UT

Singer Sara Bareilles Tells UT Students: Give Grief the Space to be Heard

byAlly Bonsall

Following crises like the death of loved ones, IVF struggles and political turmoil, singer Sara Bareilles said she has learned that grief does not need to be fixed; it needs to be witnessed.
The Grammy Award-winning singer, actress and composer shared her ideas surrounding grief with students from the University of Texas School of Social Work at the Cactus Cafe on Tuesday. 
“The experience of grief is so universal,” Bareilles said. “People are tethered to this network that we don’t talk about. We don’t realize it’s a deep point of connection always.” 

Political Influencer Piker Challenges UT Free Speech Policy and Security Protocols

byVikram Sundaram

Twitch streamer and left-wing pundit Hasan Piker called the University of Texas hypocritical in its policing of left-wing speech in his remarks to UT students Wednesday at the William C Powers Jr. Auditorium, his first major public appearance on a southern college campus.
“You can’t have an opinion outside of the permission structure.” Piker told the crowd, which UT officials counted as 301 people inside the 466-seat auditorium. 
The speech came after a month of condemnations against the University Democrats by Texas officials critical of Piker’s criticism of Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Piker argued that the university considered his “quite rational, quite reasonable, quiet peaceful commentary to be radical.”

From UT to the Moon: How Judd Frieling Launched the Journey of a Lifetime

byRachel N. Madison

Years before Judd Frieling was a NASA flight director for the Artemis II mission, he was a University of Texas aerospace engineering student with plans to go into the Navy. The Navy rejected Austin-born, Pflugerville-raised Frieling, however, because of his “droopy eyelids.”
“They told me, ‘You can’t fly planes,’ ” Frieling said. 
So, he shifted his sights — to spacecraft.

A Celestial Festival Celebrates West Texas’ Dark Skies With Awe, Education

bySheldon Munroe

The stars truly aligned as more than 300 stargazers from across the country looked upward at McDonald Observatory to conclude the 2026 Dark Skies Festival under the open skies of West Texas.

Overcast skies had observatory staff prepare for virtual demonstrations, but then the sky emerged, evoking excited whispers and “awws” as more than 3,000 stars became visible to the naked eye. Several globular clusters, the Milky Way and very bright Jupiter drew particular excitement.

“We are here to appreciate the stars as well as the wildlife and human health,” observatory staffer Ryan Cantrell said.