UNT, UT Students Protest Trump's Win, Joining Campus Demonstrations Across U.S.

Five stories that have North Texas talking: These eight Texans could be a part of Trump’s Washington; Dallas banned smoking in public parks; Go behind the lens of a longtime Dallas filmmaker; and more.

Student protests at the University of Texas in Austin and the University of North Texas in Denton Wednesday were among several across the country following the results of the presidential election. 

In Austin, around 300 student protesters and Trump supporters met peacefully outside the UT Tower before noon, the Texas Tribune reports. The demonstration stretched for over five hours and for several miles as students and joining Austinites marched downtown toward the Capitol.

At one point, protesters partially blocked the South First Street bridge, KUT reports. After reaching the Capitol, they returned to campus, the Tribune reports. And hundreds more continued protesters later into the evening, according to KUT. The Austin Police Department said the protest as "peaceful with no incidents" on Twitter. 

In Denton, University of North Texas students also gathered Wednesday to protest Donald Trump's presidential victory. In the late morning, a small group met to pray and vent about the election results. Eventually, the group grew to about 300 students and some faculty at the Library Mall on campus, according to the North Texas Daily, UNT's student newspaper.  One student was even giving out free hugs. 

According to The Washington Post, there were many college campus protests taking place Election Night and into the following day after Trump clinched the nomination in a largely unexpected upset for the Clinton campaign. [KUT, The Washington Post, North Texas Daily]

• How much influence could Texas have in the Trump administration? Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick says he wants the state to have a “big seat at the table” when the newly dubbed President-elect takes office, The Texas Tribune reports. Trump gained several Texas political leaders’ loyalty during his campaign, like Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller of the recent Twitter scandal and Katrina Pierson, a Tea Party activist from Garland and Trump’s campaign spokeswoman. See a list of eight potential Texans that could serve Trump in some capacity. [The Texas Tribune]

• The Dallas City Council Wednesday banned smoking in the city's public parks, effective March 1. However, exceptions to the ban include municipal golf courses, the city's gun and archery range and privately controlled parks, the Dallas Morning News reports. Those private parks include the Dallas Zoo, the Dallas Arboretum, Lee Park and Fair Park during the State Fair of Texas. The ban will be added to the 2008 ordinance that outlawed smoking in Dallas' bars, restaurants and city-owned facilities. [The Dallas Morning News]

• Get to know a longtime Dallas filmmaker in tonight’s “Frame of Mind.” The series explores various types of film — documentaries, shorts and features — from North Texas creators. Tonight’s episode details the more than four decades of work, “beginning in Vietnam and ending with footage taken at the memorial for the officers who lost their lives this summer in the Dallas shooting,” by filmmaker Mark Birnbaum. Art&Seek sat down with Birnbaum recently to talk one-on-one about his career. The show airs at 10 p.m. on KERA TV. [Art&Seek]

• A North Texan plays the lead role in the critically acclaimed feature, “Moonlight.” Actor Trevante Rhodes portrays the adult Chiron, who grows up struggling with his sexual orientation as he faces adversity. Rhodes sees homophobia “as especially pernicious and hypocritical in the black community,” GuideLive reports. The 26-year-old actor says, “We're born with our pigment darker than others, and we get oppressed for that. Then we have individuals who are born loving the same sex, and we do the same thing to them that was done to us.” Read more. [GuideLive]