...Still, students on both sides described a pervasive sense that support for Sanders is both cooler and morally superior than support for Hillary.
That bothers Lindow, who helped design sweatshirts emblazoned with the famous picture of Clinton checking her blackberry. “Hillary is the grandma who says ‘you can have one cookie, not two’ and Bernie is the grandpa who says ‘we can all have ice cream for dinner,’” she says, describing why some of her peers don’t get excited about her. “I don’t think she should have to be cool, and it bothers me that she has to be cool.”
Still, Hillary supporters are on the defensive, even at a campus like Wellesley. “People are apologetically Hillary supporters,” says Sabina Unni, a first-year student who supports Hillary. “Sometimes I feel like I’m always making excuses for her,” says Luci Navas-Sharry.
Others said supporting Clinton made them feel just as vulnerable to criticism as the candidate herself. “You’re opening yourself up to a lot of scrutiny,” says Alex Otero, a first-year student. “You’re taking on the burden of scrutiny that Hillary takes on when she runs for President.”
Many of the female students who support Bernie Sanders acknowledge they’ve never experienced gender discrimination the way Clinton has. “For my grandma, my mom, my aunt, having a woman president is really important,” says Clare Salerno, a sophomore Sanders supporter. “I haven’t been in the workplace, I haven’t really felt that.”
Salerno is one of the most enthusiastic Sanders supporters, but she says
there’s a part of her excitement that’s bittersweet. “Sometimes part of me is kind of sad that he’s running,” she says. “Because before, I was excited about voting for Hillary.”
