What College Freshmen Of 1998 Know: A Perspective For Older Folks
Interesting facts:
The people who are starting college this fall across the nation
were born in 1980. They have no meaningful recollection of the
Reagan era and did not know he had ever been shot. They were
prepubescent when the Persian Gulf War was waged. Black Monday
1987 is as significant to them as the Great Depression. There
has only been one Pope.
They can only really remember one president. They were 11 when
the Soviet Union broke apart and do not remember the Cold War.
They have never feared a nuclear war. "The Day After" is a pill
to them, not a movie. CCCP is just a bunch of letters. They have
only known one Germany. They are too young to remember the Space shuttle
blowing up, and Tienamin Square means nothing to them. They do not
know who Momar Qadafi is.
Their lifetime has always included AIDS. They never had a Polio
shot and likely do not know what it is. 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. Atari pre-dates
them, as do vinyl albums. The expression "you sound like a
broken record" means nothing to them. They have never owned a
record Player. They have likely never played Pac Man and have
never heard of Pong. Star Wars looks very fake, and the special
effects are pathetic. There have always been red M&M's, and blue
ones are not new. What do you mean there used to be beige ones?
They may have heard of an 8-track, but chances are they probably
have never actually seen or heard one. The Compact Disc was
introduced when they were 1 year old. As far as they know,
stamps have always cost about 32 cents.
Zip codes have always had a dash in them. They have always had an
answering machine. Most have never seen a TV set with only 13
channels, nor have they seen a black and white TV. They have
always had cable. There have always been VCR's, but they have no
idea what Beta is. They cannot fathom not having a remote
control. They were born the year that Walkman were introduced by
Sony. Roller-skating has always meant inline for them. They have
never heard of King Cola, Burger Chef, The Globe Democrat, Pan
AM or Ozark Airlines. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by
Jay Leno. They have no idea when or why Jordache jeans were cool.
Popcorn has always been cooked in a microwave.
They have never seen and remember a game that included the St.
Louis Football Cardinals, the Baltimore Colts, the Minnesota
North Stars, the Kansas City Kings, the New Orleans Jazz, the
Minnesota Lakers, the Atlanta Flames, or the Denver Rockies (NHL
hockey, that is). They do not consider the Colorado Rockies, the
Florida Marlins, the Florida Panthers, the Ottawa Senators, the
San Jose Sharks, or the Tampa Bay Lightning "expansion teams."
They have never seen Larry Bird play, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is
a football player. They never took a swim and thought about
Jaws. The Vietnam War is as ancient history to them as WWI, WWII
or even the Civil War. They have no idea that Americans were
ever held hostage in Iran. They can't imagine what hard contact
lenses are. They don't know who Mork was or where he was from.
They never heard the terms "Where's the beef?", "I'd Walk a mile
for Camel", or "de plane, de plane!". They do not care who
shot
J.R. and have no idea who J.R. is. The Cosby Show, The Facts of
Life, Silver Spoons, The Love Boat, Miami Vice, WKRP in
Cincinnati, and Taxi are shows they have likely never seen.
The Titanic was found? I didn't know it was lost. Michael Jackson
has always been white. They cannot remember the Cardinals ever
winning a World Series, or even being in one. Kansas, Chicago,
Boston, America and Alabama are places, not groups. McDonalds
never came in Styrofoam containers.
Do you feel old now? Remember, the people who don't know these
things will be in college this year.
(I got this off of a mailing list. If you know the original source,
would you let me know? Thanks, Net)