College Grads and Their Points of References

I thought this was fun:

BELOIT COLLEGE RELEASES THE MINDSET LIST FOR THE CLASS OF 2009
Beloit, Wis.—This fall, a new generation of students is entering colleges and universities with its own particular view of the world. Most of them are about 18 or 19 and were born in 1986 or 1987.

For the eighth year, Beloit College has distributed to its faculty and staff the Beloit College Mindset List, which identifies some facts of life that distinguish this generation from those that preceded it. One of its primary purposes has been, in the words of co-editor Tom McBride, Keefer Professor of the Humanities at the Wisconsin liberal arts college, an attempt to slow the onset of “hardening of the references” experienced by some faculty.

This year, the list was edited by Professor of Classics Art Robson who regularly teaches in the College’s First Year Initiatives (FYI) program for entering students, along with Public Affairs director Ron Nief.

Robson notes that “these first-year students were born in the year that Chernobyl melted down and the Challenger exploded. Clint Eastwood was elected mayor of Carmel, Calif., and the Soviets had been bogged down for the seventh year of frustration in Afghanistan. Domestically we were preoccupied by the Iran Contra scandal, and internationally the Iran-Iraq war continued to reveal a disturbing list of atrocities.”

“The entering class offers to us as teachers both a Rosetta stone of information and unique approaches to the world, and a tabula rasa—a blank slate on which to inscribe the knowledge they will need to pursue careers or further study. The joy of welcoming the new generation makes our work in the classroom rewarding. Each generation is unique, keeping all of us, whether we are teaching classical history or cutting-edge physics, prepared to look at our disciplines with a fresh eye.”

ELOIT COLLEGE MINDSET LIST® FOR THE CLASS OF 2009

Students entering college this fall were born during the final half of President Ronald Reagan's second term.

Desi Arnaz, Orson Welles, Roy Orbison, Ted Bundy, Ayatollah Khomeini, and Cary Grant have always been dead.

“Heeeere’s Johnny!” is a scary greeting from Jack Nicholson, not a warm welcome from Ed McMahon.

The Energizer bunny has always been going, and going, and going.

Large fine-print ads for prescription drugs have always appeared in magazines.

Photographs have always been processed in an hour or less, for the artists who insist on 35mm film instead of regular digital.

They never got a chance to drink 7-Up Gold, New Coke, Crystal Pepsi, or Apple Slice.

Baby Jessica could be a classmate and they can't imagine why she should be a celebrity.

Parents may have been reading The Bourne Supremacy or It as they rocked them in their cradles.

Alan Greenspan has always been setting the nation’s financial direction.

The U.S. has always been a Prozac nation.

They have always enjoyed the comfort of pleather.

Harry has always known Sally.

They never saw Roseanne Roseannadanna live on Saturday Night Live nor The Wild and Crazy Guys nor Father Guido Sarducci.

There has always been a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to salute old time musicians.

They never ate a McSub at McD’s.

There has always been a Comedy Channel.

Bill and Ted have always been on an excellent adventure.

They were never tempted by smokeless cigarettes.

They don't know who Mork was nor where he was from.

Emeril has always been cooking up something with someone.

They have always been comfortable with gay characters on television.

Mike Tyson has always been a contender.

The government has always been proposing we go to Mars, and it has always been deemed too expensive.

There have never been any Playboy Clubs.

There have always been night games at Wrigley Field.

Rogaine has always been available for the follicularly challenged.

Jay Leno has always hosted The Tonight Show and David Letterman has always been his competition.

Computers have always suffered from viruses.

We have always been mapping the human genome.

Politicians have always used rock music for theme songs.

Network television has always struggled to keep up with cable.

O’Hare has always been the most delay-plagued airport in the U.S.

They never heard: "Where's the Beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel", "All I want are the facts, ma'am.", "I can't believe I ate the whole thing!", or "de plane, Boss, de plane".

Toll-free 800 phone numbers have always spelled out catchy phrases.

Bethlehem has never been a place of peace at Christmas.

MP-3 has always been available; in the olden days people had to put a CD in a player and it didn't hold as much music.

Svelte Oprah has always dominated afternoon television; who was Phil Donahue anyway?

They never flew on People Express.

AZT has always been used to treat AIDS.

They do not know how to use a typewriter and never heard of a "Return" key.

Oliver North has always been a talk show host and news commentator.

They have suffered through airport security systems since they were in strollers.

They have done most of their search for the right college online.

Aspirin has always been used to reduce the risk of a heart attack.

They were spared the TV ads for Zamfir and his panpipes.

Castro has always been an aging politician in a suit.

There have always been non-stop flights around the world without refueling.

Movies on demand via computer have always been available. In the old days, their parents used DVD and their grandparents used VHS.

M.A.S.H. was a game: Mansion, Apartment, Shelter, House.

© 2005 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin