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The Student Press Law Center today condemned a federal court ruling upholding — for now, at least — the University of Alabama’s decision to shut down two student magazines, calling the decision a significant threat to student press freedom nationwide.
“The court’s decision flies in the face of nearly six decades of student press law that clearly designates student media as student speech, not government speech,” said Mike Hiestand, the Student Press Law Center’s senior legal counsel. “Not only does the ruling permit the University of Alabama to get away with a blatant example of censorship, but it also jeopardizes the First Amendment rights of college student journalists nationwide.”
The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled Friday that the university likely did not violate the First Amendment when it closed student-led Alice Magazine and Nineteen Fifty-Six because the publications focused on women and Black students, respectively.
Citing the highly controversial Hazelwood v. Kuhlemeier case as part of its support, the decision resurrects attempts to bring a broad and sweeping high school-based censorship standard to college campuses.
“For nearly six decades, the law protecting America’s public college student media has been mostly clear and straightforward: Student editors are responsible for determining what is published in student media. It is the voice of students. School officials are barred from using their authority — and specifically from using their power of the purse — to censor such content,” Hiestand said. “This decision effectively does away with the idea of student media.”
Eight students sued the University of Alabama, arguing — alongside many free speech advocates, including the Student Press Law Center — that the magazines’ closure constituted viewpoint discrimination, which is generally illegal under the First Amendment.
In denying the student’s motion for preliminary injunction, however, Judge Edmund G. LaCour Jr. ruled that the magazines were defined by their women or black-focused content rather than a particular viewpoint, thus sidestepping concerns about illegal viewpoint discrimination.
The Trump-appointed judge, who has been in his position for less than a year, also held that decisions about which magazines to publish constituted university speech outside of the First Amendment’s protection. Ignoring the political pressure that led the university to make the changes, Judge LaCour said the university’s decision was “reasonable” and not a “pretext for silencing a particular viewpoint.”
“Over the last year and a half, we’ve seen college administrators across the country fold to demands to target student speech that in years past would have been recognized and protected as part of the university’s unique function as a ‘quintessential marketplace of ideas,’” Hiestand said. “This end-around the First Amendment to gut protections for college student media poses a risk to the independence of all college student media in America.”
The University of Alabama closed the magazines on Dec. 1, citing in part a non-binding memo issued by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on diversity, equity and inclusion programs. An official told the magazines’ staffs that, because the magazines targeted specific groups by race and gender, the university believed they were what Bondi called “unlawful proxies” for discrimination.
While the judge denied the students’ request for a preliminary injunction, an early tool in litigation to preserve the status quo, the litigation continues. The students are represented by attorneys for the Southern Poverty Law Center, the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
For more background on the case, visit SPLC’s University of Alabama Censorship Tracker.
About the Student Press Law Center: The Student Press Law Center is the nation’s only legal organization devoted exclusively to defending and advancing the free press rights of student journalists. Since 1974, we have helped students and their educators navigate the law, strengthen their reporting and stand up for press freedom. Our legal support, education and advocacy empower student journalists to report freely and courageously. Stay updated by subscribing at splc.org/newsletter.