Our caucus: Debaters agree on one thing -- Sanders

Anna Senneff | Our Caucus

I recently attended the Dowling Catholic Paradigm, a national level speech and debate tournament, and encountered teams from across the nation — Minnesota, Illinois, Colorado, Massachusetts, and even, I heard, Florida. Why they'd come to Iowa in the winter is beyond me.

The Paradigm is one of the most geographically diverse tournaments I’ve had the privilege of competing in. In addition to the differing backgrounds, debate kids have an innate need to disagree and argue about anything one can possibly argue about. However, I noticed the vast majority of people I came across had one thing in common: devoted support for Bernie Sanders.

This is definitely something I’d noticed before, from countless Sanders campaign stickers plastered onto laptops, to conversations in tournament school hallways, to one girl’s assertion on that Saturday that, “Bernie Sanders is just a kind, old man trying to fix America, and I think we should let him.” It’s rare to find anything that a majority of debaters can agree upon, unless it’s that tournament concessions are disgusting and that NFL sounds much cooler than NSDA. But the Sanders' bandwagon, I’ve noticed, is one that appeals not just to debaters, but to young people in general.

So what’s that about? I can’t say I’m a Sanders supporter, but I’ve come across countless teens who are. I know the man has made some big promises, including free public college, higher minimum wage, a new immigration policy and more. I can see where a lot of his plans would appeal to the younger population (and to be honest, we haven’t been afforded many great options as far as presidential candidates). But here’s the congruence I’ve seen between Sanders and his younger supports: liberalism and progressiveness.

Strong liberal sentiment is something I’ve seen spreading exponentially throughout my generation, especially in the past couple years. This is embodied by third-wave feminism, pushes for LGBT rights and a general attitude of progressivism. And from what I’ve seen, Sanders’ initiatives align pretty closely with these ideals.

I can’t say I’m getting on the Sanders bandwagon anytime soon; my views are just a little too conservative for that. But my peers are, and I can see why. He expresses passion toward issues that directly affect young people in particular, and many of them identify pretty closely with his views. Sanders has some big plans for America, and from what I’ve seen, my generation is getting on board.

But is that appeal enough to win the election for him? Time will tell.

Anna Senneff is a student at Ankeny High School. She's involved in her school debate team and works as an intern with her church's youth group. Senneff finds politics endlessly fascinating and has become familiar with the political process and current events, largely through her experience in debate.

To read more from the 12 Iowans who are writing about their experiences for Our Caucus, visit https://medium.com/our-caucus. Our Caucus is a Des Moines Register project designed to bring in varying viewpoints and experiences, especially from younger voters, during this election cycle.