How UT Adapted to Governor’s TikTok Ban

byEmma Claire Ellis

AUSTIN, Texas – Gov. Greg Abbott issued a ban on access to the TikTok app on government Wi-Fi on Feb. 6, which required all government institutions to implement the changes by Feb 15. The ban followed several concerns raised by Gov. Abbott around the app, including data harvesting.  TikTok hosts millions of unique content creators. […]

UT Women’s Tennis Head Coach Prioritizes Psychology to Win Matches

byMadalynn Lambert

AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Longhorns women’s tennis team won back-to-back NCAA National Championships in 2021 and 2022, and are aiming for a three-peat. The recent success under head coach Howard Joffe was part of continued growth from making the top 10 in 2019 and rising to fourth in 2020 before reaching number one the […]

UT Students Create App to Help Promote Sustainable Farming

byTheo Werner

AUSTIN, Texas – Sustainable practices are becoming less affordable for farmers, but a group of UT students designed an app to help financially support these methods. UT students formed Gazelle Ecosolutions to primarily address the issue of overgrazing for ranchers. Their main focus has been in Botswana, where many ranchers overgraze land to the point […]

James Beard Award Semifinalists Dish on Prominence of Mexican Food in Austin’s Culinary Scene

byAna Paola Davila Chalita 

Of the six James Beard award semifinalists in Austin, three are Mexican food establishments. Comadre Panadería is nominated for Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker, Suerte for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, and La Condesa for Outstanding Restaurant. 

The James Beard Foundation, founded in 1986, is a non-profit that celebrates and promotes America’s diverse culinary heritage through events and awards. 

Their annual awards, first given 1990, are often referred to as the “Oscars of the food world.”

UT Students to Bike from Austin to Anchorage

byAnabella Cooper

AUSTIN, Texas- – Fifty University of Texas at Austin students will ride their bikes 4,000 miles this summer to Anchorage, Alaska, to raise cancer awareness with the nonprofit organization Texas 4000. The nonprofit organization fundraises and advocates for cancer awareness. Students have a lot of work to do before they leave for the trip. Each […]

University of Texas Students Rally Against I-35 Expansion Plans

byKevin Vu

AUSTIN, Texas – Chants of “Let us walk, let us ride, no more lanes on I-35,” echoed through the University of Texas at Austin’s West Mall. Over 30 UT Austin students, professors and Austinites marched through the campus on Feb. 15 to protest against I-35 Capital Express Central Project — a proposal to expand and […]

Political Student Organization Hosts Workshops on Texas Legislature

byAvery Hough

AUSTIN, Texas – With the 88th Texas legislative session now in full swing, the University of Texas political student organization Texas Rising held its first TX LEGE 101 workshop of the year. The goal of the Feb. 15 meeting was to teach students about the legislature’s structure, key players and upcoming bills in the legislature. […]

CapMetro Mechanic Shortage Impacts UT Riverside Commuters

byIvy Fowler

AUSTIN, Texas – Off-campus students living in East Riverside are dealing with multiple cancellations of CapMetro shuttles in recent weeks due to a shortage of bus mechanics. On Feb. 9, CapMetro canceled all the shuttles on the 670 and 672 routes while the 671 ran just twice, at 12:53 p.m. and 1:41 p.m.  CapMetro sent […]

Thousands of Runners Push Through the Final Miles at the Austin Marathon

byRazyl Yanez

AUSTIN, Texas – Over 18,000 people gathered Feb 19. in downtown Austin to run the 31st annual Ascension Seton Austin Marathon, Half Marathon, and 5K. Drew Chibib, a recent UT graduate, trained for about a year before he participated. “Roughly two-and-a-half years ago, I got sober from opioids and alcohol, and part of entering into […]

Activists Demand More Resources to Combat Overdoses

byAvery Garrett

AUSTIN, Texas – 2022 was the deadliest year for people who died from preventable overdoses. Travis County Judge Andy Brown announced in November that the county had 118 deaths from fentanyl in the first six months of 2022, the same number as the county’s total for 2021. Citizens from across Texas gathered at the Capitol […]

Hundreds of Protesters and Families of Uvalde Victims, Rally at Capitol Against Gun Violence

byLaura Miguel

Families of victims of the Uvalde shooting  joined hundreds of protestors to advocate for laws aimed at preventing violence the Capitol on Tuesday. 

Families Rally for Better Conditions for Incarcerated Loved Ones

bySamantha Eisenmenger

Dozens of family members of incarcerated Texans descended on the state Capitol for a rally for criminal justice reform sponsored by Texas Inmate Families Association, a nonprofit group that provides support.

Texas imprisons more people than any state in the country, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas. In 2022 more than 180,000 residents were incarcerated in state prisons and local jails.

Driven: Race Champ Overcomes Challenges

Photo Gallery by Ry Olszewski Since he was 4, Chris Morris loved to race. He was a motocross competitor for 16 years, but in 2016, he broke his back while practicing for a race. Even though he now needs a wheelchair, he still wanted to race and was determined to find a way to do […]

Following Ice Storm, Arborists Say Focus on Better Tree Placement, Care

byKeaton Peters

Falling limbs and sagging power lines have been the leading cause of power outages from the recent ice storm.

In addition to the loss of power for many residents, the city’s urban tree canopy suffered significant damage, and many Austinites and area arborists have been left questioning what the city can do better to protect both power lines and the renowned urban tree canopy.

First and foremost, better tree placement and care could lessen damage from ice storms, experts say.

Chinese Americans March in Austin, Call for Withdraw of Bills

byJinpeng Li

“Stop racism! Stop fascism! Stop Chinese hate! Stop Asian hate!” protesters yelled, shouted and chanted. Almost 300 people speaking English and Chinese from Austin, Houston, College Station and from across the state gathered in front of the State Capital Sunday.  “We are angry and disappointed at a series of bills, such as SB147 and SB552, […]

Six Months Post-Roe, Activists at Texas Rally for Life Vow to Continue Fight

byDominique Bejarano 

Several attendees at the Texas Rally for Life said that the end of Roe v. Wade has further entrenched an increasingly hostile fight over the abortion issue. 

Advocates Press for Anti-Trafficking Legislation at Capitol Rally 

byAna Paola Davila Chalita

Chanting “stop trafficking now” and holding signs, dozens of people gathered inside the state Capitol on Jan. 24 for an anti-human trafficking advocacy day

Texas only trails California in the number of people trafficked, according to a 2021 report from the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

UT Bans TikTok Due to Security Concerns, But Some Professors Wary

byJinpeng Li 

Some UT professors said they understand the concern over TikTok but voiced anxiety about the ban affecting their ability to study and teach.

At Austin MLK March, Activists Implore Crowd to Continue Fight for Racial Justice

byCorey Smith

Hundreds of community members, activists, students and several state politicians marched from the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. statue on the University of Texas at Austin campus through the state Capitol grounds to historically Black Huston-Tillotson University in East Austin Monday.

Many of the attendees of the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day march said they were there not only to honor King’s legacy, but also because there is much work left to be done when it comes to ending racial injustice.

Broken Spoke Is Counting on a City Hall Two-Step to Protect Its Future

byCorey Smith

The Broken Spoke faces a critical turning point this spring, as the Austin City Council considers designating the lot surrounding the Texas dance hall as a historic zone, a declaration that would protect the 58-year-old venue from real estate development along South Lamar Boulevard.
In November, the council initiated a proclamation naming the Broken Spoke a historical landmark. But that largely ceremonial proclamation, brought by Council Member Ann Kitchen, in itself does not ensure long-term preservation of the dance hall and restaurant. So, Kitchen initiated the city’s historic zoning process that would make it more difficult for the landowner to develop the Broken Spoke site.
“She didn’t want it to go the way of so many other historic landmarks unofficially named in town,” said the author of a 2017 book on the dance hall. “She wanted it to be here for future generations. So she started the process.”