Bernie lights up the UA mall

He came to campus to stump for Hillary

The University of Arizona Mall was set abuzz last night with the arrival of Senator Bernie Sanders. There was music in the air, courtesy of the live band which was performing, and everyone present seemed extremely excited and happy to be present. The entire Mall seemed to be elevated with positive energy. Thousands of individuals, not limited to University of Arizona students, assembled to line up for the rally held in support of candidate Hillary Clinton. I got the chance to speak with a couple of people in line before the rally and learn a little bit about why they were there.

The first people I spoke to were activists from the “Moms Demand Action” group. This is a group which was formed after the Sandy Hook shooting. They and are interested in regulating gun control and gun laws across the nation. They were very clear that they were not in favor of retracting anyone’s Second Amendment rights but they wanted to see change in the level of gun violence in Arizona and across the country. I spoke to the mother of a gun violence victim who was shot with an illegally possessed gun and unfortunately passed away. Her story was incredible and very powerful. I truly admire all she is doing in the wake of her son’s death.

Campus organizers with the “She Wins We Win” initiative were also present at the rally. The “She Wins We Win” campaign is committed to making sure knowledge about Hillary’s stellar record of achievement over the decades on women’s rights—both domestically and globally—as well as civil rights, human rights, children’s rights, and economic justice, grows exponentially. Most importantly, the “She Wins We Win” campaign addresses Hillary’s vision for the future.

Not everyone was there to support Bernie in his endorsement of Hillary, however. One individual, who some colleagues told me was a cohort of Brother Dean, stood on a ledge loudly preaching before that abortion was a sin and could not be supported in the upcoming election. He had some very graphic pictures displayed around the area where he was located which were far from pleasant to look at.

At around 6:30 the music was cut off and the rally began. There were three speakers who opened up for Bernie. The first was a current senior at the University of Arizona. She spoke of growing up an undocumented immigrant and being the first in her family to be able to attend college. She highlighted the struggles she faced in her lifetime and how her dream had always been to achieve a higher level of education and make something of her life. She shared that she would be graduating college with over $80,000 in student debt; something she was having difficulty justifying.

The next speaker was a single working mother of seven children, named Kathy Ortega. She shared that she was barely able to provide for her children let alone think of being able to send her babies to college to receive the education which they, as American citizens, were entitled to and genuinely deserved. She represented the working class and how trickle-down economics can’t support a true democracy nor a successful nation because the rich simply getting richer while the poor continue to plunge more steadily into poverty.

The last to speak was a woman named Caroline Campbell. She is an environmental activist who shared her view that Hillary Clinton was the only suitable candidate for the country in terms of the health and well-being of the earth itself. She believes a world in which Trump becomes President is a world in which our grandchildren and our grandchildren’s grandchildren will not have the resources necessary to guarantee their success in the future.

At around 7:00 Senator Sanders himself was introduced. The Senator spoke for about an hour detailing all the reasons it is imperative for everyone, specifically the millennial generation, to get out and vote in this election. Not only could the outcome of this election be incredibly historic with the nomination of the first woman President of the United States, but there is so much on the ballot this year. Sanders made it a point of his speech to convey that this election is not about Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump; but is, in fact, about the future of the American people. Mass incarceration, universal education and student debt, women’s rights, minority rights, the rights of the working class, environmental safety and so much more is what is being voted on this year. Here in Arizona, Props 205 and 206, the legalization of marijuana and the raising of the minimum wage are on the ballot.

Sanders was successful in rallying the crowd around his ideals and promoting Hillary Clinton to those in attendance. The event itself was very well put on and seemed to garner very positive feedback. Hopefully this political fever will carry over to tonight’s debate and get people really amped up to vote early over the next couple of weeks, and on November 8th.

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