The Longhorn Lights have moved to the South Mall for 2025.
Photo courtesy of the University of Texas at Austin
Students don't have to put up their own lights to get in the holiday spirit this season, as the University of Texas at Austin prepares for its 3rd annual Longhorn Lights installation. Visitors to the South Mall — or "the six-pack" — will see it decked out in lights starting Thursday, November 18.
The lights in UT's classic colors, orange and white, will be on every night from 5-10 pm. This year, they're "framing" UT's famous Tower, which is under construction as the masonry, windows, and other features are restored. The university announced the renovations in 2024; they also include new gilding, updated lighting, and refurbishing the clockface and carillon bells.
“Longhorn Lights brings the spirit of the holidays right to the Forty Acres,” said UT President Jim Davis in a press release. “The South Mall — the heart of campus — is the perfect setting for this beautiful display.”
That's not all for holiday happenings at UT and its affiliated organizations. Texas Performing Arts will screen holiday movies at Bass Concert Hall, including a showing of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation on December 16 with a Q&A with the film's star, Chevy Chase. Plus, the lights will be synchronized with music by the Longhorn Band after football games with Arkansas on November 22 and November 29.
The Longhorn Lights are free to see and open to the public. Visitors who are driving in to see them can park for free on some streets, in nearby metered spaces, or at the nearby Brazos Garage.
Anybody who’s attended elementary school in the last 100 years knows the concept of “cooties,” a fictional affliction that is typically caught when touched by a member of the opposite sex. A more updated version of the same idea is featured in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, this time called the “Cheese Touch,” making anyone who touches a moldy piece of cheese on the school’s basketball court an outcast.
A much more menacing version of this “disease” is on display in The Plague, which takes place at a summer water polo camp for tweens. The film focuses on Ben (Everett Blunck), a slightly awkward boy who struggles to fit in with the “cool” crowd led by Jake (Kayo Martin). That group has no problems making fun of others that they deem to be different, especially Eli (Kenny Rasmussen), who has been ostracized because of a rash he has that the kids call “the plague.”
Ben wants to be part of the main group, but his natural empathy leads him to reach out to Eli on more than one occasion despite Eli engaging in some uncomfortable behavior. With the camp’s coach (Joel Edgerton) not being much help when it comes to the bullying tactics by Jake and others, especially those that take place at night, Ben is left to fend for himself. His vacillations between wanting to be accepted and wanting to do what’s right continue until his hand is forced.
Written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Charlie Polinger, the film has all the feel of a horror movie without actually being horror. The staging used by Polinger gives the film a claustrophobic feel as Ben can’t seem to escape the psychological torture inflicted by Jake and others no matter where he goes. He also employs a jarring score by Johan Lenox to great effect, one that’s designed to keep viewers on edge even when nothing bad is happening.
No matter how far removed you are from middle school, the film will likely bring up feelings you thought you had left behind. Much like with Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, Polinger finds a way to tap into something universal in his depiction of tweens, an age when everyone is still discovering who they really are. Some go along to get along, others don’t even attempt to fit in, but no one truly feels settled.
Whether the plague is real or not in the world of the film is up for debate. While most of the time it comes off as something made up to underscore the feeling of otherness felt by Ben, Polinger does literalize it to a degree. He even tiptoes up to the line of body horror before wisely retreating, although what he does show will still make some viewers squeamish. However, because he seems to be leaning one way before pulling back, there’s the possibility that some will be disappointed by the tease of something more intense.
The film’s biggest success is in its casting. Finding good child actors is notoriously tough, and yet Polinger and casting director Rebecca Dealy found a bunch who sell the story for all it’s worth. Blunck, Martin, and Rasmussen get the most play, but everyone else complements them well. Edgerton is the only well-known actor in the film, but he’s used sparingly and isn’t asked to do much, leaving the kids to carry the story on their shoulders.
Fitting in as a tween is hard enough without others actively trying to find ways to cast someone out. The Plague is an effective demonstration of the dynamics that can play out in a competitive environment that also includes a group that has yet to develop into fully-rounded people. It features discomfort on multiple levels, marking an auspicious debut for Polinger.
