Graphic by Anjali Rao-Herel ‘22
By Gillian Petrarca ’23
Staff Writer
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders visited Mount Holyoke College on April 4 as the final guest of the Weissman Center for Leadership’s Town Hall Series. The “Our Voices, Our Platforms” series aimed to explore how people can use their voices to create meaningful change.
Director of the Weissman Center for Leadership Amy E. Martin opened the webinar by expressing her thanks to the Weissman student fellows, Mount Holyoke President Sonya Stephens and Carmen Yulín Cruz, Harriet L. Weissman and Paul M. Weissman Distinguished Fellow in Leadership and former mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico, for helping plan and support the town hall series over the past month. Stephens introduced Sanders to the webinar.
While beginning, town hall moderator Cruz acknowledged some feelings of anxiety. “I am a little nervous. I worked with Bernie on his campaign,” she said. “I call him a ‘wizy-wak’ person. [With him], you will always see the truth. I am looking forward to this conversation tonight.”
Cruz first asked Sanders if he could share his thoughts about the recent Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson and what he thinks it reflects about the state of the U.S.
Sanders responded that in some ways, the nomination signifies progress. Jackson’s April 7, 2022 confirmation will make her the first Black woman sworn into the Supreme Court. “We have made progress on many things such as gay and civil rights. However, we are falling further behind into an oligarchic society,” Sanders said.
Cruz then asked Sanders when he realized he wanted to go into politics and structurally change it.
Sanders said that when he was younger, it never occurred to him that he would run for office. However, he saw a lot of inequality growing up. “I and other families struggled. I saw families living paycheck to paycheck,” he said.
Cruz then brought up Sanders’ recent tweet in which he said, “It should not be a luxury to keep teeth in your mouth.”
Sanders said that the tweet was inspired by one of his staffers who told him that her friend’s father recently went into thousands of dollars in medical debt due to a tooth infection. “Healthcare is a human right,” said Sanders. “This is not a radical idea.”
Sanders noted that the narrative surrounding withholding and granting people rights is often controlled by larger powers such as corporations. He said, “You can’t talk about the climate crisis or how people are struggling to put food on the table because big corporations will try to silence you. If I can’t talk about that, then what can I talk about?”
Cruz’s final question for Sanders was how he, as a Jew, felt about the Israel vs. Palestine conflict. Sanders said he was disturbed by how our government has ignored Palestine and should help create peace between the two nations.
Audience members were then given the opportunity to ask Sanders questions. Conference and Events Services Manager Karen Franz asked if Sanders could offer his thoughts on energy independence from Ukraine and Russia and if he had any potential solutions for other energy sources.
Sanders responded that he believes the United States should break its dependence on oil more broadly and that it would be a good idea to move to more sustainable energy. “This would create millions of good-paying jobs,” Sanders said.
The next question came from Professor of Politics Preston H. Smith II, who asked if Sanders could recommend any political strategies that would speak to the needs of working class people. “We need a political revolution that promotes a progressive agenda,” Sanders stated. “We need class consciousness in order to bring people together around a progressive agenda.”
Roxy Blocksdorf ’22 then asked what kind of political coalition is necessary to make housing affordable, and why the American government doesn’t seem to care about this issue.
“The people who need affordable housing have no political power, while the billionaires with mansions have all of the power,” said Sanders. “We need a strong group of working-class people to advocate for housing, which will create good union jobs.”
Aditi Parashar ’22 then asked Sanders if he had read any books in college that shaped his political policy.
Sanders said that he read a lot of socialist theory, especially about trade unionist Eugene V. Debs. “I encourage you to go outside of your curriculum and read,” Sanders said.
Lauren Brook ’24 asked how to begin limiting America’s consumption. Sanders responded that the problem is not America’s consumption, but consumerism as a wider mindset. “Life is not just about how much stuff you can buy,” Sanders said. “We need community.”
The last open floor question came from Dawn Bernardo ’25, who asked, “What is a realistic way to move away from the oligarchy that you mentioned earlier?”
Sanders responded that to do this, people need to rally around a progressive agenda and elect politicians that align with those views.
Cruz then spoke to close out the event. “I ask this question to every person who comes on here,” said Cruz. “If you were to tell me about one person whose voice inspired you, who would that be?”
Sanders said that among the many people that he could think of, the work of Eugene V. Debs has really inspired him. He added, “I would also say Martin Luther King Jr. I was actually there for the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech. He was an extraordinary man who got involved in many things like labor and the Vietnam War, when he did not have to.”
Cruz ended the night by thanking the many students who helped coordinate the event.