Student takes initiative to vote, encourages others to do the same

Growing up in Northern New York and visiting Vermont frequently (mainly to the Urban Outfitters in Burlington, in all honesty), I knew who Bernie Sanders was when the runners were announced. My good friend Abbie and I packed into her car on Jan. 19 and made the brisk drive to Sioux City, excitedly counting down the minutes until we were in the warm auditorium.

My t-shirt (borrowed from a true Vermonter from St. Albans) said “Keep Calm and Love Vermont.” I was so excited. As Abbie and I were waiting for the man himself to come on stage, we scoped out who was there. We knew several of our friends would be there, but we were all scattered around the gorgeous Orpheum Theatre.

My eye caught dozens of USD sweatshirts, hats and other school gear. I also noticed familiar Coyote faces — I had either had a class with some of these people or just saw them on campus regularly. That made me so excited to know that people outside my friend groups supported Bernie as much as me.

My experience with “real world” politics, not school elections or club elections, is little to none. But, with the availability of social media, politics are becoming easier to understand. On my Twitter account, I follow both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. My friends near and far are talking more and more about the candidates.

My friends and I were eating lunch one day when Trump announced he wouldn’t be in the Fox Debate, and we couldn’t stop talking about it. We discussed possibilities, with profanities about Trump abundant, of why he wouldn’t participate.

One thing I’ve noticed is that more and more people aren’t going to vote for Donald Trump, yet they still talk about him. Why? His genius political and media stunts.

Are people paying more attention to politics because of the drama of this election? Or are younger people backing Bernie Sanders because of his down-to-earth and more deliberate intentions?

The other candidates don’t seem to keep this in mind — they seem more hodge-podge and desperate.

All I can say is go out and vote, you’re making a difference with your vote. I’ve been “feeling the Bern” for a while and the experience of seeing him in person made me even more interested in politics.