Over 1,000 students attend 'Our Fight Our Future' rally – The Daily Texan

Over a thousand students gathered on campus Tuesday for a “Our Fight for Our Future” rally, where several prominent progressive politicians spoke about upcoming elections.

The rally organized by the University Democrats took place in a packed hall Hogg Memorial Auditorium. It featured Rep. Lloyd Doggett, former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, Rep. Greg Casar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Brian Peña, president of the University Democrats, said the organization has been planning the event for the past few weeks but has been working to hold a “large headlining event” for years. Ultimately, it came down to timing, he said.

Doggett, a UT alumnus, urged students to vote and participate in civic engagement efforts. He said he was excited by the enthusiasm among young voters generated by Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential candidacy.

“I feel much better about my decision to be the first member of Congress to call on President Biden to resign so we can have this nominee,” Doggett said.

O'Rourke, who also attended the university last monthexpressed support for Harris and Rep. Colin Allred, who is running against incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz for a U.S. Senate seat from Texas.

“You are the secret weapon,” O’Rourke told the crowd. “If you show up, that means Colin Allred is the next senator from the state of Texas. That means Kamala Harris has a fighting chance of winning the 40 Electoral College votes in this state and destroying any chance that Donald Trump has a path to the White House.”

Casar said the country is in a historic moment and history will remember what young people in Austin, Texas, decided in the upcoming election. He said he believes the resilience of young people will create a “brighter future.”

“Our country, America, stands at a fork in the road between autocracy and democracy, and right in the middle of that fork in the road lies the state of Texas,” Casar said. “This is the largest contested state in this country.”

Ocasio-Cortez said Texas is important to her. She said her community organizing experience began as a teenager in Texas and she spoke about former President Lyndon B. Johnson's influence on the nation.

“We have a critical task before us,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “If we can turn the state of Texas around, we will change American politics for a generation, and I want to thank you because we worked to make that happen and we will.”

Sanders also said he came to Texas to ensure Harris won the state in the presidential election. He said Donald Trump, former president and Republican presidential candidate, “must be defeated” and was a threat to democracy.

“We can do better, and we will when we come together,” Sanders said. “There are Trump and his friends who want to divide us according to the color of our skin, our place of birth or our sexual orientation. We know better. We know that there is nothing we cannot achieve when we stand together in solidarity.”

Linda Ramirez, a government and philosophy major, said her passion for immigration issues and abortion access brought her to the rally.

“(As) like they said inside, we grow up and see our rights slowly disappearing,” Ramirez said. “It’s just something that I can’t stand, especially with the younger generation, and that’s exactly what brought me here.”

History freshman Nadia Moreno said she comes from a conservative county and moving to a blue county made her want to become more involved and informed. She said the rally was inspiring.

“What I took away was, 'We have the power,'” Moreno said. “Younger people, we have a lot of power.”