by Sophia Pouzyrev

Goosebumps rushed up and down my arms as the Boston Convention Center filled to the very brim with eager constituents. My first political rally, I hadn’t the slightest idea what to expect when speakers started to gather on the platform. It felt almost like a concert. There were the opening acts, Bernie’s campaign manager tried to liven up the crowd with shouts of inspiration, “America is ready for a Democratic Socialist!” There were also three guest-speakers who covered some of the basic topics of the rally: a representative from a nurse’s union, an economically struggling college student and a climate change professor, all preaching the passion that beamed from Bernie. It got me excited. I couldn’t wait to see what the headliner was going to be like, and he certainly didn’t disappoint. Bernie’s biggest point throughout the rally was that his ideas shouldn’t be considered “left-wing extremist.” The idea of enabling kids to be able to go to college if they want, to address institutionalized racism in our justice system and to attack corporate elitism in politics are not extremes but ideals of equality that we should all have. What connected me the most to Bernie and made me even more sympathetic to his cause was his honesty. He made it clear what his views were and even more clear that he was not a super-conductor of change. There is only so much any president can do. But the responsibility lies in the hands of the people who have the power to catalyze progress in this country—and that Bernie Sanders is the man to elect to represent this. It’s time for a political revolution, he said, and he left the audience in that same mindset.

by Lea Churchill

Before I full heartedly supported Bernie, I thought his views were too left. Although I agreed with his ideas I thought it was irrational to think he might get elected so I was apathetically rooting for Hillary. I felt that it was better for me to give my support to a woman candidate, moderate as she might be, than to support an unlikely white guy. But then his rallies started attracting 20, 30, over 100,000 supporters, and it seemed like he might have a chance. I went to his rally in Boston last Saturday and found him to be genuine, radical, and an excellent public speaker. He talked about the support of immigrants, single moms, and political activism—all of which spoke to me. An important thing for me is he is not sponsored by any big corporations, and no one person can donate more than $100 to his campaign. This insures that he is genuinely representing the economic 99%, in a time where economic power means political power. Though he is very far from perfect on issues of race and gender rights, he’s doing much more than any other candidate. I think he’s doing more for women than Hillary is. While of course female gender activists are extremely important, I also think the way to fast progressive action is for the oppressing group to use their privilege to support the oppressed. People will listen to Bernie on gender issues because he is a man. This is unfortunate, and females should still lead the march to gender equality, but he will move America forward faster. He has always supported women, the gay community, the environmentalist movement, and immigrants. I wish he would be more proactive in race issues. I wish he would break his silence about justice in Palestine. But I think he is a step in the right direction for America, and a step closer to taking down Wall Street and achieving economic equality.

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