The University of Alabama system quietly removed explicit protections for LGBTQ+ students, staff, and faculty from its nondiscrimination policy in November 2025. The change was made without any public announcement and was only discovered when the campus newspaper, The Crimson White, began investigating. University officials say the removal was necessary to comply with federal law, but that explanation falls apart under scrutiny: Auburn University, Samford University, the University of South Alabama, and the University of West Alabama all operate under the same federal requirements, and every one of them still specifically protects people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The phrase "sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression," once written into UA's equal opportunity policy, is simply gone. The administration calls this an "administrative change" that doesn't affect enforcement. But policy language is not window dressing. It tells prospective students and faculty whether they are genuinely welcome. It shapes how complaints are reviewed and how campus climate is defined.

This didn't happen in isolation. Alabama has mandated a transgender bathroom ban at state universities. Legislation targeting LGBTQ+ people in schools has advanced across the state. UA also approved a campus organization's request to remove "gender ideology" from its constitution. Will Thomas, a co-founder and president of UA's LGBTQ Alumni Association, wrote that the removal is "part of a longer and darker pattern of erosion of rights and guarantees for LGBTQ communities," in an opinion essay for AL.com.

Every other major Alabama university sets a better standard. The state's flagship institution should not be the last to protect the people it educates and employs. Sign this petition to demand the University of Alabama restore explicit LGBTQ+ protections to its nondiscrimination policy now.