This Friday, November 8, several student groups collaborated to hold an emergency Anti-Trump Rally on Low Steps.

At 1 pm on Friday afternoon, Columbia Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), Columbia Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA), Columbia Student Worker Solidarity (SWS), Columbia Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), Columbia Housing Equity Project (HEP), Columbia Palestine Solidarity Coalition (CPSC) and Columbia Sunrise Movement collaboratively held an Emergency Rally against Donald Trump at Low Steps. As stated on Instagram, they hoped to “educate [Columbia students’] anger” and offer resources to “resist against Trump’s presidency.” 

One hour after the End Jew Hatred protest on 116th and Amsterdam, SDS, JVP, HEP, YDSA, and CPSC held an anti-Trump rally on Low Steps. Student groups held up signs saying “Students Against Fascism” and “No Matter the Government, the Struggle Continues.” The rally was populated with students and professors alike.

A student from SDS addresses the crowd on Low Steps.

As they handed out stickers saying “Resist this Fascist” to mark their allyship, a student leader from SDS led the rally as he announced, “Come for the stickers, but stay for the struggle for a more democratic university and society.” He asserted that people in red states “did not have to wait for a Trump presidency to recognize that they would live in theocracy.” To portray what a Trump presidency might look like, he referenced recently-passed legislation like the “Don’t Say Gay Bill” and the “Deadname Bill” that allow for LGBTQ students to be marginalized.

The SDS member went on to cite testimonies of individuals who had “lost jobs due to their identity” and had “been beaten by men on the street.” He asked his audience to repeat after him in choral response as he passionately declared, “I do not tell you these things to scare you, though you should be scared. I do not tell you these things to make you angry, though you should be angry. I tell you these things because Project 2025 is not a looming threat. Project 2025 is already here.” Project 2025 refers to the 900-page report that outlines “a set of proposals that would expand presidential power and impose an ultra-conservative social vision.”

Different student groups came forward to speak and mobilize the crowd. A student leader from HEP––a group that provides support to unhoused individuals living in shelters and on the street––came forward to speak on Trump’s policies on homelessness, including criminalizing homelessness and further marginalizing disenfranchised low-income and LGBTQ individuals. They mobilized the crowd to take action and “resist Trump’s presidency” by providing resources to get involved with soup kitchens and HEP.

Amidst the chants of “Donald Trump has got to go” and “Stand up, fight back!,” a speaker from Columbia Sunrise Movement, spoke of the negative effects that Trump’s presidency would have on the climate and climate research funding. On a university level, he asserted that the crowd should hold Columbia accountable for the funding it receives from fossil fuel companies and call for divestment from them. He also advocated for New York State Representative Zohran Mamdani’s 2025 Mayoral Campaign, stating Mamdani believes in making housing equitable and combating pollution in New York.

As the rally drew to a close around 1:50 pm, the SDS member left the crowd with the message that he hoped the rally had helped “express their outrage” and emphasized the urgency of resisting Trump’s policies. The group dispersed as most headed towards Washington Square Park to join a city-wide walk-out against Trump organized by the Sunrise Movement.

Anti-Trump rally on Low Steps via Bwog Staff