Bernie Sanders draws YUGE 10,000 strong crowd in New Haven

The New Haven Green was feelin’ the Bern Sunday afternoon as the line to enter Bernie Sanders’ “A Future to Believe In” rally wrapped around the park.

Students, the elderly, and families alike waited in line for hours to see the politician speak a little after 7pm.

But before Sanders took the stage, two Yale students told their stories.

TD freshman Diana Alejandra Corona Ortega spoke about her experience as an undocumented immigrant: “With little money and the clothes on our backs, my mother, father, brother and I crossed the border [in 2009].” While applying to college, she realized she couldn’t fill out the FAFSA form and was ineligible for federal financial aid.

Michaela Macdonald, a sophomore in JE, discussed when she first met Sanders when she was still in high school, noting how he stood out from other politicians. “He’s a proven consistent leader of change,” said Macdonald. “He’s both a qualified, revolutionary candidate and an ethical and honest person.”

Michael Stipe, lead singer of R.E.M., then took the stage and introduced Sanders as the crowd cheered loudly and chanted, “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie!”

Most of Sanders’ speech was familiar to those who have followed his campaign. He expressed his support for a $15 minimum wage, urged for campaign finance reform, and suggested a tax on carbon. Discussing student debt, Sanders demanded public colleges and universities to be tuition-free and said our country shouldn’t penalized the young people who work hard to get an education. He also called for criminal justice reform and for the states to decide the legality of marijuana – not the federal government.

He also mentioned raising social security benefits and providing health care to all Americans. “I have been criticized throughout this campaign for thinking too big,” said Sanders. “So let me repeat what I have said before to make there is no confusion or ambiguity: I believe healthcare is a right of all people, not a privilege.”

Throughout his speech, Sanders emphasized the need to improve the conditions of our inner cities in places like New Haven and Baltimore, while also criticizing large corporations like Walmart and the inequality in our education system. “In the great city of New Haven, we see almost a metaphor for what’s happening in our country. Right here in this great city we have one of the most outstanding institutions of higher education in all of the world. That’s what Yale University is. And we should be proud of this great university, but a few miles away from here in this same city, we have children who are getting totally inadequate education,” said Sanders.

“Right here one of the greatest university in the world, and a few blocks away from here, kids who in a million years would never dream that they could get a college education. Right here, we have a university that has an endowment of $24 billion, but all over this city and in this state we have children living in desperate poverty.”

In one of the more lighthearted moments of the night, Sanders released the transcripts of his behind-closed-doors talks he was paid to give on Wall Street in order to encourage Hillary Clinton to do the same. Throwing his arms in the air while making a “whoosh” sound, Sanders reiterated the difference between himself and Clinton: “No transcripts, no speeches. Not for $250,000, not for $2.50.”

Sanders’ rally came two days before Connecticut voters head to the polls on Tuesday to vote for the Democratic presidential nominee.

“What I’ve learned in this campaign so far is that when the voter turnout is high, we win. When the voter turnout is low, we lose. So our job on Tuesday is to create the highest voter turnout in history for a Democratic primary in the state of Connecticut,” said Sanders. Let us have the great state of Connecticut lead us into the political revolution.”