Actively participating in a democracy is a value that my parents taught me at a young age. As immigrants to the United States from a country where aren’t voters respected my parents taught to fight for what I believe in. Growing up in the DC area naturally exposed me to politics. When I heard about the opportunity to volunteer for a politician that I like I jumped on it.
While volunteering for the Bernie Sanders headquarters in DC, I heard about the National Student Town Hall at George Mason University. I signed up to be a student representative and was granted a ticket to the event. On Wednesday I planned out my metro route, and tried to navigate across the George Mason campus to arrive with just enough time to get into the event, or so I thought.
When two friends and I arrived the security guards told us that the gymnasium was already at full capacity. They didn’t allow us in, which we contested because we already had our tickets. In the end the organizer of the event escorted us to the balcony level, but we couldn’t hear what Senator Sanders was saying because a thick glass around the balcony.
As the event went on we saw students below us leaving the town hall. We jumped up and headed downstairs to ask for entry since they left their seats. After another 10 minutes the volunteers let us in, and we finally heard Senator Sanders speak. I felt touched, as he brought a young Muslim American woman up on stage and gave her a hug after she proclaimed that she wanted to improve the United States for minorities.
After the event drew to a close we headed out of the gymnasium and saw a group of students congregating behind a set of doors. We followed the crowd through another set of doors and a few seconds later Senator Sanders came in. Students mobbed around him taking selfies, and my friend Maria and I moved to the outside of the crowd. As the mob thinned out, Senator Sanders turned to us and asked if we snapped our picture yet. We quickly took our selfie with him; I shook his hand and thanked him for his time. After the event it truly hit me. I got to meet a presidential candidate that represented where I want to see this country go. After the struggle of getting into the event, the selfie was a crazy way to end the crazy night.
-Hiwot Hailu
