On the night of April 25th, Bernie Sanders hosted a rally at Drexel’s Athletic Center. I had never gone to a political rally of any sort, so from the minute I decided to go to this one I knew I was in for an interesting experience. The doors were scheduled to open at 6 p.m. and Bernie was scheduled to speak at 8:30 p.m., so (naturally) I got there seven hours early to secure my spot in the front of the line.
There were only about six people in front of my friend and I, and only about four lined up behind us so we began to question our sanity- was it a good move to be here this early? Will the inevitable sunburn and sore legs be worth it? In short, the answer was a solid YES. Just a few hours later, the line that had formed behind us was over a half mile long and twisted back and forth through campus a number of times.
Finally, after what seemed like a million hours (but was really only about five) the line started moving forward and we were let in in small groups of about five or six people at a time. After being ushered through the metal detectors and lines upon lines of security personnel, we found ourselves pressed up against metal barriers about four feet from where presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders would be soon standing.
Over the course of the next hour, more people filled the auditorium until I could no longer see past the masses of bobbing heads, rally posters, and waving hands. The crowd was so dense that people began making bets on whether or not their friends would get back in after running outside to use the bathroom or grab a drink. The chaos was set to a soundtrack of songs about revolution, and an older man next to me began to cry as he sang along to Simon and Garfunkel’s America as though it was an anthem (maybe to him it was).
Finally, the speeches began. Activist Kendrick Sampson rallied the crowd with a powerful speech about the Black Lives Matter movement, its importance, and the support it receives from Senator Sanders. Sampson then introduced the next speaker, actress Susan Sarandon, who spoke about why she believes Bernie Sanders deserves to win the April 26th democratic primary in Pennsylvania. She attributed his success to being unwavering and honest from the beginning of his time in politics through to that very night. She commended the audience for being on “the right side of history” and introduced Senator Bernie Sanders to the crowd.
Bernie was met with roaring applause and quite a few tearful cheers from the crowd. He went on to make a powerful speech about why we should not only show up to vote for the primaries in our states, but why he deserves our vote in those elections.
Despite a woman next to me fainting (and then quickly awakening), the night seemed to go off without a hitch. The emotion in the room was almost tangible. Everyone there seemed to be coming together to make a difference in our country. Everyone was hopeful. Everyone was kind. It really felt like we are on the brink of another political revolution.
*The comments above were made from the sole view point of the writer. They do not reflect the opinion or position of Her Campus Drexel or Her Campus Nationals.