Happy Labor Day Weekend!  It is hard to believe, but the unofficial end of summer is here.  The days are getting shorter and most of the kids are back in school.  Many colleges also started this past week.  Each year, about this time, Beloit College publishes their “Mindset List” noting some of the events that have shaped the incoming freshman class.  I always find the list interesting and I always find it makes me feel old!  Here are some of the items from this year’s list that caught my attention, if you want to see the whole list go to http://www.beloit.edu/mindset/

Enjoy!

For students entering college this fall in the Class of 2018…

• During their initial weeks of kindergarten, they were upset by endlessly repeated images of planes blasting into the World Trade Center.
• When they see wire-rimmed glasses, they think Harry Potter, not John Lennon.
• “Press pound” on the phone is now translated as “hit hashtag.”
• Ralph Nader has always been running for President of the U.S.
• The water cooler is no longer the workplace social center; it’s the place to fill your water bottle.
• Women have always attended the Virginia Military Institute and the Citadel.
• Hong Kong has always been part of China.
• Joe Camel has never introduced one of them to smoking.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina have always been one nation.
• Nicotine has always been recognized as an addictive drug requiring FDA oversight.
• Students have always been able to dance at Baylor.
• Hello Dolly…cloning has always been a fact, not science fiction.
• Ads for prescription drugs, noting their disturbing side effects, have always flooded the airwaves.
• There has always been “TV” designed to be watched exclusively on the web.
• The Unabomber has always been behind bars.
• Bill Gates has always been the richest man in the U.S.
• They have no memory of George Stephanopoulos as a senior White House advisor.
• Everybody has always Loved Raymond.
• The rate of diagnosed diabetes has always been shooting up during their lifetime.
• Boeing has never had any American competition for commercial aircraft.
• U.S. soldiers have always been vaccinated against anthrax.
• Their collection of U.S. quarters has always celebrated the individual states.
• Since Toys R Us created a toy registry for kids, visits to Santa are just a formality.

Copyright© 2014 Beloit College

Thought for the Week

“You see, in this country are a number of youths who do not like to work, and the college is an excellent place for them.”
― L. Frank Baum, Ozma of Oz