College releases 'Mindset List'

BELOIT, Wis., Aug. 23 (UPI) -- Wisconsin's Beloit College has revealed its sixth annual "Beloit College Mindset List," describing the way the incoming class of freshman views the world.

The college announced that the list, developed by the college and distributed to faculty and staff, is aimed at helping teachers understand the world the incoming class -- most of whom were born in 1985 -- grew up in.

Topping the list is the assertion that, in the minds of the incoming class, "Ricky Nelson, Richard Burton, Samantha Smith, Laura Ashley, Orson Welles, Karen Ann Quinlan, Benigno Aquino, and the U.S. Football League have always been dead."

Other observations included on the list include the idea that "Paul Newman has always made salad dressing"; "Gas has always been unleaded"; and "Don Imus has always been offending someone in his national audience."

However, the list also notes that "students entering college this fall do have a few items on their own lists that will separate them from many of their mentors -- including the fact that "they can still sing the rap chorus to the 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' and the theme song from 'Duck Tales,'" and "they know who the 'heroes in a half shell' are."