The standoff in Dillingham Theater was fierce.

Students hung from the balconies, calling out in protest, as dozens of bodies wove human barricades across the doors. It was a 1970 faculty address by the president, disrupted by a movement hoping to postpone finals so faculty and students could travel to Washington, D.C., for a political protest. The growing force was alarming to the professors who hovered in the aisles.

“The students were getting up and the faculty was getting up and the faculty was thinking protest. [Students and some faculty] wanted to strike against Nixon,” said Ithaca College Professor of Economics Frank Musgrave. “When I tried to leave the theater, students were actually physically barring me from leaving. The belligerence there was actually frightening.”

Junior Jessica Ruoti said she could never imagine a protest of this magnitude taking place on today’s campus.

“People are a lot more afraid of the consequences,” she said. “People are a lot less radical.”

According to a study by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, today’s students have trouble finding their bearings within the political spectrum. New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman coined today’s youth “Generation Q,” the quiet generation that is “less radical and politically engaged than they need to be.”

Marty Brownstein, associate professor of politics, said while he sees pockets of progressivism and conservatism on campus, the majority is not politically active at all.

“That tends to make them — in the absence of any kind of overt push to move in some kind of new direction — covertly conservative,” he said. “If you’re not rattling the cage towards one way or another, then you’re kind of buying into what is. I can’t think of a better definition of conservative.”

Junior Jeremy Tagliaferre, president of the Ithaca College Green Party, said he sees the campus as a politically informed body, but finding students who choose to be active is a rare occurrence.

“A lot of people on campus think we are a very liberal school,” he said. “That might just be because the pockets of liberal activists are a little louder than the pockets of conservative activists.”

Junior Brittany Mason, president of IC Democrats, said while most people she knows are not politically active, she sees political beliefs being reflected into daily life.

“Liberals who believe in a strong [community] development [to make] democracy truly effective may not be social worker[s], but [may] spend their money at local businesses,” she said. “In this way, I believe that Ithaca College is a community with progressive, liberal leanings.”

For Darren McCabe ’93, the strong political opinions of professors and students on the campus 15 years ago had a tangible effect on his way to becoming the Deputy Political Director for the New York State Democratic Committee.

“I’m the classic case of someone who was in and out of [Ithaca College], and [the campus body] probably never had any idea that they made the slightest impact on [me],” he said. “But they did.”

McCabe describes a campus where political demonstrations occurred regularly. An article from a 1991 issue of The Ithacan paints a vivid scene of the political atmosphere at the time and the frustration over the Gulf War’s death toll: Students for Peace in the Middle East, led by Matt Zipeto ’93, dressed in all black and paraded into the lobby of the Campus Center, dropping to the floor after a whistle sounded.

McCabe said the actions did not necessarily show a liberal mindset.

“In a word, as to if IC was a liberal school when I was there: no.” he said. “In three words: Not at all.”

Brownstien, who has worked at the college for 38 years, said the campus’ political trends are similar to that of other universities.

“Was IC totally mobilized and totally radicalized and totally politicized in 1970? Absolutely not,” he said. “Is IC similarly mobilized in 2008? Absolutely not. ... My perception is most of IC is devoted to careerism and to self development, which may not be political.”

Senior Carly Sparks, president of IC Republicans, said she has seen a spike in the number of college students who say they identify with a political party. Still, she said many don’t understand their party affiliations.

“A lot of people say a political position ... because it’s trendy and they don’t really understand what the basis of the party is, what they believe and probably aren’t very active in the party,” she said. “A lot of people, probably the majority of college student’s today ... aren’t politically involved.”

Brownstein said during his time on the campus he has seen the student body continually mirror national trends in political opinion.

“[The college] is going to reflect the culture that it lives in,” he said. “For instance, the early Reagan years were pretty conservative years on campus, as was the nation, and that told me that the campus could switch politically as the times changed.”

Leaders of all three official political groups on campus — IC Democrats, IC Green Party and IC Republicans — said they plan to emphasize off-campus activities.

“Doing things to help people get elected, like talking to people door-to-door, to me is the most important way to use our group’s energy,” he said. “So then when students hear about that they will say, ‘Oh, well, that sounds cool, I’d like to help.’”

Sparks said on- and off-campus activism fuel each other.

“Students need to know that we’re here and we’re active,” Sparks said.  “On the other hand, the work we do and the connections we make with the off-campus community give us the opportunity to really use that voice.”

Freshman Mark Forte said political activism on campus could be improved by more on-campus activities.

“If there were more fliers about what the groups were doing, people would probably be more knowledgeable about the political events on campus,” he said. “... I’m sure students would come and show their support.”

Junior Shane Hardy said that developing a concern for politics is crucial during the college years.

“We are in college to learn and become active members in society,” he said. “Part of [that means participating] in the democratic process of our society.”

Brownstein said not developing political activism can hinder political understanding later in life.

“If students don’t get those lessons in the laboratory we call college, they’re pretty unready for those kinds of exercises afterwards,” he said. “How can they expect to pick them up later on when they are more distracted by employment and family?”

Musgrave said he sees political activism on campus, but at a less intense level than what he witnessed during the Nixon administration.

“We need more debates among faculty and more debates among students,” he said. “Not contentious things, but something where we can get together and exchange views.