20 years ago Ron Nief, emeritus Director of Public Affairs, at Beloit College created the Mindset List. Every August since then the Beloit Mindset List has been a feature of higher education in the US. It’s been maligned (http://www.beloitmindlessness.com/2018/08/19/more-of-the-same/,http://www.beloitmindlessness.com/2018/08/21/here-we-go-again/) and it’s been parodied (https://www.theonion.com/a-look-at-the-class-of-2019-1819592320), but as I wrote a couple of years ago “I always get a kick out of looking it over. It reminds me of how old I am.”
I’m a couple of years older now than I was a couple of years ago, and I still get a kick out of looking the list over. Here are a few of the items that I found especially striking:1
- Among the iconic figures never alive in their lifetime are Victor Borge, Charles Schulz, and the original Obi-Wan Kenobi Alec Guinness. That last one really hurts. I remember seeing the original in a movie theater.
- They have grown up afraid that a shooting could happen at their school, too.
- Presidential candidates winning the popular vote and then losing the election are not unusual.
- There has never been an Enron.
It you want to read all 60, here’s the link: http://themindsetlist.com/2018/08/beloit-college-mindset-list-class-2022/.
- The comments in bold italic are my commentary. ↩