Amie Jean was running late to her own celebration.
Last spring, on her way to find out whether she was elected UT’s next student body vice president, Jean stopped to turn in a scholarship application.
Meanwhile...
AUSTIN - In the 1980s, before she ran for president or was elected to the United States Senate, Elizabeth Warren was a professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Law.
Warren’s time...
The Texas Senate approved a series of rules for electric scooter use on Wednesday, sending the regulations — laid out in Senate Bill 549 — to the Texas House of Representatives for consideration.
Authored...
The Texas House voted in favor of legislation that would lessen penalties for marijuana possession on Tuesday. The bill will now be considered by the Texas Senate, where state Senators have indicated it...
Texas has moved one step closer to launching a pilot program for digital driver’s licenses and personal identification certificates after the House of Representatives voted in favor of the program...
The Committee on State Affairs committee in the Texas Senate approved a proposal Monday that would protect Texans from censorship by social media platforms. The bill will now be considered by the Senate...
The Texas House Public Health committee convened Thursday to consider a slate of bills for expanded medical marijuana use. Testimony in support of the bills frequently became emotional.
Of the 10 proposals...
The Texas Senate passed a proposal Tuesday that would prevent state agencies from revoking the licenses of workers who refuse service to certain customers based on “sincerely held religious belief(s),”...
The Texas Senate unanimously approved a bill last week requiring employees at universities to report cases of sexual assault or harassment if they witness the incident or learn about it afterward.
Under...
Earlier this month, a member of the Texas House of Representatives proposed a bill to create a “border security enhancement fund” dedicated to strengthening security resources such as physical...
The University informed staffers Tuesday they would no longer be permitted to use lodging service Airbnb for University business citing Texas law about boycotts of Israel.
Earlier this month, Texas...
Young Conservatives of Texas chairman Saurabh Sharma was one of the students present at the White House on Thursday when President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at protecting free speech...
College students who are also parents have a different set of priorities than other students. Because of this, a member of the Texas House of Representatives wants each public Texas university to provide...
Last week, nine state senators filed a bipartisan bill to raise the age one can legally purchase and consume tobacco products in Texas to 21. Senate Bill 21 includes smoking products such as cigarettes, e-cigarettes...
To evaluate the prevalence of eating disorders and eating disorder-related deaths in Texas, two state senators filed a bill asking the Department of State Health Services to investigate the matter.
According...
Two high-ranking state senators have filed a bill to establish broad parameters for the free speech rights of students at public universities.
State Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, partnered with...
With Hurricane Harvey still fresh on the minds of many Texans, one state senator has filed a series of bills to create the state’s first flood plan to better respond to future disasters.
Sen....
State Rep. Erin Zwiener, D-Driftwood, filed a bill to add student IDs to the list of acceptable forms of voter identification at polling locations, according to a press release by her office. This would...
There is a backlog of 2,138 untested rape kits in Texas, according to August 2017 data from the Department of Public Safety Crime Lab, and state legislators are working to pass a solution in the coming...
Testifying before the state Legislature is one of the few ways — aside from voting — Texans can affect the legislative process.
The process of testifying is not well known, and it is...
Gov. Greg Abbott delivered his biennial State of the State address Tuesday morning before members of the Texas House and Senate, outlining the political issues he wants the Legislature to immediately consider.
The...
In the Texas Legislature, only one bill is required to pass each session: the state budget.
Because the Legislature only meets once every two years, budgets are designed to fund state agencies for two-year...
Editor’s note: This article is part of a series of profiles on freshman lawmakers who went to UT.
State Rep. Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, takes pride in being the only mechanical engineer in...
Two state legislators from across the aisle are working together to legalize the sale of beer that can be taken to-go from craft breweries.
Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, and Sen. Dawn Buckingham,...
Editor’s note: This article is the first of a series of profiles on freshman lawmakers who graduated from UT.
State Sen. Nathan Johnson, D-Dallas, is new to the Texas Legislature this year,...
Advocates for marijuana decriminalization in Texas might score a major victory this year if the state legislature passes House Bill 63, a bill proposed by Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso, that has attracted bipartisan...
In an announcement from the House floor Wednesday morning, Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, R-Angleton, revealed his list of committee assignments for the 86th legislative session.
Committees...
Texas lawmakers began a 140-day sprint on Jan. 8 to get as many of their policy initiatives passed as possible before the 86th legislative session concludes on May 27. The Legislature only meets in the...
Texans under the age of 35 are significantly underrepresented in the state legislature, according to a study of current lawmakers by the Texas Tribune.
The minimum age requirement to hold a seat in...
In a state historically strict when it comes to marijuana use and possession, two Texas state lawmakers have proposed bills designed to soften that stance.
Rep. Joe Moody, a Democrat from District 78,...
Texas will begin a pilot program for providing digital copies of drivers licenses and other forms of state-issued identification if House Bill 181 passes in the upcoming legislative session.
The bill...
The Republican Party has been the dominant political force in Texas for decades, but in the aftermath of the recent midterm elections, signs of competition are starting to appear across the state’s...
Twenty-nine-year-old James Talarico, a UT alumnus, will be sworn in tomorrow afternoon as the youngest member of the Texas State Legislature.
On Election Day, Talarico was one of a small number of Democrats...
The Texas Legislature will convene for its 86th legislative session on Jan. 8. The Texas Legislature only meets during odd-numbered years, and lawmakers have to be prepared to hit the ground running as...
While Democrats on the national stage celebrated winning the U.S. House last Tuesday, Texas Democrats were unable to bring the “blue wave” to the Lone Star State. In spite of this, Democratic...
The Trump administration is not allowed to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday afternoon.
DACA, which shields undocumented immigrants...
The Trump administration is not allowed to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday afternoon.
DACA, which shields undocumented immigrants...
Incumbent Republican Ted Cruz held onto his seat in the U.S. Senate on Tuesday night, holding off an energetic and well-funded challenge from Democratic Congressman Beto O’Rourke.
In his victory...
Candidates are not the only items on the ballot today in Travis County. Austin voters are asked to consider 11 propositions that would have direct implications for city residents.
Although bond...
Jordan Steyer, journalism and sustainable studies senior and El Paso native, is an enthusiastic supporter of fellow El Pasoan Beto O’Rourke’s bid to become the first Democrat elected to statewide...
Incumbent Republican Ted Cruz is leading opponent Beto O’Rourke by 5.5 points, according to the polling aggregation website FiveThirtyEight, but these polls may not be representative of the wave...
The largest group of registered voters in Travis County is now between the ages of 18 and 25, which means many people voting in the upcoming midterm election will be doing so for the first time.
Maya...
If more young people than usual vote in the upcoming midterm election on Nov. 6, this country will be a very different place, congressional candidate Mike Siegel said. The Democrat and Austin native vying...
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of profiles of candidates running for State House District 46.
It is not immediately apparent when reading Gabriel Nila’s campaign platform that...
Editor’s note: This is one in a series of profiles on the Austin mayoral race.
When he ran for Austin mayor in 2014, Todd Phelps eventually dropped out and endorsed now-incumbent mayor Steve...
For the second — and possibly final — time before election day, incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz and his challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, sparred in a televised debate highlighting their...
Without UT’s impact on his life, Joseph Kopser said his campaign for Congress would look very different.
The Iraq War veteran, who is a Democrat competing against Republican nominee Chip Roy for...
Editorial note: This article is part of a series on local candidates.
UT alumnus Chip Roy, the Republican nominee to succeed Rep. Lamar Smith in Congressional District 21, said he is drawing on...
Mark Pulliam created the Facebook page “Stop the Insanity at UT” in response to what he called an information “void” surrounding campus events. The retired lawyer and UT alumnus...
State lawmakers have begun to weigh in on Young Conservatives of Texas’ demonstration in support of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh yesterday, calling for the University to do more to protect...
At the bottom of every midterm election ballot in Austin this November, there will be seven bond propositions that will cost the city $925 million total if enacted.
Though bond propositions...
Incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz took on Democratic rival Beto O’Rourke for the first time Friday night in Dallas at the first of three debates across the state, focusing on domestic issues, like...
Sri Kulkarni’s college career was put on hold when his father was diagnosed with cancer. This life-altering event is among a series of experiences that informed the UT alumnus in his run for Congress.
Kulkarni...
The Food and Drug Administration announced last week it is considering a ban on flavored e-cigarettes in an effort to curb underage use of the product.
Alexandra Loukas, principal investigator...
Democratic senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke has gained a lot of attention from younger voters, but their support may not help him win.
Joshua Blank, manager of polling and research at the Texas...
For Texans, early voting for the midterm elections begins in less than six weeks, and several former Longhorns are on the ballot across the state.
Six UT alumni currently running for office spoke with...
The Affordable Care Act is no longer constitutional according to State Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is leading a lawsuit at the federal level to repeal the health care law.
Paxton, along with lawyers...
UT Law School alumna Julie Oliver is in the middle of campaigning to unseat three-term incumbent Congressman Roger Williams in House District 25, which stretches from Fort Worth to Austin.
Last...
Two top contenders for the Austin mayorship, former city councilwoman Laura Morrison and incumbent mayor Steve Adler, went head to head on Sunday in a forum hosted by Blue Action Democrats, an Austin club...
A lawsuit challenging Harvard University’s admission practices is putting affirmative action back in the national spotlight two years after UT defended its own affirmative action suit in the Supreme...
State Rep. Travis Clardy, R-Nacogdoches, announced his candidacy for speaker of the Texas House of Representatives last Monday, joining three other Republicans and one Democrat also angling for a seat...
For a lot of people, the first year of college is overflowing with new experiences, such as living with someone who isn’t a parent or a sibling for the first time. Many students find this to be a...
Beto O’Rourke, the Democrat running for U.S. Senate, rallied UT students and Austinites inside a packed town hall Tuesday evening at the Spider House Patio Bar & Cafe near campus.
Speakers...
The runoff election deciding which Democrat will run against incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott is less than a month away, and candidate Andrew White is not pleased with his opponent’s reluctance to debate...
Texas Law School alumnae Chris Perri and Julie Oliver returned to UT Saturday to earn student votes ahead of a runoff election that will determine which one of them will be the Democratic nominee for Congressional...
People are more likely to help familiar faces than strangers in need, said Kevin Price, who launched Hearing the Homeless to familiarize the city of Austin with its homeless population.
“The idea...
One month after the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead, roughly 20,000Austinites marched from City Hall to the State Capitol for the Austin March...
Update (2:30 p.m.):
First to speak on Saturday was Austin Mayor Steve Adler. He was introduced by organizer Conor Heffernan.
“You need to demand of your elected officials that they do what’s...
After an unexpected showing of student volunteers, organizers for the Austin March for Our Lives event were forced to relocate their Saturday meeting from Mozart’s Coffee Roasters to a large picnic...
While most high school seniors are focused on their futures after graduation, the organizers for the March for Our Lives in Austin are focused on the future of gun control after the shooting at Stoneman...
The University Democrats have spent the past few weeks encouraging students to get excited about voting, and now they’re putting their words into action.
On Monday night, University Democrats...
Only 30 percent of registered voters in the state turned out for the most recent primary elections in March of 2016, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office. In an effort to reverse this...
As a crowd of people assembled around his daughter’s painting, Tony Huang made a point of letting them know he was in town for one reason: to support his daughter, Kaelyn Huang, at her first appearance...
When it comes to migration, UT history professor Joan Neuberger wants people to know there’s more to the subject than the heated rhetoric coming out of Washington, D.C.
Neuberger launched a series...
Nathan Felix might not be a household name, but three up-and-coming composers are probably glad they know it.
Felix brought three composers to Austin as part of his program, Keep Composers Weird, to...
