Feeling the bern for the second time around.

On Feb. 19 Sanders announced he was running for president by posting his first campaign video via Instagram.

After not getting the democratic nomination in 2016 Sanders has decided to run again, provoking a variety of emotions within all types of people. Sanders first campaign video brings up several important issues and how he plans to fix them. Although he may have been seen as an underdog in 2016, he is now a frontrunner for the democratic party as well as U.S. voters most popular senator.

Several people have mixed emotions on Sanders running for president again. English teacher Laura Smythe claimed to be apprehensive after he didn’t earn the Democratic nomination in 2016, causing the Democratic party to divide but still believes he has a high chance at not only winning the Democratic nomination but also winning the entire election. Others believe that due to Sanders firm beliefs and how not willing to compromise he is, there needs to be a more moderate president.

“I like Bernie Sanders as a candidate, I think that he is a smart guy and I like how consistent he’s been with his voting record and what he’s done since the civil rights movement. What I don’t like are his fans, ‘the Bernie bros.  I think that was part of the reason why Trump got elected because Hillary got the candidacy and people wouldn’t let it go or unify with their party,” said Smythe.

In the campaign video, Sanders says that the goal of his campaign is to not only defeat Donald Trump and earn the Democratic nomination, but it is also to transform our country and create a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice. Several of his plans for the country resonate well with younger people. As a part of the messages stated in his campaign video, Sanders is asking one million supporters to sign on to his campaign to show your support and demonstrate the impact of a grassroots campaign, this was one of this most influential components in his campaign during the last election.

Bullitt East alumni Kelsi Sego was very supportive of Sanders during his last campaign because of his views. “I think that generally speaking more young people resonate with more generally liberal beliefs whereas older people generally are more conservative than younger people. I think that the 2018 midterm elections have already come to show the power of the millennial voters. A record number of women and people of color are now in office,” said Sego.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton earned the democratic nominee which caused several of Sanders supporters to become upset and cause a divide within the party as a whole. However, this year, he has consistently been ranking as one of the top potential 2020 candidates in earlier polls, causing him to be seen more of a threat. “I like Bernie’s platform a lot because I think that everyone should have healthcare, I think that college should be free, I think that the top one percent or the billionaires in our country should be taxed more than they are, I don’t think that they should get tax breaks and we should crack down on that. I also like that his movement is more of a grassroots movement and isn’t funded by big corporations and such,” said Smythe.

Sanders has had high goals ever since he started becoming public about his political views. Even though he has a higher chance of winning, people are still apprehensive after him stating he is a socialist. Because of this, several people of the opposing party believe he has too many unachievable goals despite how persistent he is.

Biology teacher Jonathan Huether respects the consistency with Sanders campaign but believes that if he remains as far left as he is then his presidency will be exactly like Trump’s, is just with opposite viewpoints. “I watched Bernie’s ten minute campaign announcement last night and I agreed with the thought behind most of what he said but I only believe that about a third of it is potentially possible,” said Huether.