By KARSON HOAGLAND





Though the doors didn’t open until 5 p.m. Sunday night, those attending Bernie Sanders’ Town Hall at the Johnny Mercer Theater began arriving more than an hour before.

By the time the doors actually did open, hundreds were lined up outside the Civic Center. Varying ages, most in their mid-20s, stood in anticipation of getting a good seat. Some literally ran to the front row as they entered the theater.

The lower level of the theater was at 60 percent capacity within minutes. Half an hour later, the balcony had to be opened.

As 6 p.m. came and went, periodic chants of “Feel the Bern” rang out in anticipation of the Vermont senator. The venue reached capacity, which is around 2,500 seats, and volunteers frantically searched the rows to find vacant seats for the stragglers.

Finally, Mayor Edna Jackson took the stage amid, first, a chorus of cheers, and then, a chorus of boos.

She welcomed Sanders to the stage by talking about his longtime passion to break down walls of discrimination.

The thousands in attendance stood and cheered as Sanders took the stage, waving, followed by a chant of “Bernie, Bernie, Bernie!”

Sanders began the town hall by talking about his campaign — a campaign that he says has garnered more than 800,000 individual contributions averaging around $30.

“So, I do not represent the billionaire class or corporate America,” Sanders said.

Throughout his one-and-a-half hour speech, Sanders spoke on many topics, including economic disparity, the legalization of marijuana and education.

He went into particular detail about the correlation between high youth unemployment and the large number of incarcerated persons.

“It seems to me that it makes a lot more sense for us to be invested in education and jobs for our kids rather than jails and incarceration,” Sanders said.

“And it costs less money for us to send a young kid to the University of Georgia than to lock them up,” he said as the crowd began to cheer. “Let’s send them to the University of Georgia.”

One of his longest applauses of the night — a 20 second standing ovation — came when he talked about introducing legislation that would make public universities tuition-free.

“People should not be denied going to college because they don’t have enough money,” he said.

The audience was also supportive when Sanders began talking about legislation that would take marijuana out of the controlled substances act.

“I’m not advocating smoking marijuana,” he said, and a few booed in the crowd. “It doesn’t make it legal, it just means that you’re not breaking the federal law. The reason we introduced that legislation is because I’ve talked to too many people whose lives have been destroyed because of the police records they get for possessing marijuana.”

Sanders said he advocates that full legalization of marijuana should be up to individual states.

His one mistake for the night was accidentally calling Savannah Atlanta. He quickly made it up to the crowd by playing it out as a confused man’s joke.

“It is Georgia, right?”

Sanders said that the main message he wanted to get across at the town hall Sunday was one of unity.

“Yes, I am here to ask for your support to become your next president, but I’m also here to ask for more than that…the only way we transform America is when millions of people stand up and we come together.”

We listen to experts for a reason. When my car breaks, I go to a mechanic. When my tooth hurts, I go to the dentist. Experts have training and knowledge that we don't. So when 97 percent of climate scientists tell us that climate change is real and man-made, we should pay attention.

But we still have an embarrassingly large number of elected representatives who won't listen, despite overwhelming scientific consensus (even 85 percent of eighth graders accept the science at this point). Not only do they refuse to accept it, many of them are actively working to roll back the progress we've already made.

Just last week, 52 senators voted to eliminate the Clean Power Plan—what's been called the biggest action America's ever taken to cut our carbon pollution and tackle climate change. An extreme and vocal minority in Congress is trying to convince other countries that America won't live up to our international climate commitments—right before countries around the world come together to cut carbon pollution, and stop the worsening economic and health impacts that come with it.

Climate change deniers are doing more than embarrassing themselves—they're threatening to undermine America's ability to show the world we're serious about this threat.

It's up to us to make sure they don't succeed. Progress on climate change isn't guaranteed—it happens when all of us speak out to say we're ready for big steps forward. Say you're in.

BURLINGTON, Vt. – As he returned home to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a bold plan to reform our immigration system. Sanders’ plan puts families first, focuses on common sense reforms to build the middle class and embraces our nation’s diversity.

“As we gather with our loved ones to give thanks, we should reflect on the fact that not all families will be so lucky,” Sanders said. “Millions of families are torn apart by our broken immigration policies. We cannot forget about the aspiring Americans who continue to live in the shadows. As the son of an immigrant, I can tell you that their story – my story, your story, our story – is the story of America: the story of hardworking families coming to the United States to create a brighter future for their kids. We have an obligation to enact policies that unite families, not tear them apart.”

If elected, Sanders would:
Dismantle inhumane deportation programs and private detention centers.
Offer humane treatment and asylum to victims of domestic violence and minors fleeing from dangerous circumstances in Latin America.
End policies that discriminate against women and ensure that mothers and wives who come into the United States with their families have the same right to work as their partners.
Pave the way for a swift legislative path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Close loopholes that allow federal agencies to use racial and ethnic profiling at the border.
Ensure our border remains secure and protects local communities.
Make it easier for immigrants to access the judicial system.
Increase oversight of key Department of Homeland Security agencies to guard against waste, fraud and abuse.

Sanders pledged to make immigration a top priority of his administration, even if Congress refuses to act. He will take executive action to allow all undocumented people who have been in the United States for at least five years to stay in the country without fear of being deported. Under Sanders’ plan, close to 9 million aspiring Americans will be able to apply to stay in the United States.

“As president, I will fight for comprehensive immigration reform that provides a pathway to citizenship and is grounded in civil, humane and economic rights. But let me be clear: I will not stand idly by waiting around for a dysfunctional Congress to act. Instead, during the first 100 days of my administration I will take extensive action to accomplish what Congress has failed to do and to build upon President Obama’s executive orders.”