November Special 2022

special

Table of contents

november . november.

The air is crisp and cooler, just about right to throw on that sweater you’ve been waiting to wear.

Fall is here and Moody Magazine’s November playlist is here to supply all the autumn warm fuzzies with artists like Bon Iver, Hozier, and Phoebe Bridgers.

Follow our Spotify, Moody Magazine, to stay up to date with more monthly playlists.

NOVEMBER PLAYLIST

Moody Magazine’s musical curation to give you all the fall vibes

Where You’ll Find....

DMC

- School of Journalism and Media

- Stan Richards School of Advertising and PR

- Dean’s Office

- Advising Offices - KUT/KUTX Public Media Studios

CMA - Speech, Language, and Hearing Sceinces - Communications Studies - Radio-Television-Film - Digital Media Lab - Technology Services

CMB

- Studios for film and television production - Post- production suites - KLRU-TV

- Behavioral Sciences Laboratory

Coffee Shops

Cappy’s Cafe

Location: DMC 1st Floor

Hours: Mon-Thurs 7:30-4 Fri: Closed

HSM - Texas Student Media - Daily Texan - KVRX Student Radio - KVR-TV - Equipment Checkout

Woffie’s Location: CMA Hours: Mon-Thurs 7:30-3 Fri 7:30-1

Inside Moody: New Director of Journalism and Media David Ryfe’s Story & Vision

Written by Logan Dubel illustrated by Anna Herbst

It’s a new dawn at Moody College this fall, and freshmen were not the only people crisscrossing the iconic Moody Bridge for the first time this semester. Perched on the third floor of the DMC is the visionary new leader of the School of Journalism and Me dia, David Ryfe, who is experiencing a lot of his own firsts at UT Austin.

Dr. Ryfe fills the director’s position previously held by Kathleen McElroy, who remains a professor. He arrived at the Forty Acres in August with three decades of academic experience.

The California native received a doctoral degree from UC San Diego, and has led journal ism schools around the country, most recently at the University of Iowa. Still, Ryfe, a first-generation college student, did not always know what path his career would take.

He planned to work in national politics after completing his bachelor’s degree, and took up an internship in a Washington lobbying firm. But he quickly realized it was not where he belonged.

“I didn’t have a plan B, and I’m the kind of person who likes to have plans. It really threw me for a loop, because as a first-gen student, your family and friends are watch ing you,” Ryfe said. “You graduated from college, now you have to be successful, right?”

Ryfe dabbled in everything in search of a new avenue, taking exams from the LSAT to the Air Force Officer Test. Then, with inspiration from his now-wife, he decided to pur sue the academic route, and has never looked back.

Now, entering what he calls the final third of his career, Ryfe has finally arrived in Aus tin, a place he dreamt of working decades before. However, he said he’s much wiser today. He’s ready to continue Moody’s success and find new ways to connect with stu dents and the world. “Moody combines two qualities that you don’t often see together. The first is scale. Like everything in Texas, it’s big. But Moody also is extraordinarily rigorous. It’s one of the top colleges of communication in the country, both in terms of skills-based training and the professional faculty,” Ryfe said. “Also, the academic researchers are at the top of their fields. We’re lucky here to be able to combine those things to make a bigger impact than you could elsewhere.”

Ryfe said decisions about the areas of journalism in which Moody will strive for excel lence are necessary over the next few years so that the college’s ambitions can lead to a global impact.

Another of Ryfe’s goals is increasing connectivity among the faculty since many have yet to interact due to the pandemic.

Even with his day job, he has no plans to leave his research of the media and politics behind. In fact, he notes that it keeps him in touch with journalists, newsrooms and foundations, informing his academic leadership. His upcoming third book will explore the changing landscape and economics of local journalism, setting a benchmark for the future.

For Moody students, he aims to create an advisory council, foster greater intentionality within the curriculum and, most importantly, make students feel more represented in their environment.

“Inclusion is all about creating a space in which people feel like they have a place. I’d like to do more visually because if you look at the walls, the things we’re hanging don’t seem to reflect our current students, what they’re interested in, what they may value, or who they are,” Ryfe explained. “Also, we don’t have a student lounge. We have elements of that, but maybe there’s a single space we can cre ate just for students to hang out and create a sense of community.”

A spirit of togetherness is what Ryfe knows will take UT to the top. As he gets his feet wet in all things Austin, he looks forward to meeting new Longhorns and leading the journey of shaping Moody’s future.

Written by Sarah Macintosh illustrated by Grace Xu

This election season, Moody has launched a civic engagement website geared toward keeping students informed about any and all upcoming elections. The website aims to educate more than just the students at UT, they want these resources to be accessible to everyone in Texas.

“The midterms are what lead to state legislature,” said Kathleen McElroy, a professor in the School of Journalism and Media. “So we’re doing this project to raise awareness of the importance of midterm elections.”

McElroy teamed with distinguished faculty and a group of Moody students to create Civics U Texas, which officially launched Oct. 4.

“It got started a long time ago, even though most of the activity is taking place in the last month,” McElroy said. “But last year, I was thinking, ‘My gosh, the midterms are coming up, we should do something.’”

The website hosts information about candidates from each congressional district, recent news articles on Texas politics, a brief history of Texas politics and a page dedicated to first-time student voting experiences.

The team will update the site throughout the election process and beyond, McElroy said, delivering political information to students through new mediums such as the Civics U Texas podcast.

“Here in Moody, we think it’s really important for students to have these learning opportunities that aren’t necessarily tied to a class or to an internship,” McElroy said.

Civics U reporter Sofia Vargas Karam said she joined the project to fulfill her goal of making an impact with her journalism degree. She reported on her experience trying to vote in the 2020 election, when she was denied the right to cast a ballot for an unknown reason. Vargas said she hopes this will provide answers for anyone who faces a similar issue in the future.

Learn more by visiting civicsutexas.org

Written by Daniella Nassar Illustrated by Cyndi Liao

UT students walked and prayed to advocate for the return of the remains of three Native people held by the university on Sept. 14. The Miakan-Garza Band of the Coahuiltecan people from San Marcos hosted this sacred event, bringing together UT students, raising awareness for the captive remains, and preserving the Native American culture, heritage and people.

Brianelly Flores, UT student and co-director and president of the Native American and Indigenous Collective (NAIC), shared what the event meant to him and to other students who are passionate about preserving the remains of Native individuals.

“Dr. María Rosa, an elder of the area, mentioned that in the process of unearthing these individuals, their journey to the great beyond was interrupted, leaving their spirits in agony,” Flores said. “These are human beings; they were relatives and loved ones who were laid to rest with Mother Earth. Yet, UT is treating these remains as mere objects; fossils of an extinct species is how they see our ancestors. They do not see us as human beings, and so our dead do not deserve respect. This is why we keep fighting. Because we will never be silenced, and we will never let our culture, heritage and people vanish.”

Flores also revealed that the return of such remains has been done before by other institutions. “Texas State has worked with the Miakan-Garza Band and returned remains already,” he said. “It can be done.”