Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., donned a blue UF hat Thursday morning.
During his first trip to UF, the presidential candidate spoke to a crowd of about 4,000 at UF’s University Village South Field, next to the Southwest Recreation Center.
Sanders, who spoke at 11 a.m., talked about the need to reform criminal justice, make public college free and ensure wage equality.
When the gates opened shortly after 8:15 a.m., several hundred people formed a line that stretched past the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art and Hilton UF Conference Center, winding down 34th Street.
Isaac Netzer, a 20-year-old political science junior and the president of Progressive Gators, arrived at 5:30 a.m.
“We’re prepared,” he said. “We’re ready.”
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Jordan Gilbert started the line at midnight Thursday.
Gilbert picked up his boyfriend at Southwest Rec and decided to stay, the 23-year-old said. His only supply for the 11-hour wait was a towel.
The future UF political science student said he supports Sanders’ honesty and trustworthiness.
“What is there not to like about Bernie?” he said.
Emily Lakeman, 18, left Tallahassee at 10 p.m. Wednesday to see Sanders. She called her friend Derek Dean, 23, and asked him to join her.
“We decided we didn’t want to sleep,” Dean said. “We just wanted to drive.”
Dean had just finished a 13-hour shift at Dollar General before the drive, and the duo got in line at 1 a.m.
“It was a totally random decision,” Lakeman said. “We ate in Tally and drove down.”
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Among the crowd, more than 100 volunteers helped run the event, Netzer said.
Garrett Quinlivan, 75, and his wife, Marilyn Eisenberg, 70, woke up to volunteer at 6:40 a.m.
Quinlivan, a former member of the Alachua County Green Party, said he started supporting Sanders in July, soon changing his political affiliation to vote for Sanders in the primary.
“He’s not running for himself,” he said. “He’s running because he really wants to change things.”
After the gates opened, fans who held “Feel the Bern” signs passed through security and entered the field.
The sound of drums and bass filled the air as the band Mama Trish vs. Godzilla played during the 3-hour wait.
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Two UF students and a congresswoman took the stage around 10:45 a.m. to welcome Sanders.
Netzer and Molly Vise, a 21-year-old biology senior and a co-founder of Progressive Gators, encouraged students to vote now and again for Election Day in November.
“If you’re a student on this campus, it is up to us,” Netzer said.
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard (Democrat, Hawaii) introduced Sanders after Courtney Graham, Miss Ocala’s Outstanding Teen, sang the national anthem.
Gabbard said Sanders has the necessary judgement to make good decisions as commander-in-chief.
“He has the foresight to make those right decisions for our country,” Gabbard said.
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Sanders took the stage, and the crowd chanted “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie.”
After Sanders thanked students for coming, he placed a blue UF hat on his head.
He told the crowd democracy is not a spectator sport.
“If we are going to change this nation, we have got to do it together,” he said.
He told the audience that millions of Americans are working longer hours for lower wages, adding that America has worse income and wealth inequality than any other major country.
“Unless we turn this economy around, your generation will likely have a lower standard of living than your parents,” Sanders said.
Sanders said he wants today’s youth to live the American dream.
“I want your kids to do better than you, and I want you to do better than your parents,” he said. “I want to see the American dream move forward, not backward.”
Part of the solution, he said, is to create a federal minimum wage of $15 per hour and achieve equal pay for both men and women.
He also promised to reform the criminal justice system and legalize marijuana.
“We are going to invest in jobs and education, not jails and incarceration,” Sanders said. “I want our young people to be working or studying, not seeing their lives destroyed in jail.”
He told the audience he will implement campaign finance reform. He said his campaign relies on individual contributions and not donations from corporations.
“This is a campaign of the people, by the people and for the people,” he said.
Toward the end of his speech, Sanders assured the crowd that everyone can help make positive change.
“Real change never takes place from the top on down,” Sanders said. “It’s always from the bottom on up.”
