Incoming Freshman Perspective

[LoneJeeper]

every year, we get e-mailed Beloit College's "mindset list"... all it really does is make you feel older...

Here's what incoming college freshman know or don't know:


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


there's more at http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/index.html


lj

[woody-77]

I drove through Ole Miss campus Sunday......damn good crop of 18 year olds this year.....

too bad I'm 31 and married.

[LandRover]

I teach at a high school, and the majority of kids I have this year were born in 1992. Holy crap.

[Bhelliom]

God i'm only 26 and i remember most of those things...

[Red_Ak_Ranger]

Are those incoming high school or college freshman?

Because about everything on that list, it's a stereotype but it doesnt apply to me.

Like for example, I know "flock of eagles" is one of those shatty bands you guys crapped out a long time ago.

We don't care about stained blue dresses, our generation tries to repress thoughts about you old people doin it.

I dunno what your beef with mr. rogers is!

And I already found Waldo when I was like, 6 years old. He was behind a water barrel.

Aaron

[LoneJeeper]

incoming college freshman, sorry, not high school.

and I didn't make the stinkinass list, so get off my lawn

lj

[tplochar]

I'm only 25 and feel old after reading that list

[famicom21]

i think that the list is more accurate for HS freshman - i know about alot of the stuff on that list, and have experienced much of it.

[tplochar]

Originally Posted by famicom21

i think that the list is more accurate for HS freshman - i know about alot of the stuff on that list, and have experienced much of it.

Yeah but being a 35 year old freshman at community college isn't exactly what they were talking about.

[black05tj]

36. They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.

This reminds me of a kid (16 year old, give or take a year) I ran across in the Post Office a couple of weeks ago. It was after hours, so I was putting a $20 in the machine to get a book of stamps, and he (trying to warn me I guess) goes on this little tangent about the machine giving him a bunch of Sacajawea (sp?) dollars back. Then, he's fumbling with this MO he's trying to mail (we're sharing he same counter as I put my stamps on my mail, so I catch this out of the corner of my eye). Then he asks me how many stamps he needs to mail his letter. I look, and as he says "These were the cheapest I found" I notice he bought a whole book of 2 cent stamps!

I told him he'd have to use a bunch of them, 40 cents worth actually since it costs 39 cents for the PO to mail them. The look on his face was priceless! LOL At least he got rid of his Sacajawea dollars when he went back to buy another book of 39 cent stamps!

[PM Thor]

Saw this one this morning. A majority of incoming college freshmen were born in 1988.

I remember that year like it was yesterday. Ech.

[Bhelliom]

Originally Posted by black05tj

This reminds me of a kid (16 year old, give or take a year) I ran across in the Post Office a couple of weeks ago.

What's a post office?

[Awshux]

Originally Posted by Red_Ak_Ranger

Like for example, I know "flock of eagles" is one of those shatty bands you guys crapped out a long time ago.

That's "Flock of Seagulls," youngster. If you're gonna diss your elders, at least get your facts right!

[LandRover]

Flock of eagles

[Red_Ak_Ranger]

Originally Posted by Awshux

That's "Flock of Seagulls," youngster. If you're gonna diss your elders, at least get your facts right!

They woulda been winners if it was Eagles, not seagulls.


Eagles kill, seagulls squak!(sp?)

Aaron