About 50 students, professors, and community members attended a “Stand Against Fascism” rally at Ho Plaza on Friday afternoon, hearing from a slate of speakers who criticized both newly-elected President Donald Trump and the Democratic Party, before marching to the Ithaca Commons to join a larger group of protesters.
The event, held in protest of Donald Trump regaining the presidency, was organized by the Cornell Progressives, Cornell Young Democratic Socialists of America, Cornell Democrats and Cornell’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine. Other organizations including the Ithaca chapters of the Sunrise Movement and Communist Party USA joined the group at the Commons.
Cornell YDSA campaign committee chair Sam Poole ’28 opened the rally, urging the crowd to come together and abide by the University’s Interim Expressive Activity Policy by not using amplified sound.
“Organize everywhere you can. We may not be able to change the results of this election. [But] we can make sure whatever happens next, we stand together,” Poole said.
Prof. Russell Rickford, history, who faced backlash in October 2023 for saying he was “exhilarated” by the Hamas-led attack on Israel, spoke next.
“Expose the perversity of Cornell hosting the merchants of death amid an ongoing genocide, and [Cornell] will try to ruin you,” Rickford said, referring to pro-Palestinian student activists who have faced discipline after forcibly entering and shutting down a Sept. 18 career fair featuring defense contractors Boeing and L3Harris.
“According to the oligarchs and their proxies,” Rickford added, “it is the banging of pots and pans at a career fair, and not the shredding of children’s bodies, that constitutes disruption.”
Rickford went on to criticize the Democratic Party as well.
“The [Democrats] set out to prove that they could militarize the borders, destroy the planet and grovel before Israeli militarism as well as their opponents could. Well, congrats!” Rickford said.
Prof. Shannon Gleeson, industrial and labor relations and public policy, spoke later.
“This week, we saw the election of a former and now future president, one who has professed to rescue cities that have been invaded and conquered across what he refers to as America,” Gleeson said. “Those of us who are working with … immigrant communities understand this to be a racist and xenophobic dog whistle. It’s an attempt to turn us against newcomers, but it’s also an attempt to turn us against each other.”
The rally was briefly interrupted by a passerby leaving the Cornell Store, who biked through the crowd and yelled out “You’re brainwashed! Choose peace,” leading to a verbal confrontation with a rally participant as a University official watched on.
“There’s no fascism going on here. I’m not for insults, I’m serious, I am as much against fascism as anyone else, and I don’t feel like that’s what’s happening in our country,” the passerby said.
Both the University official present and the rallygoer who argued with the passerby declined to comment.
At one point, an organizer held up a sign that read “Donald Trump suck my dick” and waved it at a nearby tour group, who were swiftly directed away from the protest by their guide.
An hour later, rally participants marched through Collegetown to the Ithaca Commons, joining a crowd of more than 150 people already present to hear from additional speakers. Organizers distributed pamphlets on “Student Organizing Under Trump Presidency” and “What is Security Culture?” and zines on navigating post-disaster trauma for those dealing with the emotional wake of the election.
Speakers on the Commons included Cornell YDSA co-chair and Sun columnist Nick Wilson ’26, Cornell Graduate Students United committee member Maggie Foster grad, Ithaca Tenants Union co-chair Sarah Curless, Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America chair Jorge DeFendini ’22 and Common Council Alderperson Phoebe Brown (D-First Ward).
Wilson told The Sun it was his first speaking appearance at a local protest since he was suspended last April for his involvement in the pro-Palestinian encampment on the Arts Quad.
“Thank you to you all for making it clear tonight that fascism will not be tolerated in Ithaca, New York,” Wilson told the crowd. “As we know, Cornell would much rather suspend their own students and target their very own than risk paying their fair share to the city of Ithaca. The powerful institutions that rule our lives will not protect us amid the rise of fascism. We’re going to have to force them to.”
“We think Cornell is operating in a way that is not standing up and defending its students amid the rise of fascist politics in our country but is instead bending over and allowing those sort of corporate interests, those fascist political movements to guide Cornell’s hand in these things,” Wilson later told The Sun, referencing a letter to Cornell from the House Ways and Means Committee earlier this year.
The letter was prompted by claims of a hostile environment toward Jewish students on campus. It stated that compliance with the request for information in the letter was “essential to justifying the generous tax-exempt status that the American people have provided institutions like [Cornell] for decades.” Wilson believes that the University ramped up its campaign against pro-Palestinian protestors following the letter.
Prof. Carlton Williams, law, attended the Commons rally. In an interview with The Sun, Williams spoke about former Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.
“I think Kamala Harris is a genocidal person, is actively not supporting a genocide, [but] is actively carrying out a genocide. This is a genocidal war that the United States of America is doing in the Middle East.” Williams said.
A key focus of both events was the ongoing war in Gaza, as much as the election of President Trump. Speakers in the Commons emphasized that both major parties were permissive of Israeli actions in recent years, and many attendees wore keffiyehs, traditional scarves that have become symbols of Palestinian identity. Speakers at both events also advocated for local issues that left-leaning activists are working to pass local legislation on, including participatory budgeting and just-cause firing.
Aryan Batada ’28 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].
Max Troiano ’28 is a Sun contributor and can be reached at [email protected].
Clarification, Nov. 14, 4:50 p.m.: A previous correction to this article based upon Cornell Democrats’ affiliation with the protest has been reversed.