Why I love Bernie Sanders (and so should every other college student)

With social media outlets providing candidate information in a way that is more accessible than ever, we’re able to take an interest in politics like never before. In the past, college students relied mainly on television and newspapers for the inside scoop, which, let’s be honest, not many of us have much time for. But when social media makes it this easy, it’s not hard for students to jump on the political bandwagon and learn enough about the political situation to pick a candidate that they feel is best. But it’s also not hard to see that everyone loves Bernie. Here’s why:

He wants to make public college education free

You love him already, don’t you? As a student nothing warms my heart more than hearing ‘free tuition for public universities.’ Even if this won’t necessarily affect me personally, I know my younger siblings and friends, and even future children, will be able to benefit from this right that many other industrialized countries already have.

Student loan debt

During a time of intense anxiety surrounding paying back student loan debt when we know there aren’t nearly enough jobs for all of us to fill when we graduate, we could really use something to boost our spirits. Knowing Sanders wants to lower the interest rates on student loan debt can really help us relax and actually focus on our studies, rather than worrying about whether or not we can afford our groceries for the week.

You can trust him

Bernie’s the only democratic presidential candidate who openly states that he does not accept campaign funding from large corporations with economic and political agendas. So when he tells you what he thinks about the issues, you’re actually hearing what he thinks, rather than what CEO’s with large sums of money told him to think. You feel? I’m not so sure the same can be said about the other candidates.

He wants a political revolution

If you haven’t heard Sanders talk about income inequality in this country, than you’ve probably never heard him speak before. That’s because he talks about it all the time. As he should. He sheds light on the fact that the US has a corrupt campaign finance system, something that other politicians generally seem to glaze over. And he not only encourages but entices the American people to use their voices and demand that they receive the same social and economic benefits as a number of other industrialized countries like Canada, Sweden, and Denmark, just to name a few.

He’s been the front-runner for civil rights since before our parents could walk

As a student of University of Chicago in the 1960s, Sanders worked to expose segregation in the university’s apartments. He led student investigations of residence life, which entailed sending both black and white couples to the same building to inquire about renting an apartment. Through Sanders’ hard work, it was revealed that the administrators of the apartments offered the same apartments to white students that they had just recently said were filled when black students inquired. The democratic candidate has long fought for racial equality. His current platform on the issue includes fighting against institutional racism, advocating for police and criminal justice reform, raising the minimum wage to a living wage of $15/hour, and working towards making public universities tuition-free.

He’s in favor of decriminalizing marijuana and ending the war on drugs

Bernie Sanders knows the truth. He recognizes that a large majority of the people currently doing time for marijuana charges, as well as other drugs, are from minority communities, even though the number of black people and white people who smoke marijuana is equal. The disproportionate amount of black people who are incarcerated reveals major corruption in our justice system. Sanders emphasizes that the war on drugs, which police have used as an excuse to target the black community, does not work and he wants to bring an end to it. He also wants to federally decriminalize marijuana, and he is not opposed to legalizing it  because he knows that keeping it illegal is doing way more harm than good.

He has consistent stances while Clinton does not

Sanders has long been a proponent of marriage equality for all, while Clinton has not supported gay rights in the past. Clinton voted for a bill called DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) in 1996, which refused to recognize same sex couples and deprived them of the federal benefits of marriage. She has said that she had to vote for the bill to prevent something worse from happening, but Sanders and various gay activists say that that is not true. Sanders was one of the few congressmen who voted against DOMA. Clinton may say she supports same sex marriage now, but Sanders can say he always has.

Millennials know that in order for our country to improve, we need social, economic, and political change. A great majority of them, many of them college students, believe that Bernie Sanders is the only viable candidate to bring about that change.