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Published 19:14 IST, March 16th 2021

Bernie Sanders holds virtual town meeting with students, discusses pandemic challenges

“I want to hear directly from Vermont’s young people. This past year has been terrible for so many of us," Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders said.

Reported by: Zaini Majeed
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Bernie Sanders holds virtual town meeting with students, discusses pandemic challenges | Image: self

During a virtual town meeting, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders held discussions with the high schoolers about the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic with respect to remote learning. In a session which was scheduled for Monday evening, Sanders, who often blamed former President Trump for pandemic’s unprecedented suffering, addressed the concerns of the students one-to-one. Sanders (I-Vermont), held a statewide discussion, also emphasising the mental health of the students due to the ravaging impact of the coronavirus pandemic. 

“I want to hear directly from Vermont’s young people. This past year has been terrible for so many of us, and there’s no doubt that our students are struggling,” the Vermont senator said in a live-streamed session.

He continued, “They [students] may not be able to go to school, they’re dealing with remote and hybrid learning. They can’t see their friends, and of course, some lost loved ones to this terrible virus.”

Furthermore, the concerned senator told the panel, “We cannot ignore the students’ pain and we also owe it to them to listen to their ideas for how we move forward.”

He then asked,  “I want to hear directly from these students and together discuss what can be done to boldly address their need.” 

Lack of access to wifi, gadgets

In the virtual event titled 'Coping During COVID: How Students are Handling the Challenges of the COVID-19 Pandemic', Sanders asked the students to come forward to discuss social, emotional, and mental health challenges of the coronavirus. He also organized a question and an answer session to resolve some of the key challenges the Vermont students faced collectively. At least 1000 students participated in the session that gave them an opportunity to speak about the impact of a pandemic on them, their families, and their own coping mechanism to meet those difficulties. 

“You don’t get to do this kind of stuff every day especially during the coronavirus pandemic,” one of the students from Winooski High School, Hussein Amuri, said, appreciating Sanders’ initiative. Students spoke about food insecurity, technical challenges, and lack of access to gadgets,  WiFi for low-income students, and social isolation among many other issues. Sanders, meanwhile, discussed the importance of mental health with the students and ways to seek psychological or psychiatric help.

(Image Credit: AP)

Updated 19:14 IST, March 16th 2021