Each year Beloit College releases a “mindset list“. The goal is to provide “a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall”.
I love reading this list each year as it provides a window into the world incoming freshman have grown up in. Some of my favorites from this year include (anything after a dash is my own brief comments):
1. There has always been an Internet ramp onto the information highway. – Remember a time before the Internet? These kids don’t.
9. “Don’t touch that dial!”….what dial? – Haha.
15. O.J. Simpson has always been looking for the killers of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman. – I remember sitting in school watching the verdict of the OJ trial on television. College freshman were not even born yet!
20. Life has always been like a box of chocolates. – I wonder if these kids have seen Forest Gump?
37. Music has always been available via free downloads. – So why buy CDs? And what’s a cassette?
56. They’ve always wanted to be like Shaq or Kobe: Michael Who?
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.
The world is always changing and I think this list is a must read for those who work with college students.
David Hershey 