Nahuatl, Indigenous Language of Mexico, Leaves UT Students with Another World View

byMaria Probert

Soft strums from a wooden guitar and the smell of warm tamales and green salsa that flowed together like a warm hug filled the air of Benedict Hall. About 35 students and faculty gathered at the teachers’ lounge at the University of Texas to listen to Crispin Martinez Rosas, who goes by the artistic name […]

Surviving For A Reason

byAmber Williams

Crystal Chen’s soft voice echoed through the Senate chamber as she recounted nightmares of persecution by her own government for her religious beliefs. In the prime of her 20s, Chen was sentenced to four and a half years of forced labor and torture in China. “I was pinned to the concrete floor and force-fed an all-salt mixture which nearly killed me,” Chen said. The room filled with lawmakers was silent. “Some guards handcuffed me to a radiator pipe,” she continued. “I was left there for three days while a police chief groped my body.” Chen was among a group of victims of political and religious persecution who testified before the Senate Committee on Health and Human Services of the Texas legislature in support of Senate Bill 1040 that would prohibit health insurance companies and other benefit plans from covering organ transplant procedures in which the organs come from a country known to engage in forced organ harvesting — namely China.

Omitting ‘Rare’ When Ordering A Medium Rare Burger

byAmber Williams

As a child Juan Samuel Reyes chose to remain silent even when he had something to say. But now Reyes is one of several students who stutter at the University of Texas at Austin learning to communicate effectively while accepting their stutter through practice, community and advocacy. “I’m in the process of becoming more comfortable […]

Austin Aims to Increase E-Bike Ridership

byJinpeng Li

Few Austin residents use e-bikes for most of their transportation needs, but the city wants to change that. In January the city doubled down on an already existing Austin Energy rebate program, which provides refunds of up to $600 to customers who purchase new light electric vehicles, such as e-bikes and electric scooters, from authorized local dealers. 

LGBTQ+ Parents: “Don’t Say Gay” Bills Threaten Families

byLaura Miguel

House Bill 1155, by Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, would ban teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity from kindergarten through eighth grade. 

UT Engineering Students on Track to Maintain Legacy of Longhorn Racing

byDom Bejarano

Thirty-three years after the founding of Longhorn Racing, the organization continues to design, fabricate and test cars for competitions in Formula SAE automotive events around the country.

Lawmaker Takes Aim at Texas Liquor Law

bySamantha Eisenmenger 

Rep. John Bucy, D-Austin, has filed House Bill 1346, which would give counties the ability to allow sales of liquor for off-premise use on Sundays. HB 1346 would empower counties to hold an election and allow voters to decide the matter. Bucy filed a similar bill in 2021, but it never made it to a vote.

Since distilleries cannot sell their bottled product on Sunday, they are at a competitive disadvantage with wineries and breweries, which can sell their bottled products to consumers every day of the week, Bucy said. The measure would allow distilleries to better compete with wineries and breweries, he added.  

Reporting Texas Newsletter – April 21, 2023

Download the April 21, 2023 edition of the Reporting Texas Newsletter

Coloring Austin’s Walls With Latino History

byAna Paola Davila Chalita

Austin’s Gus Garcia mural one of dozens of art works that dot the city on the walls of buildings, parking decks, underpasses and fences — some created by non-commissioned street artists and others by professional artists funded by the city’s Art in Public Places program and by organizations such as the Austin Downtown Alliance Foundation and the Austin Parks Foundation.

Austin’s cultural diversity is represented in these vibrant artistic expressions, and the murals such as the painting of Garcia showcase the city’s Hispanic community and are an integral aspect of the city’s identity. 

Senate Bill Would Create Texas Grid Security Commission

byKeaton Peters 

Under proposed legislation, the Texas Grid Security Commission would develop standards “to ensure that energy, electric power, and fuel supplies are protected and readily available for recovery in the event of a severe outage,” said a spokesperson for Senator Sarah Eckhardt, D-Austin, who is a sponsor of the bill. 

Reporting Texas TV – April 20, 2023

byReporting Texas TV Staff

Journalism students from Moody College at the University of Texas produced their sixth and final newscast of the semester on April 20, 2023. Student journalists reported this week on the annual Keep Austin Beautiful Day, the 2023 Statesman Cap10K, and a student-led rally in support of improving access to health care.

UT Students March to Capitol in Support of a Global Health Strategy

byMichelle Tamayo

AUSTIN, Texas – About 20 students crowded in front of the Texas State Capitol this Saturday to spread awareness on healthcare access. The students belong to an organization called Partners In Health Engage, also known as PIH Engage, a national nonprofit aimed at improving access to healthcare. They initially were at UT’s Tower and then […]

Volunteers Pick Up Tons of Trash During Keep Austin Beautiful Day

byTheo Werner

AUSTIN, Texas — Austinites picked up thousands of pounds of trash Saturday during the city’s annual Keep Austin Beautiful Day. Keep Austin Beautiful volunteers held cleanups at about 100 different locations across the city. In 2022, volunteers collected nearly 16,000 pounds of trash and more than 1,000 pounds of recycling. David Simonis volunteered at the […]

Cap10K Continues to Keep Austin Culture Rich

byAvery Hough

AUSTIN, Texas – More than 17,000 people crossed the downtown Congress Avenue Bridge on foot early Sunday morning for Texas’ largest 10K race. Racers in the Statesman Cap10K started with a view of Lady Bird Lake as the sun rose, and with the Texas State Capitol in their sights, they began the roughly 6.2 mile […]

Reporting Texas TV – April 13, 2023

byReporting Texas TV Staff

Journalism students from Moody College at the University of Texas produced their fifth newscast of the semester on April 13, 2023. Student journalists reported this week on an Easter Egg Roll at the State Capitol that doubled as a fundraiser for a Child Protective Services resource center, UT’s annual Take Back the Night event to […]

UT’s Japanese Student Association Brings Golden Week to Campus

byRazyl Yanez

AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas at Austin’s Japanese Association(JA) hosted a Golden Week Festival at the Gregory Gym PlazaSunday, April 9th.  Golden Week is a national Japanese holiday typically celebrated with a week of festivities including Constitution Day and Childrens’ Day.  In Japan, students get a week off of school.  Sena Flores, the […]

Reporting Texas Newsletter – April 14, 2023

Download the April 14, 2023 edition of the Reporting Texas Newsletter

In Spite of Critics, Sweetwater’s Rattlesnake Roundup Draws Huge Crowds

bySamantha Eisenmenger 

The Sweetwater Rattlesnake Roundup, first held in 1958, began as a rattlesnake hunt with the goal of controlling the snake population in this small northwest Texas town. The event is now billed as the largest rattlesnake roundup in the world.

UT Students ‘Take Back the Night’ Against Sexual Assault

byEmma Claire Ellis

AUSTIN, Texas — Voices Against Violence (VAV) hosted its annual Take Back the Night event on April 6 in support of its mission to end sexual assault. The student-sponsored event is one of thousands of Take Back the Night events hosted worldwide. VAV invited organizations with causes that intersect with the mission of Take Back […]

Families Celebrate Easter and Donate to Austin’s Rainbow Room at the 8th Annual Egg Roll

byAvery Garrett

AUSTIN, Texas – The Capitol lawn hosted the Easter bunny along with live bunnies and other animals in a petting zoo for this year’s 8th Annual Easter Egg Roll. The public event was open to everyone, but specifically aimed to provide opportunities for children in the Child Protective Services (CPS) system to enjoy Easter festivities. […]