Adviser’s note: Congratulations to Jared on having this story nationally published on Best Of SNO!

Vermont senator and grandfather to seven, 74 year old Bernie Sanders is not one who you would consider to be heading the list of candidates for the 2016 presidential election.

However, his rally at Cleveland State University’s Wolstein Center has me assured that there is no better candidate.

Ever since hopping in line before the doors opened on Nov. 16, the atmosphere was buzzing. Moving into the 13,000 seat arena only contained the hype.

Most of the crowd seemed to be between the ages of 16 and 22. Most of the people I sat around were college students.

As the rally went on, people seemed to get more and more excited. Sanders’ yells of Republican mishaps drew boos while his boasting about abolishing tuition for public universities and his plans to abolish the federal prohibition on marijuana, among other things, drew ecstatic hurrahs.

Just listening to his ideas makes many realize that he is all about creating a better future America. That change, however, has to start with today’s young adults.

1. He wants to create a living minimum wage.

Most, if not all, Mayfield High School students with jobs make the minimum wage of $8.10 an hour. On Sanders’ campaign however, he wants to up that approximately $15 an hour. That will greatly help students when they reach college to pay for books and other supplies. For the most part, they will not have to pay for a college education because…

2. He wants to abolish tuition of public universities while lowering student loan interest rates.

Many countries in this world offer higher level education for almost no cost to students. Why? They value education. The average out of state tuition for a public four year school in this school year was $23,893 according to the College Board. By lowering education costs, Sanders is setting students up for a brighter future by removing the weight of debt off of their shoulders.

But after school, then what? What are graduates supposed to do? There aren’t as many jobs available now as their was 20 years ago. Sanders wants to fix that.

3. He wants to create decent paying jobs.

According to Sanders’ website, we are “in the midst of an ongoing unemployment crisis” and we “must take bold action to address it,”. Sanders has already done work to decrease unemployment by introducing the Employ Young Americans Now Act, opposing NAFTA and CAFTA, and working to modernize our country’s infrastructure. With the steps he has taken already, Sanders could have more of an effect if he mans the desk in the Oval Office.  

These three ideas are only part of the much larger blueprint Bernie Sanders has for our country. You can read more about his ideas at berniesanders.com/issues.

So current juniors, seniors, and staff: On November 8, 2016, make your vote count.