Austin Veteran Arts Festival aims to reduce suicide through the arts

byLauren Girgis

Vietnam combat veteran Glenn Towery won a gold medal in 2014’s National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, an annual competition using creative arts as rehabilitative treatment to help veterans recover from and cope with disabilities. “When I came back, I felt so good,” Towery said. “And I thought, ‘Wow, I wish everybody could experience what I […]

Amid Texas Debate Over Teaching About Racism, ‘Refusing to Forget’ Soldiers On

byAndrew Logan

Since 2014, Refusing to Forget, a Texas-based nonprofit, has worked to increase awareness of racial violence aimed at Latino Texans throughout the early 20th century. Their work comes as the state enacts new guidelines aimed at limiting classroom discussion of systemic racism.

Now, with fierce debate raging over how Texas schools teach about racism, Refusing to Forget’s leadership says its mission is more important than ever. In June, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law that critics say bans honest discussions of racism.

“Even though we’re in the midst of a battle to tell the real history to our children, it’s important for me to keep fighting, not for this politically correct fiction, but for the truth. History is both pretty and ugly,” said the co-founder of Refusing to Forget.

From Pulpit to Pandemic: How Historically Black Texas Churches Spread the Word on Vaccinations

byCristela Jones

Black churches in Texas have been at the forefront of encouraging their congregations to get vaccinated and change the narrative for Black health.

‘It’s a Free for All’: Kratom Is Legal in Texas But Should it Be?

bySamuel Stark

Supporters tout kratom as a safer alternative to opiates such as heroin and fentanyl, but medical professionals in Texas describe it as being addictive and dangerous and call for it to be categorized as a scheduled substance.

After COVID Put Students Behind, Central Texas Schools Are Working to Catch Up

byMarina Garcia

Several studies have shown students, especially those from low-income families, fell behind academically during the pandemic.

Central Texas Christian School Enrollment Surges Amid Curriculum, COVID-19 Concerns

byGabriella Ybarra

Enrollment at conservative Christian schools in Central Texas is booming. School administrators attribute the increase to parental anxieties surrounding COVID-19 policies, discussion of systemic racism in the classroom and the inclusion of curriculum with sexual content.

Small Towns Around Austin Struggle with Big-City Housing Costs

byJill Ament

Driving into Taylor, the vibe is rural but not the usual trope of a dying, small town. The city has seen a gradual increase in its population in the past 10 years, and with that has come a renaissance of sorts. Now comes news that Taylor will soon be home to a $17 billion Samsung microchip making plant, which is also expected to bring a lot of newcomers. Residents of Taylor and other once-rural towns around Austin are already feeling the effects of the city’s growth. With skyrocketing of housing prices during the pandemic, smaller communities are grappling with big-city issues like affordability and gentrification. 

Reporting Texas Newsletter Nov. 18, 2021

Download the Nov. 18 edition of the Reporting Texas Newsletter

Texas From Below: Texas Book Festival Panels Punctuate Climate, Immigration and More

byAustin Cheatham

Despite the disruption brought on by a pandemic now going on two years, this years’s Texas Book Festival allowed writers — virtually and literally – to display Texas’ diversity. During the Texas Institute of Letters panel, authors Christina Soontornvat, David Meischen and Marisol Cortez discussed their novels and the influence of their identities and Texan […]

Reporting Texas TV – November 18, 2021

byReporting Texas TV Staff

Journalism students from Moody College at the University of Texas made their fifth newscast of the semester on November 18, 2021. This week student journalists report on tip-off of the final basketball season at the Frank Erwin Center, the inaugural Austin Latino Arts WKND, and an extension to the university’s flu shot campaign,

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.