Support for Sanders Soars With Social Media, Rally on Saturday

Lexi Faunce, News Editor
January 30, 2016

Thousands of Bernie Sanders supporters, including more than a hundred NYU students, gathered in Union Square to #MarchforBernie and show their support for the Vermont Senator before Monday’s Iowa Caucuses in a city-wide rally on Saturday.

Sanders has been notorious for garnering support from millennials while other candidates have failed to create a foothold in Generation X on the road to 2016.

LS freshman Rose Asaf said millennials are often underestimated in regards to engaging in the political realm, but Sanders has inspired them to take action.

“When I was out there marching for Bernie, for the first time, I felt that I was witnessing crude, untouched democracy,” Asaf said. “I think millennials are so vastly drawn to Bernie Sanders because his message and intentions are clear. Bernie speaks with authentic, unrehearsed conviction.”

Lena also said Sanders’ consistent record as a champion for progressive issues hits home for many frustrated students.

“I marched for Bernie Sanders because I believe in democracy and I think our country has lost much of what makes us democratic,” Lena said. “The will of the people, rather than the will of the de facto ruling class, should inform the law.”

Saturday’s rally began in Union Square and made its way downtown to Zuccotti Park, a symbol of the famed Occupy Wall Street protests and a movement Sanders has actively supported during his campaign.

Along the way, Sanders’ catchphrase #NotMeUs became the top trend on Twitter with more than 110,000 tweets as the rally took social media by storm.

Email Lexi Faunce at [email protected].