Class of 2006 – Born in 1984!?

In order to help its faculty better relate to new generations of students arriving on campus, Beloit College has been distributing Mindset Lists that serve as a “reminder that the world view of today’s new college students is significantly different from the intellectual framework of those students who entered only a few years earlier.” For example, this year’s Class of 2006 Mindset List reminds us that:

Bruce Springsteen’s new hit, Born in the USA, could have been played to celebrate their birth.

South Africa’s official policy of apartheid has not existed during their lifetime.

A Southerner has always been President of the United States.

A “Hair Band” is some sort of fashion accessory.

Nicholas Cage, Daryll Hannah, Eddie Murphy, and John Malkovich made their first major film impressions the year they were born.

Vanessa Williams and Madonna are aging singers.

The “evil empire” has moved from Moscow to a setting in some distant galaxy.

“Big Brother” is merely a television show.

These are just some of the examples, and the lists from only a few years earlier show just how differently “these kids” see things today. I feel old…

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