Alumni donations lost in Indiana University newspaper battle
The university fired student media director Jim Rodenbush and ordered the publication to stop printing, sparking national outrage.
- The University of Alabama has suspended all activities of two student-run magazines, Alice Magazine and Nineteen Fifty Six. The former focused on women’s issues and the latter on black culture.
- The university pointed to a July Department of Justice memo outlining federal anti-discrimination laws and said the decision was made “to comply with legal obligations.”
- Some questioned how the university knew the magazine’s activities violated federal policy. One of the magazine’s editors emphasized that people from all backgrounds can participate.
- The issue follows similar student press freedom issues at other schools, including Indiana University and the University of Central Oklahoma.
The University of Alabama’s decision to suspend all activities of two student-run magazines marks the latest development in the fight for student press freedom across the country.
University spokesperson Alex House told the Montgomery Advertiser, part of the USA TODAY Network, that the school made the decision to “comply with its legal obligations.”
This was in reference to a July memo from Attorney General Pam Bondi outlining how organizations receiving federal funding, including public universities such as the University of Alabama, can avoid violating federal anti-discrimination laws under the Trump administration, arguing that their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts amount to unlawful discrimination.
The student magazines affected were Alice Magazine, which focused on health, wellness, fashion, and women’s issues, and Nineteen Fifty-Six, which focused on black culture and life on college campuses.
Bondi’s memo states that “one of our nation’s fundamental principles is that all Americans must be treated equally” and that discrimination “on the basis of a protected characteristic” is illegal under federal law.
The memo also prohibits preventing “unlawful agency activities.” The memo defines “unlawful agency” as an entity that “deliberately uses ostensibly neutral criteria to serve as a substitute for explicit consideration of race, gender, or other protected characteristics.”
However, the students leading the magazine rejected the idea that their organization was violating such policies.
Gabriel Gunter, editor-in-chief of Alice Magazine, told the Montgomery Advertiser that he believed “the problem is that the target audience is specific,” but stressed that students from all backgrounds are allowed to apply and write for both magazines.
“I was a little confused because I was under the impression that we were protected under the First Amendment’s freedom of the press protections, but apparently that doesn’t apply in this situation,” Gunter said.
The Student Press Law Center, a national organization that works to protect the rights of student journalists, told USA TODAY that the First Amendment also applies to student media and questioned how the school came to the conclusion that the magazine violated federal policy.
“These magazines don’t exclude anyone. They amplify the voices of historically marginalized communities,” said Mike Heastern, senior general counsel. “It’s protected expression and not illegal discrimination.”
He also suggested that the school’s actions could amount to illegal viewpoint discrimination, given that it “suspended only magazines aimed primarily at women and black students, leaving other publications alone.”
2025 has been an “extremely difficult year” for student media
The issue comes weeks after Indiana University’s decision to fire the student newspaper’s adviser and order the Indiana Daily Student to cease all print publication amid a dispute with school leadership over the paper’s content sparked a national controversy.
Advisor Jim Rodenbush, who also served as the school’s director of student media, later sued the university for violating the First Amendment.
In a September report, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression ranked Indiana University the worst public university in the country for free speech on campus.
The University of Central Oklahoma also announced in August that it would cease printing its student newspaper, Vista.
In October, FIRE sent a letter to the school outlining several incidents in addition to the decision to cease printing operations, calling them “an unacceptable restriction of the right to a free press guaranteed to all Americans by the First Amendment.”
All of this has contributed to making this year “a very tough year for universities and student media,” Hiestand said.
“This is the time for educational institutions to stand up for free speech and freedom of the press,” he said.
“Unfortunately, too many administrators are using this opportunity to try to silence the voices of students they don’t like,” he said.
Breanna Frank is USA TODAY’s First Amendment reporter. Please contact bjfrank@usatoday.com..
USA TODAY’s coverage of First Amendment issues is funded by the Freedom Forum in collaboration with our journalism funding partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
