morning, students at the University of Alabama filed a lawsuit against the University following the suspension of two student magazines last fall.
The publications, ALICE magazine and Nineteen Fifty Six, were suspended after the University cited a federal memo from US Attorney General Pam Bondi last summer. The memo outlined recommendations for avoiding violations of federal anti-discrimination laws, though it was non-binding.
SEE: University of Alabama cuts Alice, Nineteen Fifty-Six, citing guidance from DOJ's DEI memo
Far from a purely student-led effort, the lawsuit is being carried forward by the Legal Defense Fund, ACLU of Alabama, and the Southern Poverty Law Center, three well-funded, nationally active legal groups known for pushing progressive, left-leaning litigation.
SPLC is notable because the organization has built national influence through its tracking of so-called "hate groups," but has faced criticism in recent years for applying that label to organizations and viewpoints that fall well within mainstream politics.
Both publications were closely tied to identity-based audiences, with ALICE focusing on a subset of women and Nineteen Fifty-Six on black students. This lawsuit challenges the University's reasoning, arguing that the suspensions were not applied evenly and are viewpoint discrimination.
RELATED: After censorship claims, suspended UA student magazines returning independently with new names
"UA administrators disfavor their editorial perspectives related to race and gender," the lawsuit said when discussing its alleged reasoning behind the suspension. This lawsuit follows a long campaign for the reinstatement of the magazines, not limited to complaints, petitions delivered to the UA administration, and the planned publication of externally funded successor magazines.
"We have no plans to comment on the pending litigation," said Alex House, Associate Director of Communications for the University Media Relations.
Both magazines heavily tied their content to slim identity groups rather than providing content for the entire student population. Some examples of stories that a former editor of ALICE magazine and one of the plaintiffs, Gabrielle Gunter, claimed are "for everyone" include:
- "Butch! You're Star-Studded," which highlights "the fashion of studs, butches and mascs represents queer liberation and pride."
- "Caring about Carabiners," which says that using carabiners is "like waving a mini pride flag, but only certain people can see it."
- "Does reading smut make you a slut?"
- "Roll Pride," which discusses "Gender non-conforming experiences at UA."
- "Queer Cartoons," which supports LGBTQIA weddings in children's shows such as "Steven Universe."
- "The complex reality of pole-dancing"
- "Moshing Against Misogyny"
- "Southern Queerness and Resistance"
- "Pop Princesses and Sex"
- "A Love Letter to Queer Love"
- "Abortion Resources for Alabama"
Nineteen Fifty-Six included stories in past publications titled:
- "The Silence and Stigma: The burden of mental health for people of color at a predominantly white institution," which claimed that transitioning to school at a PWI leads to the suffering of "microaggressions."
- "Misogynoir: The intersection of Blackness and womanhood results in a unique experience of marginalization," which claimed that cases against black women are a "glimpse into a larger societal problem."
- "My Experience: Navigating the dating world as a transgender black woman," which complains about hormones and how masculine men are "blowing up our phones saying how much they want us."
- "Applying Allyship: Allyship is about more than just support - it's an ongoing commitment to listening, learning, and challenging injustices."
- "Equity on a Spectrum," which states "constant bigotry or in real life, made it apparent to LGBTQIA people of color that the fight for equity was not over."
These publications, according to critics, served not as neutral media sources but as advocacy for niche, identity-based politics and issues thinly masked as representation for a larger university community.
The lawsuit seems to claim that, because publications like The Crimson White and WVUA-FM weren't suspended as well, the University was discriminating against the viewpoints of the targeted publications.
The University says that it will publish one magazine that caters to all students and welcomes staff from the discontinued publications to participate.
Trenton Buffenbarger is a senior at the University of Alabama and is the Chairman of the UA Young Americans for Freedom.
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