How Does the Class of 2007 See the World?

Each year, Beloit College in Wisconsin releases its "Mindset List" for the incoming freshman college class of 2007. If you were born before 1986, you'll find the list amusing... and then realize how old you are. The list illustrates how young people see the world, how much the world has changed from their elders' perspective, and how their reality is shaped by the fact that they were born the year of the Challenger shuttle explosion and the Chernobyl meltdown.

Among the more interesting (and sobering) observations are:

• “Ctrl + Alt + Del” is as basic as “ABC.”
• Paul Newman has always made salad dressing.
• An automatic is a weapon, not a transmission.
• Gas has always been unleaded.
• They never heard Howard Cosell call a game on ABC.
• Computers have always fit in their backpacks.
• They have never gotten excited over a telegram, a long distance call, or a fax.
• Test tube babies are now having their own babies.
• They have always had a PIN number.
• There have never been dress codes in restaurants.
• Yuppies are almost as old as hippies.
• Peeps are not a candy, they are your friends.
• They can still sing the rap chorus to the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and the theme song from Duck Tales.

Click here for an archive of Mindset Lists, going back to the class of 2002.