COLUMBIA, South Carolina — Two rows of students warmly greeted Rep. Jim Clyburn when he walked into Allen University’s student center on Friday morning to endorse Hillary Clinton — perhaps the most significant endorsement of her campaign, delivered here on a historically black campus.



Clyburn didn’t bother to be introduced by a student or constituent. It was just him, his speech, the cameras — and something about the occasion being as good as any to skip a class.

“And I believe,” he said, launching into his central applause line, “that the future of the Democratic Party and the United States of America will be best served with the experiences and know how of Hillary Clinton as our 45th president.”

But there wasn’t any applause.

Many of the students in the room told BuzzFeed News that they are, in fact, supporting Bernie Sanders.

“The consensus here is that Bernie is for the people,” said Joyce Haynes, a senior at Allen University who sang the national anthem for Sanders at a recent rally. “Like, literally for the people. Not just playing politics. And that’s what I like about him.”

Sanders has, for one thing, visited the campus. (Clinton has not, though her husband has.) His education platform (free public college) is popular. The argument, several students noted, that Clinton is more qualified doesn’t do much for them.

And then there is the national reality in polling that younger Democratic voters, especially those voting in their first election, are overwhelmingly with him. That the gap in support among young voters between Clinton and Sanders extends to historically black schools (HCBUs) has become a source of concern among the Democratic Party’s black elite in Washington, most of whom are supporting Clinton. It’s not clear, at least in part because of a dearth of reliable polling, how much it will help Sanders in the Democratic primary here, which is on Saturday, Feb. 27. But several black lawmakers know well it’s a key demographic where Clinton struggles.

Sanders’s appeal at Allen — situated on a few sleepy blocks in a residential neighborhood — mirrors that of Sanders’s appeal nationally. The cost of tuition was a big worry for Jonathan Clarke and Dexter Walker, Sanders supporters who, like most students, sat silently during Clyburn’s address, clapped politely when he was done, and nodded their heads in approval when the congressman was asked about Sanders.

After the statement, a reporter had asked Clyburn what he thought about young voters’ enthusiasm for Sanders. “I was once young,” he said, adding that he wants the young getting involved in politics, whomever they support.

“I don't have any problem with anybody who's out working for Bernie Sanders,” Clyburn added. “As I said in my statement, it was a pleasant experience working with him. We worked very closely together on the Affordable Care Act.” He went on to talk about Clinton’s qualifications.