Championing Diversity at UA Still Matters
MASTHEAD is still here working to promote a more inclusive environment for student journalists. Here's what's coming next and what we've been up to!
Professionals Talk Covering DEI in Education
In Spring 2024, the Alabama state legislature passed a law banning diversity, equity and inclusion programs at the state’s public colleges—the move mirrored similar laws in several states and was followed by a push against DEI initiatives by President Trump and the new White House administration. These laws and executive orders have led to ongoing changes to college curricula and lawsuits by groups such as the ACLU. Check out The Crimson White’s coverage of this lawsuit to learn more.
To help student journalists understand how to best tackle these issues, MASTHEAD organized a panel of professional journalists on April 7 who are covering education and diversity at both the state and national level. Rebecca Griesbach (AL.com) and Delano Massey (Axios) spoke with student journalists about how the new laws are impacting the lives of students and educators. They also outlined resources students can use to follow legal challenges to the laws, such as PACER and The Chronicle of Higher Education. Griesbach and Massey offered advice on how to approach interview subjects thoughtfully when discussing issues regarding race, and how to be fair to all sides of an issue while also pointing out lies or misinformation from people in power. MASTHEAD President Victor Luckerson (Smithsonian Magazine) moderated the event.
We couldn’t do this without your support. If you give today, your donation will help us continue our efforts.
Nineteen Fifty-Six Spring 2025 issue
Nineteen Fifty-Six’s next issue drops in April 2025. This issue continues the student-run magazine’s continued work highlighting Black culture, Black excellence, and Black student experiences at The University of Alabama. The journal continues to publish weekly content online. As one of our spring initiatives, MASTHEAD will be mailing issues of the magazine out to media professionals across the country to increase exposure for this valuable student work. For more, visit the Nineteen Fifty-Six website.
On President Trump’s Visit to UA
President Donald Trump has enacted policies that are at odds with MASTHEAD’s mission and the University of Alabama’s long-stated public goal of building a diverse faculty, staff, and student body. The U.S. Department of Education has threatened to pull federal funding from schools that consider race in any aspect of academic or campus life. The federal administration has attempted to place academic departments centering on religion and ethnic studies under government oversight. And more than 1,100 international students have had their legal status terminated nationally, including UA doctoral student Alireza Doroudi, who was detained by ICE in March.
A group of more than 150 colleges, including peer institutions to UA such as the University of Washington and the University of Michigan, signed a joint letter last week calling the Trump Administration’s actions “unprecedented government overreach and political interference.”
We think it’s important to speak up too, and to let students know that we support their efforts to report the truth and create spaces for open dialogue on campus. But we need your support.
MASTHEAD directly supports expanding opportunities for student journalists of color on campus, and we pursue initiatives to help all students learn how to cover diverse communities effectively. We need your continued support to show the students they are not alone and that alumni are dedicated to working with them. Please consider making a donation so that we can continue this vital work.
For more on President Trump’s visit, read the following coverage from The Crimson White:
Students, alumni criticize University for hosting Trump commencement address
Student detained by ICE denied bond, faces possible deportation
Read Letters to the Editor concerning Trump’s commencement address
About MASTHEAD
MASTHEAD is a mission-driven alumni group focused on promoting a more inclusive environment for student journalists of color at The University of Alabama. Newsrooms across America continue to lag in diversity compared to the broader U.S. population, but at Alabama we can work creatively alongside students to close this gap and open up more opportunities for everyone to have a voice. You can read more about MASTHEAD on our website.
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