The following information can be viewed at http://www.beloit.edu/~pubaff/mindset/
BELOIT COLLEGE'S MINDSET LIST®
FOR THE CLASS OF 2010
Members of the class of 2010, entering college this fall, were mostly born in 1988. For them: Billy Carter, Lucille Ball, Gilda Radner, Billy Martin, Andy Gibb, and Secretariat have always been dead.
| 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. |
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| 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. |
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| 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." |
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| 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. |
© 2006 Beloit College, Beloit, Wisconsin