Student magazines get the ax under Trump’s anti-diversity tactics

Leslie Klein says she was shocked when a magazine she worked with was suddenly closed this week because it was offensive to female students.

The University of Alabama this week announced the closure of early access opportunities for students who say they are defying the anti-diversity measures imposed by the Donald Trump Administration.

Alice, a magazine focused on women’s issues, and Nineteen Sixteen, a magazine for black readers, both had an ax.

“It sounds like our freedom of SpeeCH and freedom of the press are being violated separately here,” Klein, Alice’s managing editor, told As it happens host nl kӧksal.

“Everybody’s just kind of really confused and I don’t really know what to do from here.”

Student journalists ‘exhausted’ and ‘destroyed’

The editors of Nineteen fifty-six and Alice were informed of the decision on Monday morning.

“I was very surprised,” he said Gabrielle Guter, editor-in-chief of Alice, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary.

Ten and fifteen – six did not respond to a request for an interview from the CBC before the final source, but its editor covered the closure in a written statement.

“I’m devastated but, sadly, not surprised by Alabama’s decision to suspend for fifteen years,” said speaker editor Kendal Wright.

“The students who have cultivated this magazine for five years have poured their hearts and souls into their work.”

Publication It was named a year after the school’s first black student, Qucy Lucy Foster, was allowed to enroll at the university.

The university described the closure, disclosure July memo from US Attorney General Pamela Bongi It warns publicly funded universities not to engage in “discriminatory practices, including those labeled as diversity, equity and inclusion (‘dei’) programs.”

The concept of dei – a broad term used to describe programs or structures designed to amplify marginalized or marginalized voices – has been a major target for US President Trump and his administration.

In his memo, Bondi said the dei’s plans violate anti-semitism laws.

CBC reached out to Bondi’s office for comment and asked if administrators believe the two student books are in violation of federal law.

The university says it must ‘comply’ with anti-dei measures

Alex House, a spokesperson for the University of Alabama, said the school remains committed to supporting all students and “in doing so, we must also comply with our legal obligations.”

“This requires ensuring that all members of our community feel welcome to participate in programs that receive university funding from the student media office,” the house said.

The House said the students’ first amendment rights to free speech of the US Constitution “remain intact.”

But Klein says there’s nothing discriminatory about Alice. The magazine’s target audience is women, she says, but anyone on campus is welcome to read or contribute to it.

He says the staff distributes copies of the magazine widely on campus to people of all genders and identities, and has male contributors and editors.

“We honestly don’t believe we discriminated against anyone,” Klein said. “Alice herself had never had any complaints from faculty, staff or students. So it came out of nowhere.”

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), a legal organization that protects free speech on America’s campuses, he wrote a letter to the university Searching for magazines has been reversed.

“There is no anti-discrimination law that gives the university the power to silence the media,” Marie Mcmullan, Dean of Student Affairs, Dean of Student Affairs, told the CBC in an emailed statement.

“This is an attack on the media reader, plain and simple.”

Trump at war with universities

The magazines are not the first student groups at the University of Alabama to be targeted under Trump’s anti-Semitism guidelines. Last year, the University closed dedicated campus spaces for Members Black Student Union and LGBTQ + Resource Center to meet.

As Trump takes second place, His administration has been threatened time and time again with the funding of universities, including Harvardthat refused to consider his administrative demands.

In the recent Canadian election campaign, Conservative leader Pierre Poillievered took the oath “Eliminating the Imposition of Renewed Ideology in the Allocation of Federal Funds of University Research.”

At that time, the Canadian Association of University Teachers issued a statement reflecting the campaign promise of “Only Fronting South on the border.”

However, Poillieverre said his goal is to protect, not respect, free speech.

House said the University of Alabama plans to sponsor a new student magazine with a “broader scope” and invited staff from Alice and Fourteen Fifty-six to help.

Klein said it wouldn’t happen.

“None of us are interested because it feels wrong for them to take away our words … and they want our help,” he said.

Instead, he says he and his fellow journalists will be focusing their efforts on saving Alice, even if they have to present themselves under a new name for outside funding.

“I feel like it’s such an important part of our campus, especially for women,” she said.

“It’s really important that our voices are heard.”