SINCE 1981
UTSA UTSA launched its Center for the Inquiry of Transformative Literacies over the weekend. Formerly known as La Plaza de Lectura, the literacy center is expanding as a research initiative in child literacy. The Center, located at the Downtown Campus, provides year-round services for San Antonio children, and has also collaborated with government agency USAID since 2005 to publish books for children in countries such as Nigeria, South Africa and Malawi.
VOLUME 54
ISSUE 5
september 20 - 27, 2016
MOVE SA
talks voting at voter guide launch
Texas Rice University’s Marching Owl Band satirized Baylor’s alleged mishandling of a sexual assault complaint case filed by one of their students during the Rice vs Baylor football game last Friday. During the halftime performance, the band played in the formation of “IX,” in reference to the Title IX case filed against the university.
U.S. A homemade explosive detonated in the New York City neighborhood of Chelsea Sunday night. The explosion injured 29 people, with a second bomb found and disabled nearby. After an intense manhunt covering New York and New Jersey, Ahmad Khan Rahami, a 28-year-old naturalized U.S. citizen and Afghanistan native, was taken into custody as the primary suspect.
World President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are meeting this Wednesday to discuss a policy framework for Middle East peace. The two leaders have not met since last November, partially due to tensions surrounding the Iranian nuclear deal. On the cusp of the United Nations General Assembly, the meeting will cover a two-state solution to the IsraeliPalestinian conflict and various other security concerns.
Science Molecular Biologist Dr. Christie Wilcox has studied the breakthroughs of venom research, and the benefits for medicine incurred by “venomonics” and venom-derived treatments. Venom from king cobras, box jellyfish and gila monster all have the potential to treat diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and kidney disease due to the synthesizing of a component called peptide that is used in pharmaceuticals.
MOVE San Antonio unveiled the digital version of their new “voter guide” for the 2016 election. The guide is avaible at movesanantonio.org
environmental science major, now has a News Assistant permanent address and can @gaigedavila vote without encumbrance news@paisano-online.com but recalled a time when this wasn’t the case. “I faced some challenges MOVE San Antonio, a in the past when voting non-profit organization due to being a student with that encourages young temporary addresses,” voters to get politically Solis said. “I’ve had to engaged, will be registering travel at times back to voters on National Voter Corpus Christi (from Registration Day (NVRD) San Antonio) in order at UTSA’s Main Campus to vote where I was and The Block on Sep. 27 registered.” Although NVRD focuses Organizations like on registering voters Ari Berman, senior contributing writer at The Nation MOVE San Antonio for this year’s elections, attempt to curtail MOVE San Antonio is photo ID requirement these barriers through part of a larger initiative to hanging on the wall. daily activism. emphasize the importance “They actually had the “I think in a state of voting in all elections correct information that’s this diverse, when many states have behind the desk about it should be more implemented voter what was required, accommodating, ” ID laws, which critics but they hadn’t put the Berman said. “It really attribute to causes of voter (new) poster up, ” he shouldn’t be a political disenfranchisement. said. (motive) to get In August 2015, Texas Outdated people to vote; that’s courts overturned SB 14, a information can lead something everyone voter identification law that to a scenario in which should agree on. I required voters to have election officials are think it’s unfortunate a photo ID, arguing that turning away eligible that it’s become such a the law is discriminatory. voters because they partisan issue.” This verdict means that in lack a photo ID. Solis spelled out November Texas voters can In response to what the implications of cast a ballot with permitted voters should do if what happens when identification but are not Benjamin Shirani , The Paisano the right to vote is faced with challenges required to posses a photo about their voting politicized. ID. MOVE San Antonio’s “Vote Bot” is one of the eligibility from poll “Those that are ways the group will register you to vote Despite this legal workers, Berman putting these laws into ruling, barriers against suggests to be persistent. place are probably not voting in the state are far “Show up and vote with online voter registration. concerned with whether from being torn down whatever ID you have. If “It’s insane in this day or not they are infringing completely. Ari Berman, they say you can’t vote, tell and age where we can do on the rights of these senior contributing them you want to cast a anything on our iPhone minorities,” Solis said. writer for The Nation provisional ballot. If they but can’t register to vote Mariana Lozano, and journalist who covers won’t give you a provisional (online) in a state as big as sophomore biology major, voting rights, shadowed ballot, don’t leave until Texas, ” he said. explained the challenges MOVE San Antonio last you’ve asked for their Regional conditions she faced in attempting week as they canvassed supervisor,” he said. also play an important role to vote in this year’s university campuses and Berman explained, in exercising the right to presidential primaries. neighborhoods, dropped “Sometimes poll workers vote meaningfully. In San “Location (of where to off voter registration cards are just uninformed with Antonio, language barriers vote) was one (challenge) to Bexar County Elections what the law is because it can prevent that from for me personally. I was Department and prepared happening. in the UTSA area that day According to Berman, and wouldn’t be able to get ballots in Texas are made to Stone Oak where my in English and Spanish, but address was registered,” deputization classes that Lozano said. “By the time allow people to gain the I had gone through the authority to register others long line and was told to vote are only available in about the location rule, I English. wouldn’t have made it to For students the (the polls) with the traffic. I conditions surrounding suppose that’s where early voting are particular, too. voting comes in. A more Many students attending pressing issue would be the college outside of their long lines, they definitely hometown are registered discourage voter turnout.” there and find it a hassle to Although Lozano is cast a ballot. registered to vote in Bexar MOVE Executive Director H. Drew Galloway and The Nation magazine’s Samantha Solis, county, these setbacks Ari Berman sophomore prevented her from voting. Benjamin Shirani , The Paisano
Gaige Davila
the release of their 2016 MOVE San Antonio Voter Guide. While at the Bexar County Elections Department with MOVE San Antonio, Berman noticed a poster displaying old information about the
has changed multiple times and Texas has not been very straightforward with letting people know that.” Berman suggested that Texas should have automatic voter registration, election day registration, along with
“I think it’s unfortunate that it’s become such a partisan issue...”
Benjamin Shirani , The Paisano “Texas has some of the strictest voter ID laws and lowest voter turnout (in the country) and I believe those two things are undoubtedly correlated with one another,” Lozano said. H. Drew Galloway, director of MOVE San Antonio, works to mitigate these issues. “We are really vocal with the fact that voting is very hard, especially here in Texas.” Solis agrees that voting is unnecessarily difficult and disproportionately impacts specific groups of people. “I think voter turnout is already very low amongst our poor and minority citizens. We shouldn’t be making it harder for an already marginalized group to have representation,” Solis said. MOVE San Antonio tables regularly on many local area campuses, “class-raps” (short, in-class presentations advocating the importance of voting) and interns students in the San Antonio area. The digital version of the 2016 San Antonio Voter Guide released on movesanantonio. org provides policy stances from politicians represented by the Republican, Democratic, Green and Libertarian tickets. Although the Green and Libertarian parties are not receiving the same amount of attention as the Democratic and Republican parties, Galloway stressed that their inclusion is essential in this election. “There’s people that care a lot about issues that aren’t necessarily being highlighted by both major parties,” Galloway said. “Millennials are much more issue driven than driven by the party.” The print version of MOVE San Antonio’s 2016 Voter Guide will be released soon, and the digital version can be accessed online.