Two Westminster College students were "feeling the Bern" Friday during a live Facebook feed in front of the college's Berlin Wall sculpture.
Acting President Carolyn Perry and Kurt Jefferson, director of the Churchill Institute for Global Engagement, had just announced news that made their jaws drop.
Vermont's U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2016 presidential primary candidate, will headline the 58th Green Foundation Lecture at 11 a.m. Sept. 21, in conjunction with Westminster's annual Hancock Symposium.
"I'm excited; I'm pumped," said Isaiah Nicholas Spain, a Westminster junior from St. Louis.
His friend was equally excited.
"This is the most significant speaker for us in our current time, for our study, for our learning process," said Nikita Thompson, another senior from St. Louis. "We often only hear from the winning side. It's time to hear from the 'losing' side and his long-term perspective."
Sanders will lecture on his vision for a progressive American foreign policy, "American Leadership in a Time of Global Crisis."
Jefferson included a message to Sanders during the live Facebook feed, just in case he was listening.
"To Sen. Sanders, we look forward to welcoming you to campus on Sept. 21," he said. "To our students, get ready for an incredible Hancock Symposium and Green Foundation lecture. This will be one of the most interesting and memorable events of your Westminster experience."
He also commended Mark Boulton, associate professor of history and chair of the Hancock Symposium Committee, for securing Sanders as the Green Lecture speaker.
Since 2006, the Hancock Symposium has engaged students and community members with two days of lectures, panel discussions and presentations, each year choosing a theme of global importance.
The theme for this year's Hancock Symposium is "Advocacy and Activism: Leading from Where You Are." More information about the speakers and schedule is online at symposium.westminster-mo.edu/. Speakers include climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, former Westminster English professor and author Dave Collins, and "Ratchet" of Bikers Against Child Abuse.
Westminster College officials have a long history of bringing vibrant voices to Fulton, including Sir Winston Churchill, who in 1946 gave his now famous "Iron Curtain" speech at the college. Green Lecture speakers also have included British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, Polish President Lech Walesa, and U.S. presidents Harry S Truman, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.
As an independent, Sanders has served 16 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and he is now in the fifth year of his second term in the U.S. Senate. He chaired the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, is the ranking member of the Senate budget committee and also serves on the Environment and Public Works Committee.
In 1981, Sanders was elected mayor of Burlington, Vermont's largest city. Under his administration, the city made major strides in affordable housing, progressive taxation, environmental protection, child care, women's rights, youth programs and the arts. In 2016, Sanders ran for U.S. president against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination, losing on the convention floor with 39.16 percent of the delegate votes compared to Clinton's 59.67 percent.
Sanders, along with U.S. Rep. Elijah Cumming and Sens. Cory Booker and Bob Casey, introduced legislation Thursday that would allow individuals, pharmacists and wholesalers to purchase low-cost medicine from Canada and other countries. This, he said, would lower the cost of prescription drugs for sick Americans.
Sanders and his wife, Jane, have four children and seven grandchildren.
More information will be announced soon, including ticket availability.