News

Culture shock

Each year, the staff at Beloit College in Wisconsin puts together a list to give the faculty an idea of the mind-set of the incoming freshmen. We don't know about you, but these items from a recent list sure make us feel old!

June 24, 1999

Summarize withChatGPTGrokPerplexityClaude

The students who are now starting college across the nation: 1. They have no meaningful recollection of the Reagan era and did not know he had ever been shot. 2. They were prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged. 3. Black Monday 1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression. 4. There has been only one Pope. They can only really remember one president. 5. They do not remember a Cold War with the Soviet Union. 6. They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After" is a pill to them, not a movie. 7. They are too young to remember the space shuttle blowing up, and Tiananmen Square means nothing to them. 8. Their lifetime has always included AIDS. 9. They never had a polio shot, and likely do not know what it is. 10. Bottle caps have not only always been screw off, but have always been plastic. They have no idea what a pull-top can looks like. 11. Atari pre-dates them, as do vinyl record albums. 12. The expression "you sound like a broken record" means nothing to them. 13. They have likely never played Pac Man and never heard of Pong. 14. The original "Star Wars" movie looks very fake to them, and the special effects are pathetic. 15. There have always been red M&Ms, and blue ones are not new. What do you mean there used to be beige ones? 16. They may have heard of an 8-track, but chances are they probably never have actually seen or heard one. 17. They have always had an answering machine. 18. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13 channels, nor have they seen a black-and-white TV. 19. They have always had cable. 20. There have always been VCRs, but they have no idea what BETA is. 21. They cannot fathom not having a remote control. 22. Roller-skating has always meant in-line for them. 23. "The Tonight Show" has always been hosted by Jay Leno. 24. Popcorn has always been cooked in a microwave. 25. They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a football player. 26. They never took a swim and thought about "Jaws." 27. The Vietnam War is ancient history to them, as much as WWI, WWII or even the Civil War. 28. They have no idea that Americans were ever held hostage in Iran. 29. They can't imagine what hard contact lenses are. 30. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from. 31. They never heard: "Where's the beef?", "I'd walk a mile for a Camel," or "de plane, de plane!" 32. They do not care who shot J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is. 33. Kansas, Chicago, Boston, America and Alabama are places, not musical groups. 34. McDonald's food never came in styrofoam containers. 35. There has always been MTV.