Megan Friedman
February 19, 2016
https://www.yahoo.com/celebrity/heres-why-young-women-arent-192849121.html
Sen. Bernie Sanders is a
74-year-old presidential candidate who's attracting a ton of support from
people in their 20s, women included. He won the New Hampshire Democratic
primary by a landslide, just a week after losing in Iowa to former Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton by the narrowest of margins, thanks in large part to the
twentysomethings who voted for him.
In New Hampshire, CNN
exit polls showed he won over 83 percent of voters between the ages of 18
and 29. Clinton only won with the over-65 set. Iowa was pretty similar - 84
percent of voters between the ages of 17 and 29 went for Sanders, according to CNN
entrance polls, while Clinton only had the edge among voters 45 and older.
Those numbers may not be
unique to Iowa and New Hampshire - and they're not just "Bernie bros." A USA Today/Rock the Vote poll released on Jan. 14 showed
that Sanders held a 19-point lead over Clinton among Millennial women who
identified as Democrats and independents. A poll conducted by Monmouth University on Jan. 19 showed
that age, not gender, was a better predictor of who supports Clinton versus
Sanders.
Cosmopolitan.com talked to
four college students who have been vocal supporters of Sanders on their
campuses about the issues that really matter to them - and why they don't see
the urgency in electing America's first woman president.
What issues do people on your
campus care about the most?
Elizabeth Lee, 21, junior at
Middlebury College and head of College Students for Bernie: Student loans are
probably nationally what I think get people the most excited. Environmental
activism is big at Middlebury, and the idea of taking down Wall Street is
appealing as well. That is the most appealing part of Bernie's campaign to me,
is to take down the idea of having big institutions that control your life and
limit your choices about what kind of career you want to pursue.
Isabel Youngs, 23, senior at
the University of Nevada at Reno: One of the most important issues for college
students right now is a federal minimum wage. It's a persistent problem for us
college students. Even if [college] weren't free, raising minimum wage would
change how college students live. I have a lot of friends who had to drop out
of school because the extra five to six hours a week would make a difference at
work. If it were $15 an hour, it wouldn't make a difference. I have friends who
work in the food service and they go to work with the flu because they
literally can't afford not to. I see the federal minimum wage as a big one.
What other issues matter to
you personally?
Youngs: For me, one of the
biggest things is health care. That might be more because I'm an LGBT student,
and I've also seen my family grow up without health care. My friends and I, we
often need more medical care than most of the community because of surgeries,
hormone therapy, and especially mental therapy and counseling. I have friends
who can't access any of that stuff. They're having horrible mental health
crises, getting no help to get the health care they need.
Megan Taylor, 20, sophomore
and head of University of South Carolina for Bernie: Student loans matter a lot
to me because in the current economy, it's essential to have a degree. It's not
really an option anymore if you want to have social and economic mobility. I
don't think that we can require something of people in the job market and also
ask them to pay for it no matter their circumstances. I'm also very passionate about
social issues; I'm a bleeding-heart liberal. I'm interested in social welfare,
food stamps, making health care accessible to people, reforming the prison
system and the judicial system so that it's more equitable and produces the
results. Let's think of people first and think of how to pay it later. As much
as I respect moderate candidates and know that they are necessary for
compromise, I'm also very liberal. My dad's Canadian and socialism is in my
blood. I very much love the socialist parts of our government that do very well
for us - roads, bridges, all those things that are created through the
government.
What makes you support Bernie
Sanders?
Lee: I support Bernie because
I think that he takes very strong policy stances, which I really admire. He's
unafraid to say what he thinks, and what he says is reasonable and very
human-focused. He doesn't have strings attached to Wall Street and different
interest groups. He speaks his mind and caters to what the actual majority
wants and needs.
[…]
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