The Mindset List

[ZJJ]

Born Before 1985? Then You Are...

...OLD! And here's proof.

Every year Beloit College in Beloit, Wisconsin publishes what it calls "The Mindset List"--fun facts and figures about the incoming crop of freshmen so professors will be able to relate to their new students.

So to better understand how the class of 2007 thinks, most of whom were born in 1985, read this and feel your age:

1. The people who are starting college this fall across the nation were born in 1985.

2. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era and probably did not know he had ever been shot.

3. They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.

4. There has been only one pope in their lifetime.

5. They were 10 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War.

6. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up on takeoff.

7. Tiananmen Square means nothing to them.

8. Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.

9. Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.

10. The statement "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them. (They have never owned a record player.)

11. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong.

12. They may have never heard of an 8-track tape. The compact disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.

13. They have always had an answering machine.

14. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV.

15. They have always had cable.

16. There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what Beta was.

17. They cannot fathom not having a remote control.

18. They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is or know about the "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!" commercial.

19. They were born the year that Walkman was introduced by Sony.

20. Roller skating has always meant inline for them.

21. Michael Jackson has always been white.

22. Jay Leno has always been on "The Tonight Show."

23. They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.

24. Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.

25. They have never seen Larry Bird play.

26. They never took a swim and thought about "Jaws."

27. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as World War I, World War II, and the Civil War.

28. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.

29. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. 3

0. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. (The correct answer, by the way, is Ork.)

31. They never heard: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "De plane, de plane!"

32. They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was.

33. Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not bands.

34. There has always been MTV.

35. They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

[Parabellum]

25. They have never seen Larry Bird play.

Now there's a crying shame. Larry proved that white men can jump.

[XavierOnasis]

...

This is the first time I've been called old.

Reading that list, I think it comes off as patronizing. Author seems to think that most kids just sit and watch MTV and walk the malls, caring little for what else goes on around them, or before them.

Err.. wait. The author's right.

Turns out only five apply to me, 3 - 4 - 6 - 9 -19.

Dear crap. I am old.

[Zantar45]

I was born in '83 and remember almost everyone of those.

They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was

For Petes sake don't bring that up.

I know it happend in/around '81 but I'm sure most don't remember the Pope being shot...which of course led to the pope mobile.

[Sgt. Slaughter]

33. Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not bands.

That's just as well, they didn't have to suffer thru those crappy bands! Wow feeling old now, that really sucks. I remember seeing the space shuttle blowup on tv i was in junior high school then, yikes!

Also i'd say Larry Bird proved white men could shoot not jump lol!

Edited September 4, 2003 by Sgt. Slaughter

[Parabellum]

33. Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America, and Alabama are places, not bands.

That's just as well, they didn't have to suffer thru those crappy bands! Wow feeling old now, that really sucks. I remember seeing the space shuttle blowup on tv i was in junior high school then, yikes!

Also i'd say Larry Bird proved white men could shoot not jump lol!

Insolence! Insolence I say! Turn in your stripes, son, and head for the nearest INS office. We're sending you to Zimbabwe to think about what you've done.

<mumbles something about Boston and Kansas>

[Dark Ranger]

Thanks zjj, I needed the laugh tonight.

[Tollen]

@Zjj

Nostalgia... I LOVED MY ATARI!!!

[ReconSnake]

Too true, too true. I'd say more in my prime than old though

[Whisper_44]

Now there's a crying shame. Larry proved that white men can jump.

To echo Sgt. Slaughter - Larry was famous for saying he couldn't jump over a basketball, but god gave him great skillz!!!

Magic vs. Bird at anytime during the 80's was truly a show to behold.

[MarkVanDamme]

14. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV.

"only" 13 channels????????????????????????

[RatPatrol]

I remember growin up.... 9 brothers and sisters...me.... Mom & Dad.... sitting around the 'large' 25 inch console TV my dad got cheap...

... and watching shows on the 12" b&w that sat on top of that console (that never did work)... but it held up the 12" b&w reeeeeeeeal well!

That TV had "rabbit ears"... and we got NBC, CBS, & ABC.. period... well... sometimes we could get some strange stuff on UHF... hehe

Edited September 5, 2003 by RatPatrol

[Jack57]

Any Monty Python fans around?

(insert broad Yorkshire accent)

"When ay were a lad, we used to live in't old box"

"Cardboard box?"

"Aye"

"You were looky!!

We used to live in't shoebox in middle't road. Mah dad 'd coom 'ome from work and make us lick road clean wit toongue."

"You try telling that t' yoong folk today. They won't listen, no thay won't"

It goes on and on. I won't bore you though

That reminds me, I must watch 'The Life of Brian' again. Wonderfull!

[F'n New Guy]

3. They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged.

i was a 9th grader

4. There has been only one pope in their lifetime.

i dunno how many in my generation

5. They were 10 when the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War. i remember we use to call them ruskies and and i watched a scary movie called the day after it was about how the us reacted to being bombed by russia "NO I DIDNT " because the street lights came on and i had to go home and get ready for bed it was a school night

6. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up on takeoff. i was in the 3rd grade i think

7. Tiananmen Square means nothing to them.

thats where that protester got shot right?

8. Bottle caps have always been screw off and plastic.

i remember finding a screw off was a treasue hunt

9. Atari predates them, as do vinyl albums.

u have an atari dude ill buy from u

10. The statement "You sound like a broken record" means nothing to them. (They have never owned a record player.)

niether did i after a tried to be a dj like in the movie beat street my sisters hated me after that since it was their record player and records

11. They have likely never played Pac Man and have never heard of Pong. i miss that

12. They may have never heard of an 8-track tape. The compact disc was introduced when they were 1 year old.

never had a 8 track had cassetts

13. They have always had an answering machine.

my sisters needed to get off the phone in order to take messages

14. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV.

we had 1 of the best tvs with lots of channels

15. They have always had cable.

first on the block to get it

17. They cannot fathom not having a remote control.

pool sticks man

18. They don't know what a cloth baby diaper is or know about the "Help me, I've fallen and I can't get up!" commercial.

cloth baby diaper b4 my time,

i love that commercial

we should try and find it on the net!

21. Michael Jackson has always been white.

i remember when he got caught on fire

22. Jay Leno has always been on "The Tonight Show."

wasnt he the dorito guy

23. They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.

always wore levis or wrangler remember jox sneakers

24. Popcorn has always been cooked in the microwave.

yeah but popping it tastes better

25. They have never seen Larry Bird play.

honestly i have but i liked danny better

26. They never took a swim and thought about "Jaws."

WHAT? I STILL DO!!!!!

27. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as World War I, World War II, and the Civil War.

growing up i didnt know much about it either xcept this kids relative went or something like that

28. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran.

we should of bombed them then

30. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.

na-nu na-nu \\ //

31. They never heard: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "De plane, de plane!"

wheres the beef yes camel? sorry never heard of it

and de plane boss de plane always made me look up

32. They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. was.

neither did i my mom use to watch that show all the time till i killed jr

34. There has always been MTV.

since i was young yes there was

35. They don't have a clue how to use a typewriter.

good we got pcs now

[The_Slink]

Any Monty Python fans around?

(insert broad Yorkshire accent)

"When ay were a lad, we used to live in't old box"

"Cardboard box?"

"Aye"

"You were looky!!

We used to live in't shoebox in middle't road. Mah dad 'd coom 'ome from work and make us lick road clean wit toongue."

"You try telling that t' yoong folk today. They won't listen, no thay won't"

It goes on and on. I won't bore you though

That reminds me, I must watch 'The Life of Brian' again. Wonderfull!

Yes! and the Goons. I'm only 16. Must be something wrong with me...

Fred Moriarty "General Rommel! The British have broken our line!"

Jim Rommel: "Curse! All our washing in the mud again!"

That's the Goons.

Got any on MP3s?

[ZJJ]

For those that entered college last year.

BELOIT COLLEGE MINDSET LIST® FOR THE CLASS OF 2008

1. Most students entering college this fall were born in 1986.

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

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

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

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

6. Photographs have always been processed in an hour or less.

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

8. Baby Jessica could be a classmate.

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

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

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

12. They have always enjoyed the comfort of pleather.

13. Harry has always known Sally.

14. They never saw Roseanne Roseannadanna live on Saturday Night Live.

15. There has always been a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

16. They never ate a McSub at McD’s.

17. There has always been a Comedy Channel.

18. Bill and Ted have always been on an excellent adventure.

19. They were never tempted by smokeless cigarettes.

20. Robert Downey, Jr. has always been in trouble.

21. Martha Stewart has always been cooking up something with someone.

22. They have always been comfortable with gay characters on television.

23. Mike Tyson has always been a contender.

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

25. There have never been any Playboy Clubs.

26. There have always been night games at Wrigley Field.

27. Rogaine has always been available for the follicularly challenged.

28. They never saw USA Today or the Christian Science Monitor as a TV news program.

29. Computers have always suffered from viruses.

30. We have always been mapping the human genome.

31. Politicians have always used rock music for theme songs.

32. Network television has always struggled to keep up with cable.

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

34. Ivan Boesky has never sold stock.

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

36. Bethlehem has never been a place of peace at Christmas.

37. Episcopal women bishops have always threatened the foundation of the Anglican Church.

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

39. They never flew on People Express.

40. AZT has always been used to treat AIDS.

41. The international community has always been installing or removing the leader of Haiti.

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

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

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

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

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

47. Castro has always been an aging politician in a suit.

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

49. Cher hasn’t aged a day.

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

[ZJJ]

BELOIT COLLEGE'S MINDSET LIST®

FOR THE CLASS OF 2009

Most students entering college this fall (2005) were born in 1987.

1. Andy Warhol, Liberace, Jackie Gleason, and Lee Marvin have always been dead.

2. They don't remember when "cut and paste" involved scissors.

3. Heart-lung transplants have always been possible.

4. Wayne Gretzky never played for Edmonton.

5. Boston has been working on the "The Big Dig" all their lives.

6. With little need to practice, most of them do not know how to tie a tie.

7. Pay-Per-View television has always been an option.

8. They never had the fun of being thrown into the back of a station wagon with six others.

9. Iran and Iraq have never been at war with each other.

10. They are more familiar with Greg Gumbel than with Bryant Gumbel.

11. Philip Morris has always owned Kraft Foods.

12. Al-Qaida has always existed with Osama bin Laden at its head.

13. They learned to count with Lotus 1-2-3.

14. Car stereos have always rivaled home component systems.

15. Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker have never preached on television.

16. Voice mail has always been available.

17. "Whatever" is not part of a question but an expression of sullen rebuke.

18. The federal budget has always been more than a trillion dollars.

19. Condoms have always been advertised on television.

20. They may have fallen asleep playing with their Gameboys in the crib.

21. They have always had the right to burn the flag.

22. For daily caffeine emergencies, Starbucks has always been around the corner.

23. Ferdinand Marcos has never been in charge of the Philippines.

24. Money put in their savings account the year they were born earned almost 7% interest.

25. Bill Gates has always been worth at least a billion dollars.

26. Dirty dancing has always been acceptable.

27. Southern fried chicken, prepared with a blend of 11 herbs and spices, has always been available in China.

28. Michael Jackson has always been bad, and greed has always been good.

29. The Starship Enterprise has always looked dated.

30. Pixar has always existed.

31. There has never been a "fairness doctrine" at the FCC.

32. Judicial appointments routinely have been "Borked."

33. Aretha Franklin has always been in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

34. There have always been zebra mussels in the Great Lakes.

35. Police have always been able to search garbage without a search warrant.

36. It has always been possible to walk from England to mainland Europe on dry land.

37. They have grown up in a single superpower world.

38. They missed the oat bran diet craze.

39. American Motors has never existed.

40. Scientists have always been able to see supernovas.

41. Les Miserables has always been on stage.

42. Halogen lights have always been available at home, with a warning.

43. "Baby M" may be a classmate, and contracts with surrogate mothers have always been legal.

44. RU486 has always been on the market.

45. There has always been a pyramid in front of the Louvre in Paris.

46. British Airways has always been privately owned.

47. Irradiated food has always been available but controversial.

48. Snowboarding has always been a popular winter pastime.

49. Libraries have always been the best centers for computer technology and access to good software.

50. Biosphere 2 has always been trying to create a revolution in the life sciences.

51. The Hubble Telescope has always been focused on new frontiers.

52. Researchers have always been looking for stem cells.

53. They do not remember "a kinder and gentler nation."

54. They never saw the shuttle Challenger fly.

55. The TV networks have always had cable partners.

56. Airports have always had upscale shops and restaurants.

57. Black Americans have always been known as African-Americans.

58. They never saw Pat Sajak or Arsenio Hall host a late night television show.

59. Matt Groening has always had a Life in Hell.

60. Salman Rushdie has always been watching over his shoulder.

61. Digital cameras have always existed.

62. Tom Landry never coached the Cowboys.

63. Time Life and Warner Communications have always been joined.

64. CNBC has always been on the air.

65. The Field of Dreams has always been drawing people to Iowa.

66. They never saw a Howard Johnson's with 28 ice cream flavors.

67. Reindeer at Christmas have always distinguished between secular and religious decorations.

68. Entertainment Weekly has always been on the newsstand.

69. Lyme Disease has always been a ticking concern in the woods.

70. Jimmy Carter has always been an elder statesman.

71. Miss Piggy and Kermit have always dwelt in Disneyland.

72. America's Funniest Home Videos has always been on television.

73. Their nervous new parents heard C. Everett Koop proclaim nicotine as addictive as heroin.

74. Lever has always been looking for 2000 parts to clean.

75. They have always been challenged to distinguish between news and entertainment on cable TV.

[KRP 56]

What! No mention that RSE has always been a part of UBI.

[ZJJ]

BELOIT COLLEGE'S MINDSET LIST®

FOR THE CLASS OF 2010

Members of the class of 2010, entering college this fall, were mostly born in 1988. For them: Billy Carter, Lucille Ball, Gilda Radner, Billy Martin, Andy Gibb, and Secretariat have always been dead.

1. The Soviet Union has never existed and therefore is about as scary as the student union.

2. They have known only two presidents.

3. For most of their lives, major U.S. airlines have been bankrupt.

4. Manuel Noriega has always been in jail in the U.S.

5. They have grown up getting lost in "big boxes."

6. There has always been only one Germany.

7. They have never heard anyone actually "ring it up" on a cash register.

8. They are wireless, yet always connected.

9. A stained blue dress is as famous to their generation as a third-rate burglary was to their parents'.

10. Thanks to pervasive headphones in the back seat, parents have always been able to speak freely in the front.

11. A coffee has always taken longer to make than a milkshake.

12. Smoking has never been permitted on U.S. airlines.

13. Faux fur has always been a necessary element of style.

14. The Moral Majority has never needed an organization.

15. They have never had to distinguish between the St. Louis Cardinals baseball and football teams.

16. DNA fingerprinting has always been admissible evidence in court.

17. They grew up pushing their own miniature shopping carts in the supermarket.

18. They grew up with and have outgrown faxing as a means of communication.

19. "Google" has always been a verb.

20. Text messaging is their email.

21. Milli Vanilli has never had anything to say.

22. Mr. Rogers, not Walter Cronkite, has always been the most trusted man in America.

23. Bar codes have always been on everything, from library cards and snail mail to retail items.

24. Madden has always been a game, not a Superbowl-winning coach.

25. Phantom of the Opera has always been on Broadway.

26. "Boogers" candy has always been a favorite for grossing out parents.

27. There has never been a "skyhook" in the NBA.

28. Carbon copies are oddities found in their grandparents' attics.

29. Computerized player pianos have always been tinkling in the lobby.

30. Non-denominational mega-churches have always been the fastest growing religious organizations in the U.S.

31. They grew up in mini-vans.

32. Reality shows have always been on television.

33. They have no idea why we needed to ask "...can we all get along?"

34. They have always known that "In the criminal justice system the people have been represented by two separate yet equally important groups."

35. Young women's fashions have never been concerned with where the waist is.

36. They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.

37. Brides have always worn white for a first, second, or third wedding.

38. Being techno-savvy has always been inversely proportional to age.

39. "So" as in "Sooooo New York," has always been a drawn-out adjective modifying a proper noun, which in turn modifies something else

40. Affluent troubled teens in Southern California have always been the subjects of television series.

41. They have always been able to watch wars and revolutions live on television.

42. Ken Burns has always been producing very long documentaries on PBS.

43. They are not aware that "flock of seagulls hair" has nothing to do with birds flying into it.

44. Retin-A has always made America look less wrinkled.

45. Green tea has always been marketed for health purposes.

46. Public school officials have always had the right to censor school newspapers.

47. Small white holiday lights have always been in style.

48. Most of them never had the chance to eat bad airline food.

49. They have always been searching for "Waldo."

50. The really rich have regularly expressed exuberance with outlandish birthday parties.

51. Michael Moore has always been showing up uninvited.

52. They never played the game of state license plates in the car.

53. They have always preferred going out in groups as opposed to dating.

54. There have always been live organ donors.

55. They have always had access to their own credit cards.

56. They have never put their money in a "Savings & Loan."

57. Sara Lee has always made underwear.

58. Bad behavior has always been getting captured on amateur videos.

59. Disneyland has always been in Europe and Asia.

60. They never saw Bernard Shaw on CNN.

61. Beach volleyball has always been a recognized sport.

62. Acura, Lexus, and Infiniti have always been luxury cars of choice.

63. Television stations have never concluded the broadcast day with the national anthem.

64. LoJack transmitters have always been finding lost cars.

65. Diane Sawyer has always been live in Prime Time.

66. Dolphin-free canned tuna has always been on sale.

67. Disposable contact lenses have always been available.

68. "Outing" has always been a threat.

69. Oh, The Places You'll Go by Dr. Seuss has always been the perfect graduation gift.

70. They have always "dissed" what they don't like.

71. The U.S. has always been studying global warming to confirm its existence.

72. Richard M. Daley has always been the Mayor of Chicago.

73. They grew up with virtual pets to feed, water, and play games with, lest they die.

74. Ringo Starr has always been clean and sober.

75. Professional athletes have always competed in the Olympics.

[ZJJ]

BELOIT COLLEGE'S MINDSET LIST®

FOR THE CLASS OF 2011

Most of the students entering College this fall, members of the Class of 2011, were born in 1989. For them, Alvin Ailey, Andrei Sakharov, Huey Newton, Emperor Hirohito, Ted Bundy, Abbie Hoffman, and Don the Beachcomber have always been dead.

1. What Berlin wall?

2. Humvees, minus the artillery, have always been available to the public.

3. Rush Limbaugh and the “Dittoheads” have always been lambasting liberals.

4. They never “rolled down” a car window.

5. Michael Moore has always been angry and funny.

6. They may confuse the Keating Five with a rock group.

7. They have grown up with bottled water.

8. General Motors has always been working on an electric car.

9. Nelson Mandela has always been free and a force in South Africa.

10. Pete Rose has never played baseball.

11. Rap music has always been mainstream.

12. Religious leaders have always been telling politicians what to do, or else!

13. “Off the hook” has never had anything to do with a telephone.

14. Music has always been “unplugged.”

15. Russia has always had a multi-party political system.

16. Women have always been police chiefs in major cities.

17. They were born the year Harvard Law Review Editor Barack Obama announced he might run for office some day.

18. The NBA season has always gone on and on and on and on.

19. Classmates could include Michelle Wie, Jordin Sparks, and Bart Simpson.

20. Half of them may have been members of the Baby-sitters Club.

21. Eastern Airlines has never “earned their wings” in their lifetime.

22. No one has ever been able to sit down comfortably to a meal of “liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.”

23. Wal-Mart has always been a larger retailer than Sears and has always employed more workers than GM.

24. Being “lame” has to do with being dumb or inarticulate, not disabled.

25. Wolf Blitzer has always been serving up the news on CNN.

26. Katie Couric has always had screen cred.

27. Al Gore has always been running for president or thinking about it.

28. They never found a prize in a Coca-Cola “MagiCan.”

29. They were too young to understand Judas Priest’s subliminal messages.

30. When all else fails, the Prozac defense has always been a possibility.

31. Multigrain chips have always provided healthful junk food.

32. They grew up in Wayne’s World.

33. U2 has always been more than a spy plane.

34. They were introduced to Jack Nicholson as “The Joker.”

35. Stadiums, rock tours and sporting events have always had corporate names.

36. American rock groups have always appeared in Moscow.

37. Commercial product placements have been the norm in films and on TV.

38. On Parents’ Day on campus, their folks could be mixing it up with Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz with daughter Zöe, or Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford with son Cody.

39. Fox has always been a major network.

40. They drove their parents crazy with the Beavis and Butt-Head laugh.

41. The “Blue Man Group” has always been everywhere.

42. Women’s studies majors have always been offered on campus.

43. Being a latchkey kid has never been a big deal.

44. Thanks to MySpace and Facebook, autobiography can happen in real time.

45. They learned about JFK from Oliver Stone and Malcolm X from Spike Lee.

46. Most phone calls have never been private.

47. High definition television has always been available.

48. Microbreweries have always been ubiquitous.

49. Virtual reality has always been available when the real thing failed.

50. Smoking has never been allowed in public spaces in France.

51. China has always been more interested in making money than in reeducation.

52. Time has always worked with Warner.

53. Tiananmen Square is a 2008 Olympics venue, not the scene of a massacre.

54. The purchase of ivory has always been banned.

55. MTV has never featured music videos.

56. The space program has never really caught their attention except in disasters.

57. Jerry Springer has always been lowering the level of discourse on TV.

58. They get much more information from Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert than from the newspaper.

59. They’re always texting 1 n other.

60. They will encounter roughly equal numbers of female and male professors in the classroom.

61. They never saw Johnny Carson live on television.

62. They have no idea who Rusty Jones was or why he said “goodbye to rusty cars.”

63. Avatars have nothing to do with Hindu deities.

64. Chavez has nothing to do with iceberg lettuce and everything to do with oil.

65. Illinois has been trying to ban smoking since the year they were born.

66. The World Wide Web has been an online tool since they were born.

67. Chronic fatigue syndrome has always been debilitating and controversial.

68. Burma has always been Myanmar.

69. Dilbert has always been ridiculing cubicle culture.

70. Food packaging has always included nutritional labeling.

[Rocky]

Luv it.

[ZJJ]

BELOIT COLLEGE RELEASES ANNUAL MINDSET LIST

FOR THE ENTERING COLLEGE CLASS OF 2012

This month, almost 2 million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. The List is shared with faculty and with thousands who request it each year as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation.

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

It is a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and has never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.

***

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.

2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.

3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.

4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.

5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.

6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.

7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.

8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”

9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.

10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.

11. All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.

12. As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”

13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.

14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.

15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.

16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.

17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.

18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.

19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.

20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.

21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”

22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.

23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.

24. We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.”

25. There have always been gay rabbis.

26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.

27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.

28. IBM has never made typewriters.

29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.

30. McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.

31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.

32. There has always been Pearl Jam.

33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.

34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.

35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.

36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.

37. Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.

38. Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.

39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.

40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.

41. Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.

42. Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.

43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.

44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.

45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.

46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.

47. They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”

48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.

49. Soft drink refills have always been free.

50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”

51. Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.

52. Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.

53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.

54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.

55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.

56. Michael Millken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.

57. Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.

58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.

59. There have always been charter schools.

60. Students always had Goosebumps.

[ZJJ]

BELOIT COLLEGE RELEASES MINDSET LIST FOR THE CLASS OF 2013

Beloit, Wis. -- If the entering college class of 2013 had been more alert back in 1991 when most of them were born, they would now be experiencing a severe case of déjà vu. The headlines that year railed about government interventions, bailouts, bad loans, unemployment and greater regulation of the finance industry. The Tonight Show changed hosts for the first time in decades, and the nation asked “was Iraq worth a war?”

Each August since 1998, Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college.

As millions of students head off to college this fall, most will continue to experience the economic anxiety that marked their first two years of life just as it has marked their last two years of high school. Fears of the middle class--including their parents--about retirement and health care have been a part of their lives. Now however, they can turn to technology and text a friend: "Momdad still worried bout stocks. urs 2? PAW PCM".

Members of the class of 2013 won't be surprised when they can charge a latté on their cell phone and curl up in the corner to read a textbook on an electronic screen. The migration of once independent media—radio, TV, videos and CDs—to the computer has never amazed them. They have grown up in a politically correct universe in which multi-culturalism has been a given. It is a world organized around globalization, with McDonald's everywhere on the planet. Carter and Reagan are as distant to them as Truman and Eisenhower were to their parents. Tattoos, once thought "lower class," are, to them, quite chic. Everybody knows the news before the evening news comes on.

Thus the class of 2013 heads off to college as tolerant, global, and technologically hip…and with another new host of The Tonight Show.

1. For these students, Martha Graham, Pan American Airways, Michael Landon, Dr. Seuss, Miles Davis, The Dallas Times Herald, Gene Roddenberry, and Freddie Mercury have always been dead.

2. Dan Rostenkowski, Jack Kevorkian, and Mike Tyson have always been felons.

3. The Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables.

4. They have never used a card catalog to find a book.

5. Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.

6. Salsa has always outsold ketchup.

7. Earvin "Magic" Johnson has always been HIV-positive.

8. Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible.

9. They have been preparing for the arrival of HDTV all their lives.

10. Rap music has always been main stream.

11. Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream has always been a flavor choice.

12. Someone has always been building something taller than the Willis (née Sears) Tower in Chicago.

13. The KGB has never officially existed.

14. Text has always been hyper.

15. They never saw the “Scud Stud” (but there have always been electromagnetic stud finders.)

16. Babies have always had a Social Security Number.

17. They have never had to “shake down” an oral thermometer.

18. Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.

19. They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.

20. American students have always lived anxiously with high-stakes educational testing.

21. Except for the present incumbent, the President has never inhaled.

22. State abbreviations in addresses have never had periods.

23. The European Union has always existed.

24. McDonald's has always been serving Happy Meals in China.

25. Condoms have always been advertised on television.

26. Cable television systems have always offered telephone service and vice versa.

27. Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.

28. The American health care system has always been in critical condition.

29. Bobby Cox has always managed the Atlanta Braves.

30. Desperate smokers have always been able to turn to Nicoderm skin patches.

31. There has always been a Cartoon Network.

32. The nation’s key economic indicator has always been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

33. Their folks could always reach for a Zoloft.

34. They have always been able to read books on an electronic screen.

35. Women have always outnumbered men in college.

36. We have always watched wars, coups, and police arrests unfold on television in real time.

37. Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code.

38. Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Latvia, Georgia, Lithuania, and Estonia have always been independent nations.

39. It's always been official: President Zachary Taylor did not die of arsenic poisoning.

40. Madonna’s perspective on Sex has always been well documented.

41. Phil Jackson has always been coaching championship basketball.

42. Ozzy Osbourne has always been coming back.

43. Kevin Costner has always been Dancing with Wolves, especially on cable.

44. There have always been flat screen televisions.

45. They have always eaten Berry Berry Kix.

46. Disney’s Fantasia has always been available on video, and It’s a Wonderful Life has always been on Moscow television.

47. Smokers have never been promoted as an economic force that deserves respect.

48. Elite American colleges have never been able to fix the price of tuition.

49. Nobody has been able to make a deposit in the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI).

50. Everyone has always known what the evening news was before the Evening News came on.

51. Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.

52. They have never been Saved by the Bell

53. Someone has always been asking: “Was Iraq worth a war?”

54. Most communities have always had a mega-church.

55. Natalie Cole has always been singing with her father.

56. The status of gays in the military has always been a topic of political debate.

57. Elizabeth Taylor has always reeked of White Diamonds.

58. There has always been a Planet Hollywood.

59. For one reason or another, California’s future has always been in doubt.

60. Agent Starling has always feared the Silence of the Lambs.

61. “Womyn” and “waitperson” have always been in the dictionary.

62. Members of Congress have always had to keep their checkbooks balanced since the closing of the House Bank.

63. There has always been a computer in the Oval Office.

64. CDs have never been sold in cardboard packaging.

65. Avon has always been “calling” in a catalog.

66. NATO has always been looking for a role.

67. Two Koreas have always been members of the UN.

68. Official racial classifications in South Africa have always been outlawed.

69. The NBC Today Show has always been seen on weekends.

70. Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.

71. Conflict in Northern Ireland has always been slowly winding down.

72. Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.

73. Nobody has ever responded to “Help, I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.”

74. Congress could never give itself a mid-term raise.

75. There has always been blue Jell-O.

[ZJJ]

Most students entering college for the first time this fall—the Class of 2014—were born in 1992.

For these students, Benny Hill, Sam Kinison, Sam Walton, Bert Parks and Tony Perkins have always been dead.

1. Few in the class know how to write in cursive.

2. Email is just too slow, and they seldom if ever use snail mail.

3. “Go West, Young College Grad” has always implied “and don’t stop until you get to Asia…and learn Chinese along the way.”

4. Al Gore has always been animated.

5. Los Angelinos have always been trying to get along.

6. Buffy has always been meeting her obligations to hunt down Lothos and the other blood-suckers at Hemery High.

7. “Caramel macchiato” and “venti half-caf vanilla latte” have always been street corner lingo.

8. With increasing numbers of ramps, Braille signs, and handicapped parking spaces, the world has always been trying harder to accommodate people with disabilities.

9. Had it remained operational, the villainous computer HAL could be their college classmate this fall, but they have a better chance of running into Miley Cyrus’s folks on Parents’ Weekend.

10. A quarter of the class has at least one immigrant parent, and the immigration debate is not a big priority…unless it involves “real” aliens from another planet.

11. John McEnroe has never played professional tennis.

12. Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.

13. Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the voice of a lost generation.

14. Doctor Kevorkian has never been licensed to practice medicine.

15. Colorful lapel ribbons have always been worn to indicate support for a cause.

16. Korean cars have always been a staple on American highways.

17. Trading Chocolate the Moose for Patti the Platypus helped build their Beanie Baby collection.

18. Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.

19. They never twisted the coiled handset wire aimlessly around their wrists while chatting on the phone.

20. DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome have always existed.

21. Woody Allen, whose heart has wanted what it wanted, has always been with Soon-Yi Previn.

22. Cross-burning has always been deemed protected speech.

23. Leasing has always allowed the folks to upgrade their tastes in cars.

24. “Cop Killer” by rapper Ice-T has never been available on a recording.

25. Leno and Letterman have always been trading insults on opposing networks.

26. Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they have never seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.

27. Computers have never lacked a CD-ROM disk drive.

28. They’ve never recognized that pointing to their wrists was a request for the time of day.

29. Reggie Jackson has always been enshrined in Cooperstown.

30. “Viewer Discretion” has always been an available warning on TV shows.

31. The first computer they probably touched was an Apple II; it is now in a museum.

32. Czechoslovakia has never existed.

33. Second-hand smoke has always been an official carcinogen.

34. “Assisted Living” has always been replacing nursing homes, while Hospice has always been an alternative to hospitals.

35. Once they got through security, going to the airport has always resembled going to the mall.

36. Adhesive strips have always been available in varying skin tones.

37. Whatever their parents may have thought about the year they were born, Queen Elizabeth declared it an “Annus Horribilis.”

38. Bud Selig has always been the Commissioner of Major League Baseball.

39. Pizza jockeys from Domino’s have never killed themselves to get your pizza there in under 30 minutes.

40. There have always been HIV positive athletes in the Olympics.

41. American companies have always done business in Vietnam.

42. Potato has always ended in an “e” in New Jersey per vice presidential edict.

43. Russians and Americans have always been living together in space.

44. The dominance of television news by the three networks passed while they were still in their cribs.

45. They have always had a chance to do community service with local and federal programs to earn money for college.

46. Nirvana is on the classic oldies station.

47. Children have always been trying to divorce their parents.

48. Someone has always gotten married in space.

49. While they were babbling in strollers, there was already a female Poet Laureate of the United States.

50. Toothpaste tubes have always stood up on their caps.

51. Food has always been irradiated.

52. There have always been women priests in the Anglican Church.

53. J.R. Ewing has always been dead and gone. Hasn’t he?

54. The historic bridge at Mostar in Bosnia has always been a copy.

55. Rock bands have always played at presidential inaugural parties.

56. They may have assumed that parents’ complaints about Black Monday had to do with punk rockers from L.A., not Wall Street.

57. A purple dinosaur has always supplanted Barney Google and Barney Fife.

58. Beethoven has always been a dog.

59. By the time their folks might have noticed Coca Cola’s new Tab Clear, it was gone.

60. Walmart has never sold handguns over the counter in the lower 48.

61. Presidential appointees have always been required to be more precise about paying their nannies’ withholding tax, or else.

62. Having hundreds of cable channels but nothing to watch has always been routine.

63. Their parents’ favorite TV sitcoms have always been showing up as movies.

64. The U.S, Canada, and Mexico have always agreed to trade freely.

65. They first met Michelangelo when he was just a computer virus.

66. Galileo is forgiven and welcome back into the Roman Catholic Church.

67. Ruth Bader Ginsburg has always sat on the Supreme Court.

68. They have never worried about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.

69. The Post Office has always been going broke.

70. The artist formerly known as Snoop Doggy Dogg has always been rapping.

71. The nation has never approved of the job Congress is doing.

72. One way or another, “It’s the economy, stupid” and always has been.

73. Silicone-gel breast implants have always been regulated.

74. They’ve always been able to blast off with the Sci-Fi Channel.

75. Honda has always been a major competitor on Memorial Day at Indianapolis.

Copyright©2010 Beloit College

[ZJJ]

Beloit College Releases the Mindset List for the “Internet Class” of 2015

Beloit, Wis. – This year’s entering college class of 2015 was born just as the Internet took everyone onto the information highway and as Amazon began its relentless flow of books and everything else into their lives. Members of this year’s freshman class, most of them born in 1993, are the first generation to grow up taking the word “online” for granted and for whom crossing the digital divide has redefined research, original sources and access to information, changing the central experiences and methods in their lives. They have come of age as women assumed command of U.S. Navy ships, altar girls served routinely at Catholic Mass, and when everything from parents analyzing childhood maladies to their breaking up with boyfriends and girlfriends, sometimes quite publicly, have been accomplished on the Internet.

As for the class of 2015, without any memory whatever of George Herbert Walker Bush as president, they came into existence as Bill Clinton came into the presidency. Their parents, frequently older than one might expect because women have always been able to get pregnant almost regardless of age, have hovered over them with extra care and have agreed with those states that mandated the wearing of bike helmets. Ferris Bueller could be their overly cautious dad, and Jimmy Carter is an elderly smiling public man who appears occasionally on television doing good works. “Dial-up,” Woolworths and the Sears “Big Book” are as antique to them as “talking machines” might have been to their grandparents. Meanwhile, as they’ve wondered why O.J. Simpson has always been suspected of something, they have all “been there, done that, gotten the t-shirt,” shortened boring conversations with “yadda, yadda, yadda,” and recognized LBJ as LeBron James.

For those who cannot comprehend that it has been 18 years since this year’s class was born, they will quickly confirm that the next four years will go even faster and, like the rest of us, they will continue to grow older at increasing speed.

The Mindset List for the Class of 2015

Andre the Giant, River Phoenix, Frank Zappa, Arthur Ashe and the Commodore 64 have always been dead.

Their classmates could include Taylor Momsen, Angus Jones, Howard Stern's daughter Ashley, and the Dilley Sextuplets.

1. There has always been an Internet ramp onto the information highway.

2. Ferris Bueller and Sloane Peterson could be their parents.

3. States and Velcro parents have always been requiring that they wear their bike helmets.

4. The only significant labor disputes in their lifetimes have been in major league sports.

5. There have always been at least two women on the Supreme Court, and women have always commanded U.S. Navy ships.

6. They “swipe” cards, not merchandise.

7. As they’ve grown up on websites and cell phones, adult experts have constantly fretted about their alleged deficits of empathy and concentration.

8. Their school’s “blackboards” have always been getting smarter.

9. “Don’t touch that dial!”….what dial?

10. American tax forms have always been available in Spanish.

11. More Americans have always traveled to Latin America than to Europe.

12. Amazon has never been just a river in South America.

13. Refer to LBJ, and they might assume you're talking about LeBron James.

14. All their lives, Whitney Houston has always been declaring “I Will Always Love You.”

15. O.J. Simpson has always been looking for the killers of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman.

16. Women have never been too old to have children.

17. Japan has always been importing rice.

18. Jim Carrey has always been bigger than a pet detective.

19. We have never asked, and they have never had to tell.

20. Life has always been like a box of chocolates.

21. They’ve always gone to school with Mohammed and Jesus.

22. John Wayne Bobbitt has always slept with one eye open.

23. There has never been an official Communist Party in Russia.

24. “Yadda, yadda, yadda” has always come in handy to make long stories short.

25. Video games have always had ratings.

26. Chicken soup has always been soul food.

27. The Rocky Horror Picture Show has always been available on TV.

28. Jimmy Carter has always been a smiling elderly man who shows up on TV to promote fair elections and disaster relief.

29. Arnold Palmer has always been a drink.

30. Dial-up is soooooooooo last century!

31. Women have always been kissing women on television.

32. Their older siblings have told them about the days when Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera were Mouseketeers.

33. Faux Christmas trees have always outsold real ones.

34. They’ve always been able to dismiss boring old ideas with “been there, done that, gotten the T-shirt.”

35. The bloody conflict between the government and a religious cult has always made Waco sound a little whacko.

36. Unlike their older siblings, they spent bedtime on their backs until they learned to roll over.

37. Music has always been available via free downloads.

38. Grown-ups have always been arguing about health care policy.

39. Moderate amounts of red wine and baby aspirin have always been thought good for the heart.

40. Sears has never sold anything out of a Big Book that could also serve as a doorstop.

41. The United States has always been shedding fur.

42. Electric cars have always been humming in relative silence on the road.

43. No longer known for just gambling and quickie divorces, Nevada has always been one of the fastest growing states in the Union.

44. They’re the first generation to grow up hearing about the dangerous overuse of antibiotics.

45. They pressured their parents to take them to Taco Bell or Burger King to get free pogs.

46. Russian courts have always had juries.

47. No state has ever failed to observe Martin Luther King Day.

48. While they’ve been playing outside, their parents have always worried about nasty new bugs borne by birds and mosquitoes.

49. Public schools have always made space available for advertising.

50. Some of them have been inspired to actually cook by watching the Food Channel.

51. Fidel Castro’s daughter and granddaughter have always lived in the United States.

52. Their parents have always been able to create a will and other legal documents online.

53. Charter schools have always been an alternative.

54. They’ve grown up with George Stephanopoulos as the Dick Clark of political analysts.

55. New kids have always been known as NKOTB.

56. They’ve always wanted to be like Shaq or Kobe: Michael Who?

57. They’ve often broken up with their significant others via texting, Facebook, or MySpace.

58. Their parents sort of remember Woolworths as this store that used to be downtown.

59. Kim Jong-il has always been bluffing, but the West has always had to take him seriously.

60. Frasier, Sam, Woody and Rebecca have never Cheerfully frequented a bar in Boston during primetime.

61. Major League Baseball has never had fewer than three divisions and never lacked a wild card entry in the playoffs.

62. Nurses have always been in short supply.

63. They won’t go near a retailer that lacks a website.

64. Altar girls have never been a big deal.

65. When they were 3, their parents may have battled other parents in toy stores to buy them a Tickle Me Elmo while they lasted.

66. It seems the United States has always been looking for an acceptable means of capital execution.

67. Folks in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have always been able to energize with Pepsi Cola.

68. Andy Warhol is a museum in Pittsburgh.

69. They’ve grown up hearing about suspiciously vanishing frogs.

70. They’ve always had the privilege of talking with a chatterbot.

71. Refugees and prisoners have always been housed by the U.S. government at Guantanamo.

72. Women have always been Venusians; men, Martians.

73. McDonalds coffee has always been just a little too hot to handle.

74. “PC” has come to mean Personal Computer, not Political Correctness.

75. The New York Times and the Boston Globe have never been rival newspapers.

Copyright© 2011 Beloit College