Dartmouth Feels the Bern

On September 29, 2019, a crowd, mostly made up of curious Dartmouth students and local left-wing activists, flooded into the Bema Outdoor Amphitheater, awaiting the arrival of Democratic Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders. On the outskirts of the wooded enclosure, large men in suits—presumably security, but eerily reminiscent of the KGB—were pacing back and forth. Cheerful volunteers handed out Bernie campaign signs, while the loquacious crowd expressed its giddy enthusiasm. This was, after all, the first 2020 candidate visit of the ‘19F term. For many of the ‘23s, this was their first time seeing a presidential candidate in person. For those of you unfamiliar with the odd choice of venue, Bema is known amongst the Dartmouth student body first as the final site of the freshman Twilight Ceremony, which occurs on the night before fall term classes begin. Members of the new incoming class tediously march with handheld candles from the Collis Center into the woods. In the sea of flickering lights, each first-year extinguishes their candle on cue before linking arms and singing the Alma Mater in unison, symbolizing a cultish sort of initiation into the college. Later, students learn to associate the location with other quaint activities: smoking weed and fornicating towards completion of the “Dartmouth Seven.” Perhaps this environment was fitting for a Bernie rally.

The ‘opening act’ of the rally was a singer named Dave Gutter from the Rustic Overtones, who performed political activism-themed songs. Notable lines from his act include “I ain’t f-ing with the government” and “love was the answer what was the question?” The dull performance concluded with a song about climate change. Gutter, who wore a maroon suit and a non-distinct hat, received lukewarm responses—some lightly applauded while others seemed to ignore the vaguely comprehensible lyrics altogether. 

A total of three student speakers individually addressed the crowd with short, prepared statements. Each student shared why they supported Senator Sanders in his 2020 presidential bid, even sharing personal ‘conversion’ stories. This is “my Bernie story,” one student began his anecdote, drawing strange parallels to religious testimonials and Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. The students highlighted Bernie’s call for a political revolution, opposition to the financial top one-percent, and consistent message over his years of political service, before the last speaker called the “next president” of the United States to the stage.

As Sanders waddled to the podium, the crowd of students on his peripheries gave an energetic cheer, raising their posters and waving miniature American flags. Sanders quickly made clear his penchant for the word “unprecedented” as he deemed practically everything—from his campaign to climate change—as such. Sanders even borrowed a quote from anti-apartheid revolutionary leader Nelson Mandela, telling the crowd that “it always seems impossible until it is done.” 

In an appeal to the younger generation—one roughly six decades younger than him—Sanders announced that he would not only be targeting both the Republican and Democratic establishments, sitting president Donald Trump, Wall Street, and the fossil fuel industry, but also “the whole damn one-percent.” In a similar vein, Sanders later told that despite their disproportionate amounts of wealth, this group of individuals only comprised one-percent of the population. In a motivational manner, Sanders exclaimed, “We are the ninety-nine percent!” Ironically, Sanders, a multimillionaire speaking at a college consisting of more members of the 1% than any other in the Ivy League, is not part of this group. Sanders and his wife made roughly $1.7 million in the past two years, putting them well over the threshold to be considered the top one percent. For someone concerned with semantics, making clear on multiple occasions that he was using words advisably, his statement shined particularly dubious. 

Sanders made it clear early in his speech that he would not talk too much about President Trump. He informed the crowd that Trump would be impeached shortly for his alleged Ukraine phone call scandal, and that he had already spoken with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, advising him to remove the president. Sanders mentioned that he hopes his Republican colleagues in the Senate can view the situation objectively and have the courage to stand up to Trump, ultimately putting the “future of America ahead of short-term political interest.” After all, this election was more than just Trump, and Americans need to think big, not small. Despite including this ‘Let’s move on from Trump’ spiel, he continuously reiterated his opposition to Trump throughout the evening.

Sanders characterized the President as a self-described genius who believes that climate change is a hoax. Shortly following this statement, he exclaimed, “I believe that Donald Trump is a hoax!” This appeared to receive the loudest cheer out of any statement throughout the evening. Sanders, using seemingly apocalyptic rhetoric, said that we have twelve years to fix the planet—a very short period of time—before it is too late. After all, science is on his side, and anyone who does not believe that the world is coming to an abrupt end is full of lies, just like the fossil fuel industry. Sanders also called Trump a racist demagogue, claiming that he is demonizing illegal immigrants. He mentioned Trump yet again in his speech when referring to campaign finance, stating that Republicans and Trump will win by getting billionaires to support them. Sanders’ campaign boasts that it is paid for by the people, not the exceedingly wealthy—the press passes that were generously given to The Review read “Paid for by Bernie 2020 (not the billionaires).”

Another repeated theme of his speech was unity, professing a call to action that we must “stand together” in an effort to “beat Trump’s effort to divide us up by the color of our skin or sexual orientation.” The Democratic-socialist Senator from Vermont also emphasized his “Us, not me” attitude. Sanders’ calls for unity are not only ironic, as his core campaign promise of dethroning the one-percent serves to divide the country by both class and income, but his assault on the overall institution of wealth and his use of Trump as a scapegoat also resemble the textbook working-class takeover in the power struggle of a communist revolution. 

Much of his speech was an echo of the increasingly progressive Democratic Party platform—Medicare for All, cancelling all student debt, banning firearms, government distribution of wealth, and implementing the Green New Deal—without further explanation of how those government programs will be funded, as per usual. The Review could not ask for further explanation or clarification of specific campaign platforms because, prior to the event, one of the event organizers informed press members that there would not be a Q&A session at the rally.

Despite not providing any particularly new commentary at the event, Sanders has an extraordinary ability to get young people energized, whether you lean left, right, or straight up and down. At 78 years old, Sanders is the oldest candidate in the field, yet he still retains the highest polling rates among college students and young voters. Somehow, he has made being old, cool. Perhaps that is why a sea of students with iPhones practically begged Sanders for a selfie after the rally. Whether you agree or disagree with him, his aesthetic—an angry, old man waving his fist while wheezing about the distribution of wealth—is hip and fresh, even youthful. It is no secret that youth voter turnout is lower than that of older Americans—it is a historical fact. Sanders, while championing the idealistic, impractical, and improbable values of much of young America, is a huge force in getting college students to take a break from rallying at the frats in favor of rallying at the polls.