Sacramento State is known for being a commuter school due to a higher number of students living off campus compared with those living on campus. With this fact, there is also the realization that precedence is placed upon campus events in order to create a connected environment.

Saturday, April 18, was Picnic Day at UC Davis. Picnic Day gets a great turnout every year. Sac State Students commute to Davis for these festivities and it seems this longing for participation, involvement and celebration is something that appeals to students.

Sac State used to host an annual Picnic Day in the 1950s. Each Picnic Day worked to gain strong participation from Hornets, so planning for the event began a year in advance.

All classes campus-wide were dismissed early on the day of the event, and a carpool system and police escorts were arranged so students, staff and administrators could safely arrive to Elk Grove Park where the event was held.

Picnic Day at Sac State was filled with fun, food, music and activities for students to gather together and annually celebrate their university and feel Hornet Pride.

Activities held included a car parade, a softball game which consisted of administrators versus faculty, badminton, volley ball, horseshoes, swimming, a live band, dinner, ice cream, dancing and a play.

It was an event that unified the whole campus, and brought everyone together under Sac State’s name.

However, the event created from good intentions was abused by excessive drinking, rowdiness, littering, utter disrespect of the Elk Grove Park and student disregard of administrative rules.

“The drinking was excessive, and one could turn an ear in any direction and hear boastful talk and vulgar swearing in these parts […] The swearing, the excessive drinking, and the molesting of girls by some groups of people undoubtedly damaged the atmosphere of the picnic, and if this sort of thing continued in future years it could hurt the prestige of Sacramento State College,” written by General Chairman Donald Reetz in the 1958 evaluation of the All-College Picnic.

Picnic Day was discontinued after 1958.

However, fifty years later, students still seem to be searching for the same kind of atmosphere Picnic Day created, as an annual tradition to look forward to.

“They should bring picnic day back,” said Sac State student Trey Miles. “It would be another way to generate more interest from potential students.”

Because it is recognized that students crave these large events to create experiences and memories with each other, it prompts the question for whether discontinuing this event still remains to be the best decision because of the disrespectful conduct, or if bringing back Picnic Day in hopes of giving it a new name with a new generation is a possibility.

“It would be a great way for more people to get to know each other and it would be good for clubs and other programs to get recognition,” said Sac State student Alex Adkins.

Students are constantly looking for events to participate in, especially ones that attract a large amount of people so that new connections and relationships can be made.

“It would add to student life because it would help to create a stronger community and make it seem like a home instead of just a commuter school,” said Miles.

Recently, Sac State has facilitated a couple of events and the turnout made it clear that students desire opportunities to get involved. Students want to create a college experience for themselves. They want to attend, and show up and be part of something.

Two recent events that attracted a significant amount of students were Earth Day and the Out of the Darkness Walk, which both took place on April 16.

For Earth Day, students were encouraged to bring in recyclables, check out the booths, participate in the tours of the arboretum and learn about sustainability.

The Out of the Darkness Walk served as a way for students to come together over a hard topic that affects many people. Students were able to create posters, listen to speakers share their stories and walk to prevent and shed light on suicide.

These two events generated student involvement and cultivated Hornet pride.

As a commuter school, these large events are part of the glue that keeps Sac State united.

Both events created an opportunity for students to come together as individuals and become one entity.

These are events on campus that presently cultivate Hornet pride, student involvement and high participation while also maintaining order, safety and respect.

With these types of events currently meeting the expectations of the university and setting the standard for what is expected of all campus events, it seems possible that if Picnic Day were brought back, it would also fall into place for how campus events are carried out in this generation.