You may have noticed Bernie Sanders busting a move out on the Lory Student Center Plaza last week.

It turns out that he knows the “Harlem Shake,” the “Wobble” and the “Whip & Nae Nae.” No wonder millennials love this guy. He wants to make public universities tuition-free and he can dance.

Okay, so it wasn’t the real Bernie Sanders on the Plaza. It was some crazy chick in a wig breaking it down in broad daylight completely sober. How do I know that? Because it was me.


You might be wondering why I would put myself in a potentially embarrassing situation for a presidential candidate.

It’s because Bernie Sanders is the first candidate of his kind.

He continuously demonstrates that he is a man of integrity who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.

First, he chose to run a grassroots campaign completely free of large donor contributions. Second, he called himself a democratic socialist, knowing that many Americans would freak out because they still confuse socialism with communism. Third, he calls everyone out and brings visibility to issues that no one else will touch.

How could Bernie win? He turns money down, holds the title of a democratic socialist and speaks his mind freely. All of this sounds like political suicide, but according to the polls, a lot of Americans are feeling the Bern.

Why do Americans want Bernie for President?

Bernie is determined to get big money out of politics and put this democracy back in our hands. He wants to overturn the catastrophic Supreme Court decision Citizens United, which allows corporations to donate unlimited sums of money to presidential campaigns via super-PACs.

Basically, that $5 donation you contributed to Bernie’s campaign is competing with millions of dollars other presidential candidates are receiving from donors. If money talks, under Citizens United, the American people might as well be mute.

Bernie also wants to raise the minimum wage to $15/hour, make public higher education free and enact universal healthcare. This would increase taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

I know that raising taxes is unpopular, but we have a serious problem with the distribution of wealth in this nation and it needs to be addressed. What we face currently is detrimental to our economy and our society. Watch the video below — it says it all:

Finally, Bernie is addressing the most comprehensive and critical list of issues out of any of the other candidates.

How much longer do we need to debate shallow issues?

We don’t have time to tell people how to live their lives when we have climate change, endless war and a disappearing middle class to worry about.

It is time to move forward, and Bernie Sanders is our man — a true progressive.

If you are a registered Democrat and you are feeling the Bern, roll to the Colorado Caucus March 1 at 7 p.m. and rock the vote. You can look up your precinct here: http://www.coloradodems.org/action/caucus-2016. Don’t be late.

Collegian World Affairs Blogger Rachael Martel can be reached at blogs@collegian.com or on Twitter @rrmartel18.