The Democratic Socialists of America are a rising force in Pittsburgh — but threats and venue cancellations show ongoing resistance

The Democratic Socialists of America have been on a hot streak. Nationwide dissatisfaction on the left with hardline conservative policies — and with the mainline Democratic Party’s perceived inaction against them — has propelled ever more DSA candidates to the top of the ballot. The organization’s membership has also increased twentyfold since 2015 from 6,000 to 120,000. Still, the DSA faces headwinds. Pittsburgh’s own DSA chapter got a reminder in mid-September when Carnegie Mellon University unilaterally canceled the org’s booking of an on-campus space for its annual convention. The convention went ahead as planned at a different venue. “They gave us a rationale that … they discovered that we were planning to co-host this event with the CMU College Progressives, and decided that it could not go forward because they are a 501(c)(3) [nonprofit], and we are hosting a political convention,” DSA co-chair Sofia Antonacci tells Pittsburgh City Paper , noting that DSA is a 501(c)(4) — a social welfare organization. “I’m not sure that I think that this is anything other than rationalization.” DSA co-chairs say the cancellation is more disappointing than surprising and mirrors both contentions over CMU’s iconic free-speech Fence and the nationwide pressure U.S. President Donald Trump and his allies have been attempting to broadly apply over DSA candidates’ successes and the putative threat of communism. “These Red Scare tactics aren’t necessarily new,” DSA co-chair Matt Dorrycott says. “We saw them in 2024, especially after the outrage against the genocide in Gaza, and we’re just going to continue to stand up for what we believe in.” Activist Ashik Siddique addresses Pittsburgh DSA’s annual convention. Credit: Courtesy of Pittsburgh DSA For its part, Carnegie Mellon, which recently celebrated a fresh round of laurels as one of the country’s highest-ranked universities, says its decision on DSA’s convention was straightforwa