‘It’s a Constant Sacrifice’: DACA Struggle With Loss of In-State Tuition

byErika González and Noemi Castanon

Elizabeth Mazariegos flips through her folder full of school reports, letters of recommendation and college documents, feeling worried. “I never thought I could get this far, and now I feel all my effort is disappearing overnight. It’s like everything I achieved is not enough,” said Mazariegos, a 31-year-old Guatemalan who has lived in the United States for two decades.
For years, the U.S. policy of Deferred Action of Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, protected immigrants who came here as children and allowed Mazariegos to study, work and plan a stable future. Now, that path has become more uncertain as both the state and federal governments clamp down on immigrants.
On June 5,  Texas repealed the Texas Dream Act, a law that since 2001 had allowed undocumented students to pay in-state tuition rates and to have access scholarships and loans.

Austin’s New Initiative Will Produce Murals and Pay the Unhoused Community for Helping to Paint Them

byIsabel Neumann

A new public-art initiative aims to beautify Austin while providing employment for the city’s growing unhoused population.
“The goal is to turn the library garage site into a city-funded program for unhoused people,” said Tiffany Kowalski, director of project and artist management for Raasin in the Sun.

Brazilian Funk, World Music’s New Darling, Hits Austin Clubs

byOisakhose Aghomo

Sometime close to midnight, as the bass to MC Joao’s “Baile de Favela” dropped, a group of people in business casual hurried across the Coconut Club’s dance floor, drinks in hand, to dance — hooked by the electric beat of Brazilian funk.
Brazilian funk is the latest Latin genre breaking out from TikToks and into the clubs – a testament to Americans’ growing interest in global music.
“I’ve been DJ’ing for maybe 12 plus years here on Sixth Street, and man, like 10 years ago, it was nothing but hip-hop and like pop, Top 40,” said Austin DJ Ray “All Day Ray”  Rivera. “You couldn’t play much Latin. You couldn’t do anything like that.”

For Austin Air Traffic Controllers, the Shutdown Is Over But the Fatigue, Shortages Persist

byErika González

During the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Austin-Bergstrom International Airport continued operations —  but the control tower felt the impact.  With fewer air traffic controllers available, every decision became more critical and the pace of work intensified, controllers say. Even after the shutdown ended, risks of ground delays and controller fatigue remain.

Reporting Texas TV – Dec 4, 2025

Journalism students at the University of Texas at Austin produced their final newscast for the Spring 2025 semester. Our mission is to empower students with hands-on journalism experience while providing our audience with insightful coverage of campus events, local news, and issues that matter most. By fostering a collaborative environment, we cultivate the next generation […]

Longhorns Lights Launches in New Location

byEmily Trevino

The Longhorn lights are now shining bright, but this year on the South Lawn instead of Guadalupe Street.  Students and attendees were treated to doughnuts and hot cocoa while basking in thousands of multicolored lights as members of the University of Texas band, Student Government, football team and faculty kicked off the lighting ceremony.  “This […]

New Exhibit Brings Texas vs. Texas A&M Rivalry to Life

byTriniti Ybarra-Burnias

Inside the Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports, visitors are greeted with a new exhibit showcasing the early roots, campus traditions and defining moments that shaped the century-old Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies rivalry.  The “Longhorns vs Farmers” exhibit officially opened in October after being approved in May, with most of the research […]

‘House of Cards’: Whisper Valley Residents Want Answers for their Broken Homes

byMax Mazoch

Developers marketed Whisper Valley as having an affordable cost of living thanks to the solar-panelled roofs and a geothermal system that connects to each home to provide energy-efficient heating and cooling. But as their homes age, Whisper Valley residents report failing geothermal HVAC systems and foundations that have left them with bills in the thousands of dollars.

Bouldin Creek’s Peacocks: Old Austin’s Feathered Locals

byMikhelia Williams

Long before tech bros and $8 matchas, the South Austin neighborhood of Bouldin Creek had wandering peacocks in its front yards. Nearly six decades later, the colorful birds are still strutting through driveways, shrieking at sunrise and sunning themselves on porch railings. 
And in true old-Austin, keep-it-weird fashion, most residents like it that way.
Neighbors slow to a stop on Oltorf and Fifth streets to let the peahens saunter across the street. Some even leave birdseed on their steps just in case one decides to drop by. But not everyone who moved to 78704 understood the culture when they arrived.

Union’s Last-Minute Staffing Petition Derails Austin AFD Contract Vote

byMikhelia Williams

Austin’s firefighters union derailed its own tentative contract this week after launching a petition for a citywide vote to require four-person staffing on all fire engines, a new demand city officials say should have been raised at the bargaining table, not after months of negotiations. The four-year, $63 million agreement had been scheduled for a […]

A League of Their Own, Once Again

byDestiny Lewis

Abby Moore, catcher for the Arlington High School baseball team, finally has a route to play professional ball.
For the first time in more than 70 years, women in the United States will have a professional baseball league built for them.
The league held its first-ever player draft Thursday, streamed live on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.
More than 100 draft-eligible players from 10 countries were in contention, along with thousands of young girls who suddenly have a future in a sport that once shut them out.
Moore, 18, had already built a résumé that positioned her as one of the youngest serious prospects in the inaugural draft.

Reporting Texas TV – Nov, 20th 2025

Hundreds Attend Austin’s First Ever Panda Fest

byMichael Karlis

Hundreds of folks headed to Austin’s Republic Square over the weekend for the city’s first-ever Panda Fest – a celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Traditions, according to organizers.  Started in 2024 in New York, Panda Fest hit  the road this year, hitting cities including Dallas, Seattle and Charlotte, to name a few.  “I […]

Texas’s $20 Billion Water Fund Approved by Voters

byPaisley Porter

Earlier this month, Texas voters approved Proposition 4, a bill that dedicates $1 billion annually to the Texas Water Fund for the next 20 years.  The Texas Water Fund is a specialized fund established by the state treasury that supports water infrastructure projects, including desalination, wastewater treatment and the State Water Implementation Fund for Texas. […]

Students and Alumni Rally Against Trump Compact

byNicole Vargas

A small group of UT Austin students and alumni gathered outside the University of Texas System headquarters Wednesday afternoon for a “Reject the Compact” rally. Organized by Students for a Democratic Society, attendees at the rally urged university leaders to refuse the Trump administration’s “Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education.”  “This compact endangers everything […]

Longhorn Fans in Athens: Their Experience in Bulldog Territory

byTJ Krilowicz

Texas Longhorn football fans are known for traveling well to away games. And when the number ten-ranked Longhorns faced off against the number five-ranked Georgia Bulldogs in Athens, burnt orange could be seen all over campus on game day. From the tailgates to inside the stadium, hundreds of Longhorn fans packed the Peach State for […]

City Begins Shoal Creek Trail Upgrade Between 29th and 31st Streets

bySofia Estrada Ferrufino

Austin Transportation and Public Works started construction along North Lamar Boulevard and the Shoal Creek Trail between 29th Street and 31st Street to address accessibility and safety concerns.  The Shoal Creek Trail is Austin’s oldest hike and bike trail, stretching from Lady Bird Lake up to U.S. 183. The section between 29th and 31st Streets […]

Pet Vaccine Hesitancy Is About Payment Not Politics, Austin Shelters Say

byA.J. Muonagolu

The New York Times, Time Magazine and the American Animal Hospital Association have recently linked anti-vaccine worries that grew during the  COVID pandemic to  vaccination concerns among pet owners. However, Elizabeth Ferrer, marketing and communications manager for the Austin Animal Center, said the main reason pets aren’t vaccinated is lack of access to treatment, mostly driven by vet costs.

Generations of Govalle Families Unite Behind Their Endangered School

byNoemi Castanon

Govalle Elementary School opened its doors to East Austin families in 1931. Now, after 94 years of educating generations of East Austin families and serving as the center of their neighborhood, the school could be closed if its accountability rating does not change by the next academic school year.
The families that have called Govalle home for generations have weathered two threats of closure or major changes in the past decade. This fall, the Austin Independent School District proposed transforming Govalle from a neighborhood school into a Montessori-styled elementary that could draw students from throughout the school district. But community opposition to the plan helped to persuade officials to remove Govalle from a plan to close 10 schools and alter others.

New Graduate Workers Union Fights for Better Pay and Protests the College Compact

byRachel N. Madison

or the past two months, the University of Texas’ newly formed Graduate Workers Union has been advocating for better treatment, pay and rights of graduate student employees. And now it is joining other student groups in opposing a deal with the Trump administration that would transform the university’s governance structure.
“A union is a commitment by workers at a workplace to stand together with each other to be treated the way they deserve to be treated in terms of compensation and working conditions,” said Sociology Ph.D. student and union member Noah DiAntonio.