The 2016 presidential race is well underway with a total of 19 candidates participating in the running. Each candidate has inflicted a different impression on all different kinds of people, not just in the nation but across the globe. With the country split on issues such as health care, immigration and the economy, the politicians participating have a lot of ground to cover and many voters to impress.

Unfortunately in our country, many young adults don’t keep up with politics. To them, understanding and interacting with it seems pointless because they feel their opinions are thrown under the bus. The entire political crowd appears to be full of older people who don’t care about teenagers’ ideas.

However US Senator Bernie Sanders has brought a new energy to politics — one that the youth are excited to engage in.

One idea Sanders has proposed deals with education — something that compels the youth. With a considerable amount of post-college students struggling to pay off their loans, and a large number of those who can’t even afford college in the first place, his idea of affordable education is extremely attractive to the younger generation.   

Sanders has also found a medium on gun control — a terribly controversial subject all around. Extremists on both sides won’t do the country any good and Sanders recognizes it in an interview, stating that he believes finding a middle ground will create the most progress in the debate and that most people who own guns follow the law.

Perhaps he’s not as strict on gun control as most democrats would like him to be, however that’s one of the things that makes him appealing to the youth. Rarely can we find politicians in the presidential race who have a nearly independent stance here or there. And when we do their only contribution to the election is taking away the votes from the other candidates. Yes, Sanders is fairly liberal and he appeals to those who lean left-wing, but he also excites the younger and rather independent generation that’s growing strong.

I’m not liberal or conservative, and I don’t need to be to recognize a strong candidate when I see one. Sanders has ideas that compel the younger generation and bring them to a more prominent place of importance in politics. Whether or not that will lead him into the actual race is still in question — since quite a bit of the younger teens can’t vote yet. However the point still remains: Sanders has sparked a new energy in the youth and is bringing their attention to real-world issues.