Monday 4 February 2008

This year's Mindset list

Our effort is to identify a worldview of 18 year-olds in the fall of 2007. We take a risk in some cases of making generalizations, particularly given that our students at Beloit College for instance come from every state and scores of nations.

The "Class of 2011" refers to students entering college this year. They are generally 18 which suggests they were born in 1989.

The list identifies the experiences and event horizons of students as they commence higher education and is not meant to reflect on their preparatory education.

  • Wolf Blitzer has always been serving up the news on CNN.
  • Katie Couric has always had screen cred.
  • Al Gore has always been running for president or thinking about it.
  • They never found a prize in a Coca-Cola “MagiCan.”
  • They were too young to understand Judas Priest’s subliminal messages.
  • When all else fails, the Prozac defense has always been a possibility.
  • Multigrain chips have always provided healthful junk food.
  • They grew up in Wayne’s World.
  • U2 has always been more than a spy plane.
  • They were introduced to Jack Nicholson as “The Joker.”

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