Shailene Woodley visits Brown to rally for Bernie Sanders

Actress Shailene Woodley visited Brown yesterday, speaking to 100 people about her involvement with the Bernie Sanders campaign. Best known for her roles in A Fault in Our Stars and Divergent, the actress is also a fervent Bernie supporter.

Shailene was introduced by the president of Brown Students for Bernie, Aidan Calvelli, who made a short speech highlighting the grassroots nature of the campaign, as well as the importance of mobilization and volunteering.

Dismissing the microphone and the podium, Shailene spoke to the audience about her involvement in the campaign. She has been touring the country phone banking, speaking at different locations and doing door-to-door canvassing to raise awareness about Bernie and his policies.

Aidan introducing Shailene

She briefly talked about the loss in New York, mentioning her friend Zoe Kravitz – like so many other New Yorkers – faced registration problems while trying to vote. She insisted on the need to “demand justice back into our political system,” denouncing the lack of democracy.

The main point of her talk was emphasizing the importance of volunteering. Admitting “volunteering can seem scary,” she insisted it is necessary to educate voters and encourage them to go vote. Shailene pointed out volunteering was not just a way to help the campaign, it’s also a way to “feel rooted and feel a part of your community.”

She ended her talk by reiterating the importance of going to vote, and asked the audience to commit to bringing at least five people to vote with them.