NCSU for Bernie held its first meeting in Hunt Library Wednesday at 7 p.m. on Aug. 26 in a packed-out auditorium along with fellow Sanders supporters from the group Triangle for Bernie 2016. A crowd of about 130, about half of which were college-aged, gathered in an effort to better organize and mobilize the Sanders campaign effort in North Carolina and the Triangle area, specifically.
President of NC State Students for Bernie, Alex Caudill, a sophomore studying political science, and Vice President Nida Allam, a senior studying sustainable materials technology, organized and led the meeting, in collaboration with several Triangle for Bernie members. Caudill emphasized the student-led, grassroots aspect of Students for Bernie and encouraged the students in attendance to volunteer to join the campaign effort.
Among the audience, ideas were tossed around about how to better reach voters with Sanders’ message, such as reaching out to disenfranchised voters, LGBT members, minorities, women, Republicans, non-English speakers and various religious groups.
“I was very excited to find out this club existed,” Carly McKenna, a freshman studying mechanical engineering, said. “I think it’s super important to get involved and to see Bernie become president.”
During the meeting, a video conference was made with Carolina Students for Bernie Sanders, the student club at UNC-Chapel Hill, during which their president emphasized the importance of a collective effort amongst students from all schools in the Triangle in order to get Sanders elected.
“I support Bernie because I feel like he fights for the disadvantaged,” said Adam Cunningham, a junior studying mechanical engineering. “He’s very consistent in his past voting records, and he fought for civil rights in the sixties and gay rights in the ‘80s.”
The NC State for Bernie leadership laid out plans to set up voter registration tables, give out promotional flyers and have students join the Million Student March movement, which aims to march for the eradication of nationwide student debt and to raise minimum wage. To join the march, students can visit studentmarch.org to sign up.
Also mentioned was a petition for Bernie to speak in North Carolina making its rounds online, which currently has a little more than 600 signatures. The “Bernie Sanders: Rally in North Carolina!” petition can be found at actionnetwork.org.
To join NCSU for Bernie and stay connected with the Sanders campaign effort at NC State, join the Facebook page.
