U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told community members and students that the upcoming Presidential election is the most consequential election of their lifetime during his visit to UW Oshkosh Oct. 28, where he campaigned for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz.

“I suspect that in battleground states like Wisconsin, the election will be decided by relatively a few thousand votes,” Sanders said. “I want to tell you that the people in this room can make a profound difference, because it is absolutely possible that as goes Wisconsin, so goes America and so goes the world. You have the world on your shoulders.”

Sanders, the longest service independent senator in U.S. congressional history, spoke at the Culver Family Welcome Center for about 45 minutes, where he encouraged people to get out to vote for Harris on Election Day and discussed what former President Donald Trump calls the “leftist agenda.”

The 83-year-old Sanders took the stage while chants of “this is what democracy looks like” rang out inside the ballroom. Throughout the speech, members of the crowd shouted “he’s a fascist” when Trump was mentioned. Sanders quickly put an end to those chants after having to quiet the crowd on multiple occasions when he was interrupted.

This was the second time in two years that Sanders campaigned in Oshkosh, after he spoke to union members outside an Oshkosh Defense plant Nov. 5, 2022.

The Donald Trump and J.D. Vance campaign has yet to visit UWO.

Sanders said he thinks that the difference between candidates Trump and Harris is whether they bring the country together or not.

“We have civil discourse [in this country],” Sander said. “You disagree with me, so what? That’s democracy, but we don’t have to hate each other because of the color of our skin or where we were born. So, when anyone tells you what this election is about, that’s one reason why Kamala Harris has to got to be elected President of the United States.”

Sanders’ list of reasons why Harris should be elected included her push for abortion access, Trump’s reluctance to admit that climate change is real and the Jan. 6 United States Capitol Attack.

Sanders also addressed Trump’s Madison Square Garden Rally in New York, where he hosted speakers that made racially charged comments about Harris. Businessman Grant Cardone said that Harris had begun her career as a prostitute and “her pimp handlers will destroy our country” while Trump’s childhood friend David Rem referred to Harris as “the antichrist” and “the devil.”

Sanders said that the country does not need vulgar racism and sexism in 2024.

“We saw people not disagreeing with Kamala Harris, that’s fine, but going after her because she is a Black woman,” Sanders said. “When people talk about what this campaign, I don’t think you have to look or do much more than take a look at what happened at Madison Square Garden last night.”

Sanders said that the country has come a long way in the fight against racism and sexism, but there is still work to do.

“I will tell you that when I was a kid, if anyone ever told me we would elect a Black person to be President of the United States, nobody would believe it,” Sanders said. “But we overcame racism. If anybody had told me that there would be a woman running or running on several occasions for President of the United States, honestly, three or four decades ago, I would’ve said ‘that’s not true’ … but what has happened over all those years is good.”

Sanders invited the audience to voice their own opinions on the “leftist agenda” that he said most of the population is in support of. He said the “leftist agenda” includes things like tuition-free education for public universities, taxing the top 1% and universal healthcare.

Sanders said that despite being the wealthiest country on Earth, people who live in the U.S. have a lower life expectancy than other wealthy nations.

“There is a five-to-10-year discrepancy in life expectancy between the wealthy and the working class in this country,” Sanders said. “60,000 people die because they can’t get to a doctor when they should, and the rich have access to some of the best health care in the world. Many working-class people are struggling with high deductibles to get to a doctor.”

One woman stood up from the crowd and said that she thinks life expectancy is lower in the U.S. than in other wealthy countries because of chronic stress.

“Just looking at the last few generations of my family, I have grown kids who have their own families, and if I could make a chart, it would just be heartbreaking to see the amount of unsolved problems with the amount of healthcare stressors, childcare stressors, housing stressors. It just goes on and on and on,” she said. “I’m kind of stuck in the middle of it all. It’s a different world [today,] and it’s not a better world.”

Sanders said that he wants to fight for ideas such as universal healthcare that he says are not radical and exist in almost every major country on Earth.

“What demagogues always do is try to divide us,” Sanders said. “They understand one fundamental truth, that if we bring our people together around an agenda that works best for all of us and not just a few, we can transform this country.”

UWO student Nolan Swenson said that it was great to see Sanders come to campus because it helps to prepare students for the upcoming election.

“I Definitely enjoyed seeing how everyone is mobilizing for the upcoming election,” Swenson said. “It’s just great that UWO is stepping up. This constitutional event and constant Bridging The Divide events are really pushing us forward compared to our fellow Universities of Wisconsin.”

Swenson said that it was a cool experience to see a well-known politician speak.

“Personally, I find a lot of ground to agree with him as a person,” Swenson said. “I think it’s looking for those connections between our own morals and those of politicians which we are lacking in our current state of politics.”

Sam Laude, a youth field organizer in the Fox Valley area for the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said that he imagines voters feel a mix of excitement, terror and nervousness, and that they are just ready for the final days until the election to be over.

“As you all already know from this election, all eyes are on Wisconsin,” Laude said as he introduced Sanders to the stage. “Unfortunately, the road to the White House may very well run through Wisconsin as we’ve seen in the past. Four of our last six elections have come down to about 1%, which is terrifying to think that it could happen again here.”

Laude said members of the Oshkosh community need to start going door to door to make sure everyone gets out to vote.

“Make sure that you have a voting plan,” Laude said. “If you haven’t done so already, try and vote early. Avoid those Election Day lines and if you’re going to vote on election day, please talk about it. Post about it with your family or friends … there’s a lot of evidence to show that when we are talking to the people we know who trust us, we are way more effective than any campaign pitch is.”

Sanders closed his speech by saying that everyone can make a difference in the election during the final days.

“There’s about a few hundred people in this room, and if you can go out and can get two or three hundred other people out [to vote], it makes a difference in an election which could be so very close,” Sanders said. “I’m asking you to make sure Kamala wins this thing.”