Wear wristwatch? Use e-mail? Not the college Class of 2014

August 17, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

MILWAUKEE

For students entering college this fall, e-mail is too slow, phones have never had cords, and the computers they played with as kids are now in museums.

The Class of 2014 thinks of Clint Eastwood more as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry urging punks to “go ahead, make my day.” Few incoming freshmen know how to write in cursive or have ever worn a wristwatch.

These are among the 75 items on this year’s Beloit College Mindset List. The compilation, released today, is assembled each year by two officials at this private school of about 1,400 students in Beloit, Wis.

The list is meant to remind teachers that cultural references familiar to them might draw blank stares from college freshmen born mostly in 1992.

Of course, it also can have the unintended consequence of making people feel old.

Remember when Dr. Jack Kevorkian, Dan Quayle or Rodney King were in the news? These kids don’t.

Ever worry about a Russian missile strike on the U.S.? During these students’ lives, Russians and Americans always have been living together in outer space.

Being aware of the generation gap helps professors craft lesson plans that are more meaningful, said Ron Nief, a former public-affairs director at Beloit College and one of the list’s creators.

Nief and English professor Tom McBride have assembled the Mindset List for 13 years. They say it’s given them an unusual perspective on cultural shifts.

For example, as item No. 13 on the list says, “Parents and teachers feared that Beavis and Butt-head might be the voice of a lost generation.”

With far-edgier content available today, such as “South Park” or online videos that push the envelope, there’s something quaint about recalling the hand-wringing that the MTV cartoon prompted, Nief said.

“I think we do that with every generation — we look back and say, what were we getting so upset about?” he said. “A, kids outgrow it and B, in retrospect we realize it really wasn’t that bad.”

Another Mindset List item reflects a possible shift in Hollywood attitudes. Item No. 12 notes: “Clint Eastwood is better known as a sensitive director than as Dirty Harry.”

A number of incoming freshmen said they partially agreed with the item, noting they were familiar with Eastwood’s work as an actor even if they hadn’t seen his films.

Jessica Peck, a 17-year-old from Portland, Ore., disagreed with two items on the list — one that says few students know how to write in cursive and another that suggests this generation seldom if ever uses snail mail.

“Snail mail’s kind of fun. When I have time, I like writing letters to friends and family,” she said. “It’s just a bit more personal. And yes, I write in cursive.”

Peck did agree with the item pointing out that most teens have never used telephones with cords.

“Yes, I’ve used them but only at my grandparents’ house,” she said.

Below is a sampling from the Beloit College Mindset List for the Class of 2014:

Al Gore always has been animated.

“Caramel macchiato” and “venti half-cafvanilla latte” always have been street-corner lingo.

With increasing numbers of ramps, Braille signs, and handicapped parking spaces, the world always has been trying harder to accommodate people with disabilities.

A quarter of the class has at least one immigrant parent, and the immigration debate is not a big priority.

John McEnroe never has played professional tennis.

Colorful lapel ribbons always have been worn to support a cause.

Fergie is a pop singer, not a princess.

DNA fingerprinting and maps of the human genome always have existed.

Cross-burning always has been deemed protected speech.

Leasing always has allowed the folks to upgrade their tastes in cars.

Jay Leno and David Letterman always have been trading insults on opposing networks.

Unless they found one in their grandparents’ closet, they never have seen a carousel of Kodachrome slides.

Computers never have lacked a CD-ROM disk drive.

Czechoslovakia never has existed.

Rock bands always have played at presidential inaugural parties.

Source: Beloit College