UT

‘We’re the First’: Spacecraft En Route to Conduct UT’s Search for Water on Europa

byAlex Lamb

Scientists working for the University of Texas at Austin’s Institute for Geophysics in the Jackson School of Geosciences have developed airborne radar equipment capable of seeing through Europa’s thick layers of ice to determine whether water is present. They call this equipment REASON, and it launched in October aboard NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft on a five-year journey toward the distant orbit of Jupiter.

Korean Students at UT Call for President’s Impeachment Back Home

byShunya Carroll

Soo-Hee Kang has traveled 7,000 miles to media at the University of Texas school of radio, television and film. The distance made Kang feel hopeless when the president of South Korea placed her country under martial law. 
“After the martial law ended,” Kang said, “I became very angry and felt like I had to do something — even from far away.” 

Pro-Palestine Activists Urge UT Regents to Divest from Weapons Manufacturers 

A group of pro-Palestinian activists demonstrated at a  University of Texas System Board of Regents meeting Wednesday demanding the divestment of university funds from weapons manufacturers supplying arms to Israel. 
With Palestinian flags rippling in the wind, around 50 protesters marched on the sidewalk outside the UT System Building in downtown Austin, chanting to the beat of a drum. Inside, the regents convened in a quiet boardroom. 

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. 

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.”

‘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.”

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.

Student Activists Stopped from Delivering Pro-Palestine Letter to UT President, Say They Could Face Disciplinary Action

byMichael Karlis and Meredith McKelvey

More students at the University of Texas say they face disciplinary action after attempting to deliver a letter to President Jay Hartzell demanding the university divest from companies connected to Israel’s war in Gaza.

UT Students Say They Feel Betrayed After a Year of Dismantling DEI Programs

byAbby L. Johnson, Michelle Lavergne, Michael Nolan, Isabella McGovern, Anissa Sanchez

Texas is among the first states to successfully pass higher education DEI bans out of the 28 that have attempted to do so. The effects of the loss of these programs on individual students, staff and faculty, as well as the broader impact on campus culture are just now beginning to reveal themselves. 
UT dissolved its Multicultural Engagement Center on Jan. 1 and then terminated over 60 employees in DEI-related jobs on April 2. The newly renamed Division of Campus and Community Engagement and the Women’s Community Center were among those shut down.
“It’s such a betrayal,” said one student.

Buehler’s Back in School Where an ‘Old Dog’ is Learning New Tricks

byAliya Carr

The hum of students shuffling across campus. Virtual strangers morphing into familiar faces. It’s the first day of the new semester at the University of Texas. Bob Buehler begins his walk to his first class, dressed in slightly wrinkled gray khakis and a purple plaid collared shirt. His round glasses sit squarely on the bridge […]

Mexican Actor Says Latinos Can Change Texas Politics If They Vote

byKatrina L. Spencer

Latinos in Texas have the power to change the state’s political landscape if they vote in greater numbers, Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta Mejía told a group of about 200 Central Texas residents Monday. 
“Somos un chingo,” Huerta Mejía said, referencing the fact that Latinos are a large part of the Texas electorate.
Huerta Mejía, who starred in the movie “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” was invited to speak on the University of Texas at Austin campus by NextGen America, an organization working to promote progressive public policy and increase voter turnout.

Oh, Rats! Rodents on Campus Are UT’s Hidden Nightlife

byAbby L. Johnson

 The sun has yet to rise. There is a stillness outside the G.B. Dealey Center for New Media, home to the University of Texas’ Moody College of Communication. The sidewalks are devoid of students — it’s far too early for them to begin their sleepy shuffle from dorm rooms to their 8 a.m. classes. The only sounds that disturb the silence are the occasional whoosh of a car speeding down Guadalupe Street and the piercing, steady clap ringing out ominously in the otherwise tranquil pre-dawn hours.
On this early morning, a university custodian walks toward the Dealey Center with arms outstretched. Despite the cover of darkness, his presence is clearly announced by the loud clapping of his hands as he approaches the building. 
The custodian claps to scatter the rodents that live in the south-facing courtyard of the communications building.