A Fresh Mindset

It's become an annual ritual in the US. A Self-flagellation. A hoary, woolly monster to some, high theater to others, low brow humor to many. What, you ask? The “Beloit College Mindset List.” Annually for nearly thirty years, Beloit College has prepared a list for its faculty and staff of things that characterize the mindset of the freshmen students about to grace the hallowed halls with their presence. Here is this year's compendium:

According to the Beloit College Mindset List, for college freshmen born in 1987:
— Liberace, Jackie Gleason, and Lee Marvin have always been dead.
— Heart-lung transplants have always been possible.
— Wayne Gretzky never played for Edmonton.
— Iran and Iraq have never been at war with each other.
— They’re more familiar with Greg Gumbel than with Bryant Gumbel.
— Voice mail has always been available.
— ‘Whatever’ is not part of a question
— They have always had the right to burn the flag.
— Bill Gates has always been worth at least a billion dollars.
— The Starship Enterprise has always looked dated.
— ‘Les Miserables’ has always been on stage.
— Snowboarding has always been a popular winter pastime.
— They do not remember “a kinder and gentler nation.”
— They never saw the shuttle Challenger fly.
— Black Americans have always been known as African-Americans.
— Tom Landry never coached the Cowboys.
— The Field of Dreams has always been drawing people to Iowa.
— They never saw a Howard Johnson’s with 28 ice cream flavors.
— Lyme disease has always been a concern in the woods.