Full Breakdown
Pensacola State College Censors LGBTQ+ Student Journalism Amid Stop WOKE Act Claims
5/7/2026, 1:06:50 AM
Magazine Halted Over LGBTQ+ Content
On April 29 2026, Dr. Brenda Kelly, associate vice president of academic affairs at Pensacola State College (PSC), told journalism professor Marisa Mills that three student-written pieces—a drag-queen profile, a queer-bookstore story, and a poetry-club feature—could not appear in the college’s new arts and culture magazine because they might violate Florida’s Stop WOKE Act. The magazine remains unpublished; the only article allowed after heavy editing was withdrawn by its author.
Legal and Policy Context
Florida’s Stop WOKE Act, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022, bars public colleges from funding LGBTQ-related advocacy. A federal judge blocked the law’s key provisions in 2023, labeling them “positively dystopian,” and the 11th Circuit affirmed the injunction in 2024, calling viewpoint-based restrictions “the greatest First Amendment sin.” The law remains enjoined, yet PSC cited it to halt the magazine.
Key Figures & Groups
Key individuals: Dr. Brenda Kelly (associate VP, PSC), Dr. Ed Meadows (PSC president), Prof. Marisa Mills (journalism), students Quincy Kirn (drag-queen profile), Liliana Rollins (graphic-design), Casey Hignite (student journalist). Organizations: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE).
Official Statements & Responses
PSC says no administrator intervened; Kelly described the meeting as about “optional, not required, printing” and asserted that “academic freedom was not violated.” President Meadows received FIRE’s May 4 demand to reverse the decision, warning that officials breaching “clearly established law” could lose qualified immunity. FIRE’s Dominic Coletti called the action a “mistake” that “impermissibly hurt” students’ First Amendment rights.
Criticism & Opposition
Students label the shutdown censorship. Hignite called it “the latest in what PSC has done to censor and intimidate its faculty and students.” Kirn and Rollins refused to strip LGBTQ references, citing journalistic integrity. Legal analysts note the Stop WOKE Act remains blocked, rendering PSC’s reliance legally untenable.
Verbatim Quotes
- “And she said 'All of these have to be cut unless you remove all mention of LGBTQ,'” — Quincy Kirn, sophomore journalism student
- “We're working right now on removing the magazine from under PSC,” — Casey Hignite, student journalist
- “They just said you aren't allowed to use state money. We're not going to give college money to support that. And that still looks like a problem because again, it's all based on the viewpoint of the expression at issue here.” — Dominic Coletti, FIRE student-press program officer
- “...students completed the collaborative project without any intervention from me or any other PSC administrator... academic freedom was not violated, and students completed the project as assigned.” — Dr. Brenda Kelly
Conflicting Reports & Gaps
PSC claims the meeting was about optional printing; students say they were ordered to remove LGBTQ content. The college has not released the magazine or disclosed any state-funding decisions, leaving the financial rationale unclear.
What’s Next
FIRE demands PSC reverse the ban by May 4. A local bookstore may fund printing; students plan to retrieve the issue independently.
