An AOC Cornell event drew a packed crowd Sunday as student hosts led attendees in chanting a slogan widely criticized as anti-Israel, then introduced Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who later accused the university of suppressing speech.
The Cornell University chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America organized the “Students vs. Billionaires” town hall. According to organizers, chapter president Mina Petrova and co-chair Zoe Reisman rallied roughly 2,000 attendees with calls of “long live the student intifada,” followed by the chant “from the river to the sea.”
Petrova told the audience that Cornell prioritizes profits and billionaires over its community and is overseen by trustees benefiting from war, remarks that drew loud applause from the crowd.
Reisman said the group stood as anti-imperialists in solidarity with oppressed people, adding that student activism remains strong and invoking “student resistance” and the “student intifada.”
When Ocasio-Cortez took the stage, she aligned with her hosts in criticizing the university’s handling of speech. “Whether it’s the issue about Palestine or many others, whether it’s about people trying to fire those who are forming a union in their workplace, whether it’s people trying to speak up about a number of different issues, we have to respond to that first crackdown,” she said. She later added, “When we come out in numbers, they cannot take us all.”
Her campaign has framed the tour as an effort to drive turnout in Democratic strongholds. Recent national polling indicates, however, that Democratic Socialists of America affiliates remain unpopular with most voters. A recent survey found 55 percent of registered voters view the DSA unfavorably, while about three in 10 view the group positively.
The polling suggests that while the DSA has energy within segments of the Democratic base, skepticism toward the organization and the broader socialist movement persists nationally.
Jewish organizations have criticized the “from the river to the sea” slogan as antisemitic, and campus use of the phrase has drawn controversy at universities across the country.
AOC Cornell event draws scrutiny amid polling on DSA
The debate over campus speech and political activism has intensified ahead of the elections, with Republicans aiming to highlight associations with socialist groups. The polling numbers reinforce that strategy by underscoring the gap between energized progressive organizers and broader public opinion.
The criticism of activist rhetoric and slogans comes as other national debates over political messaging, from impeachment threats to foreign policy, continue to shape voter perceptions, as seen in coverage of the House Democrats oversight agenda.
Cornell’s prominence and the scale of the event have also drawn renewed attention to how elite campuses navigate speech controversies, with some students and faculty calling for clearer policies from the university administration amid rising tensions.
