In the days after Atatiana Jefferson's killing in her own home by a white Fort Worth police officer, many in the black community say they've seen at least initial signs of swifter action with the officer's arrest, but also are noticing some recurring and troubling themes.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland Rep. Elijah E. Cummings died early Thursday due to complications from longstanding health challenges, his congressional office said. He was 68. A sharecropper’s son, Cummings became the powerful chairman of a U.S. House committee that investigated President Donald Trump, and was a formidable orator who passionately advocated for the poor […]

A new food truck opened last Wednesday behind the University Co-op, bringing the taste of African cuisine closer to campus. African Delights offers a small, seasonal menu of West African cuisine and operates between 11:30 a.m. and 2:45 p.m., according to a sign on the front of the food truck. The owner of African Delights could not be reached to comment on their business. The current menu includes items such as Senegalese yassa chicken, fish ball stew and beef patties. Rheal Zackaria, African Student Organization outreach officer, said these are typical West African comfort foods. “This is the kind of stuff you make for close family and friends,” Zackaria, an economics and Arabic sophomore, said. “My mom sometimes makes chicken yassa when I come back to visit, almost like a welcome home thing.” Zackaria said the arrival of the food truck makes African culture more available to students, since there are not as many African food options available near campus. “I know Austin is really well-known for food trucks and everything, but it’s more multicultural around here than I think students realize just because it’s not readily accessible,” Zackaria said. “I’d love to see more food trucks that show off just how diverse Austin is.”   #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%;} /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Want more content like this in your inbox every morning? Computer science junior Audra Collins said she tried African Delights earlier this week because she heard good things from friends about the truck. “I love that it’s a black-owned business bringing something new to the community,” Collins said. “It’s more representation, which is always good.” Collins said she looked forward to seeing seasonal changes in the menu in the future,because she likes to see local chefs demonstrating knowledge of their food. “I’ve had a lot of food trucks before, and these people really know their stuff,” Collins said. “I don’t think a lot of people understand how much work it is to produce any menu in a really small space like (food trucks), which is awesome.” Art history freshman Belle Walston said her visit to the truck made her eager to try it again.  “My friends and I were kind of just rushing for lunch when we tried it, but I’m really glad we did,” Walston said. “The portion was a good size, and it came out really quickly.” Walston said anyone nervous about trying the food truck should start with the beef patties because they resemble empanadas. “When I saw them, I thought they were folded kind of the same way and it seemed like one of the more approachable options,” Walston said. “My friends and I were able to share a little bit of everything, and I’m glad we did.” Zackaria said she recognizes students may be confused, because the truck is not offering foods like collard greens or potato salad, which is often identified with black food culture in America. She hopes the addition of the food truck will allow students to see the diversity within black culture. “I think there’s a disconnect between how people see black culture in America and black culture across the globe,” Zackaria said. “A lot of people think of black culture as one thing, like it’s just the music and the fashion and those things. There’s more than just black culture in America to celebrate.”

The University has committed itself to maintaining a diverse population, but according to the Chronicle of Higher Education, minorities remain disproportionately represented at UT.  Of the 7,856 students admitted in 2017, only 30% of them were underrepresented racial minorities, meaning Native American, Hispanic and black students, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Of the college-age residents in Texas, 60% are underrepresented minorities, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Government junior Jesus Torres said he does not feel the University’s student body is diverse racially. “Coming to a university where I couldn’t find a single Latinx for a couple of weeks and a lot of my classes don’t have African Americans — it’s a culture shock,” Torres said. The admissions process is designed to admit a diverse population of students, said Miguel Wasielewski, executive director of admissions. If an applicant is in the top 6% of their graduating class, they are automatically admitted to the University. If not, the University does a holistic review of the application, including factors such as extracurriculars and race, Wasielewski said.   #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; width:100%;} /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Want more content like this in your inbox every morning? “No single element within the holistic review is worth more than any other element,” Wasielewski said. “It’s about the entire file together, what is that final score that’s given to the file.” Torres said the racial demographics at the University are vastly different from the environment he had grown up in and did not match his idea of Texas’ population. “I feel like Texas is a big, diverse state,” Torres said. “I didn’t feel like I belonged for a good year.” Wasielewski said the University does not try to mimic state demographics with its admissions decisions as that would be considered a racial quota, which he said is illegal. “We are in no way trying to replicate the population of this state,” Wasielewski said. Automatic admission is considered one way to diversify the applicant pool, as it pulls from Texas public schools. Torres said automatic admission helps minority groups get into universities such as UT. “It’s a way to bring in people who have been outcasted or people who have been deprived of opportunity,” Torres said. “A lot of kids dream about coming here.” However, Suzi Goevl, government and Spanish sophomore, said she thinks automatic admissions should be removed. “I feel like holistic reviews are definitely the way to go,” Goevl said. “That’s just a better way to make sure we’re getting people who actually want to be here.” Wasielewski said the University has to meet certain conditions according to state law, so 90% of incoming freshman must be Texas residents, and 75% of the Texas residents must be auto-admit students. “We have to forecast how many students will actually accept their offer for admission to UT-Austin,” Wasielewski said. Students for Fair Admissions, a nonprofit that advocates against racial consideration during admissions, filed a lawsuit against the University in May claiming using race in its admission process is discriminatory, according to the lawsuit. Torres said race should be a factor in admissions because race affects your life circumstances and can put you at a disadvantage. “The color your skin does create your experience of life, especially in the educational system,” Torres said.