In the Roundup: The state’s attorney general says Texas’ public universities can’t legally ban guns in dorms. A Waller County grand jury declines to make an indictment in the death of Sandra Bland, and Ted Cruz seeks to seal the deal with voters in the South.
Higher Education
Coverage of universities, colleges, student issues, and education policy shaping Texas’ campuses, from The Texas Tribune.
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Criminal Justice
Paxton: Universities Can’t Ban Guns in Dorms
Texas universities would be violating the state’s new campus carry law if they banned guns in dormitories, Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a non-binding opinion issued Monday afternoon.
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Demographics
New Presidents, Old Statues and Guns: The Year in Higher Education
College campuses always seem to attract controversy, but in 2015 Texas universities seemed to have more than their normal share.
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Higher Education
SMU Opts Out of Campus Carry
Southern Methodist University in Dallas has joined the growing list of private colleges in Texas opting out of the state’s new campus carry law.
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Higher Education
As Texas Universities Expand, Political Fights Grow Over Turf
Texas universities have been aggressively expanding their geographic reach in recent years, opening up new educational opportunities for students. But the growth has also led to complaints from state leaders and turf wars between schools.
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Higher Education
Judge Dismisses UT Regent Hall’s Suit Seeking Access to Admissions Records
A state district judge has thrown out a lawsuit by University of Texas System Regent Wallace Hall that sought to force the system to turn over records related to an admissions scandal last year.
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Higher Education
Texas A&M Scales Back Plans for an Israeli Campus
Two years after the announcement of ambitious plans to open a branch campus in Israel, Texas A&M University is scaling back.
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Higher Education
Mock Shootings, Sex Toys Mark UT Gun Protests
Gun rights activists held a mock shooting at the University of Texas Saturday to protest new rules for carrying weapons on campus, while counter-protesters waved sex toys and made farting sounds to try to ridicule them.
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Demographics
If UT-Austin Loses Case, It Could Face Another Top 10 Percent “Crisis”
Lost in the debate over the Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin case is this: For UT-Austin, more than racial preferences in admissions are at stake. If the university loses, the entire way it selects its incoming freshman class could be at risk.
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Demographics
Roundup: Refugees, Visa Waivers, Supreme Court
In this special edition of the Political Roundup: Texas lawmakers introduce and advance legislation in Washington to create new curbs on Syrian refugees entering the country. And the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in two Texas cases.
