Latest / Austin Signal / UT Austin begins removal of Cesar Chavez statue

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UT Austin begins removal of Cesar Chavez statue · Austin Signal

• 0:08
  The Austin ISD community came
• 0:09
  together last night to discuss
• 0:11
  budget changes that include cutting
• 0:13
  more than 550 positions
• 0:15
  as the district is working to reduce
• 0:17
  a $181 million
• 0:19
  budget deficit.
• 0:20
  And a former Austin police officer
• 0:23
  is suing the city and the Austin
• 0:24
  Police Department to try and get its
• 0:26
  job back.
• 0:27
  More about the lawsuit filed against
• 0:28
  the city this week.
• 0:30
  And the University of Texas at
• 0:31
  Austin has begun the process of
• 0:33
  removing a statue honoring Cesar
• 0:34
  Chavez, following accusations of
• 0:36
  sexual abuse against the late labor
• 0:38
  leader.
• 0:39
  It's been a busy week of news in our
• 0:40
  community. We'll get you caught up
• 0:42
  on the latest with today's show.
• 0:43
  The Austin Signal is a production
• 0:45
  of KUT News, hosted by
• 0:47
  Jerry Quijano.
• 0:48
  Plus, we've got an excerpt from the
• 0:50
  live storytelling event Accent
• 0:52
  Unmuted for ya, and Game 2
• 0:54
  of the NBA Finals so much
• 0:56
  more coming up next, it's right here
• 0:58
  on Austin Signal.
• 1:02
  .
• 1:08
  Howdy out there.
• 1:09
  This is Austin Signal.
• 1:11
  Happy Friday.
• 1:12
  It is June 5th.
• 1:13
  Thank you for tuning in.
• 1:14
  I'm Jerry Quijano.
• 1:16
  Got a lot of show for you today, so
• 1:18
  we are going to jump right
• 1:20
  in.
• 1:21
  The Austin ISD community came
• 1:22
  together last night to discuss
• 1:24
  changes that include cutting 558
• 1:26
  positions as the district is working
• 1:28
  on reducing a $181
• 1:31
  million budget deficit.
• 1:33
  KUT's Greta Diaz-Gonzalez-Vasquez
• 1:35
  was there.
• 1:37
  Good evening, everyone.
• 1:38
  We're ready to start the meeting.
• 1:40
  One after another, members of the
• 1:42
  community urged the board and the
• 1:44
  district to reconsider eliminating
• 1:45
  teaching positions, reducing the
• 1:47
  number of librarians per school and
• 1:49
  cutting special programs.
• 1:51
  Schools with less than 400 students
• 1:53
  would move into having a part-time
• 1:54
  librarian.
• 1:55
  Gabriela Garcia was told on the last
• 1:57
  day of school her job was on the
• 1:59
  chopping block.
• 2:00
  It's awful, and it's awful that they
• 2:03
  publicly stated that they weren't
• 2:04
  gonna cut library positions and
• 2:07
  then to do this and wait until
• 2:08
  the last day, like all of it feels
• 2:10
  very intentional and that's really
• 2:11
  hurtful.
• 2:12
  The district is also proposing
• 2:13
  moving middle school and high school
• 2:15
  transportation to a hub model.
• 2:17
  Students would be picked up and
• 2:18
  dropped off at their closest
• 2:19
  elementary campuses instead of on
• 2:21
  designated spots.
• 2:23
  Board members said this could lead
• 2:24
  to drops in enrollment and daily
• 2:26
  attendance rates.
• 2:28
  Here's trustee Lynn Boswell.
• 2:29
  I really, really,
• 2:31
  struggle with asking this of our
• 2:32
  families and putting our students
• 2:34
  in these situations.
• 2:36
  That it really worries me.
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  And I think we're going to have
• 2:38
  students get harmed.
• 2:39
  And not every neighborhood is
• 2:40
  equally safe for a kid to walk to an
• 2:42
  elementary school.
• 2:43
  Some board and community members
• 2:45
  pointed out that the cuts are being
• 2:46
  felt more at campus levels than
• 2:48
  at central office.
• 2:50
  Trustee Kevin Foster said everyone
• 2:52
  has been affected by cuts in the
• 2:53
  last few years.
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  I hope we can step back and
• 2:56
  understand we're in the Hunger
• 2:57
  Games.
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  That what's happening is that
• 3:00
  we're pitting and getting pitted
• 3:02
  against, is it this cut or
• 3:04
  is it that? And do they have too
• 3:05
  much or do they too much?
• 3:07
  Nobody has enough.
• 3:08
  AISD is not the only district in
• 3:10
  Texas trying to balance a budget
• 3:12
  deficit.
• 3:13
  Parents and teachers from across the
• 3:14
  state urged legislators in Austin
• 3:16
  this week to increase the
• 3:18
  per-student allotment.
• 3:19
  I'm Greta Diaz-Gonzalez Vazquez in
• 3:21
  Austin.
• 3:26
  A former Austin police officer is
• 3:28
  suing the city and the Austin Police
• 3:30
  Department to try and get his
• 3:32
  job back.
• 3:33
  SKUT's Andrew Weber reports
• 3:35
  Christopher Taylor filed a lawsuit
• 3:37
  against the city this week.
• 3:39
  Taylor was involved in two
• 3:40
  high-profile officer-involved
• 3:42
  shootings within six years on the
• 3:44
  job at the Austin Police Department,
• 3:46
  one in which he fatally shot Maurice
• 3:47
  De Silva in 2019 at his downtown
• 3:49
  condo, and another in 2020
• 3:52
  when he fataly shot Mike Ramos in
• 3:54
  southeast Austin.
• 3:55
  Taylor was charged in both cases.
• 3:57
  He was charged with murder in the
• 3:58
  Ramos case that ended in a hung
• 4:00
  jury, but he was convicted of
• 4:02
  deadly conduct in the 2019
• 4:04
  De Silva shooting, and he was fired
• 4:05
  from his job at the Austin Police
• 4:07
  Department. Taylor appealed the
• 4:09
  deadly conduct charge and he was
• 4:10
  acquitted late last year.
• 4:12
  Michael Bullock with Austin's police
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  union says the city should have
• 4:15
  reinstated Taylor then and there
• 4:17
  because he was cleared for duty by
• 4:19
  the Texas Commission on Law
• 4:20
  Enforcement or TECOL.
• 4:22
  Because Tikal then reinstated his
• 4:24
  license back retroactively
• 4:27
  as if it had never been
• 4:29
  suspended in the first place, and
• 4:31
  so that meant that the justification
• 4:32
  the department has for
• 4:34
  terminating it.
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  Disappear.
• 4:36
  The city and APD said Thursday
• 4:38
  they had not been formally served
• 4:40
  the lawsuit, but they said they
• 4:42
  would challenge it in court.
• 4:44
  Taylor's acquittal is still being
• 4:45
  challenged by Travis County District
• 4:47
  Attorney Jose Garza, who questioned
• 4:49
  the validity of the decision by an
• 4:50
  Amarillo-based state appeals court.
• 4:52
  Garza's office argued Taylor didn't
• 4:54
  have to kill De Silva, who was in a
• 4:56
  mental health crisis and holding a
• 4:58
  knife at his downtown condo in 2019.
• 5:00
  Taylor's attorneys have maintained
• 5:02
  he was in danger, and he operated
• 5:04
  within APD's training.
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  I'm Andrew Weber.
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  In Austin.
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  The University of Texas at Austin
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  has begun the process of removing a
• 5:18
  statue honoring Cesar Chavez,
• 5:20
  following accusations of sexual
• 5:22
  abuse against the late labor leader.
• 5:24
  As KUT's Katie McAfee reports,
• 5:27
  the move caught plenty of students
• 5:28
  and staff off guard.
• 5:33
  Crews in hard hats spent Thursday
• 5:35
  afternoon boarding up the statue
• 5:36
  with wooden planks.
• 5:38
  It's been a fixture here since 2007
• 5:40
  and was the first Latino statue on
• 5:42
  campus.
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  But now, it's the latest symbol of
• 5:44
  Cesar Chavez to be removed after a
• 5:46
  New York Times investigation alleged
• 5:48
  he sexually abused women and girls.
• 5:51
  Some of the response has been swift.
• 5:53
  A mural in Austin honoring Chavez
• 5:54
  was painted over shortly after the
• 5:56
  news came out.
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  Austin ISD canceled Cesar's
• 5:59
  Chavez Day in March and instead
• 6:01
  honored Dolores Huerta.
• 6:02
  A Chicana labor leader who's also
• 6:04
  one of the women accusing Chavez of
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  abuse.
• 6:07
  City of Austin leaders are
• 6:08
  considering renaming Cesar Chavez
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  Street.
• 6:11
  Alfonso Ayala III is a PhD
• 6:13
  student in Mexican American and
• 6:14
  Latino studies at UT.
• 6:16
  His is among a group of ethnic and
• 6:18
  gender studies departments being
• 6:19
  consolidated by the university.
• 6:21
  Ayala says he doesn't think keeping
• 6:23
  the statue of Chavez is a good idea,
• 6:25
  but he's concerned about how UT
• 6:28
  decided to take action.
• 6:29
  It seems suspicious to me
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  that, um, community response
• 6:33
  to keep our departments open has
• 6:35
  gone unanswered,
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  but community response to remove
• 6:39
  a statue that commemorates
• 6:41
  a famous Chicano was
• 6:43
  responded to.
• 6:45
  UT professor Juan Gonzalez was
• 6:46
  involved in funding and installing
• 6:48
  the statue of Cesar Chavez.
• 6:50
  He says he's not opposed to it being
• 6:52
  taken down, but he wants it
• 6:53
  to be replaced with another symbol
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  honoring the labor movement.
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  I think there should have been an
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  engaged conversation, debate,
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  and I think a well-standing
• 7:02
  community of faculty and
• 7:04
  students could have come up with
• 7:06
  recommendations of how to keep
• 7:07
  honoring the current
• 7:10
  ongoing struggles of
• 7:11
  farm workers.
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  The sudden removal is a shift from
• 7:14
  the way UT officials approached
• 7:16
  controversial symbols on campus in
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  the past.
• 7:18
  In 2017, UT removed three
• 7:20
  Confederate monuments on campus
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  after meeting with students, holding
• 7:24
  two public hearings, and
• 7:25
  deliberating with a 12-person task
• 7:27
  force.
• 7:28
  UT officials have not explained the
• 7:29
  decision to remove the statue, or
• 7:31
  what the next steps are.
• 7:33
  I'm Katie McAfee in Austin.
• 7:39
  Here in Austin and around the
• 7:41
  country, really, folks are choosing
• 7:42
  to stay in and eat at home.
• 7:45
  Rising food costs has diners
• 7:46
  dwindling, but the owners of a
• 7:48
  local restaurant are coming up with
• 7:49
  ways to welcome them back in.
• 7:51
  NPR's Joe Hernandez takes us
• 7:53
  to a pay-what-you-will night
• 7:55
  here in town.
• 7:57
  Fire, fire, fire!
• 7:59
  Zayed Ahmed's party of four is
• 8:02
  ready to order.
• 8:03
  They go for the rosemary sourdough
• 8:05
  focaccia, fresh mozzarella,
• 8:07
  meatballs, rigatoni, and spaghetti.
• 8:09
  My family in general, we don't
• 8:10
  always have the most money to spend,
• 8:11
  so we don't always get to go to
• 8:13
  somewhere nice when they come over.
• 8:14
  Tonight though they changed their
• 8:16
  original plan to go to a pizzeria
• 8:18
  and instead came to Locodoro
• 8:20
  an Italian restaurant in Austin's
• 8:22
  Mueller neighborhood
• 8:23
  But I figured this is
• 8:25
  an opportunity to actually, you
• 8:26
  know, experience something a little
• 8:28
  better without having to,
• 8:30
  I don't know, shell out $150 for
• 8:33
  the four of us.
• 8:34
  That's because Tuesdays have been
• 8:36
  pay-what-you-will night at Locodoro
• 8:38
  since December.
• 8:39
  Armand Daniels and his date are
• 8:41
  sitting at a table by the bar.
• 8:43
  We didn't have a really great
• 8:44
  Valentine's Day.
• 8:45
  I mean, it was okay, but nothing
• 8:48
  out of the ordinary, nothing
• 8:49
  spectacular.
• 8:50
  So, this is our Valentine's
• 8:53
  day.
• 8:53
  Daniels works as an actor and brand
• 8:55
  ambassador and was considering
• 8:57
  paying less than full price when
• 8:59
  the bill came.
• 9:00
  Things are a little bit tight.
• 9:01
  And harder and harder to find.
• 9:04
  Last fall, Locodoro co-owners
• 9:06
  Adam Orman and Fiore Tedesco
• 9:08
  III started thinking about how to
• 9:10
  respond to the shrinking number of
• 9:12
  people able to afford dining out.
• 9:14
  Rising food costs, tariffs,
• 9:16
  and a labor shortage forced many
• 9:18
  restaurants to hike their prices
• 9:19
  just as consumers were trying to
• 9:21
  spend less.
• 9:23
  Orman says the partners wanted to
• 9:24
  make their restaurant more
• 9:26
  accessible.
• 9:27
  Getting drive through.
• 9:28
  Is not going out.
• 9:29
  Sitting down, being treated
• 9:31
  with hospitality, being
• 9:33
  a guest is a thing
• 9:35
  that everybody should be
• 9:36
  experiencing regularly, because
• 9:38
  it feels good.
• 9:40
  Tuesday night diners at Locodoro
• 9:42
  still pay full price for drinks,
• 9:43
  but they can order whatever they
• 9:45
  want off the regular food menu and
• 9:47
  choose how much to pay for it.
• 9:48
  They pay a 20% service fee on
• 9:50
  their final total.
• 9:52
  Tedesco says he understands the
• 9:54
  impulse to raise prices, but chooses
• 9:56
  to do the opposite.
• 9:57
  I feel really confident and
• 10:00
  I feel lighter and more
• 10:02
  loving and more full and more
• 10:04
  generous in
• 10:06
  practicing the spirit of leaning
• 10:08
  that other way.
• 10:09
  Of saying, no, it's
• 10:11
  actually the lesson here
• 10:13
  is this really is for everybody.
• 10:15
  A YouGov report from October found
• 10:17
  that 37% of U.S.
• 10:19
  Diners said they were dining out
• 10:21
  less often than they had a year
• 10:22
  earlier, while only 8% said
• 10:24
  they are going out more.
• 10:26
  The top reasons for staying home
• 10:27
  were rising menu prices and a
• 10:29
  desire to save money.
• 10:31
  Orman and Tedesco say they hope the
• 10:33
  pay-what-you-will concept makes it
• 10:35
  possible for some of those people to
• 10:37
  enjoy a restaurant meal.
• 10:38
  That night, the restaurant
• 10:40
  made $70 less than menu
• 10:42
  prices.
• 10:43
  Orman says diners typically pay
• 10:45
  less than their full bill on pay
• 10:46
  what you will nights, but also that
• 10:48
  the promotion has led to an increase
• 10:50
  in traffic and revenue on Tuesdays,
• 10:52
  which are usually slow.
• 10:54
  As Zayed Alhamed awaited his meal,
• 10:56
  he admitted to feeling a little
• 10:57
  guilty about the deal he was
• 10:59
  getting.
• 10:59
  Well, I go to like order and I'm
• 11:00
  just like, I have to like fight
• 11:01
  through this feeling of like, am I
• 11:03
  allowed to do this?
• 11:04
  Am I?
• 11:05
  You know, like again, I'm not going
• 11:06
  to write $10 down,
• 11:08
  but it doesn't feel like it should
• 11:10
  be possible.
• 11:11
  Al Hamid lives next to the
• 11:12
  restaurant in an apartment he pays
• 11:14
  for using rental assistance.
• 11:16
  He says as he builds his career and
• 11:18
  life in Austin, he hopes to support
• 11:19
  more local businesses like Locodoro
• 11:22
  and be the reason they're able to
• 11:24
  afford promotions like this.
• 11:26
  Ours, Joe Hernandez, will
• 11:28
  be back after a break.
• 11:33
  This is Austin Signal, welcome
• 11:35
  back.
• 11:35
  Well school is out, but
• 11:37
  summer reading lists are in,
• 11:40
  and KUT's got a summer reading
• 11:41
  challenge just for you.
• 11:43
  For more, we are talking with Wyn
• 11:45
  Davis. She's a digital editor
• 11:47
  and curator of KUTs Field Guide
• 11:49
  to Austin.
• 11:50
  Wyn, thanks for coming on the show.
• 11:51
  Thanks so much.
• 11:52
  So tell us more about this
• 11:53
  challenge, I saw it I believe in the
• 11:55
  KUT newsletter, but tell us more.
• 11:57
  Yeah, so this challenge
• 11:59
  is gonna take the form of a bingo
• 12:01
  card, because who does not love
• 12:03
  bingo?
• 12:04
  This is coming off of our
• 12:06
  field guide to indie bookstores.
• 12:08
  And also, you know, this year is
• 12:11
  the Austin Public Library's 100th
• 12:13
  anniversary, so we're just all about
• 12:14
  reading this summer.
• 12:16
  What was the idea behind the
• 12:18
  challenge, why did you want to get
• 12:18
  involved with the community?
• 12:20
  Yeah, I mean, you know, summer
• 12:21
  reading is something that's really
• 12:23
  nostalgic for a lot of people.
• 12:24
  A lot of remember growing up
• 12:26
  with reading challenges at their
• 12:28
  library, maybe the summer
• 12:30
  ends with a pizza party or
• 12:32
  a personal pizza from Pizza Hut.
• 12:35
  And reading is just so fun.
• 12:36
  And Austin has a really vibrant
• 12:38
  literary scene that
• 12:40
  could always use some more
• 12:41
  recognition and who doesn't
• 12:43
  love to just get lost in a
• 12:45
  book.
• 12:45
  And it's fun, I think, to
• 12:47
  participate in something that's
• 12:49
  bigger than yourself, knowing that
• 12:50
  everybody else in Austin is
• 12:52
  participating in this.
• 12:53
  So how can folks get involved?
• 12:55
  Yeah, so we are publishing
• 12:57
  the reading challenge
• 12:59
  today.
• 13:00
  Like I said, it's gonna take the
• 13:02
  form of a bingo card.
• 13:03
  So if you get one bingo,
• 13:06
  you'll get a set of prizes, second
• 13:07
  bingo and then if you a
• 13:09
  blackout, so you complete all the
• 13:11
  prompts on your card, we're
• 13:13
  gonna have a couple raffle prizes
• 13:14
  that you will be entered to win,
• 13:16
  including a pair of tickets to
• 13:18
  our next A.T.
• 13:19
  Explained live show.
• 13:20
  Okay, that's that's a pretty good
• 13:22
  deal.
• 13:23
  Okay. Well, you will you mention
• 13:24
  those those summer reads Do you
• 13:26
  have one that comes to the top of
• 13:27
  your mind that is like accessible?
• 13:29
  Maybe somebody could read it over
• 13:31
  the course of a week-long vacation
• 13:33
  or a day out by by
• 13:34
  the water What is
• 13:36
  the first one that come to your
• 13:37
  mind?
• 13:38
  Uh, while the first one that comes
• 13:39
  to mind is my, so far my
• 13:41
  only five star read of the
• 13:43
  year, it's called the God of the
• 13:45
  woods by Liz Moore.
• 13:47
  It's very, uh,
• 13:49
  takes you to a place that's kind of
• 13:50
  nostalgic. If you ever went to
• 13:52
  summer camp, you were in the woods,
• 13:54
  some mystery.
• 13:55
  It has different points
• 13:57
  of time that you're going between.
• 14:00
  Uh, and it just like keeps you
• 14:01
  going. It is a little bit of a thick
• 14:03
  book, however, you,
• 14:05
  you know, it hooks you and you'll
• 14:07
  get through it. It's a page turn.
• 14:08
  And there's a payoff it sounds like
• 14:09
  at the end it's worth it okay okay
• 14:12
  cool that is Wynn Davis
• 14:14
  she is a digital editor here at KUT
• 14:16
  news and the curator of KUT's
• 14:18
  field guide to Austin we'll have a
• 14:19
  link to the field guide and to the
• 14:21
  summer reading challenge in today's
• 14:23
  show notes thank See you in-
• 14:24
  Thanks, Jerry.
• 14:32
  This is Austin Signal.
• 14:34
  I'm Nami Saroor, creator of the
• 14:36
  live storytelling event, Accent
• 14:37
  Unmuted.
• 14:39
  Storyteller Yuri Kanimba faced
• 14:41
  a make or break moment,
• 14:43
  one where her entire future hinged
• 14:45
  on solving a math equation.
• 14:48
  Imagine you are in a race
• 14:50
  against time.
• 14:51
  Your entire future is
• 14:53
  on the line.
• 14:54
  And the only thing that will
• 14:56
  get you out of this predicament
• 14:59
  is solving a math problem.
• 15:02
  Who can relate to this?
• 15:03
  Who hasn't really been in this
• 15:04
  situation before?
• 15:07
  I grew up, I'm originally from
• 15:09
  Rwanda, the land
• 15:10
  of a thousand hills,
• 15:13
  where the horizons It feels
• 15:15
  like a painting.
• 15:16
  But as much as I love my country,
• 15:19
  I dream for something beyond those
• 15:21
  hills.
• 15:22
  I wanted to study abroad
• 15:24
  and I also wanted to become an
• 15:26
  engineer.
• 15:28
  And the only opportunity that said
• 15:29
  yes was the U.S.
• 15:32
  I was thrilled and excited
• 15:34
  because my dream was starting to
• 15:37
  take shape.
• 15:39
  If you're not aware, as an
• 15:40
  international student studying
• 15:43
  in America, you pay double.
• 15:45
  The tuition, more than that.
• 15:49
  And I boarded the plane with
• 15:50
  Justina for one year.
• 15:52
  What was I going to do for
• 15:54
  those three years?
• 15:57
  I didn't have to have a perfect
• 15:59
  plan.
• 16:00
  I just needed to have
• 16:02
  the courage to say yes,
• 16:03
  one step at a time.
• 16:06
  So I got a job as a tutor,
• 16:08
  and that was enough for
• 16:11
  covering for the basics, but
• 16:13
  not really enough for my
• 16:15
  tuition.
• 16:16
  So I had to apply for scholarships.
• 16:19
  After class, you find my
• 16:21
  friend yapping about what the
• 16:22
  weekends will be.
• 16:23
  I was in the computer lab,
• 16:26
  browsing and trying to find anything
• 16:28
  that I could be eligible for.
• 16:30
  Bookmarking anything that didn't
• 16:32
  say, are you a US citizen?
• 16:34
  Because that line alone removed
• 16:36
  half of the options.
• 16:38
  And I applied to so many,
• 16:40
  many rejected.
• 16:41
  I was starting to feel like
• 16:43
  this scholarship is a fantasy.
• 16:46
  Then one time, when I
• 16:48
  was scrolling through the website
• 16:50
  of our department,
• 16:52
  I saw this scholarship saying, McCoy
• 16:54
  School of Engineering married
• 16:57
  scholarship and didn't have any
• 16:59
  application form.
• 17:01
  So I decided to go and
• 17:03
  talk to my department chair, Dr.
• 17:05
  Wang.
• 17:06
  And I said, Dr.Wang, I sold this
• 17:08
  scholarship on the website and
• 17:09
  didn't have any application
• 17:11
  form, how
• 17:13
  do I get to it?
• 17:14
  And Dr. Wentz says.
• 17:16
  This scholarship is only reserved
• 17:18
  for outstanding students,
• 17:20
  typically in the second year.
• 17:24
  And my, in my thought.
• 17:27
  I just started.
• 17:29
  How can I prove to you that I'm
• 17:31
  deserving?
• 17:33
  So he grabs a pen and
• 17:35
  he writes, what
• 17:37
  is the derivative of
• 17:39
  natural log of X?
• 17:42
  Oh God, my mind was
• 17:44
  fresh from high school
• 17:46
  and I've been solving those
• 17:48
  equations like almost every day.
• 17:49
  So I immediately grabbed the pen and
• 17:51
  I was like, one over X.
• 17:53
  And he grabs it back.
• 17:54
  It's like, what is the integral
• 17:56
  of co-sides?
• 17:57
  Grab it back, side of X
• 17:59
  plus constant.
• 18:02
  After that, he told me words
• 18:04
  that I will never forget.
• 18:07
  He said, take this piece of paper,
• 18:09
  bring it to Christine,
• 18:11
  and tell her to apply the
• 18:13
  scholarship to your tuition.
• 18:15
  In that moment,
• 18:17
  my tuition dropped by
• 18:19
  $4,000.
• 18:22
  Scholarship were no longer a distant
• 18:25
  achievement.
• 18:27
  It was something tangible.
• 18:29
  This is actually real, it could
• 18:31
  happen.
• 18:32
  What else can I get?
• 18:34
  Every semester I was applying to
• 18:36
  minimum three scholarships
• 18:39
  and many came back rejecting
• 18:41
  me, but I had enough to
• 18:44
  finish my degree in
• 18:46
  time.
• 18:48
  Two sets of math
• 18:50
  equations were the
• 18:52
  domino that set everything in
• 18:53
  motion.
• 18:55
  Me finishing on time.
• 18:57
  Becoming an engineer, a
• 18:58
  system engineer,
• 19:00
  working on AI infrastructure,
• 19:03
  the peace of mind to think
• 19:05
  about the future,
• 19:07
  the ability to be here,
• 19:10
  to travel, to visit family.
• 19:13
  So today, whatever you're working
• 19:15
  on, whatever dreams that
• 19:17
  you have, you don't need to have it
• 19:19
  all figured out.
• 19:20
  If you wanna find out, you just have
• 19:22
  to make the first step,
• 19:24
  even if math is really not your.
• 19:26
  Strong point
• 19:28
  That was Yuri Kanemba, telling
• 19:30
  her story to a live audience at
• 19:32
  a recent Accent Unmuted in Studio
• 19:34
  1A here at KUT.
• 19:37
  I'm Nami Sirur and this is Austin
• 19:39
  Signal.
• 19:46
  Game two of the NBA Finals is
• 19:47
  tonight. The Spurs trail the New
• 19:49
  York Knicks by one game.
• 19:51
  Chelsea Zhu is KUT's engagement
• 19:53
  reporter. She was out at a watch
• 19:54
  party on Wednesday for game one,
• 19:56
  and she's with us now in the studio.
• 19:58
  Thanks for being here, Chelsea.
• 19:59
  Thanks for having me.
• 20:00
  So before I ask you what the
• 20:02
  experience was like, I know it was a
• 20:03
  little rainy, why do the
• 20:05
  Spurs have so much support here in
• 20:06
  Austin?
• 20:07
  Yeah, it's because the Spurs team
• 20:08
  has really made an active effort to
• 20:11
  make it that way in Austin.
• 20:12
  I think kind of the crowning jewel
• 20:14
  of all of their processes
• 20:16
  is that they play the I-35
• 20:18
  series in Austin, which started a
• 20:19
  few years ago, and that's where they
• 20:21
  play two home games every year
• 20:23
  at the Moody Center in Austin
• 20:25
  specifically for Austin fans
• 20:27
  to come out.
• 20:28
  And the connection isn't just like
• 20:30
  events and stuff, they also have
• 20:32
  their official minor league team,
• 20:33
  the Austin Spurs, based out of Cedar
• 20:35
  Park. And, you know, they also just
• 20:37
  do a lot of outreach.
• 20:38
  They renovate basketball courts,
• 20:40
  they paint murals around town.
• 20:41
  They have like promotional deals
• 20:43
  with restaurants and coffee shops.
• 20:45
  So yeah, they do a lots.
• 20:46
  Yeah, there's the natural connection
• 20:47
  because they're obviously so close,
• 20:49
  but it seems like they're going
• 20:50
  above and beyond that to try
• 20:52
  to foster some support for Spurs
• 20:54
  fans here in Austin.
• 20:56
  So, what did that support look like
• 20:57
  on Wednesday when you were out at
• 20:59
  this watch party? Where were you?
• 21:00
  So we were at Chalmers, which is
• 21:02
  a sports bar in East Austin.
• 21:04
  And I also wanted to mention that
• 21:05
  this is an official watch party
• 21:07
  that Chalmer's partnered with the
• 21:09
  Spurs for specifically for Austin
• 21:11
  fans. So that's like another thing
• 21:12
  that they do.
• 21:13
  It was totally packed hundreds of
• 21:15
  people.
• 21:16
  There were not enough seats for
• 21:17
  people. There were tons of people
• 21:18
  standing.
• 21:19
  And yeah, it rained before
• 21:21
  the game started and a lot of people
• 21:23
  got caught in the downpour, but the
• 21:24
  energy was still really high.
• 21:26
  Did you talk to anybody in
• 21:27
  particular?
• 21:28
  Yes, so one of the fans I talked to,
• 21:30
  Gabby Perlinger, she was also one
• 21:32
  of people caught in the downpour.
• 21:34
  And yeah, here's what she had to say
• 21:36
  about being at the game.
• 21:38
  The fact that this many people
• 21:39
  showed up for game one, like,
• 21:42
  in the rain, like I
• 21:43
  feel like they're gonna have a
• 21:45
  huge turnout in Austin for
• 21:47
  each game of the finals, no matter
• 21:49
  what.
• 21:50
  Okay well it sounds like the vibes
• 21:51
  were definitely high and the energy
• 21:53
  was high.
• 21:54
  Unfortunately the Spurs did come up
• 21:55
  short in game one, but
• 21:57
  looking forward it is still a seven
• 21:59
  game series, how are Spurs fans
• 22:01
  feeling about their prospects?
• 22:03
  Yeah, I would say there was still a
• 22:04
  lot of hope in the air, you know,
• 22:06
  that was game one, it's, we still
• 22:07
  got a long way to go and people were
• 22:09
  already thinking ahead about, you
• 22:10
  know, what Wemby needs to do for
• 22:12
  next time.
• 22:13
  And there was also, you
• 22:15
  know, we asked people a few fun
• 22:17
  questions. And one of the things
• 22:18
  that I asked was, you know, What is
• 22:19
  the worst thing that you would do to
• 22:21
  guarantee a Spurs championship?
• 22:23
  And I talked to this one guy Santos
• 22:25
  Jaimez, and here's what he had to
• 22:27
  say.
• 22:27
  I probably run around New York
• 22:30
  with spurs spray-painted on me
• 22:31
  saying go spurs, go sprues in the
• 22:33
  Bronx, somewhere heavy,
• 22:35
  and I might get my ass beat.
• 22:36
  I might not come back alive, but you
• 22:38
  know, if that's what I gotta do,
• 22:39
  I'll do it, man.
• 22:40
  Okay, that's a pretty...
• 22:41
  It sounds pretty intense to me.
• 22:43
  Have you heard anything from Nix
• 22:44
  fans?
• 22:45
  Not at the Austin Watch Party, but
• 22:46
  I've been watching some videos
• 22:47
  online and, you know,
• 22:49
  some next fans are saying that
• 22:50
  they'd give away their firstborn
• 22:52
  children and stuff like that, so
• 22:53
  I've yet to have a Spurs fan say
• 22:55
  that, but it's early.
• 22:56
  Okay, that's true.
• 22:57
  That's true, it's only game two
• 22:58
  tonight, so we'll see as we move
• 23:00
  down along.
• 23:01
  So yeah, game two, tonight.
• 23:03
  Is there another watch party
• 23:04
  happening?
• 23:04
  Yeah, so Chalmers is hosting every
• 23:07
  watch party in Austin for
• 23:09
  the home games, including tonight.
• 23:11
  And then they also have a sister
• 23:13
  bar, Armadillo Den, who's hosting
• 23:14
  the away games starting Monday.
• 23:16
  All righty, that is Chelsea Zhu.
• 23:18
  She is KUT's engagement reporter.
• 23:20
  We're gonna have a link to her
• 23:21
  reporting in today's show notes.
• 23:23
  Thank you, Chelsea. Thank you.
• 23:25
  And some more sports to wrap up the
• 23:27
  week. The Texas Longhorns are once
• 23:28
  again softball college world series
• 23:30
  champions.
• 23:31
  Texas Swep, former Big 12 rival,
• 23:32
  Texas Tech to win its second
• 23:34
  championship in as many years.
• 23:36
  Junior pitcher Tegan Cavan through a
• 23:38
  complete game in game one.
• 23:39
  Then struck out five batters in the
• 23:41
  last two innings last night to win
• 23:43
  the World Series most outstanding
• 23:45
  player, the first player to win this
• 23:47
  award in consecutive years.
• 23:50
  The World Cup kicks off next week
• 23:51
  Juan Diego Garcia of the KUT Podcast
• 23:53
  Vamos Verde will be joining us then
• 23:55
  for a preview of the action and
• 23:58
  tonight here in Austin,
• 23:59
  Saudi Arabia will have one last
• 24:01
  friendly competition before the
• 24:02
  tournament. The Saudi team is using
• 24:04
  Austin as a base during the World
• 24:06
  Cup. They will face Puerto Rico out
• 24:08
  at Q2 Stadium.
• 24:10
  Game time is at 6 o'clock.
• 24:13
  And that is it for us today
• 24:15
  here on Austin Signal.
• 24:16
  There is plenty more
• 24:18
  about the stories we shared with you
• 24:19
  today. And there were a lot of them
• 24:21
  in the podcast show notes and
• 24:23
  at kut.org
• 24:26
  slash signal. That's where you can
• 24:27
  find all the work that we produce
• 24:29
  here for you.
• 24:31
  Rayna Sevilla is our technical
• 24:32
  director.
• 24:33
  Alexandra Hart is our producer.
• 24:35
  Kristen Cabrera is our managing
• 24:37
  producer.
• 24:38
  And a special shout out to Greta
• 24:40
  Diaz Gonzalez Vasquez, KUT's
• 24:42
  education reporter extraordinaire
• 24:44
  who was very busy this week and
• 24:46
  featured on all five days
• 24:48
  of our show.
• 24:49
  Greta, we appreciate you very
• 24:51
  very much.
• 24:52
  I'm your host, Jerry Quijano.
• 24:54
  Austin Signal will be back on
• 24:56
  Monday.
• 24:57
  We'll talk to you then.