Controversial $242,000 RebFest Concert Canceled

(Mark Ciavola) – After weeks of mounting pressure, UNLV’s Student Government (CSUN) announced yesterday that the controversial $242,000 RebFest concert planned for April would be cancelled due to a lack of sponsorships and artists booked. CSUN planned to discuss the future of RebFest next Monday to determine whether the concert would go on past the March 1^st pull out date – a precaution that was added after the budget was passed by one vote on January 24^th. The UNLV Rebel Yell had recently reported that Jon Goldman, the creator of RebFest, was ineligible to be in CSUN when he proposed the concert budget. After Goldman resigned, David Rapoport, CSUN President and Goldman’s friend, had planned to continue paying Goldman through student fees to work on the concert. Rapoport changed his mind after the article was published.

“The UNLV College Republicans are extremely pleased that this poorly planned event will not cost students $70,000 while UNLV President Neal Smatresk is talking about financial exigency,” said Mark Ciavola, president of the UNLV College Republicans.

The UNLV College Republicans (UNLVCRs) had spent the last four weeks publicly opposing the concert at their daily on-campus table offering information for students including the RebFest budget, names and contact information for CSUN Senators that voted in favor of the concert, and a timeline of the questionable actions that followed its passage. Yesterday, representatives of the UNLVCRs met with CSUN Senators to help submit an action item for next Monday’s CSUN Senate meeting which would have adjusted the previously allocated funds for RebFest from $70,000 to $0. CSUN President David Rapoport canceled the concert via email less than three hours after the action item was submitted.

“This proves that if students are informed and engaged, they can truly make a difference on campus,” concluded Ciavola.

(Mark Ciavola is president of UNLV College Republicans.)