AUSTIN, Texas — According to a letter from Jim Davis, president of the University of Texas at Austin, there will be a number of consolidations in the ethnic and gender studies departments at the school’s College of Liberal Arts.

This follows months of pressure from conservatives to eliminate gender and culture-related programs at the university, and after a decision from Texas A&M University earlier this year to eliminate its Women and Gender Studies department under similar pressure.

The following three departments will become the Department of European and Eurasian Studies:

• Department of French and Italian
• Department of Germanic Studies
• Department of Slavic and Eurasian Studies

And four others will become the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis. They include:

• Department of African and African Diaspora Studies
• Department of American Studies
• Department of Mexican American and Latina/Latino Studies
• Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

In the letter, Davis said that these consolidations result from a review of several factors, including “size, scope, academic mission, student demand, student-to-faculty ratio, resource allocation, and other dimensions.”

The consolidation was first announced in an earlier meeting via phone call, according to the Austin American-Statesman. They indicated that neither the Asian Studies department nor the Middle Eastern Studies department were represented on the call, and there is no word on any potential change to either department.

Being recognized as an official department is important for funding, tenure and decision-making within the university’s structure. There is no word on layoffs in the current departments, and none were announced in either the call or the letter.

“There can be no reason for this decision other than an authoritarian takeover of Texas’ flagship university,” Lauren Gutterman, associate professor of American Studies and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, told the Statesman. “If this was about too much fragmentation or small majors, then why are departments like Religious Studies, Middle Eastern Studies, and Classics unaffected?”

Davis said in the letter that there will also be a review of the curricula in these departments to determine the path forward in the new fields of study. 

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas – A campground in Texas has been declared the best in the U.S., according to a nationwide ranking by Campspot.

The campground, located in the Texas Hill Country, claimed the top spot for its “perfect mix of relaxation and adventure.”

Texas’ best campground

Camp Fimfo in New Braunfels was named the top overall campground in the U.S. in Campspot’s 2026 Campspot Awards, in which they ranked thousands of eligible campgrounds. 

Fimfo ranked so highly due to everything that sets it apart from the crow, including a resort-style pool scene with a swim-up bar, and waterslides, along with high-energy programming that “turns a standard camping weekend into a real vacation.”

Best place for glamping in Texas

Along with Fimfo, Tropic Island Resort was named the best campground for glamping in Texas, ranking number three in the nation. 

The Port Aransas campground is located near the beach, restaurants, docks, piers, parks, birding and shopping. It also has a wide variety of accommodations, such as hotel rooms, cottages, and luxury RV sites, Campspot says. 

Best campground for RVs in Texas

Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park™ Camp-Resort: Fredericksburg was ranked the fourth-best campground for RVs in the nation, making it the highest-rated such campground in Texas. 

Located just outside Fredricksburg, the park offers cozy cottages alongside RV sites, as well as organized activities such as wagon rides, poolside movies, and themed weekends. 

Best camping in North Texas

Ranking 10th overall and fifth for RVs in the nation, the Vineyards Campground & Cabins in Grapevine is the highest-rated place to camp in North Texas.

Campspot says the Vineyards is a nationally recognized campground due to its serene ambiance, scenic landscapes, lakeside panoramas, and attentive staff.

What they’re saying:

“Campgrounds are more than places to stay. They’re places where memories get made, traditions start, and community shows up,” said Jeff Bettin, General Manager of Marketplace at Campspot. “The Campspot Awards are our way of recognizing parks that consistently deliver standout guest experiences, backed by data, and celebrating the people who make those experiences happen.”

TEXAS — The closing shot for Dallas Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s latest campaign ad for U.S. Senate is raising eyebrows for its possible use of artificial intelligence to show her surrounded by a large crowd. Democratic strategist and popular YouTuber Keith Edwards claimed the image contains “an invisible digital identifier used by Google to verify content created by its AI.”

Crockett’s campaign says the anime-style advertisement “was created through hundreds of hours of real craft and collaboration between creatives and union labor.” But she did not directly address whether her campaign used AI in the ad.

On the Republican side, incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn has altered images in his own campaign ad against challenger Houston U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt. He’s shown Hunt as the book character “Where’s Waldo” in an attack on Hunt’s absence from voting in Congress.

“We just need to adjust, in my opinion, to the AI era and try to increase AI literacy among the public,” said Kevin Frazier, the director of AI Innovation at the University of Texas School of Law.

A video of Cornyn dancing with Crockett is a more obvious use of AI in political advertising. It’s part of an ad from Cornyn’s top Republican opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. It discloses the use of AI in the final shot.

Frazier argues that all AI use should be disclosed in political advertising. 

“Having some availability to know whether or not an image or an ad was generated by AI, but not going so far as to prohibit its use or to try to slap some heavy-handed law on it,” he said. “This should be a political and values-based conversation that may vary from state to state.”

During last year’s regular session, state Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, pushed for a bill to require candidates and political committees to disclose the use of altered media in ads.

Phelan was on the receiving end of AI during a tough Republican primary, as campaign mailers showed altered images of him hugging prominent Democrat Nancy Pelosi. The bill received pushback from conservative hardliners.

“It is my goal to prevent someone from impacting or altering an election by using fake media that never occurred in reality, be an AI or deepfakes,” said Phelan during the April 2025 debate.

Phelan’s bill made it out of the House with Democratic support but died in the upper chamber. Ultimately, Frazier thinks it’s up to Texans to inform candidates of what they think is the best ethical use of AI.

“If you don’t like the way someone’s campaigning, if you think they’re engaging in the 21st century’s version of mudslinging, for example, then using your vote is very effective,” said Frazier.

Early voting in the Texas primary elections starts next Tuesday.