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Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

Official newspaper of The University of Texas at Austin

The Daily Texan

All content by Katrina Tollin

Wait… a news reporter gets to write a column?

Katrina Tollin August 13, 2011

Editor’s note — A 30 column is a chance for departing permanent staff to say farewell and reflect on their time spent in the Texan’s basement office. The term comes from the old typesetting...

Schools take different approaches to budget cuts

School of Architecture After losing three prominent professors in the past year, the School of Architecture’s answer to balancing a difficult budget has been to replace two positions with...

Local grocers, non-profits salvage food to feed those in need

Katrina Tollin August 8, 2011

Austin grocers and non-profits work together to bring food that stores can’t sell to people who need it. Through reclaimed food efforts, they salvage goods that would otherwise be thrown out...

Local thrift store joins non-profit to bring books to inmates

Katrina Tollin August 1, 2011

A partnership between the Inside Books Project and a local thrift store is helping put more books in the hands of Texas prison inmates looking to entertain and educate themselves while incarcerated. The...

City Council examines cost of delay at water treatment plant

Katrina Tollin July 29, 2011

The Austin City Council voted today to consider what the costs would be to halt construction on Water Treatment Plant No. 4 for five or more years. The resolution passed 5-2 with Mayor Lee Leffingwell...

City Council to vote on water treatment, downtown parking

Katrina Tollin July 28, 2011

The Austin City Council will hear more than 130 agenda items today during its first regular meeting after a month-long summer break. In addition to routine business, the council will vote on several...

UTPD report prescribes measures to improve emergency response

Katrina Tollin July 21, 2011

The UT Police Department is adjusting its practices after a September on-campus shooting, according to a new report. On Sept. 28, a mathematics sophomore fired an AK-47 on 21st Street before taking...

Car crashes on Guadalupe, victims forgo trip to hospital

Katrina Tollin July 18, 2011

A car carrying several people crashed into a building in the 2800 block of Guadalupe Street around 4 a.m. Monday morning. The car impacted into the empty space formerly leased to Hungry Howie’s...

UTPD report from fall shooting makes recommendations for improvement

Katrina Tollin July 18, 2011

University Police released a report today assessing the public safety response to the Sept. 28 incident during which a mathematics sophomore armed with an AK-47 fired shots on 21st street before taking...

Program puts emergency responders on motorcycles, shortens response times

Katrina Tollin July 18, 2011

Emergency medical services response times will be up to five minutes faster with a new program that puts paramedics on motorcycles. The new pilot program uses medically equipped motorcycles along...

City proposes to make Airport Boulevard more friendly for pedestrians, businesses

Katrina Tollin July 14, 2011

Part of Airport Boulevard could become more friendly for pedestrians and businesses if a new proposal for the area comes to life. An urban planning firm is in a 24 to 28 month planning process with...

UT freshman badly injured, hospitalized after collision

Katrina Tollin July 4, 2011

A collision between a student and a cement truck left nutrition freshman Haifa Abubaker with serious injuries. The crash occurred on Guadalupe Street near the intersection of Dean Keeton Street...

City Council inauguration calls attention to poverty, improvements

Katrina Tollin June 29, 2011

Only one new face joined the Austin City Council in their inauguration Tuesday night, but new Place 3 member Kathie Tovo is expected to bring new perspectives on education and neighborhood zoning. The...

City forces trailers to relocate or close

Katrina Tollin June 27, 2011

A park on Rio Grande Street will temporarily lose some of the bright colors and fresh food smells that attract hungry neighbors starting today. Feed the Soul, a local food trailer park, was shut...

City Council to possibly vote on I-35 project

Katrina Tollin June 23, 2011

To meet the city’s growing transportation needs, the City Council is likely to vote Thursday on a contract with a consulting firm that will consider long- and short-term plans for the future of...

Tovo wins Place 3 seat by wide margin

Katrina Tollin June 20, 2011

Kathie Tovo was the clear winner of the Austin City Council Place 3 runoff election hours before the final numbers came in, and a room of excited supporters reveled in celebration and relief. Tovo...

City Council explores expansion of urban rail system

Katrina Tollin June 15, 2011

Austin residents may see a change in the way they commute as the City Council is revisiting the potential of the urban rail in hopes of meeting the needs of an increasingly congested city. In a...

Police act to cut down on alcohol-related accidents at biker rally

Katrina Tollin June 13, 2011

This year the Austin Police Department cracked down on drunk driving during the annual Republic of Texas Biker Rally with a no-refusal weekend. An expected 40,000 motorcyclists and motorcycle-enthusiasts...

South Austin construction to increase road congestion

Katrina Tollin June 6, 2011

Riverside Drive undergoes work to improve downtown sewer Riverside Drive west of South First Street is undergoing a lane reduction and construction project as part of the work being done for the...

Candidates vie for Place 3 seat in Austin City Council

Katrina Tollin June 6, 2011

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U.S. court decision repeals ban restricting stem cell research

Katrina Tollin May 2, 2011

A U.S. appeals court lifted the ban on federal funding used for embryonic stem cell research in a 2-1 vote Friday. Paul Simmons, director of the Centre for Stem Cell Research at the Health Science...

Symposium provides support for black women’s well-being

Katrina Tollin April 18, 2011

Young women wrote down their favorite and least favorite physical attributes in a body image exercise at a symposium Sunday. The women found the features they disliked were often what someone else...

Posthumous novel by famed author published

Katrina Tollin April 18, 2011

Fans will get a chance to explore the incredible boredom that surrounds the Internal Revenue Service in David Foster Wallace’s posthumous novel, “The Pale King,” released three years...

Veterans’ benefits unclear, report reveals

Katrina Tollin April 4, 2011

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is doing an inconsistent job in outreach for its educational benefits programs, according to a report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office. The...

Event focuses on immigrant family life

Katrina Tollin March 29, 2011

As a child of Cambodian refugees, Kappa Phi Lambda sorority member Cindy Tan experienced a childhood different from many of her peers at UT. With parents unaccustomed to American life, she was kept...

Paleontological study disputes conventional dinosaur image

Katrina Tollin March 28, 2011

A scientific discovery is causing researchers to believe many dinosaurs may have had a feather-like covering. Julia Clarke, paleontologist and associate geology professor, spoke about new discoveries...

Paleontological study disputes conventional dinosaur image

Katrina Tollin March 28, 2011

A scientific discovery is causing researchers to believe many dinosaurs may have had a feather-like covering. Julia Clarke, paleontologist and associate geology professor, spoke about new discoveries...

Paleontological study disputes conventional dinosaur image

Katrina Tollin March 28, 2011

A scientific discovery is causing researchers to believe many dinosaurs may have had a feather-like covering. Julia Clarke, paleontologist and associate geology professor, spoke about new discoveries...

Paleontological study disputes conventional dinosaur image

Katrina Tollin March 28, 2011

A scientific discovery is causing researchers to believe many dinosaurs may have had a feather-like covering. Julia Clarke, paleontologist and associate geology professor, spoke about new discoveries...

Festival of color

Katrina Tollin March 28, 2011

A cloud of colored dust rose over the South Mall as more than 1,000 people celebrated the ancient Hindu festival of Holi by throwing neon powder and water balloons at each other. Contemporary Indian...

Explore UT throws doors open to public

Katrina Tollin March 7, 2011

Smokey the Cannon boomed every half hour to welcome nearly 50,000 visitors to campus for the 10th annual Explore UT event. Visitors from across Texas came to the University to participate. Explore UT,...

Austin police expand patrols to discourage driving drunk

Katrina Tollin March 7, 2011

Austin police made 29 arrests in the Sixth Street area Saturday night, including 11 arrests for public intoxication. APD designated Saturday and Tuesday part of the No Refusal Initiative to reduce the...

UT students strip off clothing to advocate against sweatshops

Katrina Tollin February 28, 2011

Students stood nearly naked on the West Mall on Friday, wearing little more than boxes and signs with slogans such as “Bareness for Fairness,” and “Worker Rights are Human Rights”...

Study of dropout factors may improve policies, plans

Katrina Tollin February 22, 2011

Students most frequently withdraw from universities because of depression and a loss of financial aid, according to a study led by researchers at Michigan State University. The report was funded...

Harvard report calls for career-specific training, counseling

Katrina Tollin February 15, 2011

The United States needs to reevaluate higher education because of high dropout rates, according to a report by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The report challenges the presumed need for...

Powers home from hospital; date of return unconfirmed

Katrina Tollin February 15, 2011

Doctors released UT President William Powers Jr. from St. David’s South Austin Medical Center on Sunday following treatment for a pulmonary embolism. Powers, 64, is resting at home and being...

Volunteers come together to clean up Lady Bird Lake

Katrina Tollin February 13, 2011

Lady Bird Lake received a makeover Saturday morning at the Keep Austin Beautiful volunteer cleanup day. Keep Austin Beautiful organized six different cleanup sites around the lake. More than 200...

Contest funds student ideas for fighting social woes

Katrina Tollin February 8, 2011

University students worldwide will compete this week for a chance to win a $50,000 grand prize to jump-start their plan for social entrepreneurship. The fifth annual Dell Social Innovation Competition...

Protein find could decipher Alzheimer’s

Katrina Tollin February 8, 2011

Researchers at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio made breakthrough progress toward discovering a contributing factor of Alzheimer’s disease. The research team discovered a new protein that...

UT students volunteer at immigrant shelter

Katrina Tollin February 7, 2011

Anju Dhital fled to Austin almost one year ago after a bloody civil war in Nepal tore apart her country and her family. A former teacher, she was forced to leave her country when members of the communist...

Students call for increased government accessibility

Katrina Tollin January 31, 2011

Advocacy groups are calling for governments to be more transparent by making broad categories of information more accessible to the public online. Student research groups in the LBJ School hosted TXGov...

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