Council Considers Reduced I-35 Caps Proposal Amid Concerns of Long-Term Impact

by Madeline de Figueiredo

In Tuesday’s Austin City Council work session, city staff from the Transportation and Public Works Department presented a recommendation to reduce the scope of I-35 caps and stitches, sparking concerns and hesitation among council members and community members about the long-term impact on the city’s future. While the Our Future 35 Vision Plan originally included […]

UT Students Voted Heavily for Harris. They Told Us Why.

byAlex Lamb

Although she lost the presidential election to Donald Trump, Kamala Harris won majority support from voters living in and around the University of Texas at Austin. In the five precincts surrounding UT, Harris’ support ranged from 55% to 68%, and she earned more votes than Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020. Trump […]

Pro-Palestinian Students Protest Israeli Politician’s Speech at UT

byShunya Carroll and Sarah Gonzales

Pro-Palestinian protesters condemned the University of Texas for allowing  a former Israeli prime minister to speak on campus as part of Hillel International’s Teach-In tour Tuesday night at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. 
“Today we are not here to engage with counterprotesters. We are not here to engage with police. We are simply here to peacefully exercise our First Amendment rights,” said a UT Palestine Solidarity Committee member named Hadi, who declined to provide his last name. 

With UT Recruit Leading the Way, Westlake Volleyball Reaches New Heights

byLuke Lawhorn

Westlake High School senior Lily Davis could see how close the Chaparrals were to finally getting over the hump. They had won two of the first three sets over Cibolo Steele on Tuesday night at Lehman High School  and were on the verge of advancing to the Texas UIL Class 6A Region IV volleyball final.
Before the fourth set, the University of Texas volleyball recruit gathered her teammates in a huddle to remind everyone of the work they had put in over the last three years.
For Davis, the all-time Westlake kills leader and gold medal winner in the FIVB U19 Beach Volleyball World Championships,  the victory showed just how far she and her teammates had come in their high school careers.

Reporting Texas TV – Nov 14, 2024

Journalism students at the University of Texas at Austin produced their third newscast of the Fall 2024 semester on Nov 7.

Safe Alliance Rallies Austin Community to End Abuse

byMahlah K. Freeman

At a packed luncheon filled with advocates, survivors and supporters, the Safe Alliance rallied the community of Austin in the fight to end all forms of abuse. Heartfelt stories and inspiring speeches filled the room as guests united over a shared meal to support the mission of ending violence and empowering those affected..  “Safe works […]

UT Austin Initiative Transforms Parking Tickets Into Home-Cooked Meals

byItza Martinez

The Food for Fines program, enacted in 2018, at The University of Texas at Austin, has been a biannual tradition where students with eligible parking tickets can dismiss them through donating nonperishable food items that go on UT Outpost’s shelves.  The UT Outpost is a free on-campus food pantry that serves enrolled students experiencing food […]

Students Face New Challenges Finding Transportation Home for the Holidays

byKevin Myers

Complaints against intercity bus services have mounted during the fall semester as the number of bus lines have dwindled. The bus troubles represented a new challenge for students at University of Texas at Austin as they made plans for the upcoming Thanksgiving break. Popular bus line Megabus ceased its operations across Texas in August amid […]

Texas Goalkeeper’s Work for Others Nets SEC Community Service Honor

byLuke Lawhorn

Like the rest of the University of Texas student-athletes, Megan Hogate received a bunch of Nike athletic gear when she stepped on campus in fall 2021. After watching the shoe boxes pile up in her closet, she decided to do something with them. She would recycle them into Valentine’s Day boxes with heart-filled messages for children at the Dell Children’s Medical Center.
Hogate’s Valentine initiative was just one of many volunteer and community outreach efforts she’s undertaken, earning her recent recognition by the Southeastern Conference to its annual women’s soccer Community Service Team — the first time Texas, a new SEC member, has placed an athlete on the team. She is one of 16 student-athletes chosen for the honor highlighting “an athlete from each school who gives back to their community in superior service efforts.”

Gen Z Voters at UT Election Party Say They’re Concerned About Economy, Immigration, Gaza

byJasmine Wright

    As the election results came in Tuesday night, University of Texas students swapped stories at a West Campus bar of finding polling locations, of voting for the first time and of the decisions that drove their choice for president. “Voting for president is a big decision,” Mauro, a UT economics senior said during […]

Reporting Texas TV – Nov 7, 2024

Journalism students at the University of Texas at Austin produced their third newscast of the Fall 2024 semester on Nov 7.

How Young Voters Impacted the 2024 Election

byLogan Dubel

Questions about what propelled President-elect Donald Trump and other Republicans to victory on Election Night are likely to be discussed for months. Early data suggests that young voters, particularly men, fueled Trump’s return to the White House. According to The Wall Street Journal, voters ages 18-29 made up 16% of the national electorate. While Vice […]

Divided Austin Council Expands Wheatsville’s Alcohol Sales Waiver on South Lamar

byRebecca Butler

A sharply divided Austin City Council on Thursday approved Wheatsville Food Co-op’s request to sell alcohol for on-site consumption despite its proximity to Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders.
Wheatsville, a community-owned natural foods retailer with two Austin stores, petitioned the council in August to waive the city’s ban on selling alcohol within 300 feet of a school, church or hospital for its store on South Lamar Boulevard. Over the objection of the Austin school board, the City Council approved Wheatsville’s waiver 6-5.

Student Safety Promoted During Halloweekend

byAbby Chapman

As students walked around West Campus in their Halloween costumes on Oct. 31, student safety was the priority for organizations like SafeHorns and University of Texas Transportation. The streets of West Campus were lively on the spookiest night of the year.  SafeHorns, a student safety organization, founded by parents in 2016 after the murder of […]

‘Sadly Disheartened’: Democratic-Supporting UT Students Express Fear, Anger After Election

byMeredith McKelvey, Sarah Gonzales and Madeline de Figueiredo

The day after Republican candidates swept the 2024 U.S. and Texas elections, many University of Texas students expressed excitement, anger, disappointment and fear for the state’s and country’s future.
“We are definitely feeling a lot of disappointment,” said Brian Peña, president of the University Democrats. “We worked very hard for the whole year and are reeling from the national and statewide results.”

Advocates Race to Inform Immigrants, Hospitals as Abbott Demands Citizenship Reports

byMadeline de Figueiredo

In the leadup to the Nov. 1 implementation of Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order requiring Texas public hospitals to report on health care for undocumented immigrants, advocacy groups raced to inform affected communities and providers about the policy’s implications and limitations.

Reporting Texas TV – October 31, 2024

Journalism students at the University of Texas produced their first newscast of the Fall 2024 semester on Oct.31.

At Election Watch Party, Austin’s LGBTQIA+ Community Vows to Remain Steadfast in a Second Trump Presidency

byMeredith McKelvey

As former President Donald Trump surged ahead of Vice President Kamala Harris in presidential returns Tuesday night, LGBTQIA+ community organizers and activists struck a defiant tone during an election watch party at an Austin gay bar. “No matter who the president is, things are going to be hard for progressive folks in Texas,” said Becky […]

Watson Tops Austin Mayor’s Race, Vows to ‘Chart a New Course’ in Third Term

bySarah Gonzales and Shunya Carroll

Kirk Watson says he’s ready to finish what he started after unofficially winning a third term as Austin’s mayor Tuesday night.

Photos: Voting on the Forty Acres

University of Texas students turned out in strong numbers at campus polling locations Tuesday for national, state and local elections.
Click for slideshow.