Though The University of Texas at Austin began to integrate its student body in 1956, the university is rooted in policies and practices meant to exclude students of color. Current Black students are still faced with the campus' racist history, forced daily to attend class in buildings named after segregationists and pass statues named for men associated with the Confederacy. Video by: Jennifer Xia For more of our content, reach us here: Youtube: http://bit.ly/2l2YGAq Facebook: http://bit.ly/2fZYhLq Twitter: http://bit.ly/2rBU7zW Instagram: http://bit.ly/2rqEaIm

Brendan Pinkerton has found the most difficult part of quarantine to be finding motivation as he navigates a new routine after moving back home to complete school. Despite the new changes social isolation has brought, he has been able to stay connected with his friends and family despite not being physically together while apart. Video By: Jennifer Xia

Video By: Jennifer Xia Kaylon Hicks has been going to Port Aransas, Texas all her life, a popular vacation city on the Texas Coast. However, she has been frustrated to find that in light of the pandemic, people in her small town haven’t been taking it seriously as people often walk into stores without masks. As she spends her senior year social distancing with her grandparents, Hicks reflects on what this time means for her and the people around her.

When Kassandra Cervantes’ hometown’s grocery store caught on fire in the middle of the pandemic, her tight knit community in San Saba, Texas, immediately came together. Due to her town’s bad wifi, Cervantes has had to compromise the quality of her education by taking turns with her sister on when they go to class. Video By: Jennifer Xia

Despite the changes that coronavirus has brought to every day life, the celebration of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month, still proceeds with vigor. Here's how UT students are finding community during Ramadan.

UT student Jesse Jun found her sense of community after becoming a tour guide. As a shy person and a transfer student, Jun struggled with self-esteem and confidence, but found her voice by sharing her story to potential students. Check out her story.

Cara Van is a blues-rock, 70s style band made up of five passionate musicians trying to make it in the Austin music scene. The name Cara Van encapsulates that feeling of wandering and being lost in playing music. While they come from all walks of life, ages, stories and even countries, they share one thing in common: to make music and have fun. "It's all I've ever known," drummer Omar Pérez says. "It's where I feel more at home. No matter what I do, I always go back to music." Maddy Hatchett, UT Austin advertising junior, guitarist and vocalist, knew she wanted to start a band when she got to UT Austin, though it took two more years than planned because of difficulty balancing schoolwork on top of music. "If you don't prioritize your music, you're not going to have time for it," Hatchett says. "You're really just doing it for the love of it. In the music business, that is the only reason you should be in it. You have to do it because you enjoy the activity because that's the only reward you're going to get." However, she reached out to Pérez on Facebook one day and the band grew from there. "I would say start now," Hatchett says. "You have to schedule the time and treat it seriously or else you're not going to reach the goals that you want." While the saturation of music and confidence needed to put yourself out there in the music scene offers challenges, Cara Van finds the most rewarding aspect of music to be its ability to connect to an audience. "It's peoples' memories," Hatchett says. "If you can leave an impression or make them feel good or make them think about something in a different way, I think that's pretty special." Ian Heyman, UT Austin mechanical engineering senior and bassist, says music has always been a big part of his life, even before he started playing instruments. "It makes you feel things you sometimes don't feel in every day life," Heyman says. Despite the large number of bands in Austin, there is a supportive atmosphere that surrounds the music scene and the musicians in it. "The Austin music scene is very close-knit," Pérez says. "If we see somebody come out of Austin and go do better things, that's awesome. Somebody from here made it. It's really reassuring to be around musicians who want you to succeed." Produced and edited by Jennifer Xia Featuring Cara Van -Guitarist and vocalist: Maddy Hatchett -Bassist: Ian Heyman -Guitarist: Florian Eppel -Drummer: Omar Pérez -Pianist: Claudia Kwee ★ Find me! ★ Blog: https://jenniferxia.wixsite.com/blog Personal ig: https://www.instagram.com/jennxia Writing ig: https://www.instagram.com/jenn.xia Twitter: https://twitter.com/thejenniferxia My name is Jennifer Xia. I'm a Journalism student also minoring in business in the Moody Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin. This is my way of documenting my life and hopefully you can find a little piece of home here too.