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Gustavo Sanchez
English 115
Professor Lawson
9 December 2016
Project 3 Pop Culture Research Paper: Final Draft
2120 words
Bernie Sanders Impact on the Millennials Generation with Social Media Outreach
Born between the mid-1970s to the mid 21st century, the Millennial generation is
historically the most diverse and educated generations there has ever been and not to forget to
mention the only digital generation which grew up with the internet as well as Millennial
experiencing the advancement and improvement of technology. Also the Millennial Generation
is quite different from all other generations before it. As the most racially diverse generation in
United States history, the ethnic makeup of the Millennial generation is one of the key elements
in the explanation of the majority of Millennials expressing leftist/progressive values and
principles compared to the past generations who have tended to have more conservative
principles (Pew Social Trends). Being labeled as digital natives (Kelsh), according to Chaz

Kelsh a writer for the Journalists Resource which is a project of the Harvard Kennedy Schools
Shorenstein Center, the Millennial demographic is heavily in tune on popular social media
platforms such as Twitter and Facebook which can be an outreach source for news that happens
worldwide (Kelsh).
Millennials specifically use these social media platform sites the most to be informed of
national and international news, political issues, and political candidates in which using social

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media can be the gateway for the younger generation to be actively engaged in politics as
concluded in Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public
Policys March 2015 research study (Kelsh). The Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center
on Media, Politics, and Public Policy is Harvard Universitys world renowned research center on
the analysis of public policy and the intersections of the press and the center has also conducted
research such as this relating to Millennials and Bernie Sanders since 1980. This years recent
United States 2016 presidential elections was one election process in which we didnt expect to
have such an unlikely turnout where the controversial republican candidate Donald Trump won
the United States presidential nomination over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The
only positive aspect that came from this 2016 presidential elections was the rising popularity of
the United States Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders during the Democratic Primaries.
During Bernie Sanders presidential run, not only did he have the highest approval rating during
the race, but is also the most popular senator in the United States with a significantly high 80
percent approval rating which was concluded by Morning Consult; a nonpartisan digital media
and survey research company which provides statistical research on political issues (Morning
Consult). The Millennial voters especially have a strong appeal of Bernie Sanders policies and
ideas because Sanders has influenced and got the majority of the Millennial demographic to be
more interested and actively engaged in American politics through social media site platforms in
which Millennials use social media the most to keep up with the news. Before we can examine
and delve into what made Bernie Sanders the most popular candidate amongst Millennial voters,
we first have to answer the question: How did the United States Senator from Vermont Bernie

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Sanders become Millennials most popular presidential candidate and how has his portrayal in
social media impacted the Millennial generation on their perspective on American politics?
According to the Pew Research Center on Social and Demographic trends, a nonpartisan
and nonprofit research center based in Washington D.C. that is funded by The Pew Federal
Trusts, concludes that Millennials are relatively unattached to organized politics and religion
(Pew Social Trends) compared to their past generations and are also more likely to be linked by
social media (Pew Social Trends) as a resource for news and entertainment. Pew Research
Center on Social and Demographic trends further concludes that the Millennial demographic
tend to be less likely to identify with either of the two major political parties in the United States,
Democratic or Republican, and veer towards liberalism (Pew research Center). The majority of
Millennials also self-describe themselves as independents compared to the past four generations
(Pew Research Center). In relation to this, we can see how Millennials could have been attracted
to Bernie Sanders and his campaign in 2016 because Sanders is a declared independent who
recently caucused with the Democratic Party and is anti-establishment based on Americas
conventional political principles that havent really seen any significant change since Franklin D.
Roosevelt. On Zaid Jilanis article on Bernie Sanders political record on Alternet, an
award-winning independent news magazine and online community which focuses on the
advocacy on human rights and civil liberties, the environment, social justice, health care issues,
and more; Jinali expresses that Bernie Sanders has amassed a 50 year history of standing up for
civil and minority rights (Jinali) and listens to the concerns of marginalized groups (Jinali).
The Humanist Report with Mike Figueredo, which is a progressive podcast that analyzes weekly
news and political issues, not to long ago discussed and examined on one of their podcasts the

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differences between Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton during the Civil Rights era. The
Humanist Report further added in their podcast that during the Civil Rights Movement, Bernie
Sanders when he was enrolled at the University of Chicago, led a civil rights sit-in to desegregate
the University of Chicago whereas his future democratic opponent Hillary Clinton was
campaigning for the Republican candidate Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential elections in
which Goldwater openly opposed desegregation in schools and other establishments (The
Humanist Report).
Bernie Sanders does not have any endorsements of Super PACs whereas his former
opponent Hillary Clinton has been known for being hit with scandals time and time again where
she still to this day refuses to release her transcripts of paid speeches she gave to investment
banks on Wall Street (Morning Consult). Professor of International Affairs and Comparative
Literature at the Pennsylvania State University Sophia A. McClennen, concludes that the main
reason that Bernie Sanders and his campaign became and still is popular amongst Millennials is
because Sanders is the only political figure and candidate to put the real issues such as student
loan debt, high unemployment rates, and climate change that affect the nations youth the most
(McClennen). Another factor that made Bernie Sanders gain more popularity and impact on
Millennials is that the Millennial demographic are facing immensely high student loans when
graduating from college or a university along with the high employment rates in where as of
2016, the total student loan debt is 1.3 trillion dollars and is continuing to rise(TICAS).
According to the independent, nonprofit organization that conducts nonpartisan research and
analysis on students, the Institute for College Access and Success recently had a project on
student loan debt and concluded that the average 2015 college graduate owes an average of

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$30,100, up four percent from the 2014 average of $28,950 (TICAS). Growing up during the
recession, the Millennial demographic was affected the most and had their adulthood experience
delayed which resulted in their loss of faith in the government and institutions they thought they
could depend on (Wagner). One of latest of series of public pollings conducted by Harvards
Institute of Politics, which may conclude Sanders success with Millennial voters, was that the
polls indicated that for Millennials to have true trust in government and politics, the future
president must have the ability to address and execute the issues: Grow the economy, reduce
terrorism at home and abroad, unite Americans to address inequality and every front, inspire the
post 9/11 unified Americans many recall, and reduce the role of big money and politics. And by
the looks of it, Bernie Sanders and his campaigns policies have addressed these issues where
other candidates havent or have avoided in the past. Another component to analyze on how
Bernie Sanders amassed Millennial voters support was on how he and his campaign used social
media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter to get their message to resonate amongst
Millennials. Social media networking site such as Facebook especially gave Sanders the
opportunity to reach out to the Millennial demographic where his numerous facebook posts
attracted tens of thousands of likes and shares which for the majority of whom often engaged in
his posts were Millennial voters (Corasaniti).
Most can agree that Sanders in this past year has been seen as an important advocate for
the specific issues that Millennials are facing today. But on the other hand, however, opposing
factions might debate and argue otherwise if its so the case. One issue pertaining to Bernie
Sanders and why he lost the Democratic nomination was that Sanders political point of view
and his self-identification as a democratic socialist caused an obstacle amongst the older-aged

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demographic of American voters (Chait). Throughout the early 20th century the average working
American has responded and perceived the term socialism with immense negativity as they
perceive it as communism (Chait). Following after Sanders run in the 2016 presidential
elections, Jonathan Chaits article from New York Magazine which is a credible bi-weekly
magazine, analyzed on some of the lurking variables that could have affected Sanders proposed
policies in which they could never be made into legislation. Sanders has also during his run as a
presidential candidate, has had trouble in the past when addressing international affairs such as
the November 2015 Paris attacks during the time at one of the Democratic Debates (Chait). By
the fact that we have a House of Representatives which is predominantly Republican, this would
marginalize or cease any of Sanders important progressive legislation (Chait). John
Haltiwanger, politics writer at Elite Daily which is an American online news network providing
news specifically for the Millennial demographic, critiques Sanders and his campaign because
although he does have a definitive edge over Hillary Clinton on approval ratings and proposed
national policies, Clinton does have an edge when it comes to foreign policy and international
affairs as having experience being Secretary of State under President Obamas
administration(Haltiwanger). In addition, Haltiwanger analyzes that since Bernie Sanders liberal
demeanor does take a critical position on how the U.S. is more focused on spending military
defenses, that altogether Sanders taking such a stance can be politically unpopular against
partisan lines (Haltiwanger).
It could be safe to assume that all these positive and negative arguments and claims about
the Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders appears to be in a sense a valid argument, but the
actual sound argument that is towards Bernie Sanders is that Senator Sanders has moved the

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Millennial generation as a whole and has changed the direction of where the United States is
going is by his stance on single-payer universal healthcare system, the rise in federal wage to 15
dollars an hour, and to move big money out of politics in terms of Super PACs and contributions.
Throughout Sanders political career, he has been an activist for human and civil equality from
his time being a student at the University of Chicago to now as a former presidential candidate
and Senator of Vermont. His track record doesnt lie or when it is politically convenient for him
on political correctness. Bernie Sanders is an overall progressive and that his only intentions,
during his time as a presidential candidate, was to fix the national problems that this country
faces and not the issues at an international level. Dennis Williams, Senior Editor for Fresh U
NYU an online publication at New York University for students, analyzed the most appealing
aspect of Bernie Sanders is that hes not bought by Wall Street nor does he have a Super PAC
(Williams) meaning that these wealthy donors or companies cant buy into or influence Sanders
opinion. On the other hand, however, his former opponent Hillary Clinton made an estimated 11
million dollars during an extent of two years just from giving a couple of speeches to these big
firms and banks (Williams). With these argument against Bernie Sanders are primarily on his
position on the United States foreign affairs and interventions, primarily on the Iraq War, we
have to evaluate and see that the more interventions that we do, we do more damage and get
ourselves deeper into debt along with the issues we face nationally. It was hard to see Senator
Sanders not winning the Democratic nomination, but we were able to see a movement Sanders
created and in turn resonated amongst Millennial voters. Overall, during his time as a
presidential candidate, Sanders strong belief and stance on the main issues that are changing the
lives of young Americans who are unsure of their future and loss of faith in the government, the

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Senator has given Millennials a chance for their voice to be heard in politics and has given an
entire generation the power to make policies possible that veers us closer towards a more
progressive and secular country.

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Work Cited
Chait, Jonathan. "The Case Against Bernie Sanders." Daily Intelligencer. N.p., 18 Jan. 2016.
Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
"Chapter 1: Political Trends." Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project.
N.p., 07 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
Corasaniti, Nick. "Seeking the Presidency, Bernie Sanders Becomes Facebook Royalty Through
Quirky Sharing." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 May 2015. Web. 17
Nov. 2016.
Haltiwanger, John, ed. "A No-Nonsense Guide To The Pros And Cons Of Hillary And Bernie."
Elite Daily. N.p., 17 Feb. 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.
Jilani, Zaid. "19 Examples of Bernie Sanders' Powerful Record on Civil and Human Rights Since
the 1950s." Alternet. N.p., 20 July 2015. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Kelsh, Chaz. "How Social Media Influences Millennials' Political Views - Journalist's
Resource." Journalist's Resource. N.p., 17 May 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
McClennen, Sophia A. "Why Millennials Love Bernie Sanders: This Is What Trump, Hillary
and Chris Matthews Dont Understand about How Politics Has Changed." Salon. N.p.,
3 June 2016. Web. 14 Nov. 2016.
Morning Consult. "The Most (And Least) Popular Senators In America - Morning Consult."
Morning Consult. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
The Humanist Report. "The Difference Between Bernie Sanders & Hillary Clinton During the
Civil Rights Era." YouTube. YouTube, 13 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

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"The Institute For College Access and Success." Home | The Institute For College Access and
Success. N.p., 20 Feb. 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
"The Institute of Politics at Harvard University." Harvard IOP Fall 2016 Poll | The Institute of
Politics at Harvard University. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.
Thomas, Derek. "Adulthood, Delayed: What Has the Recession Done to Millennial?" The
Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 14 Feb. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2016.
Wagner, John, ed. "Why Millennials Love Bernie Sanders, and Why That May Not Be Enough."
Washington Post. The Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
Williams, Dennis. "The Pros and Cons of Each Presidential Candidate | Fresh U." Fresh U. N.p.,
1 Mar. 2016. Web. 17 Nov. 2016.