Moody Magazine is the official student publication of the Moody College of Communication. Created and published by Communication Council, the magazine launched in Fall 2018 and is purposed with providing Moody students with a semester magazine and Moody Monthly.
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Editor’s Note 2020 has been a year that no one will ever forget. We have all stressed, sacrificed, and lost, but we have also grown. This year we faced two life-threatening pandemics, COVID-19 and racism– One novel and the other a result of historical and ongoing exploitation. The latter will require change and healing that cannot be obtained through vaccination. Going forward, it is our responsibility to uphold compassion, unity, and dedication to seeking justice. Without these values we cannot expect to “change the world.” This issue is dedicated to all the lives affected by the coronavirus pandemic and violent racism in our country.
Hook ‘em,
Editor-in-Chief
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CONTENTS 5
The Orange Tree 2020 Election Recap
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Living Situations Amidst COVID The Decline of the College Student
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Acknowledging UT’s Racist History Year in Review
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The Orange Tree Written by Emma Bittner
Every day students pass by the quaint Orange Tree Condos that sit on 25th and Rio Grande Street. They blend into the West Campus background and are unassuming, but they house a dark secret.
In 2005, 21-year-old Jennifer Cave was brutally murdered and mutilated in University of Texas at Austin student and friend Colton Pitonyak’s apartment. Rumors surrounding this West Campus murder swarmed through campus and are still mentioned today. Since the initial coverage of the murder and trials of Pitonyak and his companion, Laura Hall, much has come out surrounding this case. Moody’s Drag Audio Production House saw the power and importance behind Cave’s story and wanted to dive deeper.
“When we started looking into the story of [the Orange Tree and] what happened there, we realized that there was more to the story that had come out since 2005, when all of it first happened,” said Tinu Thomas, host and associate producer of “The Orange Tree,” podcast. There is more than what meets the eye when creating a podcast from the ground up. The yearlong process pushed the boundaries of traditional print journalism and posed challenges for the two associate producers as they were producers, writers, directors and reporters all rolled into one. “It was really intense, truthfully,” said Haley Butler, host and associate producer of “The Orange Tree.” “I had incredible moments where I realized that I am way more capable of being a journalist than I ever thought I would be. But, you know, I also had times where I was incredibly frustrated with the process of putting a podcast together, I convinced myself at multiple times during the process that maybe this isn’t right, for me, maybe I don’t want to do true crime. It was just kind of the ups and downs of working on something so long.” “The Orange Tree” was a difficult and sensitive story to tell. It’s the story of real people who are grieving and were willing to share their story with Butler and Thomas. “This is tough journalism,” said Robert Quigley, executive producer at the Drag Audio Production House. “It’s tough on the students. It’s tough on the people you’re interviewing. It’s tough on everybody. And so I’m incredibly proud of how they told ‘The Orange Tree.’ And I’m very, very excited to see what our students do next.”
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Due to the delicate nature of the story, it was difficult to get people on record to share their own perspective about what happened in 2005. “We don’t regret really doing anything, but I really wish we could have gotten more people who had off-therecord conversations with us about Laura, to go on the record,” Butler said. “We talked to a lot of people that knew her at the time of when she was at UT, but we could never convince them to go on the record to share their stories. We have Colton’s family, we have Jennifer’s family, but nobody really spoke up for Laura besides herself in the end in the seventh episode.” While getting sources to go on record was difficult, those conversations didn’t go to waste. The off-the-record conversations shaped the story and gave in-depth background to Thomas and Butler to better craft the narrative of “The Orange Tree.” “A couple of our sources that didn’t want to go on record helped us tell the story better, but we didn’t necessarily put it in the podcast,” Thomas said. “I think a lot of the interviews that we did off the record helped shape the story and help listeners understand the bigger picture better, but we weren’t really able to use direct quotes from those interviews because they did want to be off record.” As the release of “The Orange Tree” wrapped up, Thomas and Butler both moved on from the Drag to work at Audiochuck, a network run by Ashley Flowers. The Drag, while sad to see Thomas and Butler gone, is still working hard to produce and publish more episodes and podcasts through alumni, students and a UT journalism capstone class. “We have amazing students at Moody,” Quigley said. “They are creative, they’re willing to take on big tasks and take on big challenges. I think that’s been proven with ‘The Orange Tree’ itself. This capstone class, as well, I’m always impressed by what our students take on and can do.” The host of a bonus episode of “The Orange Tree” podcast, Alaina Hayden, is one of the capstone students who has tirelessly been crafting the newest episode focused on Hall that is set to come out in the first two weeks of January. “Honestly, it’s an amazing opportunity and privilege to be able to work on this podcast and to extend the story a little bit more,” Hayden said. “We’re taking all of [Haley and Tinu’s] research and adding a fresh light and a fresh perspective to the story.”
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This capstone course, part of the journalism curriculum at UT, allows students to focus on one major final passion project that they can pour their effort into. The course allows students to try their hand at different types of journalism, especially audio journalism, and not be afraid to make mistakes. “I think that it’s been really fun and to learn how to write for the ear instead of the eyes,” said Landry Allred, a capstone student. “Print stories, they have a very specific way of presenting themselves, and kind of the word choice that they use and the flow is very different from audio stories. It’s all about how it sounds to the ear when you’re reading it out loud.” Both the capstone course and the Drag encourage students to take risks. Quigley has created a place for students to indulge in their creativity and create products they couldn’t have dreamed of before. “If you have an idea for a story, just do it. Don’t think that you can’t do it, or that you need to limit it to doing it in a class, you can just do it,” Butler said. “Tinu and I both had audio projects that we worked on before we worked with Quigley. I was making a podcast in my closet about revisiting certain women’s histories, Tinu had her own projects, we just decided to do it, because we wanted to, and that was a form of expressing ourselves.” The Drag, created from a half-a-million-dollar donation from the Belo Foundation, sets Moody College’s journalism school apart from others across the nation. Innovation and success starts here, and Quigley has big aspirations for the future of the Drag and Moody. “I’m hoping to make Moody College the place where people go if they want to be a professional audio journalist,” Quigley said. “I want people around the world to say, if I want to go do that, I go to Moody College, and it’s because of the Drag. To me, that would be success.” “The Orange Tree” set the bar of the prestigious work that will come out of the Drag. With seven podcasts currently in the works, this is just the beginning. “To get there, that means creating more shows, that means giving students more opportunities, that means growing the program, it means doing a lot of cool things that people don’t realize can be done on a college campus,” Quigley said. “But at the end of the day, I think we can produce stuff that’s on the same level as the professional productions that are in Los Angeles and in New York. We have the people, we have the talent, we have the time. It’s just a matter of putting it all together and telling great stories. Long term, I want to be a powerhouse.”
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RECAP
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Living Situations Amidst COVID Written by Catherine Lindberg
For the past 137 years, a school day at the University of Texas at Austin has mostly looked the same: Wake up, walk to class, study on campus, repeat. However, with fall 2020 being UT’s first completely hybrid semester, we must reflect on how this universal experience now differs based on where students call home. Many students chose to return to Austin for classes this fall, and the seemingly slight differences in being in a dorm room, apartment, sorority house or with your parents can create vastly different experiences. Amy Deaton, a junior radio-television-film major, has lived in her college apartment this fall, and her three roommates are nearly the only people she’s seen in months. “A pro from this semester is that I save time not walking to campus,” said Deaton. “But my attention span has decreased so much because of such a monotonous routine I’m in. I find myself not being fully engaged during class and struggling with my school and life balance because they are so intertwined with everything being in my apartment.” Balancing school life and social life is also a struggle for Payton Luster, a junior public relations major who has lived in her sorority house this semester. “With everything in the [sorority] house I need, I barely leave it,” said Luster. “I cannot stay trapped inside a sorority house, even if it has everything I need. It is important to go outside and get a change of scenery.” It might go without saying that students have found it challenging to be as engaged in a virtual setting as they would be in a typical semester, no matter where they call home. However, while it is easy to focus on quarantine negatives, students have also found this experience has led to self-discovery.
“I didn’t know just how hard I could work,” said Courtney Kang, a freshman
living in Callaway House. “I’ve found that I can still enjoy college and being away from home even with Covid limiting social interactions. I’ve had to learn to look on the bright side and see the good things that have come from the pandemic.”
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The pandemic has a way of making many students feel helpless and trapped inside of their homes, but one of the most useful tools students have discovered to cope is a positive mindset. Jennifer Xia is a sophomore journalism major who has spent her fall semester at her parent’s house in Plano. She has chosen to reflect on what she wants to dedicate her time to and what people to surround herself with who will push her to be a better person. “I’m constantly learning new things about myself no matter what stage of life I’m in,” said Xia. “I have really worked on breaking down my hesitation and fears of initiating conversations and connections with those I care about. I’ve learned that when I am more compassionate to myself, I’m able to be compassionate to others. Even if someone doesn’t reciprocate the same level of connection, I think life is too short to let fear stop you from telling people that you love them.” With the spring semester mostly online as well, it is useful to follow in Kang’s and Xia’s footsteps and adopt a positive mindset that can make the coming months easier to cope with. Adopting new habits can lead to productivity as well. “Go crazy on your Google Calendar with breaks, allocated study time, classes, etc. It helps make your day more structured and productive,” Deaton said. “Carve out time to go outside and workout, go for a walk, get coffee, etc. Make it a priority, just as homework is, to do something that relieves some stress from you.” Ultimately, put yourself first and do what is best for you. No grades, lifestyle or goal should come before your mental health, and as you approach spring semester, remember to treat yourself with kindness and be gentle. “I want to remind people that you are not running out of time and that you are doing enough,” said Xia. “The thing that always puts me in a hard place is when I feel like I’m not accomplishing enough in life, and that usually falls to comparison. You are already doing amazing things, and if you saw yourself in the ways others do, you would be baffled that you would ever doubt your own worth.”
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The Decline of the College Student Written by Emma Bittner
The last time I stepped foot in a campus building was March
12. I was sitting on the bottom floor of Belo working on a paper when we got the email that our spring break was extended. Like most, I was a little relieved and excited for two weeks off school, but the two weeks turned into two months and now two semesters. When classes first went online, I’d be lying if I said I weren’t intrigued. No longer walking across campus in the rain or sprinting from the stadium to Belo between classes; it seemed like the break I needed. Now I could wake up minutes before class, log onto Zoom and be ready for class. It seemed too good to be true, and it was. Zoom fatigue is real, and spending hours on end on a video call is exhausting.
It’s not just working at home. Rather, it’s living at work, and our mental health is being sacrificed because of it. The pandemic forced classes, clubs, socials and everything in between to an online format. At first it seemed OK, and the Zoom socials were actually kind of fun as you watched everyone’s little square dance around. However, when May rolled around, motivation started to dwindle. I would wake up and do class from where I slept, and vice versa. Leaving the apartment was out of question because of lockdowns, and my only outing was occasionally going to H-E-B. I finished the end of the spring 2020 semester from my childhood bedroom. Everything was done within the confinement of those four white walls, and I felt trapped by the suffocating constraints COVID-19 put on classes and students. When spring semester ended, it was a sigh of relief, only to be followed by the burden of fall semester online and the inevitable continuation into spring 2021. Two commencements have been forced online and belittled to a slideshow. Class selections have gotten smaller, and our hands-on skills classes are now done through a computer screen.
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My mental health was on a steady decline, as it was for many other students. I was fortunate enough to be able to come back to my West Campus apartment and do fall semester’s classes from Austin due to my job. I was able to have a grasp on my independence by staying in Austin instead of going home to do classes with my parents. However, many didn’t have this opportunity because of financial burdens or the constraints that came along with the pandemic. We are supposed to be creating memories and making mistakes, but instead we video chat and get excited to go to the grocery store. COVID-19 has been a whirlwind. I could go on for days about the opportunities I’ve lost: study abroad, inperson classes, seeing family for holidays and even my job at one point. However, I’ve also learned a lot about myself during these past nine months. Rest is crucial, and I deserve a break. College students go until we can’t anymore, and the pandemic has shown us how draining classes can be and that we need to take care of ourselves. While we strive for the perfect balance of good grades, a bustling social life, a full resume and the ideal college experience, our mental health takes priority. As our second semester online comes to a close, we can take a deep breath. We have been under undeniable stress for months, and we can finally relax for a couple of weeks. Spring semester is just around the corner, and it’s terrifying for many reasons, but taking it one day at a time, we can finally prioritize ourselves.
UT Austin COVID-19 Dashboard
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Acknowledging UT’s Racist History Written by Rocio Perez
As society progresses in its quest for racial and social equity, we must discuss this country’s history to fully understand and prepare for the future.
The growth of the Black Lives Matter movement this summer allowed many people to become more aware of the racial inequality and disparity that had remained prevalent in our modern world. The movement has kickstarted the initiative for individuals to begin educating themselves and others about race-related issues. In doing so, there must also be a priority in education about the history of our school. The University of Texas at Austin’s history began in a rather problematic way. As a Texas public university, UT held up many Confederate ideals in its beginning. The university continued to do so by not allowing Black undergraduate students until 1956, more than 60 years after it was founded. Though many of the university’s Confederate statues have been removed and building names changed, there is still no acknowledgment of what used to be there. With the traditional university song having a racist background, there needs to be more recognition about UT’s problematic past. As students, we are the future, and we have been told since we stepped into this school that what starts here changes the world. But in changing the world, we have to look back and learn from our mistakes. While doing my own task of educating myself on the place I like to call my second home, I found the online UT Racial Geography Tour by Dr. Edmund Gordon, a College of Liberal Arts professor. The tour takes you through different buildings and sections of campus such as the area once called the Women’s Campus. Littlefield Mansion and the West Mall are included in the tour as well. Gordon takes the audience through the historical context of each geographical location, discussing the creator, placement and themes of each site. Volz & Associates, Inc.
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Some things I found interesting from the tour: Littlefield Mansion was the home of George Littlefield, a Confederate major and slave owner; the architecture of the West Mall was designed with the idea to control unruly students who, at the time if the 1960s civil rights movement, were speaking out against Southern ideas of Jim Crow and more; the Tower was meant to represent the male power of the university; the Women’s Campus can be found in the back of campus, behind the tower, because of the gender ideals of the time. Gender and race were built into the architecture of our school. Along with these architectural themes, there used to be statues and buildings named after Confederate leaders such as President of the Confederacy Robert E. Lee and John Henninger Reagan, a general of the Confederacy. In not talking about what once was, the university fails in educating its students about being accountable for past mistakes and ideas. While the racist past of our university and this country became the topic of discussion at the beginning of the fall semester, there was an uproar within the student body to change the school’s song: “The Eyes of Texas.” The history behind the song is that after presenting at Washington and Lee University, the institution named for him, Robert E. Lee would end all of his speeches saying, “The eyes of the South are upon you.” Lee’s South was full of traditions of inequality and hate. William Prather, who was UT’s president from 1899 to 1905, had attended Washington and Lee and adapted the phrase to “the eyes of Texas” in his university speeches. As this became one of his known traditions, students created a song that was initially performed at minstrel shows. It was adopted as UT’s school song and is now sung at the end of sports games, at freshmen orientations and graduations. After many students learned of this history, student-athletes, members of spirit organizations and many others created petitions for the university to stop playing the song.
Dr. Edmund Gordon’s Racial Geography Tour
The Longhorn Band boycotted playing the song, and spirit members stopped standing up and singing. Black students who belong to spirit organizations such as the Texas Cheer and Pom squads used their social media to speak out on the history of the song and demand action
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from the university. They used hashtags such as #weareone and #rewritenotreclaim. While many students of the university have spoken up about being against “The Eyes of Texas,” there are alumni and fans of the university who are not so happy about getting rid of the song. It could be because they do not want to understand the history behind the song, or that the song has become a tradition and they do not want to change that. Ivory James, a sophomore psychology major and cheerleader at UT, has been very vocal on her social media with other members of the program in protesting against “The Eyes of Texas” and calling for a change within the university. “As a Black student and member of this program, ‘The Eyes’ and other racist commemorations at UT make me extremely uncomfortable,” James said. “I wish the administration would listen to Black voices and allow current and former students to construct a more inclusive alma mater that doesn’t include racist undertones.” Though most people have been praising and supporting her, James said some UT alumni who wrote on her social media page were not so happy about this protest of a school tradition. “The woman was a Texas Ex who graduated in the ‘80s. She believed everyone fighting to get rid of ‘The Eyes of Texas’ should leave the university and that the song isn’t racist at all,” James said. “There was also a point where she stated systemic racism didn’t exist and that we were creating problems out of nothing. It made me feel like there are really a lot of people in this world, those who didn’t attend UT and those who did, who don’t understand what it’s like to be fighting for a better future for the place that I’ve come to love. So many are stuck on traditions even if they are harmful to fellow Longhorns, which is extremely disappointing.” UT is seen as an advocate for changing the world and promoting diversity and inclusion throughout campus, but this is not always apparent in its actions. To move forward and become a better university and a place where future students want to come to, we have to talk about those uncomfortable yet necessary topics such as racist traditions. “Many people who don’t understand choose not to or try to enable POC students to do the explaining when it isn’t our responsibility. It is OK to change your opinion. I think a lot of people believe that because it’s been this way for so long, it can’t be changed, but that goes entirely against the motto of UT,” James said. At the beginning of the fall semester, many student organizations, such as Longhorn Hellraisers and the Daily Texan, worked to spread awareness of the importance of diversity on campus. Students showed various forms of support, including by instituting diversity and inclusion executive chairs in various organizations. Making sure we keep the university accountable for past mistakes is what makes us Longhorns.
We are told every day we are what is going to change the world, but
How do we change the world if we cannot change ourselves? 15
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Fall 2020 Magazine Committee Editor-in-Chief Barrett Senn Staff Kellie Woodin Emma Bittner Rocio Perez Adrianna Schlaefer Cindy Munoz Karishma Cordero Contributors Catherine Lindberg Teresa Martinez
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