Incoming freshmen grew up with Starbucks, digital cameras
Those are some of the cultural landmarks on the Beloit College Mindset List, an annual compilation that offers a glimpse of the world view of each incoming class. The list was released Wednesday by the private school of 1,200 in this southern Wisconsin city.
The Class of 2009 has never known Andy Warhol, seen Jimmy Swaggart preach on TV, or watched Arsenio Hall.
Jimmy Carter? "That's just another name people throw around," said Abby Engebose, 18, who was going through orientation Tuesday on the school's 40-acre campus.
Technologically savvy, the students grew up with home computers, digital cameras, and souped up car stereos. Cable television has always been powerful and has blurred the lines between news and entertainment.
Like most of the men in his class, Joe Erkenbrack, 18, of Pella, Iowa, admitted that he didn't know how to tie a tie. He doesn't even own one.
The list reminds older generations what's happened in the last 18 years and aims to educate professors about the lives of their young students, said Tom McBride, a humanities professor at Beloit who has compiled the list for seven years.
"It reminds them that if they are going to teach Watergate, they have to explain what it is first," he said.