Bernie Sanders helps celebrate free City College tuition

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at City College of San Francisco on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017 in San Francisco, CA U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaks at City College of San Francisco on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017 in San Francisco, CA Photo: Paul Kuroda, Special To The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Paul Kuroda, Special To The Chronicle Image 1 of / 12 Caption Close Bernie Sanders helps celebrate free City College tuition 1 / 12 Back to Gallery

With all the fervor of a revival meeting, about 700 people at City College of San Francisco today cheered U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and the supervisor who helped make tuition at the college free to city residents.

The event was a celebration of the new Free City program, which includes both tuition waivers and grants for low-income students who need help paying for books, transportation and other expenses.

The ballot measure was spearheaded by Supervisor Jane Kim and approved by voters in November. The measure increased the real estate transfer tax on high-end properties to help pay for the program.

"It is not rhetoric, but reality - because you are living that reality right now - that when we stand together, there is nothing we can't accomplish," the senator from Vermont said, as the audience roared its approval.

Sanders, Kim and other speakers, including three CCSF students, held forth at Diego Rivera Theatre on campus in front of a backdrop of colorful signs, including posters with bright red hearts on a yellow background, touting the Free City program.

This is the first semester the program has been in effect.

"I am moved and delighted to be at City College today," Sanders said. "We need to make public colleges and universities tuition-free. I want to thank all of you and the Board of Supervisors. You are becoming a model for the United States of America."

In a similar vein, Kim said, "We need to be a beacon for the rest of the country about what it means to make American great again."

The crowd, which overflowed the theater into nearby campus space reserved for the occasion, engaged in a call-and-response with speakers, clapping, yelling and giving both Kim and Sanders standing ovations. Campus police estimated attendance at the event at around 700 people.

"[President Donald] Trump and his friends want to throw 32 million Americans off the health insurance they have," Sanders said, referring to efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. The audience booed and hissed in response.

"But we have a different vision, and that is healthcare for all," Sanders said, to cheers and applause.

Melissa Headrick, a CCSF student, could hardly sit still in her seat after arriving about a half-hour early at the event. She said she is a longtime Sanders supporter.

"I like that he fights for what he believes in," said Headrick, who is involved in student government at CCSF.

"My major is international relations. I want to go into immigration law. I want to use my life to help other people, like Bernie," Headrick said.

Before the event began, CCSF student Neha Sharma said, "The cost of living in San Francisco is very high, so this (Free City) will really help."

Brianna Mendonsa, president of the CCSF Photo Club, said, "This [Free City] is a wonderful first step. However, many of us can't afford to live in San Francisco," the Pacifica resident said.

Mendonsa, who works on campus, said she hoped the program would be broadened to include students who don't live in the city but work there.

Kim's ballot measure has brought $27.5 million into the city's coffers in its first six months, the supervisor has said.

A deal announced in February committed the city to $5.4 million in annual funding for the next two years, and the Board of Supervisors has since also approved a $1 million budget reserve to help insulate the program from economic downturns.

Officials said in August that with just over two weeks left until classes were due to start, preliminary numbers showed that more than 30,000 students had enrolled for the fall semester.

This is a 17 percent increase over last year in combined credit and non-credit full-time equivalent student units and a 25.5 percent increase in credit-only full-time equivalent students.