Beloit College Mindset List for 2019

[ClarkKent_DC]

I used to post these pretty regularly on a past incarnation of the board.

If you are unfamiliar, each August, starting in 1998, Beloit College in Beloit, WI presents The Mindset List, "providing a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college this fall." It initially was meant to be a guide to the faculty to help them understand the incoming freshman class, by pointing out the things that "everybody" knows are different for the teachers as they are for those students, because times have changed. Accordingly, it's a warning to those teachers to "watch their references."

For example, one past Mindset List points out that the icon on computers for saving files is an image of a 3.5 floppy disk, which is something no teenager today has ever used and likely has never ever seen.

As an additional wrinkle, this year's list adds 10 entries of expressions the young people use that the older generation may not understand.

Without futher ado: The 2019 Beloit College Mindset List

Students heading into their first year of college this year are mostly 18 and were born in 1997. 

Among those who have never been alive in their lifetimes are Princess Diana, Notorious B.I.G., Jacques Cousteau, and Mother Teresa.

Joining them in the world the year they were born were Dolly the sheep, The McCaughey septuplets, and Michael “Prince” Jackson Jr.

Since they have been on the planet:

1. Hybrid automobiles have always been mass produced.

2. Google has always been there, in its founding words, “to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible.” 

3. They have never licked a postage stamp.

4. Email has become the new “formal” communication, while texts and tweets remain enclaves for the casual.

5. Four foul-mouthed kids have always been playing in South Park.

6. Hong Kong has always been under Chinese rule.

7. They have grown up treating Wi-Fi as an entitlement. 

8. The NCAA has always had a precise means to determine a national champion in college football.

9. The announcement of someone being the “first woman” to hold a position has only impressed their parents.

10. Charlton Heston is recognized for waving a rifle over his head as much as for waving his staff over the Red Sea.

11. Color photos have always adorned the front page of The New York Times.

12. Ellis Island has always been primarily in New Jersey.

13. “No means no” has always been morphing, slowly, into “only yes means yes.”

14. Cell phones have become so ubiquitous in class that teachers don’t know which students are using them to take notes and which ones are planning a party.

15. The Airport in Washington, D.C., has always been Reagan National Airport.

16. Their parents have gone from encouraging them to use the Internet to begging them to get off it.       

17. If you say “around the turn of the century,” they may well ask you, “which one?”

18. They have avidly joined Harry Potter, Ron, and Hermione as they built their reading skills through all seven volumes.

19. Attempts at human cloning have never been federally funded but do require FDA approval.

20. "Crosstown Classic” and the “Battle of the Bay” have always been among the most popular interleague rivalries in Major League Baseball.

21. Carry Me Back to Old Virginny has never been the official song of the Virginia Commonwealth.

22. Phish Food has always been available from Ben and Jerry.

23. Kyoto has always symbolized inactivity about global climate change.

24. When they were born, cell phone usage was so expensive that families only used their large phones, usually in cars, for emergencies. 

25. The therapeutic use of marijuana has always been legal in a growing number of American states.

26. The eyes of Texas have never looked upon The Houston Oilers.

27. Teachers have always had to insist that term papers employ sources in addition to those found online. 

28. In a world of DNA testing, the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington has never included a Vietnam War veteran “known only to God.”

29. Playhouse Disney was a place where they could play growing up.

30. Surgeons have always used “super glue” in the operating room.

31. Fifteen nations have always been constructing the International Space Station.

32. The Lion King has always been on Broadway.

33. Phoenix Lights is a series of UFO sightings, not a filtered cigarette.

34. Scotland and Wales have always had their own parliaments and assemblies.

35. At least Mom and Dad had their new Nintendo 64 to help them get through long nights sitting up with the baby.

36. First Responders have always been heroes.

37. Sir Paul and Sir Elton have always been knights of the same musical roundtable.

38. CNN has always been available en Español.

39. Heaven’s Gate has always been more a trip to Comet Hale-Bopp and less a film flop.

40. Splenda has always been a sweet option in the U.S.

41. The Atlanta Braves have always played at Turner Field.

42. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have always been members of NATO.

43. Humans have always had implanted radio frequency ID chips—slightly larger than a grain of rice.

44. TV has always been in such high definition that they could see the pores of actors and the grimaces of quarterbacks. 

45. Mr. Jones and Mr. Smith have always been Men in Black, not their next-door neighbors.

46. The proud parents recorded their first steps on camcorders, mounted on their shoulders like bazookas.

47. They had no idea how fortunate they were to enjoy the final four years of Federal budget surpluses.

48. Amoco gas stations have steadily vanished from the American highway.

49. Vote-by-mail has always been the official way to vote in Oregon.

50. ...and there has always been a Beloit College Mindset List.

                                              ***

In fairness to the class of 2019 the following are a few of the expressions from their culture that will baffle their parents, older friends, and teachers …with translations.

1. They need to plan ahead so they don't find themselves "dankrupt."

One of a variety of painful declarations that we are out of weed. 

2. A heavy dose of "Natty Light" has always caught up with them in the morning.

It may taste great and be less filling, but there are limits. 

3. As long as they can find a ballpoint pen they can use their "redneck teleprompter." 

The bigger the back of your hand, the more notes you can include, but don’t get caught looking. 

4. "Smartphone shuffles" have always slowed down traffic between classes. 

One can avoid all eye contact as one moves through the madding texting crowd.

5. "Vatican Roulette" has always been risky but acceptable. 

If you’ve got rhythm and like your planning natural, then Vatican Roulette is the game for you.

6. A significant other who is a bit "too Yoko Ono" has always created tension.   

A partner too hard to handle…hard for your friends to compete with perfection.

7. “Quiche” has everything to do with hot and nothing to do with food.

Turn down the heat. Some people are just so hot they enhance the appetite.

8. “Trolling” innocents on social media has always been uncharitable.  

Cynical and bullying attacks on happy campers, preserved on the internet, may come back to haunt you.

9. They'll know better than to text their professors "TL DR" about assignments. 

…and just hope their professor doesn’t scribble back to them, about their own papers: “TOO LONG: DIDN'T READ.” 

10. Slurring “textroverts” have always been a fact of social life.

If you're too drunk to say it face to face, you probably should wait until morning before you start texting. 

Copyright© 2015 Beloit College

[ClarkKent_DC]

Travis Herrick (Modular Mod) said:

Clark said:

I've noticed that with Law & Order; those scenes where Detective Logan and Detective Briscoe were in the captain's office and Detective Profaci would come in with a folder and say, "Here's the LUDs from the vic's apartment" or "the M.E.'s report says there were no ligature marks on the body" happened less frequently once Detective Curtis got a cellphone.

That, and Profaci was a dirty cop!

I saw that movie again fairly recently (Exiled: A Law & Order Movie), and it was so obvious that they were building toward a "shocking" conclusion that there was a dirty cop in the Two-Seven, and they were pointing at a detective we'd never seen before who was so blatantly a red herring he might as well have been named "Detective 'Red' Herring." So Profaci was sacrificed to give this flick at least one shred of credibility. 

Hey, there's an an entry for the Mindset List: There's always been at least one Law & Order show on the air.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Speaking of Millennials seeing free Wi-Fi as an entitlement, you know what? I kind of see free broadcast TV as an entitlement. This thought occurs to me every time I fill out a check for cable or satellite.

[ClarkKent_DC]

Well, it is. Free broadcast TV, and, likewise, free broadcast radio, are regarded as public resources. Cable and satellite TV (and radio) aren't.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

Yeah, but it used to be all you'd need to receive a TV signal was an antenna (and a TV, of course).

[ClarkKent_DC]

That's still all you need to receive the free over-the-air channels. (And a converter box, if you still have an analog TV.)

If you want what's on the cable channels, then you have to pay for the channels. 

[Emerkeith Davyjack]

...I believe something like 30% of TV set owners , IIRC , are listed as not having cable/satellite at all , not to any degree .

  Perhaps I remember this going up to 40% at the height of the Great Recession ?

  Yes , Exactly .

  If you have a working TV and a source of power , you can watch broadcast TV stations for free .

  Most obviously , this includes the (still-) " Big Three " commercial networks (However , if they are the " Big Three "now ,  they are so  in contast to the-) , " Little Three "of Fox on top , then...CW ? MyNetworkTV , if that still exists ?.........and , PBS .

  I suppose Univision and Telemundo are pretty near universal at this point , wouldn't you think ? Not just in the " traditionally seen/known as having a heavy Hispanic population " states of the U.S , such as the one I am in , CA ~ Which , along with the other ones  , are all?? states that , in the past , were part of Mexico !...

  Beyond that , what stations would non-cablers get ? Chinese-language station ? (Or , " selling time " foreign language stations with Chinese as the most-programmed language ?) Stations oriented towards " send Jesus money " evangelists ? Full-time TV shopping channels ?

[ClarkKent_DC]

Emerkeith Davyjack said:

...I believe something like 30% of TV set owners , IIRC , are listed as not having cable/satellite at all , not to any degree .

  Perhaps I remember this going up to 40% at the height of the Great Recession ?

  Yes , Exactly .

  If you have a working TV and a source of power , you can watch broadcast TV stations for free .

  Most obviously , this includes the (still-) " Big Three " commercial networks (However , if they are the " Big Three "now ,  they are so  in contast to the-) , " Little Three "of Fox on top , then...CW ? MyNetworkTV , if that still exists ?.........and , PBS .

  I suppose Univision and Telemundo are pretty near universal at this point , wouldn't you think ? Not just in the " traditionally seen/known as having a heavy Hispanic population " states of the U.S , such as the one I am in , CA ~ Which , along with the other ones  , are all?? states that , in the past , were part of Mexico !...

  Beyond that , what stations would non-cablers get ? Chinese-language station ? (Or , " selling time " foreign language stations with Chinese as the most-programmed language ?) Stations oriented towards " send Jesus money " evangelists ? Full-time TV shopping channels ?

People without cable TV would get the broadcast stations in their area: network affiliates, or network owned-and-operated stations, if they live in a large market -- CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox -- PBS, and any independent stations. Thanks to digital TV, they would also get the additional channels provided by those network affiliates. In my area, that means at least two weather channels, three additional versions of PBS, and oldies stations Bounce TV, MeTV, CoziTV, and the MOVIES! channel.

[Richard Willis]

Where I used to live there were at least two network stations (I think CBS and FOX) that I couldn't get in watchable form with rabbit ears. I live in a metropolitan area. People who live in rural areas will have more problems. When cable became available I jumped on it. I am getting basic cable and broadband internet from my cable company. Without basic cable and Netflix on broadband.I wouldn't have access to two-thirds of the good shows on TV.

Since I have had a high definition TV (which are cheap now by the way) I haven't tried to watch broadcast signals. I believe Telemundo is one of the decimal point channels on NBC. For example the local NBC station is channel 4. I believe they have broadcast stations 4, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3 and 4.4. The other networks have such things too.

[Emerkeith Davyjack]

...BTW , it seems that the " extra " digital channels do not show up on cable packages , at least the ones I've had ~ A yearish back I was somewhere where ME-TV was offeredon the cable mix (& posted about it then) but the " Big 3 " don't offer those on the cable package where I am now .
 
ClarkKent_DC said:

Emerkeith Davyjack said:

...I believe something like 30% of TV set owners , IIRC , are listed as not having cable/satellite at all , not to any degree .

  Perhaps I remember this going up to 40% at the height of the Great Recession ?

  Yes , Exactly .

  If you have a working TV and a source of power , you can watch broadcast TV stations for free .

  Most obviously , this includes the (still-) " Big Three " commercial networks (However , if they are the " Big Three "now ,  they are so  in contast to the-) , " Little Three "of Fox on top , then...CW ? MyNetworkTV , if that still exists ?.........and , PBS .

  I suppose Univision and Telemundo are pretty near universal at this point , wouldn't you think ? Not just in the " traditionally seen/known as having a heavy Hispanic population " states of the U.S , such as the one I am in , CA ~ Which , along with the other ones  , are all?? states that , in the past , were part of Mexico !...

  Beyond that , what stations would non-cablers get ? Chinese-language station ? (Or , " selling time " foreign language stations with Chinese as the most-programmed language ?) Stations oriented towards " send Jesus money " evangelists ? Full-time TV shopping channels ?

People without cable TV would get the broadcast stations in their area: network affiliates, or network owned-and-operated stations, if they live in a large market -- CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox -- PBS, and any independent stations. Thanks to digital TV, they would also get the additional channels provided by those network affiliates. In my area, that means at least two weather channels, three additional versions of PBS, and oldies stations Bounce TV, MeTV, CoziTV, and the MOVIES! channel.

[Richard Willis]

Emerkeith Davyjack said:

...BTW , it seems that the " extra " digital channels do not show up on cable packages , at least the ones I've had ~ A yearish back I was somewhere where ME-TV was offeredon the cable mix (& posted about it then) but the " Big 3 " don't offer those on the cable package where I am now .

The channels are there. The cable channels don't do decimal points so they appear with different three-digit channel numbers. Sometime the base channel will tell you which channel to go to on the different cable systems and sometimes you have to search for them on the on-screen cable guide.

[Emerkeith Davyjack]

...Well , not on my (perhaps lower-end) cable packages - No extra digichannels - and BTW , on on-screen cable guid/" scroll channel " , either !!!!!!!!!!! Perhaps the greater Bay Area isn't all sunny~

[PowerBook Pete, the Mad Mod]

I can get 29 channels with my rabbit ears. I no longer have cable or satellite.