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| |  | Bo French, the Republican nominee for railroad commissioner, made waves on Sunday when he criticized students of color at UT-Austin in a social media post. (Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News via Getty Images) |
| Ongoing Fallout From GOP Politician’s Social Media Post | | Texas Railroad Commission candidate Bo French has doubled down on his offensive social media post targeting University of Texas at Austin students of color, saying that "too many of our institutions are prioritizing people who are not Americans.” This comes amid backlash from fellow Texas Republicans, and from UT-Austin students who called the post “blatantly racist.” [X, KXAN, The Hill] | - The X post that started it all: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this,” French wrote on Sunday, pairing his remarks with a photo showing South Asian students celebrating the Longhorns’ football victory. “I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” In a second post later that day, he wrote that “social media is exposing many Americans have been displaced by foreigners,” using the same photo. [X]
- Texans are already prioritized at the University: 90% of UT’s first-year students must be in-state residents, per Texas law. Last fall, only 4.3% of UT undergraduates were international students. [KXAN]
- Politicians respond: Prominent Democrats and Republicans alike are condemning French, including Karl Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush, who said he would vote for French's Democratic opponent Jon Rosenthal after only supporting Republicans for 30 years. [KXAN, Texas Tribune]
- What the school and students are saying: In response to French’s social media post, the university said it is “proud to celebrate” all of its students, while University President Jim Davis wrote, "Our students are exceptional. All of them are Longhorns.” UT-Austin students have been more direct in their comments, calling French's post "disgusting" and too familiar. [Washington Post, Houston Public Media]
- Offensive remarks are nothing new for French. The former chair of the Tarrant County GOP has infused his campaign for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industry, with racist and xenophobic rhetoric. [KUT]
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| What Austin's Talking About |
| Airbnb To Solve the Affordable Housing Crisis?! | Airbnb is launching an initiative to address the nation’s shortage of affordable housing, starting in Austin. The plan is to invest $6.4 million toward creating affordable housing units in Austin, particularly in the development at 800 E. St. John Ave., which has sat empty for nearly 20 years. [KVUE] | | Texas Landowners Fight Proposed Big Bend Wall | Texas landowners along the U.S.-Mexico border have filed a lawsuit against the federal government over the Trump administration’s plans to seize private property for the construction of a border wall in the Big Bend region. The lawsuit alleges that the land doesn’t meet the requirement for the federal waivers that were obtained, and seeks to stop border wall construction in the entire area. [NPR] | | End of an Era for the Texas Book Festival | Award-winning Austin writer Carolyn Osborn has died at the age of 92. In 1995, Osborn helped establish the Texas Book Festival, a local free literary festival that has become the largest book event in the state. In 2009, Osborn received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Institute of Letters. The festival returns to downtown Austin Nov. 14-15. [Austin American-Statesman 🔒, Texas Book Festival] | | Celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month! | From museum exhibits and artist residencies to dance parties and musical performances, there are tons of ways to commemorate Hispanic Heritage Month in Austin between now and Oct. 15. Check out our guide for a list of things to do, places to eat, and shops to visit. [City Cast Austin, KXAN] |
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