BELOIT COLLEGE RELEASES
THE CLASS OF 2005 MINDSET LIST®
Beloit, Wis.—You can call them PHAT, but don’t call them fat, or at least be
sure of the generation you are addressing when you make the observation.
Each year, Beloit College assembles the Mindset List, a compilation of items
that indicate the viewpoint and frame of reference of entering students. The
vast majority of those first year students are about 18, having been born in
1983, along with personal computers and speculation on the phenomenon of email
communications on campus.
Tom McBride, Keefer Professor of the Humanities and director of Beloit’s model
“First Year Initiatives” (or FYI) program, oversees the formation of the list
and its distribution to faculty and staff. “The gap in age between teacher and
student increases annually as the faculty remains the same age and the students
get younger. As faculty start to show signs of “hardening of the references,” it
is important that we think about the touchstones and benchmarks of a generation
that has grown up with CNN, home computers, AIDS awareness, 'Just say no,' and
the Bush political dynasty.”
The list was first compiled by Prof., McBride, Public Affairs Director Ron Nief,
and Director of Institutional Research Richard Miller after an informal list
developed on the Beloit campus email in 1998. It is now prepared and distributed
on the eve of the start of classes at the 1,200 student liberal arts and
sciences college in southern Wisconsin. Each year, it is requested by thousands
of educational institutions, businesses, churches and others. Last year it began
showing up in English language media abroad.
“This is not serious in-depth research notes Mr. Miller. “It is meant to be
thought- provoking and fun, yet accurate.” Prof. McBride also notes that it is
“as relevant as possible, given the broad social and geographic diversity of our
students who are drawn from every state and 58 countries. It is always open to
challenge and this has an additional benefit in that it reminds us of students’
varied backgrounds. Things like the WEB and cable TV and varying family
interests all have an impact on its veracity, but it is still a good reflection
of the attitude and experience of the young people we must be aware of on the
first day of their college experience.”
The following Mindset List® for First-Year Students in the Class of 2005 has
been shared with faculty and staff at the 155 year-old liberal arts college as
they prepare to welcome the new class.
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 used 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.
RELATED LINKS:
The Official Beloit College Mindset List Homepage
The '60's as History, Beloit College Magazine, Summer 2000
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08/24/00
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