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MONTGOMERY, Ala. — <\/span>Students at the University of Alabama filed a federal lawsuit Monday challenging the suspension<\/a> of two student-run magazines \u2014 one primarily focused on Black students and another on women\u2019s issues <\/p>\n The lawsuit accuses university officials of engaging in censorship and viewpoint-based discrimination.<\/p>\n University officials in December informed the editors of the magazines Nineteen Fifty-Six<\/a> and Alice<\/a> that they were immediately stopping the magazines<\/a>. A university official told editors that the problem was that the magazines had a perceived target audience and cited guidance from President Donald Trump\u2019s administration regarding diversity, equity and inclusion programs on college campuses, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n The lawsuit accuses university officials of violating the First Amendment rights of students and asks for the magazines to be reinstated<\/p>\n \u201cThese student magazines \u2014 unlike other student publications at the University \u2014 were suspended and defunded by UA because UA administrators disfavor their editorial perspectives related to race and gender,\u201d the lawsuit states.<\/p>\n The plaintiffs are students who wrote for the magazines. The students are represented by attorneys at the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Legal Defense Fund and the ACLU of Alabama.<\/p>\n \u201cStudents at the University of Alabama deserve the right to freely express themselves, including their viewpoints shaped by their experiences as women and Black people,\u201d said Sam Boyd, a senior supervising attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center. \u201cTheir lived experiences are valid, important to the fabric of this country\u2019s history and should be shared without interference.”<\/p>\n Alex House, a spokesperson for the University of Alabama, said the university has no plans to comment on the pending litigation. House said in December that the university remains committed to supporting all students and \u201cin doing so, we must also comply with our legal obligations.\u201d<\/p>\n