The organization formerly known as Students for Bernie Sanders will return to IU this year as Students for a Democratic Society.
Although the presidential campaign of its original namesake came to an end at the Philadelphia Democratic National Convention this July, the group’s members still want to support the Sanders revolution, said sophomore Krishna Pathak, and co-founder of Students for Bernie Sanders.
“For us to just shut down because he lost the nomination, it would show tunnel vision,” he said.
When the original organization existed, the nationwide Students for a Democratic Society was part of the network that helped create the Twenty-Sixth Amendment, said sophomore Stanley Njuguna, Students for a Democratic Society original leadership council member.
Members will now tackle issues regarding sexual assault, participation in the democratic process, Black Lives Matter, undocumented students and other campuswide and national issues.
When the decision was announced, there was no negative reaction from members because the organization was still focusing on the same issues, now just in a broader scope, Njuguna said.
The talk of changing focus came long before the primary process was over, when there was still hope that Sanders would be the nominee.
“We definitely knew the organization would be taking on a new form after the primary or general election,” said sophomore Jacob Mills, last year’s Head of Outreach for Students for Bernie Sanders.
The first time he can recall talking about continuing the mission past the election was when the group attended the Iowa Caucus.
Njuguna remembers the organization discussing the next step even when Sanders won the Indiana primary.
For Pathak, the unlikeliness of the situation didn’t hit until the California primary, when he said he saw the Associated Press call Hillary Clinton the presumptive nominee for the first time, before the vote even took place. He believes the statement affected public perception and the election’s outcome.
Students for a Democratic Society will not formally endorse a candidate for the presidential race.
Despite this, Pathak still plans to vote for Clinton this November. He said he believes she has the experience to bring stability to the country more than any other nominee.
“My dying wish as a Sanders delegate for the DNC and doing a bunch of work for his campaign, (is) we need to vote for Clinton,” Pathak said.
Although they said some other members disagree with their decisions, Mills and Njuguna will also support Clinton in the general election.
Mills said Clinton is not doing all that she should be to reach out to Sanders supporters, but he does like that she is trying.
“Her boss is the American people, and they can hold her accountable for her actions,” Mills said.
Njuguna’s decision is not made with great enthusiasm but is based on doubts about third party nominees’ chances to make a difference with limited experience and resources, he said.
Regardless of the election’s outcome, Students for Bernie Sanders was always going to continue as a progressive presence on campus, Mills said.
“The revolution must happen,” Njuguna said. “It’s made up of and depends on us, so that’s what we’re enacting and carrying out.”
A previous version of this article referred to Stanley Njuguna as the Students for Bernie Sanders original leadership council member. Njuguna is the Students for a Democratic Society original leadership council member. The IDS regrets this error.
