Latest news with #TheEyesofTexas
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Longview ISD students awarded full ride scholarships to University of Texas at Austin
LONGVIEW, Texas (KETK) — Two students at Longview High School were surprised on Friday after learning they had been awarded full ride scholarships to the University of Texas at Austin. Women's History Month: How Cup O' Joy spreads 'positvi-tea' while serving smiles with every sip In front of their parents, administrators and teachers, seniors Taylen Johnson and Oika Pate, were presented with a full-ride scholarship totaling $48,000. Their parents were so overwhelmed by the moment, they were brought to tears. Photos courtesy of Longview ISD UT admissions counselor Alely Zavala emphasized how rare it is for students from the same school to receive this kind of scholarship from UT. 'It is incredibly rare for two students from the same high school to receive this level of scholarship from UT Austin, which speaks volumes about the talent and dedication of Taylen Johnson and Omika Patel,' Zavala said. Once the ceremony concluded, those in attendance sang The Eyes of Texas and held up the university hand sign celebrating the beginning of this new exciting chapter for the students. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Texas NAACP joins federal lawsuit over U.S. Education Department shutdown
The Texas branch of the NAACP has joined a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Education Department and Education Secretary Linda McMahon, arguing that President Donald Trump's order to begin dismantling the federal agency violates the Constitution. The lawsuit comes amid uncertainty about how the department's functions — including processing of school-related civil rights complaints and disbursement of funds meant to aid high-need children — will continue after Trump's March 20 order to begin shuttering the 45-year-old department. The order came after the federal government earlier this month closed Education Department offices around the nation — including one in Dallas — and slashed the federal workforce across the country, including in Texas. The Texas NAACP chapter joins the lawsuit alongside other state chapters and the national organization as well as the National Education Association and three individual plaintiffs from Maryland. The Texas chapter represents more than 100 units of the NAACP statewide. The lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Maryland, asserts Trump's action exceeds presidential authority and threatens the protection of students' civil rights in schools. According to the lawsuit, the Lubbock chapter of the NAACP hasn't received any information about how complaints regarding racial harassment of Black students in West Texas school districts will be handled after the closure of the Office for Civil Rights satellite in Dallas, which was investigating the cases. The Texas NAACP also has a pending discrimination complaint about the University of Texas' "The Eyes of Texas" song over claims it subjects students to a hostile environment. "The Office of Civil Rights provides a free, confidential forum for addressing educational discrimination," said Gary Bledsoe, president of the Texas NAACP. "Its elimination would leave countless Texans without recourse against hostility and harassment in educational settings." The Texas NAACP said in a statement that Texas has a history of requiring federal intervention to address discrimination. The lawsuit also includes individual Maryland-based plaintiffs who have pending civil rights complaints or were concerned that shuttering the department would impede services their children received through federal funding. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas NAACP joins lawsuit over federal Education Department shutdown
