The Mindset of the Incoming College Freshmen

Beloit College has come out with its annual Mindset List of what the incoming class (of 2013) has always known and has never known. "For these students, ... the Green Giant has always been Shrek, not the big guy picking vegetables. They have never used a card catalog to find a book. ... Tattoos have always been very chic and highly visible. ... Rap music has always been mainstream. ... Except for the present incumbent, the President has never inhaled. ... Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code."

Comments

1984 much?

[nadando]

'The European Union has always existed'.

Re:1984 much?

[gbarules2999]

I know I'm not quite indicative of my fellow class of 2013 (I'm on Slashdot, dear lord), but this is nonsense. I know exactly who the Green Giant is and have eaten several of its products. I have indeed used a card catalog to find books, back in elementary and early middle school. Tattoos being chic is an opinion that is not shared by an entire generation.

The actual link has truth in the list occasionally, but I'm annoyed at the assumptions made.

I must be young at heart

[chebucto]

I was born in the early 80s, and some of these things hold true for me, which is somehow reassuring

• They have never used a card catalog to find a book.

I find it hard to believe that there aren't still a lot of school libraries out there that still use card catalogues. But what do I know.

• Margaret Thatcher has always been a former prime minister.

I think there's at least a 10-year delay between birth and awareness of international politics; the first UK PM I remember John Major

• Salsa has always outsold ketchup.

I do remember the excitement we all felt when Salsa was officially the fastest-growing condiment in North America. Heady days, those.

• Text has always been hyper.

This is interesting. Wiki tells me the first web pages went up in December 1990. Those early days of the web have really moved into the realm of history, albeit recent history.

• Bungee jumping has always been socially acceptable.

I don't recall it ever being socially unaccebtable, though I do know it was considered - and is, if you ask me - a stupid thing to do, up there with jumping out of perfectly good airplanes.

• They have never understood the meaning of R.S.V.P.

Since when is RSVP out of our lexicon? I never got that memo.

• The European Union has always existed.

Well, the European Community has existed since the 50s; this one's more of a technicality.

• McDonald's has always been serving Happy Meals in China.

And Tianammen Square happened before they were born! Yikes.

• Christopher Columbus has always been getting a bad rap.

I imagine this has been true since the 60s, at least.

• The nation's key economic indicator has always been the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

As opposed to what? The GNP?

• Amateur radio operators have never needed to know Morse code.

And I bet there's someone on Slashdot who cares! :)

• There have always been flat screen televisions.

I don't think there were any flat-screen TVs in 1991 - unless you count those flat-glass CRTs, which don't really count.

• Britney Spears has always been heard on classic rock stations.

Hah! I doubt that happens very often.

• Vice presidents of the United States have always had real power.

Quayle had power? Biden has power?

• Migration of once independent media like radio, TV, videos and compact discs to the computer has never amazed them.

That only became blase in the late 90s, as far as I'm concerned