As the live stream froze Wednesday night, the only sounds were shouts of dismay from supporters.
With Bernie Sanders’ face frozen on the screen, viewers scrambled to pull up the live stream on their phones in the middle of Maude’s Classic Cafe in downtown Gainesville. About 50 UF students and Gainesville locals had gathered to listen to Sanders as the candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination spoke to students across the country via live stream, but his speech was constantly interrupted by technical difficulties.
The feed froze for about 15 minutes at one point.
"I’m sad it’s not working," Monica Morales, a UF biology junior, said.
But the 20-year-old said she was happy just to be with other supporters of Sanders.
When the video started back up, Sanders could be heard discussing issues facing college students, including the environment, to students from about 300 colleges.
He said global warming would only get worse if action isn’t taken.
"The planet that we will be leaving to your kids and grandchildren will not be a very inhabitable planet," he said.
At the viewing, hosted by Progressive Gators and Gators Want Bernie 2016, students pulled chairs around a projector screen.
Molly Vise, a UF biology senior and the founder of Progressive Gators, decided to host the screening at Maude’s when she found out Sanders was doing a live town hall.
Maude’s had a projector screen and did not charge her for the event, the 21-year-old said.
"I thought this would be a good place," she said.
Sanders also discussed minimum wage, which he said needs to be raised to $15 an hour.
"Wages in America are just too damn low," he said.
He also discussed families who lack the money needed for college tuition.
"That is wrong, and we are going to change that," he said. "We need to make public colleges and universities tuition-free."
Contact Caitlin Ostroff at costroff@alligator.org and follow her on Twitter @ceostroff
Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., right, poses for a photo at a rally, Sunday, July 26, 2015, in Kenner, Louisiana.
