Est. 1981
Vol. 69, Issue 13
N o v e mb e r 2 6 - D e c e mb e r 3 , 2 0 2 4
THE PAISANO
Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio Community /PaisanoOnline
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Alex Stein visit sparks response from Right to Rebel By Khoi Nguyen Staff Writer
O
n Tuesday, Nov. 19, the Socialist Student Alliance (SSA), now known as Right to Rebel, organized outside of Denman Ballroom in protest of Alex Stein, a right-wing comedian who was set to perform inside. Stein, who is known for confronting politicians and disrupting city council meetings, was hosted by the UTSA chapter of Turning Point USA (TPUSA) — a non-profit organization promoting conservative beliefs on high school and college campuses. TPUSA has hosted Stein at colleges across the U.S., including the University of Washington, Oregon State University and the University of Nevada-Reno. His visit to UTSA was announced on Instagram on Nov. 7. In response, Right to Rebel announced a speakout on Nov. 18 at 1 p.m. in the Sombrilla and a protest at 6:30 p.m. on the day of the show via Instagram. Right to Rebel instructed protesters to “wear black” and “mask up” to form a black bloc, a protest tactic used to conceal wearers’ identities. They were also instructed to “block the show.” “When fascists are not immediately forced out of our shared spaces, it is only a matter of time before they own them. Show up, Show out, Stand up, and Fight Back!” reads the caption of Right to Rebel’s post. Stein responded by posting a screenshot of Right to Rebel’s post on the day after, captioning, “At UTSA they wanna disrupt, But I’m speaking facts that they can’t interrupt.” At 7 p.m. on the night of the performance, about two dozen masked Right to Rebel members dressed in black marched through the doors of the Student Union. Their chants included,
Dennis Higgins/The Paisano
“Get these fascists off of our campus,” “Get the alt-right off of our campus” and “It is our right to rebel. Alex Stein, go to hell.” “We talk about freedom of speech, but he’s just spouting hatred that makes people unsafe on campus,” said a protester. “In making that hatred into a supposed comedy night, it then validates that hatred,” said another protester. “He uses that whole thing of ‘as a joke’ to shield himself.” Stein mocked the protesters, recording videos of the standoff and later posting them to his social media. “They’re all mentally deranged. They’re all
should be and shouldn’t be allowed on college campuses. “My message is that I’m sick of the government always messing everything up. You know, I’m very anti-government. I understand the government has to be in our lives, but I want a very limited government.” Stein went inside to perform at 7:17 p.m. His material, which included jokes about transgender issues, vaccines and political figures, resonated with the crowd, which appeared to consist more of local residents than students. Audience members frequently voiced their agreement, shouting out responses that echoed his rhetoric, while others
vaccinated. They’re on SSRIs,” he can be seen saying on Instagram. The protest moved outside to the secondstory balcony of the Student Union, with police presence deterring Right to Rebel from reentering. When asked about his thoughts on the protest, Stein responded, “I actually kind of like these protesters because they’re passionate. I just think that they’re confused a little bit about what my message is and what messages
left as the performance elapsed. “A lot of people who are conservative say, ‘Hey, I don’t want transgenders in the military.’ False,” Stein said. “Transgenders are the scariest people on planet Earth, and they are the best at mass shootings.” After 20 minutes, Stein resorted to crowd work, answering questions from the audience. At 7:56 p.m., rumbling could be heard throughout the ballroom, as Right to Rebel pounded on its
windows. This, however, ended quickly, as police instructed the students to stop. Right to Rebel’s actions have been met with disapproval from the community. “Everyone’s got their own opinions. I’m not informed enough to make an opinion about what they’re arguing about, but I feel like they definitely could’ve handled that way better,” said an on-site witness. “They have every right to protest. I don’t much care what they do. They bang on walls, they yell, they shout slogans. Who cares? Such is [their] right,” said a comedy night attendee. Many have also ridiculed a typo in Right to Rebel’s banner. The first “s” in fascism was missing; the typo was corrected post-production by a comparatively smaller “s.” “[Right to Rebel] fix your sign,” reads the title of a Reddit post on r/UTSA. “It’s spelled FASCISM ffs.” On Nov. 22, SSA changed its name to ‘Right to Rebel’ to “better represent [their] organization as well as the students and workers of SATX.” When asked for their opinion on the aftermath of the protest, the organization responded, “‘Right to Rebel’ is a very new organization. We got a lot of media attention, a lot of public interest and a lot of scrutiny very quickly. We plan to publish a Summation and Self Criticism on the event, which we encourage even those who disagree with us to read, along with spending more time going to the community. “Hateful rhetoric can and has escalated into pogroms and lynch mobs against marginalized communities across the country,” said Right to Rebel. “We will not sit by and let history repeat.”
Talk of new Spurs arena in ‘Project Marvel’ By Matthew Moses Staff Writer At the city council meeting on Nov. 21, Assistant City Manager Lori Houston unveiled “Project Marvel,” a multibillion-dollar reimagining of downtown with plans to transform the city’s sports and convention infrastructure, potentially boosting tourism and economic prospects. City officials outlined the proposal with several key developments. Though the price was not announced during the Thursday meeting, the project is estimated to cost between $3-4 billion. Plans include a new downtown arena for the Spurs, an entertainment venue, a Convention Center expansion, a new convention hotel and Alamodome upgrades. With roughly $2.6 billion allocated for a new downtown arena for the Spurs and to remodel the Alamodome, city
officials emphasized that “the arena will not be funded by the general taxpayers.” Potential funding sources include a 6% occupancy tax and sales tax on hotels within 3 miles of the project, authorized by a recent Texas Senate bill that designated the Alamodome and Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center as project finance zones. City officials may also seek a Community Venues Tax, which would dedicate up to 25% of local sales tax revenue to the project, subject to voter approval. Houston highlighted the critical need for these improvements, revealing that San Antonio has missed out on substantial economic opportunities. She noted that San Antonio has been passed up by approximately 90 conventions in the past five years, losing out on upwards of 450,000 visitors representing over $700 million in missed revenue for the city.
Houston called the Alamodome a “dinosaur,” noting the NCAA would not be hosting any future Final Four events beyond its 2025 and 2029 men’s and women’s tournament commitments without significant upgrades to the 30-year-old stadium. The reimagined downtown scene includes a new 5,000-seat entertainment venue, a 1,000-room convention hotel with 20,000 square feet dedicated to UTSA’s School of Hospitality and 26,000 square feet for a variety of food, beverage and retail spaces. Additional infrastructure improvements include a proposed land bridge over IH-37, which would connect the East Side to downtown. The city has already received a $2.9 million federal grant to explore the highway land bridge concept and is completing feasibility studies for various project components. Walsh said the city
is looking to other cities like Kansas City which have embarked on highway capping projects of their own. He said the city wants a large park over the highway, but one not as wooded and natural as the Robert L.B. Tobin Land Bridge over Wurzbach Parkway. All developments west of IH-37 — including the Spurs arena, entertainment venue and Convention Center expansion — are scheduled for completion within one to five years. The Alamodome upgrades could potentially take five to 15 years, partially due to existing NCAA commitments like the 2029 Women’s Final Four. The city will present the first feasibility study for the Convention Center expansion to the city council on Dec. 4, marking the beginning of a series of detailed project assessments.