College Freshmen: Beloit College Publishes Annual Mindset List (Class of 2018)
From Beloit College:
The College class of 2018, starting their first year on campus this fall, arrives with a grasp of their surroundings quite distinct from that of their mentors. Born in 1996, they have always had The Daily Show to set them straight, always been able to secure immediate approval and endorsement for their ideas through “likes” on their Facebook page, and have rarely heard the term “bi-partisan agreement.”
Each August since 1998, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List, providing a look at the cultural touchstones and experiences that have shaped the worldview of students entering colleges and universities in the fall.
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The Mindset List is assembled each year by Ron Nief and Tom McBride at Beloit College. It was initially created as a reminder to faculty to be wary of dated references and quickly became a catalog of the rapidly changing perception of each new generation as they make an important transition. It is requested by thousands of readers, reprinted in hundreds of print and electronic publications internationally, and used for a wide variety of purposes. It has caught the imagination of the public and draws responses from around the world and a million visitors to the website each year.
Read the Complete Announcement (Including Brief Bios of Authors)
A Few Examples From The Mindset List (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.”
- Hello Dolly…cloning has always been a fact, not science fiction.
- They have probably never used Netscape as their web browser
The List
Additional Resources
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About Gary Price
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.