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2008 Beloit College Mindset List

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  • 2008 Beloit College Mindset List

    I'm not sure if anybody else has ever seen these lists, but for those of us (at least Americans) beyond college age, it should bring back some memories and provide a perspective on generational gaps:



    http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/

    BELOIT COLLEGE RELEASES THE MINDSET LIST
    FOR THE CLASS OF 2008

    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 17 and were born in 1986.

    For the seventh 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.”

    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.

    © 2004 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin
    "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

  • #2
    Great, just what I needed, to be remined of Zamfir and his ******* pan flute...
    No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack
    I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry
    even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry
    He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by Confed999
      Great, just what I needed, to be remined of Zamfir and his ******* pan flute...
      I had subconsciously skipped over that one. Thanks right back to you!
      "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by shek
        I had subconsciously skipped over that one. Thanks right back to you!
        Haha! I just read the $500 VCR comment, and had to check your birthday. We have alot of the same memories. ;)
        No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack
        I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry
        even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry
        He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Confed999
          Haha! I just read the $500 VCR comment, and had to check your birthday. We have alot of the same memories. ;)
          It could have been worse - a typo in the list could have had Zamfir playing the skin flute

          BTW, check out the Beloit site, it's amazing the things that you'll see in all the years' lists that you will have forgotten about.
          "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by shek
            a typo in the list could have had Zamfir playing the skin flute
            LOL, as kids we did call him "Zamfir master of the skin flute".
            No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack
            I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry
            even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry
            He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

            Comment


            • #7
              Here's the 2007 list:

              BELOIT COLLEGE'S
              CLASS OF 2007 MINDSET LIST®

              1. Ricky Nelson, Richard Burton, Samantha Smith, Laura Ashley, Orson Welles, Karen Ann Quinlan, Benigno Aquino, and the U.S. Football League have always been dead.
              2. They are not familiar with the source of that “Giant Sucking Sound.”
              3. Iraq has always been a problem.
              4. “Ctrl + Alt + Del” is as basic as “ABC.”
              5. Paul Newman has always made salad dressing.
              6. Pete Rose has always been a gambler.
              7. Bert and Ernie are old enough to be their parents.
              8. An automatic is a weapon, not a transmission.
              9. Russian leaders have always looked like leaders everyplace else.
              10. The snail darter has never been endangered.
              11. There has always been a screening test for AIDS.
              12. Gas has always been unleaded
              13. They never heard Howard Cosell call a game on ABC.
              14. The United States has always had a Poet Laureate
              15. Garrison Keillor has always been live on public radio and Lawrence Welk has always been dead on public television.
              16. Their families drove SUVs without “being fuelish.”
              17. There has always been some association between fried eggs and your brain.
              18. They would never leave their calling card on someone’s desk.
              19. They have never been able to find the “return” key.
              20. Computers have always fit in their backpacks.
              21. Datsuns have never been made.
              22. They have never gotten excited over a telegram, a long distance call, or a fax.
              23. The Osmonds are just talk show hosts.
              24. Undergraduate college athletes have always been a part of the NBA and NFL draft.
              25. They have always “grazed” for food.
              26. Three-point shots from “downtown” have always been a part of basketball.
              27. Test tube babies are now having their own babies.
              28. Stores have always had scanners at the checkout.
              29. The Army has always driven Humvees.
              30. Adam and PC Junior computers had vanished from the market before this generation went online.
              31. The Statue of Liberty has always had a gleaming torch.
              32. They have always had a PIN number.
              33. Banana Republic has always been a store, not a puppet government in Latin America.
              34. Car detailing has always been available
              35. Directory assistance has never been free.
              36. The Jaycees have always welcomed women as members
              37. There has always been Lean Cuisine.
              38. They have always been able to fly Virgin Atlantic.
              39. There have never been dress codes in restaurants.
              40. Doctors have always had to deal with “reasonable and customary fees” and patients have always had controls placed on the number of days they could stay in a hospital.
              41. They have always been able to make photocopies at home.
              42. Michael Eisner has always been in charge of Disney.
              43. They have always been able to make phone calls from planes.
              44. Yuppies are almost as old as hippies.
              45. Rupert Murdoch has always been an American citizen.
              46. Strawberry Fields has always been in New York.
              47. Rock and Roll has always been a force for social good.
              48. Killer bees have always been swarming in the U.S.
              49. They have never seen a First Lady in a fur coat.
              50. Don Imus has always been offending someone in his national audience.

              In all fairness it should be understood that students entering college this fall do have a few items on their own lists that will separate them from many of their mentors:

              1. For many of them today, it’s all about the “bling, bling.”
              2. They know who the “Heroes in a half shell” are.
              3. Peeps are not a candy, they are your friends.
              4. They have been “dissing”and “burning” things all their lives.
              5. They can expect to get a ticket for “ricing out their wheels.”
              6. They knew how to pop a Popple and trade a Pog.
              7. They can still sing the rap chorus to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and the theme song from Duck Tales.

              © 2003 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin.
              "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

              Comment


              • #8
                Here's the 2006 list:

                BELOIT COLLEGE'S
                CLASS OF 2006 MINDSET LIST®

                1. A Southerner has always been President of the United States.
                2. Richard Burton, Ricky Nelson and Truman Capote have always been dead.
                3. South Africa's official policy of apartheid has not existed during their lifetime.
                4. Cars have always had eye-level rear stop lights, CD players, and air bags.
                5. We have always been able to choose our long distance carriers.
                6. Weather reports have always been available 24-hours a day on television.
                7. The "evil empire" has moved from Moscow to a setting in some distant galaxy.
                8. Big Brother is merely a television show.
                9. Cyberspace has always existed.
                10. Bruce Springsteen's new hit, Born in the USA, could have been played to celebrate their birth.
                11. Barbie has always had a job.
                12. Telephone bills have always been totally incomprehensible.
                13. Prom dresses have always come in basic black.
                14. A "Hair Band" is some sort of fashion accessory.
                15. George Foreman has always been a barbecue grill salesman.
                16. Afghanistan has always been a front page story.
                17. There has always been an heir to the heir to the British throne.
                18. They have no recollection of Connie Chung or Geraldo Rivera as serious journalists.
                19. Peter Jennings, Dan Rather, and Tom Brokaw have always anchored the evening news.
                20. China has always been a market-based reforming regime.
                21. The United States has always been trying to put nuclear waste in Nevada.
                22. The U.S. and the Soviets have always been partners in space.
                23. Mrs. Fields' cookies and Swatch watches have always been favorites.
                24. Nicolas Cage, Daryll Hannah, Eddie Murphy, and John Malkovich made their first major film impressions the year they were born.
                25. The GM Saturn has always been on the road.
                26. The "Fab Four" are not a male rock group, but four women enjoying Sex and the City.
                27. Fox has always been a television network choice.
                28. Males do not carry a handkerchief in a back pocket.
                29. This generation has never wanted to "be a Pepper too."
                30. Ozzy's lifestyle has nothing to do with the Nelson family.
                31. Women have always had tattoos.
                32. Vanessa Williams and Madonna are aging singers.
                33. Perrier has always come in flavors.
                34. Cherry Coke has always come in cans.
                35. A "hotline" is a consumer service rather than a phone used to avoid accidental nuclear war.
                36. The drug "ecstasy" has always been around.
                37. Genetic testing and DNA screening have always been available.
                38. Electronic filing of federal income taxes has always been an option.
                39. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has always been available to doctors.
                40. Trivial Pursuit may have been played by their parents the night before they were born.
                41. The U.S. has always maintained that it has a "clear right to use force against terrorism."
                42. The drinking age has always been 21 throughout the country.
                43. Women have always been members of the Jaycees.
                44. The center of chic has shifted from Studio 54 to Liza's living room, live!
                45. Julian Lennon had his only hit the year they were born.
                46. Sylvan Learning Centers have always been an after-school option.
                47. Hip-hop and rap have always been popular musical forms.
                48. They grew up in minivans.
                49. Scientists have always recognized the impact of acid rain.
                50. The Coen Brothers have always been making films.

                And in 1984, perhaps it was "Too Soon to Tell"...

                Technology analysts questioned the need for briefcase-sized computers.
                The National Children and Youth Fitness Study announced that children were overweight and underactive.
                A CPA organization heralded that computerized audit systems were being used to avoid errors and they were doing much better at spotting mistakes and providing internal audit controls.
                Film critics declared that George Lucas was looking for new directions because Star Wars interest was waning.
                Videotape technology was said to be killing the film industry and slowing cable network development.
                Analysts stated there was no market for Direct Broadcast Satellite systems.
                The U.S. Supreme Court declared sleeping to be a form of free speech.

                © 2002 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin
                "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by shek
                  2. They know who the “Heroes in a half shell” are.

                  7. They can still sing the rap chorus to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and the theme song from Duck Tales.
                  What does it say about me if I know/can do these things too?

                  Turtle Power!
                  No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack
                  I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry
                  even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry
                  He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Confed999
                    What does it say about me if I know/can do these things too?

                    Turtle Power!
                    Either you've got kids or grew up watching it during the original season of the show instead of on syndication. It's scary to see my six year old daughter flipping through the channels (supervised by myself, which may not be saying much, or her mom) and stopping at the Fresh Prince and wanting to watch it.
                    "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Here's the Class of 2005 list:

                      BELOIT COLLEGE'S
                      CLASS OF 2005 MINDSET LIST®

                      1. Most students starting college this fall were born in 1983.
                      2. Ricky Nelson, Marvin Gaye and Laura Ashley have always been dead.
                      3. The New Kids on the Block are over the hill.
                      4. They want to be PHAT but not fat
                      5. IBM Selectrics are antiques.
                      6. Thongs no longer come in pairs and slide between the toes.
                      7. God has never been a "he" in most churches.
                      8. Hard copy has nothing to do with a TV show; a browser is not someone relaxing in a bookstore; a virus does not make humans sick; and a mouse is not a rodent (and there is no proper plural for it).
                      9. Moscow has always been opposed to "star wars."
                      10. Recording TV programs on VCRs became legal the year they were born.
                      11. The British Royal family has always behaved badly.
                      12. There has always been Diet Coke.
                      13. Artificial hearts have always been ticking.
                      14. The Social Security system has always been on the brink.
                      15. There have always been warnings about second-hand smoke.
                      16. They have never experienced a real recession.
                      17. A hacker is not just a kid who won't stop fooling around.
                      18. Grenada has always been safe for democracy.
                      19. They were born the same year as the PC and the Mac.
                      20. The U.S. Senate has always had a daycare program.
                      21. One earring on a man indicates that he is probably pretty conservative.
                      22. CDs have always been labeled for explicit content.
                      23. Lethal Weapon in one form or another has always been "at the movies."
                      24. Boeing has not built the 727 since they were born.
                      25. Sarajevo was a war zone, not an Olympic host.
                      26. They don't remember Janet Jackson when she was cute and chubby.
                      27. Drug testing of athletes has always been routine.
                      28. There has always been a hole in the ozone layer.
                      29. They have always had access to email.
                      30. The Colts have always been in Indianapolis.
                      31. The precise location of the Titanic has always been known.
                      32. When they were born, Madonna was still a radiant woman holding a beatific child.
                      33. Jimmy Hoffa has always been officially dead.
                      34. Tylenol has always been impossible for children or adults to open.
                      35. Volkswagen beetles have always had engines in the front.
                      36. They do not know what the Selective Service is, but men routinely register for it on their financial aid forms.
                      37. Ron Howard and Rob Reiner have always been balding older film directors.
                      38. Cal Ripken has always been playing baseball.
                      39. They have probably never used carbon paper and do not know what cc and bcc mean.
                      40. Lasers have always been marketed as toys.
                      41. Major newspapers have always been printed in color.
                      42. Beta is a preview version of software, not a VCR format..
                      43. They have never known exactly what to call the rock star formerly and presently known as Prince.
                      44. They are the first generation to prefer tanning indoors.
                      45. Survivor is a TV show not a rock group.
                      46. They have heard "just say no" since they were toddlers.
                      47. Most of them know someone who was born with the help of a test tube.
                      48. It has paid to "Discover" since they were four.
                      49. Oprah has always been a national institution.
                      50. With a life expectancy of 77 years, they can anticipate living until about 2060.
                      "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        None of them even know we landed on the moon. Hell, I've watched that on live black and white tv - with no remote and a dial.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Officer of Engineers
                          None of them even know we landed on the moon. Hell, I've watched that on live black and white tv - with no remote and a dial.
                          Sir,
                          I've seen the black and white footage. Of course, it wasn't live and it was on MTV - when they still played music videos.
                          "So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand." Thucydides 1.20.3

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Here's one of my favorites:

                            Growing up in the 80's

                            Dear Kids of America:

                            When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning uphill both ways through year 'round blizzards carrying their younger siblings on their backs to their one-room schoolhouse where they maintained a straight-A average despite their full-time after-school job at the local textile mill where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!

                            And I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of **** like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it. But.... Now that I've reached the ripe old age of forty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! Compared to my childhood, you live in a freaking Utopia! And I hate to say it but you kids today you don't know how good you've got it!

                            When I was a kid we didn't have The Internet -- we wanted to know something, we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves! And there was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter -- with a pen! --and then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there! And there were no MP3s or Napster! You wanted to steal music, you had to go to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or we had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ would usually talk over the beginning and mess it all up!

                            You want to hear about hardship? You couldn't just download porn! You had to bribe some homeless dude to buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11! Those were your options! We didn't have fancy stuff like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either. When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was. It could be your boss, your mom, a collections agent, you didn't know! You just had to pick it up and take your chances!

                            We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked! Your guy was a little square and in order to have any fun you had to rely on your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win, the game just kept on getting harder and faster until you died! When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! A tall guy sat in front of you, you were out of luck. And sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 20 channels and there was no on screen menu! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! And there was no Cartoon Network! You could only get cartoons on Saturday morning. Did you hear what I said you lazy little freaks? We had to wait all week for cartoons! That's exactly what I'm talking about! You kids today have got it too easy. You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980! .....But I don't want to lecture you.
                            I love the video game quote, and still play the Atari 2600 languishing in my parents' basement when I go to visit.
                            The black flag is raised: Ban them all... Let the Admin sort them out.

                            I know I'm going to have the last word... I have powers of deletion and lock.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by shek
                              Either you've got kids or grew up watching it during the original season of the show instead of on syndication.
                              My first experience with TMNT was in an old role-playing game called "TMNT and Other Strangeness". This was long before there was a cartoon, and it may even predate the comic. I watched the cartoon as a pre-teen/early teen while doing homework. I watched the movies, even the one where Vanilla Ice sang a special tune called "Go Ninja Go", and if one was on now I'd watch it again. So I guess my question should be, did I fail to grow up, or am I just weird? :)
                              Originally posted by shek
                              It's scary to see my six year old daughter flipping through the channels (supervised by myself, which may not be saying much, or her mom) and stopping at the Fresh Prince and wanting to watch it.
                              Smart young lady. ;)
                              No man is free until all men are free - John Hossack
                              I agree completely with this Administration’s goal of a regime change in Iraq-John Kerry
                              even if that enforcement is mostly at the hands of the United States, a right we retain even if the Security Council fails to act-John Kerry
                              He may even miscalculate and slide these weapons off to terrorist groups to invite them to be a surrogate to use them against the United States. It’s the miscalculation that poses the greatest threat-John Kerry

                              Comment

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