Inaugural Latino Art WKND Shines Light on Underrepresented Communities

byJaxie Pidgeon

AUSTIN, Texas — Emerging local artists showcased their creativity during Latino Art WKND on Nov. 12-14. The cultural celebration included art exhibitions, live music performances and a lowrider car show. The weekend kicked off at Springdale General and continued at other venues in East Austin.  In June, arts alliance _OFCOLOR organized Black Art WKND in […]

Erwin Center Tips Off Final Basketball Season

byJake Herman

AUSTIN, Texas — You only get one chance at your last first day. For the Frank Erwin Center, that day arrived Nov. 9. After the 2021-22 season ends, the 45-year-old basketball and concert arena will be demolished and replaced by an expansion of the Dell Medical Center.  In front of a general admission-only crowd, both […]

University Health Services Makes It Easier for Students and Faculty to Get Flu Shots

byCassidy Ellison

AUSTIN Texas — As demand continues for flu shots, University Health Services responded by extending clinics more formally to faculty and staff until Thanksgiving. University Health Services (UHS) announced plans to give flu shots until Thanksgiving break due to continued demand and a rise in flu cases the past two weeks. UHS’s annual flu shot […]

Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Magical Realism

byCésar Pérez

The morning Gabriel Garcia Marquez received news of him winning the 1982 Nobel Prize in Literature, his son Rodrigo captured the moment in a black and white. Four decades later, the photograph hangs on a wall as part of an exhibition honoring his colorful work at the University of Texas at Austin Gabriel Garcia Marquez […]

Delta-8 Merchants Find Themselves in the Weeds as Legal Debate Blazes in Texas

byLauren Girgis

Texas’ delta-8 industry is caught in the midst of a legal battle after the Department of State Health Services posted a notice stating the cannabinoid is illegal.

Insulin Price Caps in Texas Provide Relief While Raising Questions About Costs

byKatie Berger

Dawn White, a nurse from Lumberton, Texas, told lawmakers this past summer she paid $500 for a one-month supply of insulin to treat her son’s type 1 diabetes. That was with insurance. If she lacked insurance, the cost would have been more than $1,000. “Texans are dying because they cannot afford their insulin,” White said. […]

Austin Muralists Explore ‘Works of Consequence’

byLauren Goodman

From the “I Love You So Much” script on the side of Jo’s Coffee on Congress Avenue to the “Greetings from Austin” postcard mural on South First Street, Austin’s most recognizable murals have become spots for newcomers and locals to photograph and post on their Instagram feeds. Throughout the past year, local Austin artists have […]

Reporting Texas Newsletter Nov. 12, 2021

Download the Nov. 12, 2021 edition of the Reporting Texas Newsletter  

No GRE, No Problem: Texas’ Graduate Schools See Increase in Enrollment and Diversity 

byAlexa K. Haverlah 

More than 36,000 students applied to the graduate school at the University of Texas at Austin in 2020, a 24% increase from 2019. The university’s graduate programs set records for enrollment in 2021 — up 36% from 2020. More Asian American, Black, Hispanic and international students enrolled in graduate school at the university than ever before.

Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Texas State Universities all reported record-breaking enrollment during fall 2021 as well.

Experts credit the increases to waiving the GRE or making such tests optional, along with economic and career changes caused by the  pandemic. 

Texas Veterans Desperate for Treatment Find Viable Alternative in Psychedelics

bySamuel Stark 

Combat veterans around the nation and in Texas are turning to psychedelic drugs such as ibogaine, psilocybin, DMT and ketamine to combat PTSD, depression and anxiety. Meanwhile, Texas lawmakers are attempting to legitimize the therapies by facilitating clinical research into the drug’s effectiveness.

Reporting Texas TV – November 11, 2021

byReporting Texas TV Staff

Journalism students from Moody College at the University of Texas made their fourth newscast of the semester on November 11, 2021. This week student journalists report on crime in West Campus, child care concerns connected to President Biden’s Build Back Better framework, and responses to a series of antisemitic incidents in Austin.

Violent Crime in West Campus Leaves Students Shocked, Leaders Calling for Change

byMegan Fee

AUSTIN, Texas – One person shot at 22nd and Pearl, man with a gun threatened employee at 7-Eleven, officers attempting to locate robbery suspect – all three of these incident notifications reached the inboxes of students at The University of Texas at Austin within a span of just four days earlier this month.  Recent incidents […]

Austin Community Leaders Respond to Antisemitic Incidents Around The City

byElexa Sherry

AUSTIN, Texas — The past few weeks brought a wave of shock and sadness to the Jewish community in response to a series of antisemitic incidents.  The first incident occurred at Anderson High School, where someone vandalized the senior parking lot with antisemitic symbols and racial and homophobic slurs.  Junior Ellie Weisblatt said it was […]

Central Texans Find Joy and Connection in Roller Skating 

byKrissi Reeves

While many roller rinks were shut down during COVID, Central Texans took to Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to find fellow roller skaters and public spaces to skate.

Social skate sessions now happen seven days a week at public spaces around the Austin area, including the Long Center, Palmer Auditorium, Alamo Pocket Park, Bartholomew Park and Rock Sports Arena. 

Forget the ‘Backseat’ ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­– Give Susannah Joffe the Steering Wheel

byTy Marsh

  Susannah Joffe is an artist just as down to earth as you expect someone raised in Austin to be. After a bit of digging for a contact number online and sending a long-winded text message asking to interview the Austin-based musician, I was surprised when Joffe herself responded, “Hi! Yes I’m super down.” After […]

Childcare Workers Seek Government Help to Improve Wages

byJack Starks

AUSTIN, Texas — As Congress considers President Joe Biden’s Build Back Better framework this week, staff at childcare facilities are hopeful the bill can bring needed changes to the industry. Cathy McHorse, a child care advocate with United Way for Greater Austin, said the child care industry suffers from a unique economic issue – parents […]

K-pop Fans Find Community at UT and Other Local Campuses

byHailin Zhang

Dance crew ATX KDC, founded to promote South Korean pop culture through modern dance styles, serves as a local manifestation of K-pop, the music phenom sweeping across the globe with its formula of catchy and trendy songs, loyal fans and smart use of social media. The New York Times states that roughly 90 percent of […]

Reporting Texas Newsletter Nov. 5, 2021

  Download the Nov. 5, 2021 edition of the Reporting Texas Newsletter

Texas’ Student Newspapers Feel the Pinch

byCristela Jones

College newspapers in Texas are struggling for a variety of reasons, including decreased school funding, declining advertising revenue and COVID-19- related stresses.

Experts say the decline of student newspapers may have serious consequences — the lack of a popular training ground for future journalists and the loss of potentially powerful voices in holding college administrators to account.

Reporting Texas TV – November 4, 2021

byReporting Texas TV Staff

Journalism students from Moody College at the University of Texas made their third newscast of the semester on November 4, 2021. This week student journalists report on legal questions for Texas hemp growers, Students For Climate Change protesting at the UT Tower, and the 2021 ATX Science Olympiad Invitational Tournament.