If you've never asked directions, never had chicken pox, and tend to share everything, you could probably impersonate a member of the Class of 2017, according to Beloit College's annual Mindset List. Class members were mostly born in 1995, and they're very tech-savvy; indeed, "a third of the list has to do with technology," says former college public affairs director Ron Nief, who compiled the list with Prof. Tom McBride.
McBride points out that class members "are multicultural—they have a shared notion of national identity." What's more, "they have non-sectarian views; they have an ecumenical sense of spirituality," he tells USA Today. He and Nief make the list by perusing media for standout events and trends; they also get tips on Facebook. A few highlights:
- You might see LL Cool J or Eminem at parents' weekend, since they had kids in 1995.
- News has been crawling across the TV screen as long as '17ers have been crawling themselves.
- Getting a cell phone may be a bigger rite of passage than getting a car.
- Chatting doesn't require talking.
- Concerts they've seen have never been filled with cigarette smoke.
Here's the
full list; or head over to
Salon, where Daniel D'Addario takes down some of its more ludicrous contentions (See: "The Pentagon and Congress have always been shocked, absolutely shocked, by reports of sexual harassment and assault in the military.") as well as its superficial tendency to focus "on technology as the primary if not sole determinant of how people live life." His
full piece is worth a read. (More
Beloit College stories.)
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uBlock 
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Ghostery 
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