Alabama students protest against bill that fights DEI and gender insanity: PHOTOS

University of Alabama (UA) students protested on campus against a state bill that combats Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). 

The students gathered in front of the Gorgas Library this February to protest against Alabama bill SB 129, The Crimson White wrote. As Campus Reform previously reported, this legislation would stop Alabama’s public colleges and universities from promoting DEI and make these institutions require students to use bathrooms that correspond to their biological sex. 

The bill passed the Alabama Senate by a vote of 26-7 and the House by 75-28 votes.

[RELATED: University of Louisville president says she ‘strongly’ supports DEI initiatives against proposed state legislation]

Multiple student organizations, including the Queer Student Association (QSA), Black Faculty and Staff Association Ambassadors, and Hispanic-Latino Association collaborated to organize the event, said The Crimson White. Local news channel ABC 33/40 reported the student groups’ claim that roughly 120 students came to the protest, where they chanted slogans such as “Oppose 129, Defend DEI,” and “Y’all means all.”

As seen in a message obtained by Campus Reform, the QSA supplied a limited number of ponchos to student demonstrators in light of weather-related concerns, stating that “Black women will get first priority and afterwards will be first come first serve.”

The demonstration on UA’s campus is one of several protests against SB 129 across the state. BNNreported that students held similar events at the University of Huntsville Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Auburn University at Montgomery.

According to ABC 33/40, Korina Odom, a graduate student at UA, expressed concerns about ending DEI: “It’s not just inclusive to people who are like us, it’s everybody. It affects everybody, because what’s going to come next? After DEI’s gone, what would come next?”

[RELATED: Anti-DEI bill to end mandated ‘divisive concepts’ passes KY Senate]

As seen from original photos taken by Campus Reform, some chalk marks around the event proclaimed messages such as “DEI saves lives,” “Free Palestine,” and “#Aaron Bushnell,” referencing the U.S. airman who fatally set himself on fire to protest against Israel. 

During the demonstration, one student told Campus Reform: “We think DEI is very important. We want a lot of diverse identities and perspectives, and it’s really important to how we critically think and the way that our institutions work.”

Campus Reform reached out to the University of Alabama and the Queer Student Association for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.