The Office of Student Media is set to launch Druid, a lifestyle magazine focused on Tuscaloosa and Southern culture, in the fall. The magazine was developed by students over the spring semester to replace the Nineteen Fifty-Six and Alice magazines, which were permanently suspended by the University for being “unlawful proxies.”
In its mission statement, the new magazine promises to spotlight “the people, places, and traditions that make ripples at The University of Alabama and waves across the state.”
Alongside a semesterly physical magazine with long-form stories, Druid will have a website, a monthly newsletter and social media presence, allowing for video content and regular coverage throughout the semester.
Incoming editor-in-chief Hannah Grace Mayfield, a senior majoring in news media who previously served as photo editor for Alice Magazine, said that the magazine was a new opportunity to focus on the greater community of Tuscaloosa.
“With a handshake, Druid welcomes readers to our slice of the South,” Mayfield said, referencing the mission statement of the new magazine. “We want to show how it is to live in the South and in Tuscaloosa.”
Mayfield said that her experience with photography and lessons in leadership from Alice Magazine and The Crimson White would inform her work with Druid.
Druid is not intended to compete with The Crimson White, which focuses more on University and student-related news, Mayfield said. Instead, Druid covers three categories of content — art, culture and social connections — with writers and photographers assigned to “illuminating the interesting things that happen in Tuscaloosa.”
Mayfield leads Druid’s inaugural team of editors, consisting of Andrew Jáuregui, Oswin Colley and Lila Jane Bonds. The quartet is working through the summer on shoring up plans for the magazine and hiring contributors.
As managing editor, Jáuregui, a senior majoring in public relations, said he wanted to set a good precedent for the new publication, especially considering the long histories of the University’s other student media outlets. The Crimson White celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2024, while WVUA celebrated 45 years of broadcasting this spring.
He said the suspension of Alice and Nineteen Fifty-Six showed him how quickly things can change, encouraging him to create a foundation “so stable and rooted that it’s not going anywhere soon.”
Colley, the magazine’s creative director and a sophomore majoring in news media, said that she wanted to emphasize the visual medium of magazines by incorporating more student photography and graphic design.
“We want it to be something you’re drawn to visually,” Colley said. “I want it to be really professional.”
Contributor applications for Druid’s inaugural edition are currently open to all students. Mayfield said that anyone can apply, especially those who want to “spread their wings when it comes to writing and photography.”“We’ll take anyone who is dedicated and wants to get involved,” Mayfield said.
