I am not voting for Bernie Sanders because I am a “Millennial.” I am not voting for Bernie Sanders because I am a “young woman in my 20s following a popular trend.” Put simply, I am voting for Bernie Sanders because I am educated. Now, I am not quite caught up on nuclear physics, and I would probably struggle a bit on any given biology exam (props to you, science majors … y’all the real MVPs), but I am also not the type to undervalue my political science degree and minor in women, development and culture as an “easy ride through the social sciences on my path to an MRS degree” (I can ramble on about that bullsh** stereotype for days, but I’m excited you’re still even reading this, so I will abstain from my desire to digress).

We tend to think of extreme poverty in other parts of the world as something we take no part in, something we rationalize as the consequences of the evil behavior of evil people who lack our moral compass.

Admittedly, I haven’t always been interested in politics. In fact, I got into UCSB as an econ major and was weeded out by the econ majors that were indeed supposed to be there (as well as the ones that wisely chose not to thoroughly damage their livers the first quarter of freshman year). It wasn’t until my third year that a sociology course — later to become the foundation for my minor — allowed me to look at the bigger picture. I studied women, poverty and exploitation in the third world and was forced to take a hard look at the institutions that perpetuate injustices in these areas. We tend to think of extreme poverty in other parts of the world as something we take no part in, something we rationalize as the consequences of the evil behavior of evil people who lack our moral compass. As it turns out, however, the sources of this evil lie far closer to our realm of familiarity and influence than we realize, protected by a powerful system that we have underestimated and hidden behind a sensationalist media that has underestimated us. I was able to gain a global perspective that considered the genuine suffering of human lives — lives we often denigrate to nothing more than a statistic — and recognized the role politics had played in causing this suffering. The same politics that we get bored of and ignored. The politics that have — due to our lack of attention — fallen into the wrong hands and subsequently the wrong pockets. The United States has historically been the most powerful country in the world, so when we allow multi-billion dollar corporations to buy politicians and thus the votes that deregulate their activity, the repercussions of that are felt all over the world.

Even if you find yourself in disagreement with his ideas on domestic social/economic policies, Bernie is the ONLY candidate who wants your vote to count to the full extent of your rights as an American citizen.

Bernie Sanders is not making history because he is a viral trend amongst young idealists; his popularity has spiked because he has given people faith that we can create a politics that cares about people. He has created a movement that has brought people together from both the left and the right who can all agree that our political system is rigged. Even if you find yourself in disagreement with his ideas on domestic social/economic policies, Bernie is the ONLY candidate who wants your vote to count to the full extent of your rights as an American citizen. He has shown through record-breaking turnouts and individual contributions that the American people can regain control of our political process. We can no longer accept the narrative that politics are only for politicians. We can no longer fulfill the stereotype that young, educated Americans are more passionate about who wins “The Bachelor” than which American corporations profit from labor exploitation and human rights abuses around the world. It is not just our duty to our country, but our responsibility to the global community to be politically active citizens who acknowledge that we indeed have the power to change the world.