The road to the 2016 presidential election has been quite a whirlwind. With candidates seemingly joining the race and leaving the race almost every other week, it’s been hard for many people to keep up with who’s running and who isn’t. When it comes to the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, however, there have been two consistent names throughout the majority of the campaigning season: Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton – and one of them made their way to campus on Tuesday night.
Bernie Sanders, known for his strong beliefs in making big businesses pay their taxes and that college should be free for all, held a rally Tuesday night in our beloved Rec Hall.
Sanders is the first 2016 Presidential hopeful to make an appearance on Penn State’s campus, exactly one week before the Pennsylvania primary, and on the same date as the New York primary, which USA Today predicts to be a winning state for Clinton.
Starting at around 8 a.m., students and interested publics lined up outside of Rec Hall to catch a glimpse of the Bern. Whether they be members of Penn State’s Students for Sanders, Penn State Students for Trump, or supporters alike, the line for Sanders’ rally only grew (and made its way into the depths of west campus) as time passed, helping Rec Hall fill with 6,655 people, according to Fox News reporter Lauren Blanchard.
Sanders played to the college demographic – to all racial and/or sexual orientations and age demographics – and at one point went on to address the frustrations of the female.
“Women are telling me they’re sick and tired of going to work and earning 79 cents per dollar,” Sanders said. “Women in this country want the whole damn dollar, and I know the men in this audience will support their efforts to get that.”
With the Pennsylvania primary creeping up upon the Sanders campaign, he urged the audience to question the ordinary.
“This campaign is about thinking outside the box and not accepting the status quo because it is the status quo, but challenging the status quo.”
Some may say Bernie is a dreamer because of his belief in minimizing and eliminating college tuition, but from the response of tonight’s crowd, it appears he’s not the only one.
“Yeah, I’ve heard people say that his goals are unrealistic, but with our support, I really think Bernie is starting a political revolution that can get anything done,” student Jenny Adams said.
With the clock ticking to sway voters one way or another, we’re extremely interested to see what the next few weeks has in store for Penn State and Pennsylvania. Whether you “Feel the Bern” or not, Sanders and his followers appear to be here to stay.
“What we have seen in this campaign is the need to reinvigorate American democracy,” Sanders said. “And I want to see more people involved in the political process regardless of their views.”
Photo credit: Gage Skidmore