Nearly 200 students and faculty members marched across the University of Alabama’s quad Wednesday, chanting “Defend DEI” and holding signs in support of student programs that they fear are now at risk as a controversial bill makes its way forward in the Alabama legislature.

The bill, SB129, would prohibit government institutions, including state agencies, public schools and colleges, from funding a diversity, equity and inclusion office and from sponsoring DEI programs or any program that “advocates for a divisive concept.”

It also would prohibit higher education institutions from allowing individuals to use a restroom that is different from their sex as assigned at birth.

In Montgomery this month, the bill’s Republican sponsors claimed they’d received several complaints that students were being forced to accept certain “ideologies,” or made to feel guilty because of an aspect of their identity.

After hours of debate, the bill passed the Senate last week in a vote along party lines. It still must come before a House committee and vote.

But on campus Wednesday, students credited diverse student groups and DEI employees for helping them afford college, keeping them from dropping out, and supporting them through some of the toughest moments of their lives.

The legislation could impact a number of minority student groups, campus offices, and the college’s office of diversity, equity and inclusion, which was founded in 2017 after numerous requests from students and faculty.

“DEI programming saved my life, and that’s not a unique story on this campus,” Sean Atchison, president of the UA Queer Student Association, told the crowd, recounting how employees at the Safe Zone, a LGBTQ-affirming campus organization, helped him through a traumatic experience his freshman year.

In a statement Wednesday evening, a spokeswoman for the UA System said all University of Alabama institutions remain “dedicated to our mission of providing exceptional educational, research and patient care experiences to all people, of all backgrounds, in welcoming environments that foster open thought, academic freedom and free expression.”

“We are committed to providing resources and opportunities that are accessible to all and will continue to work with the legislature as we equip our campus community members for success at our universities and beyond,” the statement read.

The University of Alabama reported about $3.3 million on DEI-related expenses in 2023. In a letter to lawmakers, officials said those funds supported efforts to improve graduation rates, recruit diverse staff, and improve learning opportunities for all students.

Students worried that the bill could strip away their access to campus bathrooms, student groups and financial aid.

One student credited Lucy’s Legacy, a residential program for women of color, for funding her summer semester. Another freshman told AL.com that she came here on a minority scholarship, the National Recognition Scholars. UA recently discontinued the program, according to the student newspaper.

Some Alabama natives, including freshman business major Shawn Gustavson, said the college’s diversity is what kept them in state for school. Others worried the legislation could deter out-of-state students, who have been enrolling in record numbers.

“DEI brings so many people here, and it’s going to bring our state into the future,” said Eyram Gbeddy, president of a student ambassador program for the school’s Black Faculty and Staff Association.

Julia Dominguez, president of the Hispanic Latino Association, linked the legislation to another law in the state that prevents undocumented students from attending state colleges.

“There are so many of our communities who aren’t even here today, because Alabama has decided that we don’t belong here,” she said. “And now they’re coming with SB129? No, no no, we’re not doing that.”

Several faculty members stood in the back of the crowd on Wednesday in quiet support of students.

Fen Kennedy, an assistant professor of dance, said the bill is going to stop Alabama students from getting a “truthful picture of what America is.”

“Alabama is our home too and we’ve got to live here and we’ve got to talk about who we are and we’ve got to talk about the things that matter to us,” Kennedy told AL.com. “And if there’s a bill that makes it harder to do that, what it’s asking us to do is live a lie.”

Pete Ludovice, director of the college’s engineering entrepreneurship program, waved to fellow students as they gathered at the steps of Gorgas Library. He’s worried the bill will hurt recruiting, among other things.

“I think most of the legislators that are for this don’t understand that it does affect creativity, it does affect entrepreneurship, it does affect research, and that affects what we do.”

But he’s inspired, he said, by the way students came together on Wednesday.

“Alabama is a great state,” he said. “We just want to keep the legislature from trying to drag us back to the 1950s.”

Atchison said students from UA and at least three other college campuses plan to meet in Montgomery next week as the bill heads to the House.

“They might not hear us here, but they’ll have no choice but to look us in our faces,” he said.