Suspended Alabama student magazines return as Selene and Sixty-Three
By Ryan Lovell
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TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (WVTM) — Two formerly University of Alabama-sponsored student magazines that were suspended by the administration will be independently published under new names.
Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six were university-affiliated student magazines shut down following a memo from U.S. Department of Justice Attorney General Pam Bondi on anti-discrimination laws and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies regarding “proxy organizations.”
The memo followed executive orders from the Trump administration that targeted ending DEI practices in the public and private sectors, specifically places that receive federal funding, which later affected both publications because Alice was geared toward women and Nineteen Fifty-Six focused on highlighting people of color.
An independent alumni organization, MASTHEAD (Media Alumni Seeking to Highlight Equity and Diversity), later stepped up to fundraise to help publish the publications independently of the university, an effort that proved successful.
The two publications later resurfaced as Sixty-Three (formerly Nineteen Fifty-Six) and Selene (formerly Alice), both keeping the missions they held when they were university-sponsored.
Both organizations released statements in recent days after resurfacing.
Sixty-Three said, in part, “Sixty-Three stands on the shoulders of giants. In 1956, Autherine Lucy was the first Black student to attend the University of Alabama and seven years later, in 1963, Vivian Malone and James Hood were the first Black students to enroll at the university. Just as 1963 could not have happened without 1956; Sixty-Three would not have been possible without Nineteen Fifty-Six.”
Selene, getting its name from the mythological Greek goddess of the moon, also said:
“While having been founded by and for college-aged women, Selene welcomes all readers into her audience regardless of gender, and her staff finds it imperative to the magazine’s mission that we uplift marginalized voices and stories. Selene is for everyone as we all deserve a place in journalism despite what administrations and the wider culture may say, and she will always hold true to progressive values.”
WVTM 13 reached out to the University of Alabama for comment and has not heard back.
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