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Friday, March 29, 2024
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Someone stole the head of a $50 Bernie Sanders lifesize cutout. The president of Students for Bernie, William Zelin, said he chased after the thief.

The 22-year-old UF political science and statistics senior said this cutout is one of the tools the student group supporting Sanders used to attract students. They had the cutout on display when they informed students about the Democratic candidate.

Zelin said he supports Sanders’ version of the Green New Deal and believes student loan debt should not exist. 

Sanders funds his campaign through grassroots efforts. In fact, the members of the organization have raised more than $1,800 that they’ve donated to Sanders’ campaign.

“It’s continuing to expand more and more as the campaign progresses,” Zelin said. “It’s giving him the staying power other candidates aren’t experiencing.”

Zelin leads his 258 members to campaign for Sanders in the presidential election. The group hosted debate watch parties, reached out to voters by phone, talked to UF voters about his campaign and supported other volunteers in Gainesville by canvassing.

However, Students for Bernie isn’t the only student organization that campaigned for a specific candidate. 

Students for Joe Biden planned to register as an official UF student organization the Monday following Spring Break but has not done so because members haven’t found a faculty adviser yet, which has been difficult to find since the coronavirus outbreak, said Bruce Glasserman, the co-founder and president of the group. Glasserman decided to start the club in light of Biden’s comeback on Super Tuesday.

Glasserman, a 20-year-old UF political science sophomore, posted an interest form on Facebook March 5 to gauge student interest. It received 37 responses as of Sunday evening.

Glasserman said he supports Biden’s plans on supporting the framework behind the Green New Deal and rejoining the Paris Climate Accords if elected. He also said he supports Biden’s plans on expanding loan forgiveness programs and increasing aid through doubling Pell Grant funds.

“That commitment, that sense of duty from him is what pushed me to support Vice President Biden,” Glasserman said.

To support Biden, Glasserman has donated $60 to his campaign since he announced his candidacy in April.

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He said his support for Biden was solidified when he met the former vice president and former Sen. Bill Nelson in Tallahassee October 2018. Glasserman, who lost his uncle and grandmother to cancer, said he spoke to him about cancer research.

“He promised me face-to-face that he would do everything within his power to fund cancer research,” Glasserman said.

Contact Allessandra Inzinna at ainzinna@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @ainzinna. 

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Allessandra Inzinna

Allessandra is a third-year journalism major with a minor in English. In the past, she has covered local musicians and the cannabis industry. She is now the Student Government reporter for The Alligator. Allessandra paints and plays guitar in her free time. 


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