Politics and Protests
Wanting Again: UT college students bought concerned with the state legislative session by testifying to committees and interning with congressional workplaces. UT’s scholar advocacy program, Put money into Texas, and different scholar organizations have centered on reproductive rights, professor tenure and voting entry as these points come underneath some danger.
Wanting Ahead: State lawmakers will vote on Senate Invoice 18, which might finish tenure alternatives at public Texas universities and will probably influence the standard of college at UT. The legislature can also be contemplating a invoice that ends funding for variety, fairness and inclusion practices in larger schooling.
Campus
Wanting Again: Pupil residence advanced Noble 2500 opened in January after months of delays, throughout which residents needed to discover their very own housing or stay within the Moxy lodge.
Wanting Ahead: The College is launching a brand new scholarship program to alleviate as much as $1,800 of housing prices for first-year dormitory residents within the 2023-24 tutorial yr.
Analysis
Wanting Again: NASA chosen the UT Excessive Decision X-Ray Computed Tomography Facility as an inaugural facility for planetary science analysis, offering funding to the lab and selling nationwide collaboration with different scientists.
Wanting Ahead: The self-driving rideshare firm Cruise will proceed to develop its providers into Austin, making touring by automobile extra environment friendly whereas sustaining protected circumstances for pedestrians and cyclists — a priority for some who fear in regards to the security of automated autos.
Pupil Authorities
Wanting Again: The Dean of College students made important adjustments to UT Senate bylaws that influence recruiting efforts and the laws college students can suggest. The adjustments raised objections from scholar leaders who advocated for his or her inclusion on these main choices.
Wanting Ahead: Pupil Authorities will proceed to guide initiatives to fight the Texas legislature’s anti-DEI efforts, proposing laws displaying their dedication to sustaining DEI on campus.
Crime & Public Security
Wanting Again: Austin Police Division officer shortages prompted the deployment of Division of Public Security state troopers, a call made with out metropolis council session resulting in some neighborhood concern over if their authority differs.
Wanting Ahead: Austin residents will vote between two police oversight ordinances within the upcoming Could 6 election; Prop A expands the Workplace of Police Oversight, which oversees Austin Police Division conduct, whereas Prop B limits it.
Metro
Wanting Again: In February, the Austin Metropolis Council introduced a brand new partnership with native universities, together with UT, that may discover and examine doable options to the inexpensive scholar housing scarcity round college campuses.
Wanting Ahead: The ultimate design for Challenge Join will likely be finalized in Could by the Austin Metropolis Council. Upon approval and as soon as constructed, the brand new line would join Downtown Austin to high-traveled spots within the metropolis, together with UT campus.