Penn State is feeling the Bern: Students share thoughts on Bernie Sanders

Wednesday at 2pm a rally in support of Bernie Sanders was held at the steps of Old Main. The rally was organized and conducted by Penn State Students For Sanders, a student run group at Penn State with the purpose of supporting Bernie Sanders in his run to become the Democratic presidential candidate and hopefully to the Oval Office.

Rally supporters on the Old Main steps

The reception was timid as the rally started, with many people readying signs and starting lukewarm chants. This was quickly changed when a Penn State student stood at the top of the Old Main steps with a megaphone shouting chants and effectively kicking off the rally. The amount of people at the event seemed small, with around 60-70 people present. However, all of them made as much noise as they could, effectively showing their passion, conviction, and dedication to Bernie’s candidacy.

John Ott, Sophomore, Integrative Arts

“Sanders is not saying elect me. He is saying empower yourselves and start a political and economic revolution.”

Bernie Sanders is arguably the most radical of all the candidates in line for the 2016 presidency, although perhaps Trump gets that honor automatically. His main concern is the increasingly wide income inequality gap between the upper class and the middle and working classes.

Other major concerns include the high cost of college tuition, America’s incarceration problem, racial inequality, getting Wall Street out of Capital Hill, climate change, universal healthcare for America, and a slew of other topics. He is typically thought of as a Socialist on many of his stances, although most of his supporters do not find the Socialist label a bad thing. Rather, to them, Bernie’s Socialist stances translates to a genuine care for the American people.

Anthony Zarzycki, Sophomore, Astronomy and Astrophysics

“We are one country.”

Supporters at the rally believed that Bernie is the most trustworthy candidate. Anthony Zarzycki, the secretary of Penn State Students For Sanders, stated that, “Sanders has always been honest, and hasn’t shifted on his positions because of the political climate.”

Justin Kilner, the Treasurer of PSSBS, echoed the sentiment saying, “Sanders is the only candidate who truly supports egalitarianism,” and that,”he’s the only candidate that truly believes that. All of the other Democratic candidates flip-flop and change their opinions while Bernie Sanders has stayed consistent throughout his entire political career.”

Lauren Smith, Senior, Political Science and Justin Kilner, Senior, German and Marketing

“I support Bernie Sanders because he’s for the betterment of all people regardless of religion, sex, gender, race, and ethnicity,” said Lauren.

“I support Bernie Sanders because he’s the only candidate that truly supports the American people,” said Justin.

Another major avenue of support for Bernie came in his promise to fight Wall Street and to get “big money” out of American politics. Lauren Smith, in charge of Campus Outreach for PSSBS, expressed that Bernie is the only candidate that is willing to fight Wall Street.

She emphasized, “That he’s had over a million people donate to his campaign. Other candidates get Super PAC money, whereas Bernie does not have a Super PAC.”

John Ott also showed concern about wealth in politics stating, “I’m very paranoid about the 1% not only controlling a majority of wealth, but also being able to buy elections outright. I think Bernie has the resolve to get big money and corruption out of politics.”

Kevin Salamon, Junior, Political Science and Economics

“Bernie Sanders has waited until the patient age of 74 for the right opportunity to tell us all what we’ve got to do.”

Kevin Salamon, the President of PSSS, believes that Sanders is a damn hero from a storybook, saying, “Sanders is the most honest and integral person in politics ever–ever! He’s never run an attack ad, he doesn’t take Super PAC money at all, his average campaign donation is $32. He is always for the issues and helping people.”

Penn State Students for Sanders will be incredibly active in Bernie Sanders’s campaign. They will continue to organize rallies, put up fliers, and talk to people. They also hope to reach out to Sanders himself to see if he will come speak at Penn State.