Erika Pernis

Hi! My name is Erika and I’m a student journalist based in Austin, Texas. I’m currently a journalism and Asian American Studies student at the University of Texas at Austin. 

The Daily Texan •

From the Capitol to the Tower: A look at faculty sentiments post SB 37

The Texan conducted an independent survey to gather faculty perspectives on the implementation of Texas Senate Bill 37 and its impact on teaching, shared governance and academic freedom.
What is our survey?
The Texan created a survey in September, sent it to all UT undergraduate faculty members and received 551 responses, accounting for 16% of all undergraduate faculty, as of the 2024-25 academic year. The survey asked faculty members if they have considered changing their curriculum or leaving...
The Daily Texan •

Austin City Council approves sound assessment ordinance for residential building developments

Austin City Council approved an ordinance on Sept. 12 that requires sound assessments for residential developments near music venues.
The ordinance requires residential building developers to obtain a sound assessment if the project site is located within 600 feet of at least one outdoor music venue or 300 feet from at least one performance venue. The ordinance went into effect Monday, and intends to ensure developers understand the sound levels within the area so they can design projects accord...
The Daily Texan •

UT community members with disabilities voice polling location, voter accessibility concerns

With Election Day approaching on Nov. 5, voters with disabilities are raising concerns about voting accessibility and offering suggestions to make polling locations and the voting process more accessible.
According to a 2021 study from the U.S Election Assistance Commission, about 11% of voters with disabilities had some form of difficulty voting in the 2020 election, and people with disabilities had a 7% lower turnout rate than people without disabilities of the same age.
Sashi Nisankarao, an a...
The Daily Texan •

‘Everything is beautiful about them’: Family of missing graduate student, wife files new report in Mexico

A student’s sister filed a missing persons report in September after the student lost contact with friends and family during a research trip this summer. 
Elizabeth Guzman filed the report after her brother, Frank Guzman, a cultural anthropology doctorate student, and his wife, Caroline Katba, lost contact with friends and family on July 22. Guzman and Katba were on a cross-national road trip in Latin America for Frank’s work on the Palestinian diaspora in Chile, Elizabeth said. 
Elizabeth said...
The Daily Texan •

Audit reveals city faces communication, data collection issues with electric scooters

City of Austin staff reported there is limited data on electric scooter collisions and blockages throughout the city, according to an audit presented on Aug. 28 to the City Council, and said more community involvement around regulating electric scooters would improve data collection.
Over the past five years, people in the city have taken around 18 million trips on electric scooters, and the community has safety concerns due to collisions, sidewalk blocking and traffic flow, according to the aud...
The Daily Texan •

University hosts workshop to help low-vision community experience eclipses

UT’s Department of Astronomy hosted workshops on Jan. 28 and 29 to build devices that convert light into sound in order to help the low-vision community experience solar eclipses.
The LightSound Project, an initiative started by Harvard astronomers, led the workshops. Attendees learned how to build LightSound devices, which utilize a technique called sonification, a process that converts light intensity to sound. As the moon eclipses the sun and the light dims, the device outputs a change in mus...
The Daily Texan •

Austin Police implement summer-long ‘no refusal’ initiative to better enforce DWI laws

The Austin Police Department kicked off its Drive Sober Summer No Refusal Initiative on June 1 to give police officers the ability to better enforce driving while intoxicated laws. The initiative will run every night of the week from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. between June 1 and Aug. 31. 
Typically, people can refuse to provide a blood alcohol content test if they are arrested for allegedly driving while intoxicated, according to Jason Day, a detective in the Austin Police Department’s Impaired Driving In...
The Daily Texan •

Autonomous vehicle company, Waymo, expected to roll out commercial ride-booking services in Austin later this year

Another autonomous vehicle company will roll out its commercial ride-hailing services to the Austin community later this year. 
Last year, Waymo, an autonomous vehicle company subsidized by Google, announced Austin as its fourth ride-hailing city. Waymo started testing fully autonomous vehicles earlier this month, and Austin residents can join a waitlist right now if they are interested in riding in a Waymo vehicle. 
“Austin is really such a dynamic and vibrant city,” said Olivia Chang, Waymo’s...