Last fall the corners of Madison's streets became soapboxes for political diatribes and the sidewalks transformed into mile-long billboards featuring the ""Rock the Vote"" campaign.
An undeniable sense of excitement surged throughout the campus as students prepared for what would be a historic election.
College Democrats Chair Molly Rivera recalled her organization's kick-off event drew nearly 500 students, almost filling Humanities' room 3650 to capacity.
Overwhelmed with the amount of student interest, Rivera said, ""We were just trying to figure out what to do with all of our volunteers that we had.""
Almost a year to date since the nation elected Barack Obama as president, the campus' political climate, once vigorous and widespread, is now dormant and secluded.
This year's College Democrats kick-off event drew 140 people, less than a third of 2008's attendance figure, Rivera said.
Not surprised, Rivera attributes the decline in student interest to the non-election year.
""Elections are exciting, elections are sexy, they're fun to work on, students really enjoy that,"" Rivera said. ""Non-election years they would rather do homework; they have all these other things going on.""
The election's significance influenced UW-Madison senior Tirrell Chester's political involvement.
""It was a big election,"" Chester said. ""Any presidential election is going to be, you want to know the different candidates and their viewpoints so you read up more on what they're talking about.""
However, when asked today about his current political participation, Chester said, ""If the question is, ‘am I an activist? Do I actively support my political party?' No.""
Associate professor of political science Kathleen Walsh said a decline in political participation in a non-election year is normal in the political cycle.
""Most people, regardless of age, are more politically interested and actively involved in politics during presidential elections,"" Walsh said.
According to College Republicans Chair Crystal Lee, students' political detachment results from a decline in the media's political coverage.
""The media bombards you with [information],"" Lee said. ""You can't hide from it. It's everywhere. So, it's a lot easier to get involved when it's hitting you in the face.""
During the 2008 election, senior Maria Lopez said she relied on media to remain politically active.
One year later, Lopez said politics are no longer part of her daily life.
""I'm not saying we should not care less about it, but we have other things to do,"" Lopez said.
With a decline in interest and lack of information, student organizations are challenged to reinvigorate political involvement on campus.
Learning from the success of Obama's 2008 campaign, College Republicans plan to increase their use of social networking sites to establish a connection with students.
""Recently I've seen a lot of the conservative community who have Twitters, who are angry about the current situation, Tweeting about it, they're Facebooking,"" Lee said. ""College Republicans are updating their Twitter a lot more, they're blogging.""
By simplifying political issues into ""caucuses,"" or committees focused on specific issues, College Democrats also hope to keep students politically involved.
""[Caucuses] give [students] the opportunity to work in smaller groups, they can hold leadership positions, they can lead campaigns, lead an event or meeting and work together and try to affect tangible change in these areas,"" Rivera said.
While both organizations focus on different initiatives and goals for the academic year, College Republicans and College Democrats said they welcome the off-election year as an opportunity to rebuild their organizations.
""This year as we focus on member retention, it's going to be really nice to establish personal relations with a smaller group of people,"" said Stephen Duerst, public relations chair for College Republicans.
Thankful for a break in political activity, Rivera said she looks forward to starting fresh.
""Personally, I don't want to think about the race again … I'm still a little burned out,"" Rivera said. ""As chair I've decided it's more important for the fall semester to focus on bringing new members, retaining the older ones and really just firing up our base to get ready for [next year].""
Despite the current lull in political activity on campus, the 2010 gubernatorial election will likely reawaken a dynamic political climate next fall.
Exactly one year from today, students will once again participate in politics as they line up to vote for Gov. Jim Doyle's successor, consistent with the cyclic nature of political involvement.
Until then, groups will remain focused on preparing for another fierce political contest.
