"Tatum Owens, a UT senior and co-chair of the College Student Commission, said addressing college student housing affordability is a vital issue for her. She hopes that the city continues to include more input from college students as they try to find more affordable housing solutions.

She said the city will see clear benefits from having more available affordable housing options for students because those students would be able to provide more time and resources back to the city if they are not rent-burdened.

“I know many students, including myself, are moving out of Austin once they graduate because they simply cannot afford to live in this city without aid,” Owens said. “This is unacceptable, and the city should aim to make it more affordable overall, but especially for this large group of residents because they make up a good part of Austin culture.”

"The University of Texas Civic Engagement Alliance (UT CEA) is hosting two identical workshops titled “TX LEGE 101” to break down the 88th Texas Legislative Session...After identifying a deficit in accessible information about the Legislative Session and how to track it, Owens and the other Texas Rising student leaders led a collaborative effort with the other Texas Rising officers and UT CEA to put together TX LEGE 101."

Tatum's "group, Texas Rising, [was] registering people to vote on the University of Texas at Austin campus outside Gregory Gym until midnight. Tuesday dozens of young people registered—a few driven to the polls over the same single issue."

"The ACLU published its Students’ Rights Hub on Aug. 31, which contains resources to inform students about their rights and how to take action against censorship and discrimination....Tatum Owens, the president of UT’s chapter of Texas Rising, said many young people who want to get involved in civic engagement do not know where to start.

“For young people who are looking to hold their schools and communities accountable, this resource is vital,” political communication senior Owens said. “You need to know your rights, that way you can defend them when they’re violated.”

Owens said she would have liked to see more resources included, such as specific city codes and state agencies, but because of the difficult language of laws, these resources might be confusing for students.

“The hub itself was kind of bare, but I think that’s also due to how jargony it can become otherwise,” Owens said. “State government can really be inaccessible to everyday citizens.”

This article describes my input with the Rise Riverside group and the College Student Commission as both focusing on increasing reliable and equitable transportation for all residents in Austin. Particularly, we advocated for student housing populations.

"Austin is considering the demolition of three historic gay bars located on 4th St. to build a residential/commercial tower, raising concern over the future of the Austin LGBTQ+ community. The area around 4th St. has a long history of being a safe, supportive space for marginalized communities, referred to as Austin’s “gayborhood.” Tatum Owens, a member of Texas Rising, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for equality, social justice and the rights of POC and marginalized communities, said she was discouraged to hear about the possible closures.

“The City of Austin can once again cry, ‘Keep Austin Weird’ and claim it praises diversity when the real authentic representations of that are being destroyed and, and or displaced,” Owens said. “It’s so disheartening to see that developers don't care about that, and that the City of Austin won't protect that community against these developers.”

"hundreds of students in San Antonio walked out of class to protest gun violence. They are now reacting to the tragedy coming closer to home.

"I wanna make sure they heard what was happening," Tatum Owens, student activist said.

Owens, Lindsey Aston and Galicia Lopez led the walkouts at Douglas MacArthur High School in April 2018."

"Students at several San Antonio schools walked out of class at 10 a.m. on Friday, to protest gun violence and demand safer schools.

Hundreds of students from San Antonio joined others from more than 2,500 schools across the country for the National School Walkout.

Students at MacArthur High School walked out and gathered in front of their school, as did students at Holmes High School."