University student group U.Va. for Bernie Sanders and the Charlottesville and Central VA for Bernie Sanders held a community rally for Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT) Saturday afternoon at the Freedom of Speech Wall on the Downtown Mall.
The event featured a march down the Downtown Mall and speeches from University students and community activists.
Nour Sulaiman, lead organizer for U.Va. for Bernie Sanders said the purpose of the event was to motivate the Charlottesville community to vote in the Virginia primary election.
“Right now, we’re trying to get people motivated enough to go to the polls,” Sulaiman said. “We’re trying to get people that already support Bernie Sanders or are leaning towards him to go to the polls and vote during the primary election.”
Third-year College student Anousheh Bakhti-Suroosh said the rally is important because voting participation is low.
“Encouraging people to actually get out of their seats and go and actually vote is a problem because a lot of people support politicians but they just don’t think it’s necessary [to go out and vote],” Bakhti-Suroosh said.
Sulaiman also said U.Va. for Bernie Sanders started before Sanders’ official campaign opened an office in Charlottesville.
“We had started grassroots efforts months before the campaign office ever opened,” Sulaiman said. “The U.Va. for Bernie Sanders group is quite separate from the Bernie Sanders campaign.”
Fourth-year College student Michael Willis said the rally showed the power of the grassroots movement.
“It’s important for us to come to events like this to show the power of the grassroots movement as [it is] occurring in this country,” Willis said.
Community activists spoke about topics such as the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, minimum wage, immigration and the treatment of Muslims in America. First-year College student Hojung Lee said although she cannot vote, she believes Sanders will support minority rights.
“I’m actually not even a citizen and I can’t vote but I feel like Bernie Sanders is the best candidate to support racial and minority rights,” Lee said.
Students at the event said they thought rallies add energy to Sanders’ campaign.
“A lot of Bernie [Sanders’] support and the momentum from his campaign comes from movements like this where you see people from the general population coming out to support him,” first-year College student Belle Cifu said.
Sulaiman said U.Va. for Bernie Sanders is canvassing and using phone banks to energize voters. She also said the student group has sponsored a petition to make the voting process easier for students.
“Right now we have over 550 signatures from students and the number keeps increasing every day,” Sulaiman said. “That petition asks for the University to give a day off or alternatively promote a more lenient policy with professors scheduling exams and allowing their students to go out and vote on the day they have class.”
The rally was part of a national march for Sanders. Other cities which have held marches include Indianapolis, Indiana, Dallas, Texas and Chicago, Illinois. However, Sulaiman said U.Va. for Bernie Sanders and the Charlottesville and Central VA for Bernie Sanders tried to make the event as local possible.
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