Editor’s note: Sean Catanese is a member of the following student groups: Progressive Students Union, Democracy Matters, College Democrats, Amnesty International and Campus Peace Action, among others.

Sacramento State sits just four miles from the epicenter of political power and policymaking in the fifth-largest economy in the world. Simply by reason of our proximity to such a place, one might guess that our campus life is instilled with a vigorous political discourse influenced by a diverse array of interested student groups.

Couple this with the widespread perception that students are uniquely free in their schedules to take part in political activities and one can’t help but expect politics to be a big issue at Sacramento State. However, the involvement of most students in political dialogues or activities falls far short of this expectation.-

As with many commuter campuses, a deep sense of community that might be found in Berkeley or Davis is mournfully lacking at Sac State. Since most students work at least part time and live diffused across the region further impedes involvement in political organizations. As a result, few political student groups have many active members beyond a dedicated core of seven or eight.

In a campus of about 30,000, only having a handful of students who seek to change the world by meeting once a week can seem disheartening. Though events went on throughout the spring semester which tried to raise the political awareness and activity of the student body, the vast majority of students carried on like Terry Schaivo, technically functioning but regrettably unaware of and inactive in the political atmosphere surrounding them.

Here are just a few examples of the activities of political groups at Sacramento State over the past semester:

College Democrats placed their members in local, regional and even statewide Party committees. They also received the “Most Improved Chapter” Award at this year’s statewide College Democrats convention. Important local Democratic Party players often came by the club’s meetings to talk about the latest issues and hear from the students.

Progressive Students Union authored an ongoing petition asking President Gonzalez to remove armed forces recruiters from the campus and hosted Stephen and Virginia Pearcy, the controversial couple from the Land Park area of Sacramento, who raised the misdirected ire of conservatives across the country for hanging a set of soldier’s fatigues by a noose from their roof-top emblazoned with the words “Your Tax Dollars At Work.”

College Republicans hosted African American leaders of the Republican Party to talk about perceptions of diversity on the right wing of the political spectrum.

Campus Peace Action brought together a host of political groups from around the region to their Freedom Faire and continued actions highlighting the unjust invasion and occupation of Iraq. Democracy Matters hosted its own democracy fair, complete with local bands rocking students out for the sake of political awareness.

Though not exclusively a political group, Queer-Straight Alliance co-hosted Leslie Feinberg, author of Stone Butch Blues and transgender advocate, to talk about the struggles facing the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities.-

Many other student groups incorporated political discussions and activities into a more culturally-oriented perspective. Students for Justice in Palestine, Movemiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan, African Student Association and others all advocated for specific enforcements of social justice from the context of a cultural foundation.

From these examples, though, the vitality of political life for students at Sacramento State would seem stronger than it really is.

Many events had more non-students in attendance than students, and students attending events often did so only because a professor was offering extra credit. New groups forming this spring like Amnesty International — meeting at exactly the same time as both Campus Peace Action and Progressive Students Union — had difficulty finding new members.

Beyond meeting logistics and event attendance, though, the biggest problem that student political groups faced was recruiting. Apparently, most students weren’t able to take the needed time off from work and academics, or the groups’ missions and recruiting messages failed to resonate strongly enough with the student body.

With a new semester and fresh beginning on the horizon, let’s hope that the new crop of freshmen and transferring juniors have the desire, the time and the will to work for what they believe in here at Sacramento State.

A long-term solution may also be in the works with President Gonzalez aiming to build thousands of new on-campus housing units in the coming years, which may contribute to a stronger sense of community and a greater degree of student involvement.

Outside of depending on the future to remedy our own inactivity, though, it is ultimately incumbent upon each of us individually to become aware of our political surroundings and act according to our values.