From the University of Texas at Austin

Drinking-age initiative awaits discussion

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

UT President William Powers has not yet signed on his name to a controversial document urging a lowering of the legal drinking age. He will not make his final decision without more campus discussion and input.

The Amethyst Initiative, which was launched this June by former Middlebury College President John McCardell, released the document Wednesday, which included the headline "Twenty-one is not working.

Downtown office begins cleanup of Jan. oil spill

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Owners of a downtown office building began the cleanup process this week for an abandoned, submerged fuel oil tank that spilled its contents onto Sixth Street in January.

A permit granted by the city on Aug. 13 allowed the owners of the Littlefield Building, located on the corner of Sixth Street and Congress Avenue, to remove all traces of oil from inside the tank and surrounding soil beginning Monday.

Stay of execution: Groups champion ruling

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Members of anti-death-penalty groups stood outside the Capitol and chanted, "They said death row; we say hell no!" shortly after U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia granted Jeffrey Wood an indefinite stay of execution Thursday. In 1997, a jury convicted Wood as an accomplice in the murder of a convenience store clerk and sentenced him to death.

Before tract planning, UT grad students speak up

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

As the fall semester approaches, some UT graduate students and Brackenridge residents are ramping up efforts to make their voices heard as a New York design firm considers possible development of the Brackenridge Tract.

The Brackenridge Apartments Tenant Advisory Board met last week with leaders of the Graduate Student Assembly to discuss how the two organizations can work together to address student concerns while the development firm, Cooper, Robertson & Partners, crafts two master plans for the best uses of the tract.

Public University radio station KUT celebrates 50 years on air

admin — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 00:00:00 -0500

Fifty years ago this month, KUT 90.5 FM first hit the airwaves with "The Eyes of Texas."

Radio-television-film professor Robert Schenkkan and a group of UT students led the effort to establish a full-power FM station for the University in 1958. The Federal Comunications Commission issued the public radio station's call letters, KUT, on Aug.

KUT Radio celebrates 50 years of music, news

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:00:30 -0500

KUT Radio 90.5 FM, listener-supported news and music from Central Texas, begins a year-long 50th anniversary celebration on Aug. 21. Since receiving the call sign of KUT from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on Aug. 21, 1958, KUT Radio has nurtured and shared the most authentic and remarkable voices of the community—and the world—through local and [...]

Study: Incidence of suicidal thoughts in students high

admin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:00:28 -0500

More than half of 26,000 students surveyed across 70 colleges and universities reported having at least one episode of suicidal thinking at some point in their lives, according to a University of Texas at Austin study. Fifteen percent of students surveyed reported they have seriously considered suicide and more than five percent reported at least one [...]

Study: Roadside solicitors seek return to regular work

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 13:25:25 -0500

With few reporting income above minimum wage, Austin individuals engaging in roadside solicitation are using it as a survival strategy, but most desire to return to more regular employment, according to preliminary results of a University of Texas at Austin study. People who are soliciting on public roadways are usually experiencing multiple barriers to work, including [...]

Prof aims to lower pharmaceuticals' carbon footprint

admin — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 11:05:25 -0500

The eco-friendly green solvent ethyl lactate can be stabilized and used as a binding agent in the production and processing of pharmaceuticals, lowering the carbon footprint of the industry, a University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy researcher has found. Jason McConville's research will be published in an upcoming issue of Pharmaceutical Technology. "It is widely [...]

Student-athletes cited for academic success

admin — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:46:24 -0500

When it comes to giving out final grades to the 2007-08 University of Texas at Austin student-athletes for their performance in the classroom, only one can do justice. A-plus. Texas officially concludes the 2007-08 academic year with an eye-opening 10 Academic All-Americans, tops in the nation among all university division programs. The University of Texas at Austin's [...]